A professor at Oxford University accused of rape said he will devote his energies to his defence after agreeing to take a leave of absence.
Tariq Ramadan, professor, pictured, of Contemporary Islamic Studies, has been accused of rape by two women in France.
The scholar, a senior research fellow at St Antony’s College, has also been accused of sexual misconduct by four Swiss women.
Prof Ramadan denies the allegations but has praised the university for its approach to the situation.
The 55-year-old’s teaching, supervising and examining duties will be reassigned and he will not be present at the university or college.
Born in Switzerland in 1962, the grandson of Hassan al Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Prof Ramadan studied philosophy, literature and social sciences at the University of Geneva and Arabic and Islamic studies for his PhD. A controversial figure, Prof Ramadan was previously ejected from the United States as an extremist, judged to have provided material support to terrorist organisations.
