Brother Tariq: The Doublespeak of Tariq Ramadan (17 page)

Since 1991, the press and the Egyptian authorities have suspected the
Ramadan sons of having organized a meeting in Geneva with Ayman alZawahiri, the Egyptian second-in-command ofAl-Qaeda and the man who, in
2004, declared that the French law banning the Islamic headscarf was proof
of "the rancor of Occidental crusaders against Muslims." The news broke on
the occasion of Said Ramadan's burial, and then subsided. At the time, the
accusation appeared far-fetched and was denied by the Swiss police. However,
in 2003, this time via the Swiss police, the charge reappeared on the front
pages and became more explicit. The Swiss police had in their possession a
sworn statement dated December I, 2003, in which a former associate of the
Geneva Islamic Center guaranteed that he had heard one of the Ramadan
sons inform his followers that the "Islamic warrior" Ayman al-Zawahiri was
coming to France: "I attest also attending the Friday prayer session conducted
by Mr. Ramadan, who announced the arrival ofthe Islamic warrior Ayman alZawahiri. Mr. Ramadan then invited us to come to the lecture to be organized
to welcome Mr. Zawahiri the following week in Geneva." The conference is
supposed to have taken place at the Penta Hotel in Geneva in 1991, and was
supposedly set up by the two Ramadan brothers, and attended by Zawahiri,
as well as by Omar Abdel-Rahman, the brains behind the World Trade Center attacks two years later. This categorical testimony is troubling. Nevertheless,
this "secret source" must be handled with care. The same witness asserted
that Abdel-Rahman was the Ramadans' "uncle," which is highly improbable.
Unless he expressed himself poorly. In Arabic the term "uncle" is often used
for a person whom one addresses in affectionate terms, without necessarily being a relative. The episode provided an occasion for Tariq Ramadan to
indulge in sarcasm: "These self-proclaimed terrorist experts think nothing of
redoing your family."95 Nonetheless, despite this error of interpretation, the
rest of the testimony is plausible. At the time, Zawahiri and Abdel-Rahman
were not high on the list of wanted men, as they are today, and Switzerland,
since it takes a more or less neutral stance on these matters, is a perfect place
to organize a conference. Finally, and most importantly, it is quite likely that
the Geneva Islamic Center, the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in
exile, would organize a meeting with two Egyptian jihadists belonging to the
Muslim Brotherhood.

For years, Egypt has raised this connection and insisted on an investigation. For years, the Swiss intelligence services have simply replied that
they possessed "no information by way of confirmation," which encouraged the press to conclude that it was an Egyptian maneuver. In reality, the
Swiss investigation at the time was strictly minimal. According to the information published in Le Temps by the journalist Sylvain Besson, "the inquiry
consisted essentially of checking the hotel registers for the name of alZawahiri, despite the fact that the latter used pseudonyms and forged identity papers."96 It appears, then, that the Swiss were not particularly zealous.
Too much was at stake. On the other hand, after 9/II the net began to dose
in on the Ramadan family.

The Islamic Center again found itself in the midst of a media storm when the
Islamic bank Al-Taqwa was closed down on December 3i, zooi, after having
been singled out by the American intelligence services as one of the financial
sponsors of terrorism. Paul O'Neill, the Secretary of the Treasury, accused it
of having "transferred funds in cash to Al-Qaeda," via its subsidiaries located in Lugano, Liechtenstein, and the Bahamas. Backed by the United Nations,
the American Treasury Department affirmed that

the Al-Taqwa Bank was founded in 1988 thanks to a sizeable financial contribution coming from the Muslim Brotherhood. They invested in the financing of radical groups such as the Palestinian Hamas movement, the Islamic Salvation Front
and the Islamic Armed Group in Algeria, as well as An-Nahda, the principal Islamist group in Tunisia, and Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda organization. Each
year Hamas received 6o million dollars via Al-Taqwa, even after a storm of protest
in 1997, when half of the Hamas budget was siphoned off by an intermediary.97

Up to this point, the investigations had not caused much of a stir. But after
9/II, at the request of the victims' families, things became clearer. JeanCharles Brisard, an expert on Islamist financial networks, was called in to
investigate. A Washington federal court became involved, as did the Swiss
Ministry of Public Affairs. Some of the material in the files began at last to
appear in the press. Thus it was that the Ramadans and the Geneva Islamic
Center appeared on the list of beneficiaries of Al-Taqwa, almost all of which
were linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. Tariq Ramadan outdid himself
explaining that it proved nothing: "We have never had any sort of contact with
the bank. The fact that our name appears in its address file doesrit mean a
thing. My name also appears in the address files of Bordeaux wine ... which,
of course, I never drink." 98 Once again, Tariq Ramadan's denials are too vehement to be credible. It is a falsehood to say that the Ramadans never had "any
sort of contact" with the bank, since they were well acquainted with its chief
administrators, beginning with its president-founder, Youssef Nada, one of
Said Ramadan s best friends.

