Tariq Ramadan doing Muslims and others a favour

A friend in Holland recently sent a DVD of a stunningly effective TV interview with Tariq Ramadan, the important European Muslim intellectual whom I interviewed on February 23 in Vancouver. Ramadan, who was banned from speaking in the United States during the administration of George W. Bush, to me exemplifies the best hope for future Muslim-non-Muslim relations.
The beginning of the month of Ramadan, Islam’s holy period of daytime fasting, begins August 22, 2009. It’s arrival made me think that, rather than sending a private response to my European-based friend, I thought I’d offer blog readers a version of a more public thank-you note to Shelley Gibson. She is a B.C.-raised public health nurse who has lived for about two decades in Holland :

Dear Shelley,

Thanks very much for sending the DVD of the Dutch interview with Tariq Ramadan, whom I’d say is now arguably the world’s most famous Muslim thinker and theologian.
I was greatly impressed with the artistic format, depth and intimacy of the exchanges with Nos Journaal’s host, Jorvis Luyendijk, on everything from Nietzsche (I didn’t know Ramadan studied him in university) to Zinadine Zidane, from the death penalty to homosexuality.
By including clips from Ramadan’s favorite movies and related documentaries, the TV program was elegant and almost beautiful. You wouldn’t often see such a polished and intellectually serious 90-minute show in North America.
I really appreciate the way that Swiss-born Ramadan told the somewhat mischievous Luyendijk that his goals are to encourage European Muslims to be more self-critical, while asking other Europeans to avoid seeing Muslims as the new enemy.
Ramadan is trying to be a bridge-builder, and that means he’s targeted by both sides. But I’m always interested in people who are “hybrids,” who end up with feet planted in two or more cultures (like you, a British Columbian in Amsterdam).
It was smart of Ramadan to highlight French soccer great Zinadine Zidane, who has Arabic origins, as an example of Muslim immigration. Ramadan is right in saying French and other Europeans love Zidane and don’t worry about where he has come from, because he adds to their positive self-image. It’s only when a Muslim does something negative, as Ramadan says, that people ask where he or she comes from.
Obviously, I value how Ramadan has been working hard in Africa, including in his family’s homeland of Egypt, to teach Muslims that forced marriage and female circumcision are not promoted in the Koran. In fact, he says female circumcision is discouraged in the holy book.
I also value the way he’s trying to walk a certain line by pressing for a moratorium on the death penalty in Muslim-majority countries, where it is often invoked without due diligence.
Ramadan wouldn’t go so far as to say the death penalty should be revoked altogether, but I’m sure that’s because too many Muslims would simply write him off for taking such a position.
The stickiest part of Luyendijk’s interview came near the end, of course (which is when sneaky journalists often tend to do such things.)
That’s when Luyendijk (left) asked Ramadan about his position on homosexuals, with Luyendijk saying he himself had many homosexual friends.
Ramadan had to acknowledge, religiously speaking, that Islam does not condone homosexuality as “natural.”
When asked if Muslim leaders would ban homosexuality if they ever became a majority in Europe, Ramadan said he would certainly advise them not to.
Muslims don’t want to “silently colonize” Europe,  Ramadan said.
They want to respect European customs, even when that includes accepting homosexual relationships.
Asked if it’s enough to “respect” homosexuals while stilling considering what they do “unnatural” and against the teachings of Islam, Ramadan said it’s enough. You don’t have to completely agree with someone to respect them, Ramadan said.
In much the same way that Muslims can respect non-Muslims who drink alcohol (which is banned in Islam), Ramadan said Muslims can and should also respect practicing homosexuals.
Rather than highlighting the difference over homosexuality as a hopeless clash between Muslims and non-Muslims, Ramadan said he did not want to promote a sense of “victimhood” among members of any group. He didn’t want Muslims to feel they’re being persecuted by mainstream Europeans, or non-Muslim Europeans to believe they’re going to be victimized by Muslims.
Ultimately, I liked the way Ramadan, who was educated in Europe while his family’s roots are in Egypt, quoted some European philosophers to support his own values.
He cleverly cited the anarchist Bachunin when he said he has “always liked people with an open heart and a rebellious mind.”
Another value he had that I admired came out in his concluding remark: about the importance of “smiling at what is not going to be easy.”
Thanks again for sending the DVD.
Yours,
Doug

SOURCE : The Vancouver Sun