Rape-Accused Islamic Scholar Sparks Outrage at Women’s Violence Conference

Even the municipality of Saint-Denis, in France, where the said conference took place, condemned the presence of the Swiss Islamic scholar, describing it as an "unacceptable provocation". Tariq Ramadan, indicted since early February 2018 for two rapes, including one on a vulnerable person, attending a conference on violence against women... Certainly he dares! Whether he is guilty or innocent, the bad taste of the decision is undeniable.

It even seems that he was asked to leave but refused. And that other people, disagreeing with his presence, left themselves, while he remained. The municipal councilor in charge of gender equality and the fight against discrimination, Madjid Messaoudene, says in this sense: "He was told several times that his presence was not desired." But he was there and he stayed!

This public meeting organized on Monday evening at the town hall of Saint-Denis on the theme "Fighting violence against women in everyday life" saw the presence of about 70 people. And Tariq Ramadan himself has been living in Saint-Denis since he was released on parole in November.

The municipality of Saint-Denis was clear in a statement: "His coming into the room as a spectator of the debate is an unacceptable provocation." Furthermore, it chooses another angle to view this presence, a less... lenient one: "His vile provocations must stop," Tariq Ramadan should, according to the latter, "show a minimum of decency by leaving in peace those who are fighting against violence against women."