Like Said, Nada was one of the Muslim Brothers who had fled Nasser's
Egypt to take charge of the international branch from abroad. Like him, he
established a privileged relationship with the SaudiArabian princes. This eminence grise, now in his seventies, is today a highly influential Islamist billionaire. Dividing his time between Lugano and Campione, he is well established
in financial and political circles. He served, in particular, as an intermediary
for Saddam Hussein in the negotiations on the withdrawal from Kuwait. In 1977, after twenty years of exile, he founded an Islamic bank in Cairo, in association with Mohammed al-Faisal al-Saud, the son of King Faisal (the leading
sponsor of the Brotherhood). In 1988, the bank became Al-Taqwa. In other
words, he is someone who is almost untouchable. On Al-Jazeera TV, he was
self-confident. "They can prove nothing. I challenge them to prove the slightest thing." And he had reason to be confident. In view of the Saudi backing
that the investor enjoys, many observers are already counting on the investigation being dropped. The financial records of the bank are kept in Saudi
Arabia and the Saudi authorities appear to be in no hurry to produce them.99
And who is in any position to put pressure on them? In addition, Swiss legislation prevents fact-finding investigations concerning "political" questions
from going too far. Meanwhile, Nada has only to deny the whole thing: AlTaqwa is not the Muslim Brotherhood's bank, even if he has to admit the
bank's links with the Brotherhood and its role in the international organi-
zation.1O° According to Abdelkader Soheib, the assistant managing editor of
the weekly Al-Mussawa, there is no doubt about it-the Al-Taqwa bank was
set up to finance the international expansion of the Muslim Brotherhood
with capital from the Gulf: "Initially, Al-Taqwa was conceived as the principal
financial instrument of the Muslim Brotherhood, particularly of the international branch."I°I The bank's religious guarantee is none other than the Muslim Brotherhood's theologian, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, another of Tariq Ramadan's friends. How can one imagine that Said Ramadan and his Center were
not in touch with Al-Taqwa and Nada? Not only were they closely linked, but
Said was one of the founders ofAl-Taqwa. Even the Supreme Guide Machour
does not deny the fact. Richard Labeviere, who interviewed him, recalls: "The
guide confirmed that Youssef Nada and Said Ramadan were involved from
the start in the creation of the Al-Taqwa Bank."1O2 So Tariq Ramadan lied.

