Dr. Tariq Ramadan, Islamic Scholar and Oxford Professor, to speak at The City Library

Tariq Ramadan, one of the world’s leading Islamic thinkers, will speak at the Salt Lake City Public Library at 7pm on Wednesday, March 20, in the Main Library Auditorium (210 East 400 South). 

Ramadan, who was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most important innovators of the 21st century, has authored numerous books on Islamic practice and theology and lectures extensively around the world on theology, ethics, social justice, ecology and interfaith and intercultural dialogue.

The renowned scholar was involved in a six-year civil liberties battle after his United States work visa was revoked under the “ideological provision exclusion” of the USA PATRIOT Act. Ramadan had accepted a tenured position at the University of Notre Dame, which he was unable to fulfill. In 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lifted the ban that prohibited Ramadan's travel to the United States.

Professor Ramadan’s lecture will explore the challenges facing North Africa and the Middle East as they look to create new, more open societies after the Arab Spring. In particular, he will highlight the role Islam can play as a reference in this critical moment in the evolution of the Arab world and possible ways in which Islamic principles and goals can be rethought.

A reception and book signing will follow the event.

Ramadan is a Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University. He has been named in the 100 top global thinkers by Foreign Policy Magazine and by Time Magazine as one of the top 100 innovators of the 21st Century. 

This lecture is funded by the Telemachus Foundation, Friends of the City Library, The Barbara and Norman Tanner Center for Nonviolent Human Advocacy at the University of Utah and Westminster College. Additional support is provided by the Gandhi Alliance for Peace, the Middle East Center at the University of Utah, Peace and Justice Studies at Utah Valley University, Peaceful Uprising, Utahns for Just Peace in the Holy Land and the Wasatch Coalition for Peace and Justice.

For more information on Ramadan’s lecture, visit www.slcpl.org or his website, www.tariqramadan.com.