Tariq Ramadan

Tariq Said Ramadan (born 1962 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Francophone Swiss Muslim academic and scholar.

Biography

His maternal grandfather is Hassan al Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. His father, Said Ramadan, fled Egypt due to the persecution of that organization, and settled in Switzerland. Tariq Ramadan studied philosophy and French literature, having two doctorates, one in Philosophy, and the other in Islam. He also studied Arabic and Islam in Al Azhar Islamic university in Cairo, Egypt. He held the position of Professor of Religion and Philosophy at the University of Fribourg and the College de Saussure, Geneva, Switzerland. In February 2004, he accepted a tenured position of Luce professor of religion at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, USA. However, in late July 2004, his visa was revoked by the State Department, and he was forced to return to Switzerland. [1] No reason was cited for the visa revocation.

Tariq Ramadan is married and has four children.

Views

Being born and raised in Europe, Tariq Ramadan advocates that Muslims living in the West should not view themselves as foreigners or temporary residents in their respective countries, but rather as full citizens with full rights and responsibilities. His message is about integration and not alienation from the surrounding society.

The main theme of his book, To Be a European Muslim attempts to bridge the gap between being a Muslim and being European.

He also advocates that immigrant parents not confuse culture with religion. Their second generation kids born in Western countries have to adopt the tastes and cultural norms of their country, and not their parents' homeland.

He sees no conflict between being a Muslim, and being a full citizen in Western countries, active in the community and caring about it.

He criticizes the 'us vs. them' mentality that some Muslims advocate against the West.

He also advocates having Muslim scholars in the West who are versed in the ways of the West, and not relying on religious studies that come from the Muslim lands only.

Criticism

Tariq Ramadan was initially (2000 to 2002) lauded in Western media as a Muslim reformer, and even dubbed the Muslim "Martin Luther".

Later, in 2003 and 2004, however Tariq Ramadan was attacked intensively by the French secular establishment, and Zionist proponents:

The French secularists attacks are mainly from some intellectuals, as well as secular government officials. They accuse him as being "the master of double talk", saying one thing to the non-Muslim public, and the opposite to the Muslim audience. Nicolas Sarkozy, then French Minister of Interior in a televised debate, accused him publicly of this.

Other charges levelled against him in French media is that he is sexist, and a reactionary Islamist.

It should be noted that these criticisms came at a tense time between French secularists and officials on one hand and Muslim on the other hand, because of the hijab issue, and the French government banning it from schools and official buildings. His detractors have known prejudices against Muslim leadership that does not fit their own vision of Islam.

Other French intellectuals, and Zionist proponents accused Tariq Ramadan of being anti-Semitic. Like most Muslims, Tariq Ramadan is against the policies of the state of Israel and the occupation.

These accusations are echoed by people in the USA who are considered Islamophobes themselves or have strong pro-Zionist opinons, such as Daniel Pipes, who was quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying: '"I worry that he [Tariq Ramadan] is engaged in a complex game of appearing as a moderate but has connections to Al Qaeda," said Pipes, who said he read about those connections in the French media.'

These anti-Semitism and double talk accusations are unsubstantiated, as he himself has debunked [2]. See the external links below for more.

See Double Talk Accusation

Influence

His books and are widely read by the francophone young Muslims in France. His lectures are also widespread on cassette tapes as well.

He also takes tours lecturing in the USA, and Canada where his views were well received.

Books

In English:

In French:

External links

Quotes and Interviews:

Articles on Tariq Ramadan