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Islamic extremist or the man leading reform of the faith? Professor Tariq Ramadan explains why his critics are wrong and why the London bombings mean more than ever that Western Muslims must split from the East.
He’s the man the Sun loved to hate.
Five days after the London bombings, the newspaper ran a front-page story inviting readers to « MEET ISLAMIC MILITANT PROFESSOR TARIQ RAMADAN », urging the government to ban the Swiss academic from a conference this past weekend.
A week later, The Sun had a change of heart and ran a second piece, describing him as a « hero of young Muslims ». Prof Ramadan came to London and indeed spoke to a large audience on the « Middle Way » at one of London’s largest mosques.
So will the real Tariq Ramadan please stand up?
The Sun’s attack on Prof Ramadan is only the latest he has faced in a controversial career. It has been widely written that he is banned from the USA as an extremist and condones suicide bombings.
He predicts he will be soon allowed to teach in the States and fulfill some of the 20 oustanding invitations he has to speak there. On the other issue, he insists that he absolutely condemns the taking of innocent life (for more on this, listen to his linked interview on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme).
In both cases he says these allegations were deliberately put about by American right-wingers who « would nurture this ‘clash of civilisations’ theory, that somehow the Islamic East and West are incompatible. »
« There is an ethical imperative to say to people, to explain to people what is going on in Palestine and urge the international community to speak out, » he says. « That is all I have done. If we don’t, then our silence nurtures this violence; our silence is as bad as violence.
« In these really difficult times here in Britain, I am the wrong target. I think that this is what The Sun itself felt because they called me and did a second story about what I really think. »
Influential thinker
Without a doubt, Tariq Ramadan is one of the most influential voices on young Muslims throughout Western society. His academic reputation comes from provoking their parents’ generation and the social mores that have travelled westwards.
He dismisses the subjugation of women as un-Islamic, rejects traditional punishments such as stoning and challenges the apparent right of the Muslim East to lead the faith. He switches conversation effortlessly from the Koran to great European thinkers. In short, he regards himself as the matchmaker between Islam and post-Enlightenment, rational European thought.
While Muslim critics say he betrays the faith, some Western academics say he nevertheless pushes an agenda of « Muslim first and European second » – an agenda that hinders integration.
« That’s all wrong, » he says. « My work is about what it is to be truly Muslim and truly European at the same time. And that is why I get the support that I have found. »
« Lets say you are vegetarian and a poet, and you are at a dinner. You are going to say you are vegetarian. But at a party, you will say you are a poet.
« We all have multiple identities which are also moving identities – and this is what European Muslims must solve. How can they remain true to their ethics and values? I think they need to start by getting rid of some of the confusion over what are Muslim values. »
Prof Ramadan says large numbers of Western Muslims recognise that, like the rest of their society, they can be selective in what they subscribe to.
« There are many elements in British culture which are not against Islamic values. For a start, you are not obliged to drink alcohol, and many British people don’t drink at all, » he says.
So rather than having some kind of theological panic over going into a bar with colleagues, the confident, young European Muslim may simply recognise drink as a fact of life for others, but not allow it to morally damage themselves.
‘Silent revolution’
What Prof Ramadan says he wants is more of this « silent revolution » in Islamic thought. But does it help us work out why young men from Yorkshire blew themselves up?
Muslim communities must take immediate steps, he says, including facing down literal interpretations of the Koran that bear no relationship to modern life.
Top of his target list are Islamic bookshops which refuse to stock works in touch with the West and help perpetuate a sense of « guilt » among young Muslims for not striving hard enough to live up to an Islamic ideal.
But most of all, young Muslims must break out of an eastward-looking « social and intellectual ghetto » and go it alone.
Only when Middle East money stops building Mosques, and European-born Imams take the upper hand in guiding communities will Muslims square their ideology with European identity. This crucially requires the support of governments, he says.