The investigation into Al-Taqwa had several beneficial side-effects. First
of all, it revealed a bit more about the behind-the-scenes financing of the
Muslim Brotherhood. But it also brought to light the longstanding association between the Brothers and Nazism, as well as today's pro-Nazi sympathizers. The Egyptian secret service has in its files a dossier on Youssef Nada
that deals with his activities during the 1940s.113 He was then suspected of having planned the assassination of King Farouk with members of Admiral
Canaris's Abwehr. Richard Labeviere, author of the exhaustive investigation
into Islamist financing, Les dollars de la terreur [The Terror Dollars], suspects
that the Al-Taqwa Bank has links with the Swiss pro-Nazi banker Francois
Genoud: "I interviewed him several times and he told me he assisted the
Muslim Brothers in exile in Europe. "114 Genoud's chauffeur, Ahmed Hubert,
is, curiously enough, a former administrator of the Al-Taqwa Bank, as well
as an old acquaintance of the Geneva Islamic Center. He readily confirmed
knowing Said's two sons: "Hani is a friend, as is his brother Tariq."I°5 Despite
his good-natured appearance, Ahmed Hubert is no angel. This Swiss citizen,
converted to Islam, is a great admirer of Hitler and Khomeini, whose photos are prominently displayed on the wall of his office, alongside that of JeanMarie Le Pen. He first developed a passion for National Socialism thanks
to Nasser, whom he got to know during his years in Egypt. He speaks of the
great man with emotion, which often results in his being told to keep quiet by
his friends at the Geneva Islamic Center! It was at the Center in 1962 that he
converted to Islam. The following year, in 1963, he was in Cairo when he met
Johann von Leers, Goebbels' former right-hand man, who "opened his eyes
to the true meaning of the great adventure of the Third Reich. ,,,6 Ever since,
he has had but one obsession: to convince his skinhead friends that Hitler admired Mohammed and convince his Islamist friends that Mohammed
would have adored Hitler; in short, to convince them that they should start
working together-and start by defeating the Jews. For a while, he thought
he could wage this campaign from within the ranks of the Swiss Socialist
Party, where he served as the press representative for forty years before being
expelled for "revisionism, Khomeinism and anti- Semitism'-but not until
1994! Before then, in 1989, he had been fired from the largest Swiss press
consortium, Ringier, for having approved of thefatwa condemning Salman
Rushdie to death. He got over it by saying that he had picked the right horse,
since the European extreme Right and the Islamist movements were beginning to come together. "You know, Jean-Marie Le Pen has understood a lot of
things," he is apt to say. According to him, both Jorg Haider and the German
far-Right NPD were to come to the same conclusion. Hubert does his part, giving lectures on the potential synergies between the Crescent and the Swastika for New Right and neo-Nazi groups, for Iranian television (for which he
is an advisor)-and also for the Geneva Islamic Center, where he held several
conferences up to the time that Al-Taqwa was closed down. "I said to Hani, it's
just as well that I no longer come here, so as not to get you into trouble." One
thing should be clear: it is as embarrassing for the Geneva Islamic Center to
be seen to be close to Al-Taqwa as it is for Al-Taqwa to be thought of as close to
the Geneva Islamic Center. Even after the liquidation ofAl-Taqwa, Hubert is
obliged to continue protesting high and low that the Islamic bank was never
linked to terrorist organizations and that the Americans lied. He does so, but
without really convincing people: "You know the Americans also accused me
of being Islamist, Khomeinist, and neo-Nazi simply because, as a Muslim,
I had a somewhat different opinion of the Third Reich and of the past! They
also accused me of being anti-Semitic, whereas I am against Judaism, as is
the Koran, that's clear." What is also clear is that Ahmed Hubert is as talented
at doublespeak and euphemism as are his friends Hani and Tariq-but in his
case it is accompanied by a sense of humor. Even if Tariq Ramadan does not
share his enthusiasm for Nazism and Nasserism, this type of acquaintance
tells us a bit more about the radical atmosphere ofthe Geneva Islamic Center
in which the preacher is plunged. Do we really need to show that the Center is
a meeting place for militant terrorists? Is it not enough to demonstrate that it
is unquestionably the hub of Islamism in Europe? Hani Ramadan (who perhaps does, after all, possess a sense of humor) once declared with a straight
face: "Our activities are transparent. We do nothing that is incompatible with
an authentic Islamic commitment." 117 Need one say more?

As for Tariq Ramadan, he was now aware that any sort of connection with
the Geneva Islamic Center could blur the image that he was trying to project to the outside world, for it would prove he is lying when he says he had no
functional link with the Muslim Brotherhood. When he cannot deny the connection, he attempts to minimize his role in the Center, as during an interview given to Manuel Grandjean for Le Courrier:

Grandjean: The Geneva Islamic Center has been suspected of having links with certain disreputable figures. Are you still one of the administrators of the Center?

Ramadan: When my father, Said, the founder of the Center, died in 1995 he left an
organization in debt. It was then that my brother Aymen, a doctor, took charge of the
bookkeeping, and it was decided that the official board of directors would be made
up of family members. The Center is a property belonging to the family. The running of the Center is in the hands of an association of which my brother Hani is the
director. I have no official role. However, I insist that what is said about us is nothing
but rumors; no proof has ever been provided concerning the Center.°$

Ramadan contradicts himself and plays on words. He does indeed hold
a position in the Center, since he is one of its administrators. Moreover,
he defends the Center against the slightest accusation, which proves that
he identifies with it and feels part of it. And he defends it in bad faith,
since the charges for which the Geneva Islamic Center is held to account
are no mere rumors. It is undeniable that the Geneva Islamic Center and
its administrators contribute to the spreading Islamism that incites hatred
throughout the heart of Europe. It remains to be seen whether Tariq Ramadan, as an individual, produces the same effect. To add an additional touch
to his image as a moderate, he makes a point of saying that he is under permanent surveillance by the intelligence services, but that no one has ever
provided proof of his doublespeak. As if the fact that he travelled throughout the world preaching Islamism does not prove that he has been involved
in spreading a radical and dangerous Islam. Who does he think he's fooling? The police are not empowered to lock up preachers just because they
preach fundamentalism. When it comes to speech rather than activity, their
mission is limited to one of surveillance. And in terms of his speeches one
can say that Tariq Ramadan has been the center of a good deal of attention and is highly suspect to most Arab, European, and American intelligence services. That he was denied entry into France and that his visa for
the United States was refused by the Department for Homeland Security
provides sound evidence of this. Alain Chouet, former head of the security intelligence service of the French Foreign Intelligence Agency (DGSE),
has stated categorically that fundamentalism and terrorism cannot be con tained without taking action against a Brotherhood ambassador such as
Tariq Ramadan: