Well-known Swiss professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University, Tariq Ramadan, has been detained by French police investigating allegations of rape against him.
Ramadan, the grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt, has been accused of sexual misconduct by six women and is now being questioned by authorities.
Ramadan, 55, has denied all allegations and lodged a complaint for slander against one of his accusers, Tunisian-Algerian feminist campaigner Henda Ayari.
Late in 2017, Henda Ayari >filed a complaint against the professor, detailing criminal acts of rape, sexual assault, violence, and harassment.
Ayari - a former Salafist turned secular activist - alleged the details in a series of Facebook posts, in which she outed Ramadan for sexually assaulting her in 2012.
Describing being raped by Ramadan in a Paris hotel, Ayari wrote:
"When I resisted, when I told him to stop, he insulted and humiliated me. He slapped me and was outright violent. I saw someone who was no longer in control of himself. I was scared he would kill me. I wanted to escape but at the same time I couldn’t believe what was happening."
"He choked me so hard that I thought I was going to die," she told Le Parisien newspaper.
Another woman, who chose to remain anonymous, later accused him of raping and violently assaulting her in 2009.
Additionally, four Swiss women have accused the scholar of sexual harassment while they were students.
Ramadan has denied all accusations and claimed they are a part of a
"a campaign of lies launched by my adversaries."
Following the public uproar, Ramadan took a leave of absence from the University of Oxford and said in a statement:
"Contrary to reports in the French-language press, I have taken leave of absence upon mutual agreement with Oxford University, which will permit me to devote my energies to my defence while respecting students' need for a calm academic environment."
Whether or not the French judiciary finds him guilty remains to be seen.
Who is Tariq Ramadan?
Ramadan is an academic, author and commentator on modern Islam who has advised successive British governments on Islam and society.
According to the BBC, "Tariq Ramadan challenges Muslim fundamentalists and encourages dialogue between religions, but some critics accuse him of promoting political Islam."