Listen to The Current : Part 3

February 22, 2005

In the polarized, post 9/11 world we live in, scholars often warn of a gathering clash of civilizations between Islam and the West. But Islamic theologian Tariq Ramadan insists it doesn’t have to be that way.

Ramadan argues it is possible to reconcile Islamic and Western values. And he enjoys a sizeable following among Muslims in his native Switzerland and elsewhere across Europe. He also enjoys his fair share of controversy. The grandson of the founder of Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Ramadan is stalked by allegations that he is not the moderate he appears to be, but rather a fundamentalist in disguise. (...)