The subtle scholar of Islam

The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 28 — Swiss-Egyptian theologian Dr Tariq Ramadan wears lightly the bouquets and brickbats that rain down on him every so often. On the one hand, the slight, soft-spoken don has been called one of this century’s 100 best innovators by Time magazine. Many among Ramadan’s peers see him as a reformer and a much-needed voice of reason and moderation in the Muslim world.

On the other hand, among the charges levelled against the 46-year-old — by Muslim and non-Muslim detractors alike — is that he is a “pious fraud”. He has been accused of speaking with a forked tongue — of preaching moderation before mainstream audiences while espousing a more radical approach in private.

Ramadan’s response to all this is that his critics are “listening without listening”, that they are quicker to condemn than they are to understand. But his doubters wonder why he refuses to denounce outright such practices as the stoning of adulterers in some Muslim countries and why he gave money to two organisations which funded terrorist activities, causing him to be banned from the United States.

It has not helped that he is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the co-founder of the influential revivalist movement the Muslim Brotherhood, which many have characterised as a militantly fundamentalist organisation.

The married father of four is currently a research fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford University, and writes a column for the Guardian newspaper. A former visiting scholar at the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, he is also the author of many scholarly tomes, the latest being a life of the Prophet Muhammad titled “The Messenger”.

So is Ramadan one who dabbles in mixed messages or just one who is being persecuted for his messages?

Muslims, he avers, are victims in global society because they have been hobbled by self-aggrandising governments that deny them proper education, the freedom to speak and, indeed, the freedom to be human. He muses: “So there is a lack of freedom not only in our countries, but wherever we go.”

That nurtures a “victim mentality” among Muslims, he says, which is pushing them towards a narrow understanding of scriptural sources or, as he puts it, “defining yourself against the Other not in the name of your principles”.

This “binary vision” — an “us versus them” mindset — holds Muslims back, he stresses.

“What I am saying to Muslims is that the power of the Others is coming from our own weaknesses. They are strong out of our weaknesses, so let us work on our weaknesses to see how we can reform that.”

On the subject of weaknesses, I ask him for his take on the mindset of quite a number of Muslims who believe they should be patient and not try too hard as Allah would provide.

Ah, he says, noting the Arabic word “saber”, which he said most Muslims take to mean “be patient”. He adds: “In fact, saber is not ‘be patient’… It’s much more about perseverance. Patience could be patience in passivity, whereas perseverance is ‘be patient in action’.”

He then cites verse 11, chapter 13, of the Quran: “God will not change what is in a society if they don’t start to change what is in themselves.”

So, what is the way forward then?

Well, he says neatly, there are 7Cs to being a highly effective Muslim. Gleaned from his 20 years of putting his ear to the ground, they are: confidence, which nurtures leaders; consistency in practising what one preaches; communicating effectively; contributing to the global stock of knowledge; creativity so as to fire everyone’s imagination; contestation, or speaking up against injustices; and compassion.

The problem in disseminating and practising these 7Cs, he says, is that most Muslim scholars “are not serving the community, but being served by it”. What they really should do is to listen more intently to the grievances on the ground, especially as the Muslim ground traditionally finds it hard to express itself.

He laments, especially, the penchant of Muslim scholars to talk “among themselves in isolated circles”, rarely coming together to debate and drive reforms.

That said, he allows that such empathetic listening has yielded some progress in improving the lot of Muslim women, with communities beginning to speak out against forced marriages and domestic violence.

Prod him on Islamist terrorist groups and he says they arise directly in response to “a sense that the West is deciding everything”. He decries the “hypocrisy” of the West, which continually seeks geostrategic and economic interests in the guise of democracy.

But he is just as quick to acknowledge hypocrisy in the Muslim world, such as when Syria and Egypt let their people demonstrate against Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet, but then clamp down on any protests against domestic politicians.

The antidote to such hypocrisy is to understand Islam which, for him, means entering into God’s peace by being at peace with oneself.

That is easier said than done, for sure, but he points out that it helps to keep in mind that peace is conditional upon there being justice, consistency and a respect for education and dignity. At all times, Islam advocates openness to all.

“Diversity is not to be tolerated. Diversity has to be respected. ‘Tolerated’ is patronising, while ‘respected’ puts everyone on an equal footing.” — Straits Times

SOURCE : The Malaysian Insider