« These young Muslims were born of two parents – one their Muslim community and the other British society. We need to blame both parents and both share our responsibilities. »
« But we have to also ask our fellow citizens [to remove the ghettos] by recognising European society has changed. We have to get rid of this idea that there is this homogenous European culture that Islam threatens. Take the debate over Turkish membership of the EU.
« They fear it will bring in all these Muslims. Well they are here in the cities already and trying to be part of the solution. »
So how far does this philosophy go in his personal life? How would he react if one of his four children announced they were marrying a non-Muslim?
« I would naturally prefer someone to share the principles of being a Muslim. But it’s their choice, » he says.
« Look, by then, I will have done what I have had to do [as a father]. I have transmitted my principles to them. So I say to them, know who you are and your values.
« When you know this, then you are free. »
To check out comments to this article please go to the bbc website.
Thank you.
THE HISTORY OF MAJLIS ITTEHADUL MUSLIMEEN PARTY IN HYDERABAD
The grip of the Majlis-e-ittehadul Muslimeen on the community remains strong, With a Member representing Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha, five members in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, 40 corporators in Hyderabad and 95-plus members elected to various municipal bodies in Andhra Pradesh, the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen is one of the foremost representatives of the city’s Muslims and the most powerful Muslim party in India and one can see the partys strenghth if it goes to Hyderabad old city and Parts of Muslim Dominated Villages of Andhra Pradesh everywhere u look u can see MIM written on walls ,lightpoles and buildings leaving aside green flags and posters of its Leadership and there small Offices . The Majlis has brought lot of development to the Old part of the city even after it is said it hasnt done anything by its opponents who are mostly Ex Majlis workers.The Majlis was formed in 1927 “for educational and social uplift of Muslims”. But it articulated the position that “the ruler and throne (Nizam) are symbols of the political and cultural rights of the Muslim community… (and) this status must continue forever”.The Majlis pitted itself against the Andhra Mahasabha and the communists who questioned the feudal order that sustained the Nizam’s rule. It also bitterly opposed the Arya Samaj, which gave social and cultural expression to the aspirations of the urban Hindu population in the Hyderabad State of those days.By the mid-1940s, the Majlis had come to represent a remarkably aggressive and violent face of Muslim communal politics as it organised the razakars (volunteers) to defend the “independence” of this “Muslim” State from merger with the Indian Union.According to historians, over 1,50,000 such `volunteers’ were organised by the Majlis for the Nizam State’s defence but they are remembered for unleashing unparalleled violence against Communal Hindus and the communists and all those who opposed the Nizam’s “go it alone” policy. It is estimated that during the height of the razakar `agitation’, over 30,000 people had taken shelter in the Secunderabad cantonment alone to protect themselves from these `volunteers’.But the razakars could do little against the Indian Army and even put up a fight. Kasim Rizvi, the Majlis leader, was imprisoned and the organisation banned in 1948. Rizvi was released in 1957 on the undertaking that he would leave for Pakistan in 48 hours. Before he left though, Rizvi met some of the erstwhile activists of the Majlis and passed on the presidentship to Abdul Wahed Owaisi, a famous lawyer and an Islamic scholar from jamia nizamia who also was jailed for nearly 10 months after he took over the Majlis leadership as the then govt wanted to abolish the Majlis party but Owaisi refused to do so and was seen as a person who had financially supported the party when it was a bankrupt and weak one after the Police Action in Hyderabad State.Owaisi is credited with having “re-written” the Majlis constitution according to the provisions of the Indian Constitution and “the realities of Muslim minority in independent India”, and fought the legal case for winning back darrusslam mim headquarters for years according to a former journalist, Chander Srivastava. For the first decade-and-a-half after this “reinvention”, the Majlis remained, at best, a marginal player in Hyderabad politics and even though every election saw a rise in its vote share, it could not win more than one Assembly seat.The 1970s saw an upswing in Majlis’ political fortunes. In 1969, it won back its party headquarters, Dar-us-Salaam – a sprawling 4.5-acre compound in the heart of the New City. It also won compensation which was used to set up an ITI on the premises and a women’s degree college in Nizamabad town. In 1976, Salahuddin Owaisi took over the presidentship of the Majlis after his father’s demise who also was also Jailed Various times .This started an important phase