Satellite Conversations with Tariq Ramadan, April 2007

Described by some as "Islam's Martin Luther," he is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and is a controversial figure. To Time magazine, Ramadan is one of 100 "innovators" of the 21st century and "the leading Islamic thinker among Europe's second- and third-generation Muslim immigrants." To his critics, he is a dangerous fundamentalist whose US visa was revoked in 2004 under the Patriot Act based on several donations to a terrorist-connected Islamic charity. He has denied knowledge of the charity's connection to terrorism and has pointed out that the charity was only blacklisted in 2003, a year after his last donation. He has advised several governments, and his moderate reformist ideas, though not widely known in Muslim-majority states, have been influential for Western Muslims.

About the Berkley Center Lectures

The Berkley Center Lectures bring global thought leaders to campus for presentations on cutting-edge topics at the intersection of religion, culture and politics. The formal program is flanked by informal interaction with faculty and students. In April 2007 the Center sponsored satellite conversations with Tariq Ramadan, the Muslim reformer then barred from entry to the United States, on the topic was "Islam in the West." The October 2008 lectures featured the philosopher Charles Taylor under the heading "Narratives of Secularity."