in the history of the Majlis as it continued expanding its educational institutions,Hospitals,Banks, including the first Muslim minority Engineering College and Medical College. Courses in MBA, MCA ,Nursing, Pharmacy and other professional degrees followed and now a daily newspaper known as Etemaad Daily. The 1970s were also a watershed in Majlis’ history as after a long period of 31 years, Hyderabad witnessed large-scale communal rioting in 1979. The Majlis came to the forefront in “defending” Muslim life and property Majlis workers could be seen at these moments defending the properties of Muslims in the wake of riots and these workers were very hard even for the police to control them even now it is a known fact that there are nearly about 2500 units of strong members who only act if there is a seirous threat to the Owaisi family and these members are under the direct orders of the Owaisi family which leads the Majlis party leaving aside thousands of workers and informers throughout the State and even outside the country far away till America and the Gulf countries.Salahuddin Owaisi, also known as “Salar-e-Millat” (commander of the community), has repeatedly alleged in his speeches that the Indian state has “abandoned” the Muslims to their fate. Therefore, “Muslims should stand on their own feet, rather than look to the State for help », he argues.This policy has been an unambiguous success in leveraging the Majlis today to its position of being practically the “sole spokesman” of the Muslims in Hyderabad and its environs.Voting figures show this clearly. From 58,000 votes in the 1962 Lok Sabha elections for the Hyderabad seat, Majlis votes rose to 1,12,000 in 1980. The clear articulation of this “stand on one’s feet” policy in education and `protection’ during riots doubled its vote-share by 1984. Salahuddin Owaisi won the seat for the first time, polling 2.22 lakh votes. This vote-share doubled in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections to over four lakhs.The Majlis has since continued its hold on the Hyderabad seat winning about five-and-a-half lakh votes each time.Despite remarkable economic prosperity and negligible communal violence in the past decade, the hold of the Majlis on the Muslims of Hyderabad remains, despite minor dents. And despite widespread allegations of Majlis leaders having “made money”, most ordinary Muslims continue to support them because, as one bank executive put it “they represent our issues clearly and unambiguously ». An old Historian Bakhtiyar khan says the Owaisi family was a rich family even before entering Politics and he says he had seen the late Majlis leader Abdul Wahed Owaisi in an American Buick car at a time when rarely cars were seen on Hyderabad Roads and the family had strong relations with the ersthwhile Nizams of Hyderabad and the Paighs even now the family is considered to be one of the richest familes in Hyderabad.A university teacher says that the Majlis helped Muslims live with dignity and security at a time when they were under attack and even took the fear out of them after the Police action and adds that he has seen Majlis leaders in the front at times confronting with the Police and the Govt. Asaduddin Owaisi, the articulate UK educated barrister from Lincolns Inn College son of Salahuddin Owaisi and Former leader of the Majlis’ Legislature party and now an MP himself who has travelled across the globe meeting world leaders and organizatons and even in war zones compares the Majlis to the Black Power movement of America.The Majlis that emerged after 1957 is a completely different entity from its pre-independence edition, he says adding that comparisons with that bloody past are “misleading and mischievous”. “That Majlis was fighting for state power, while we have no such ambitions or illusions”.He stoutly defends the need for “an independent political voice” for the minorities, which is willing to defend them and project their issues “firmly”.“How can an independent articulation of minority interests and aspirations be termed communal,” he asks and contests any definition of democracy which questions the loyalty of minorities if they assert their independent political identity. “We are a threat not only to the BJP and Hindu communalism, but also to Muslim extremism,” Asaduddin claims. “By providing a legitimate political vent for Muslims to voice their aspirations and fears, we are preventing the rise of political extremism and religious obscurantism when the community is under unprecedented attack from Hindu communalists and the state ». He can be seen in his speeches speaking against terrorism in the Country and says if the time arises Majlis will stand side by side in defending the Nation and Recently Majlis ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi has Visited Lebanon after the war with israel and met the leaders of the resistance group Hezbollah and he has even visited Bombay and Malegaon Muslims and raised there issues in Parliament and has even represented the police torture victims to the Prime Minister and has given aid From Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen Party Fund.
Marriage to non-muslims
Written by Hasan on 2005-07-28 14:47:46
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I think this guy is an Integrationist – Taking the muslims into the Lizard’s hole.
Sons and daughters
Written by Rafiq on 2005-07-29 07:32:34
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We are hypocrites. When our sons fornicate, commit adultery, drink alcohol, do drugs, we are accomodating to their sins. But daughters…, disown them, beat them, damn them, they bring shame to the family. A fathers guides his kids – when the kids are mature, they are responsible for their own intentions and actions -NOT THE FATHER. No bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Don’t blame the father for loving his child – its what parents do. Islam prohibits and allows many things. So why do we scrutinise women more than men, when punishments are equal to both? This is the darker side of our Eastern heritage which needs to be got rid of. Indeed we need to get our own house in order before pointing fingers at others. Its inevitable that here in the West, Muslims will have relationships with Hindus, Christians, non-believers in God. But please don’t shut the door of Mercy to them i.e. Islam. You don’t own the faith, God himself does.He is above all things The Merciful.
New Islam
Written by Walid on 2005-07-29 17:59:46
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He is talking about abandoning Hudood, He is talking about a British Islam, He is talking about having loyalty to Britain rather then the Ummah, He is talking about Assimilation into the British society.
I think this will definitely make the host country happy but I don’t think Allah will be.
I think by the time he is finished Muslims instead of thinking about uniting will be very much happy with things as they are.
Marry daughter to Non-Muslim I wouldnt b
Written by Usamah on 2005-07-27 12:15:49
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I would not accept the marraige as being simply their choice, certainly will dis-own her as a daughter because Allah(swt) rejects such a marraige. But T. Ramadan says its their choice and he will accept.
Read the WHOLE article
Written by Faris on 2005-07-29 12:47:03
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there are about 28 paragraphs in this article. everyone seems to be concentrating on the last two or three. Read the rest, thats were the real issues are covered.
Every adult is responsible for their own actions. i doubt very much Prof Ramadan meant what he said about his daughter, and i doubt further that this would ever happen.
daughter?
Written by yakoub on 2005-07-29 17:15:51
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I can’t see Prof Ramadan mentioning his daughter – he mentions his children. If he has believing children then they will no it makes more sense to marry muslims – or bring a non muslim into Islam. He is not suggesting anything else. People should READ first the article.
Read the WHOLE article: Yes Faris
Written by Amina on 2005-07-31 11:40:55
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I agree with Faris….please read the WHOLE article. My take from what he has said is that he is quite confident it wouldn’t happen because of the way he has brought them up (all his children). However, if it did happen, then it will not be because he failed as a Muslim father.
I think this is what all Muslim parents should be aiming for. How can we blame our daughters if we do not make them understand clearly who they are in the first place. Having done our duty by them then it’s entirely upto them to do as they choose. It will be between them and their God and we as the parents will NOT bear their burdens.
Another Reply to Abunuha
Written by Muna on 2005-07-31 11:53:38
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This thread has been hijacked by the literists Prof Ramadan talks about (Abunuha).
People like Abunuha clearly have no understanding of Islam. Prof. Ramadan believes in the Sharia, does not want the Hudud abolished. He is only calling for their correct applications which btw, will make stoning and the chopping off of hands almost impossible to carry out. Please read his books and speeches before sitting in judgment on him.