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New York Sun – Sept. 15, 2004
Espositio: Tariq Ramadan's visa revocation
against American national interest
John Espostio
I wish to dissent strongly from the commentary by columnist Daniel Pipes, "Why Revoke Tariq Ramadan's U.S. Visa?" [Foreign, August 27, 2004].
Mr. Pipes states that the recent intervention by the Department of Homeland Security to cancel Professor Ramadan's visa and work permit granted earlier this year to take up a distinguished appointment as Luce Professor of Religion at Notre Dame University is a "good thing."
In fact, it is a very bad thing. It constitutes a major step backward in intellectual exchange between the Islamic world and the West. Worse, it is contrary to America's national interest.
Mr. Pipes's position undermines President Bush's intent, as described by the National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, in mid-August, to win the hearts and minds of the mainstream majority in the Muslim world. The revocation of Professor Ramadan's visa represents a significant defeat for America in the war against terrorism.
Professor Ramadan is a scholar recognized throughout the world for his labors on behalf of interfaith understanding and the building of peace as evidenced in his most recent book, "Western Muslims and the Future of Islam," as well as his earlier "To Be a European Muslim..."
Professor Ramadan is not the evil conspirator imagined by Mr. Pipes. In fact, he is the polar opposite. As his life, writings, and public statements indicate, he is a Muslim intellectual and leader, a professor in Europe and now in America.
The erroneous DHS decision to cancel Mr. Ramadan's visa under mines America's efforts at public diplomacy and its credibility in the Muslim world and therefore should be reversed immediately.
JOHN L. ESPOSITO is a University Professor And Professor of Religion And International Affairs Georgetown University Washington, D.C. This letter was signed By eight additional academics And public policy analysts.
http://www.nysun.com/
ThomasMc.com - Sept. 1, 2004
Too scary for the classroom?
By Tariq Ramadan
Geneva — Right now, I am supposed to be in South Bend, Ind., beginning my term as a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Notre Dame. After all, my petition for a work/residence visa in the United States was granted in May, after meticulous clearance procedures. But nine days before I was to move, I received an urgent message from the American Embassy: my visa had been revoked. If I wished to reapply, I was told, I was welcome to do so; but no reasons for the revocation were given. Classes have now begun at Notre Dame, while my wife and children and I wait here in a barren apartment.
The State Department's reasoning remains a mystery. For some time I have been considered a controversial figure in France; but this was well known by the American government when I received the visa in the spring. I have been accused of engaging in "double talk" - that is, of delivering a gentle message in French and English, and a radical, violent one in Arabic.
My detractors have tried to demonstrate that I have links with extremists, that I am an anti-Semite and that I despise women. Repeatedly I have denied these assertions, and asked my critics to show evidence from my writings and public comments. Their failure to do so has had little effect: I am repeatedly confronted with magazine articles and Web postings repeating these accusations as facts and fabricating new ones.
And now the web of lies has spread across the Atlantic Ocean. The most damaging accusations were in an article in Vanity Fair claiming that I had written the preface to a volume of essays that endorsed the stoning of women caught in adultery. Actually, the book condemned the practice as un-Islamic.
I admit that my intellectual project is inherently controversial. My goal is to foster communities within the Islamic world that are seeking a path between their often bitter experience with some American and European policies on the one hand, and the unacceptable violence of Islamic extremists on the other. I understand, share and publicly discuss many of the Muslim criticisms of "Western" governments, including the deleterious worldwide effects of unregulated American consumerism.
I find current American policies toward the Middle East misguided and counterproductive, a position I believe I share with millions of Americans and Europeans. Yet I have also criticized many so-called Islamic governments, including that of Saudi Arabia, for their human rights violations and offenses against human dignity, personal freedom and pluralism.
My more specific stances have also raised hackles in France. For example, I strongly oppose France's new law banning female students from wearing head scarves, although on general human rights grounds rather than because I am a Muslim. (I condemn the kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq and think the French government should not submit to the blackmail of the kidnappers, who say they will kill the captives unless the ban is overturned.)
I was also accused of anti-Semitism after I criticized some leading French intellectuals - including Bernard-Henri Lévy and Alain Finkielkraut - for abandoning France's noble traditions of universalism and personal freedom because of their anxiety over Muslim immigration and their support for Israel.
The fact is, in the more than 20 books, 700 articles and 170 audio tapes I have produced, one will find no double talk, but a consistent set of themes, and an insistence that my fellow Muslims unequivocally condemn radical views and acts of extremism.
Just days after 9/11, I gave an interview calling on Muslims to condemn the attacks and to acknowledge that the terrorists betrayed the Islamic message. I have denounced anti-Semitism, criticizing Muslims who do not differentiate between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a political issue and the unacceptable rejection of individual Jews because of their religion and heritage. I have called for a spiritual reformation that will lead to an Islamic feminism. I reject every kind of mistreatment of women, including domestic violence, forced marriage and female circumcision.
My opponents also accuse me of being the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the radical Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt. I plead guilty to this charge. My response is: am I to be judged by the words and deeds of an ancestor?
Those critics obsessed with my genealogy ought to examine my intellectual pedigree, which includes advanced study of Descartes, Kant and Nietzsche, among others. They should examine the time I have spent working in poverty-stricken areas with the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and the Brazilian human-rights leader Dom Helder Camara, as well as with countless other Christians and Jews, agnostics and atheists.
For 20 years, I have dedicated myself to studying Islamic scripture, Western and Eastern philosophies and societies, and built an identity that is truly Western and truly Muslim. I make no apologies for taking a critical look at both Islam and the West; in doing so I am being true to my faith and to the ethics of my Swiss citizenship. I believe Muslims can remain faithful to their religion and be able, from within pluralistic and democratic societies, to oppose all injustices.
I also feel it is vital that Muslims stop blaming others and indulging in victimization. We are responsible for reforming our societies. On the other hand, blindly supporting American or European policies should not be the only acceptable political stance for Muslims who seek to be considered progressive and moderate.
In the Arab and Islamic world, one hears a great deal of legitimate criticism of American foreign policy. This is not to be confused with a rejection of American values. Rather, the misgivings are rooted in five specific grievances:
- the feeling that the United States role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unbalanced;
- the longstanding American support of authoritarian regimes in Islamic states and indifference to genuine democratic movements (particularly those that have a religious bent);
- the belief that Washington's policies are driven by short-term economic and geo-strategic interests;
- the willingness of some prominent Americans to tolerate Islam-bashing at home;
- and the use of military force as the primary means of establishing democracy.
Instead of war, the Arab and Muslim worlds seek evidence of a lasting and substantive commitment by the United States to policies that would advance public education, equitable trade and mutually profitable economic and cultural partnerships. For this to occur, America first has to trust Muslims, genuinely listen to their hopes and grievances, and allow them to develop their own models of pluralism and democracy.
Simply sponsoring a few Arabic TV and radio channels will not lead to real changes in Muslims' perceptions. Instead, America's only chance of making peace with the Islamic world depends on consistency between words and actions, and the development of cross-cultural trust over time.
I believe Western Muslims can make a critical difference in the Muslim majority world. To do this, we must become full, independent Western citizens, working with others to address social, economic and political problems. However, we can succeed only if Westerners do not cast doubt on our loyalty every time we criticize Western governments. Not only do our independent voices enrich Western societies, they are the only way for Western Muslims to be credible in Arab and Islamic countries so that we can help bring about freedom and democracy. That is the message I advocate. I do not understand how it can be judged as a threat to America.
Tariq Ramadan's most recent book is "Western Muslims and the Future of Islam." He was appointed Henry R. Luce Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana.
http://thomasmc.com/0901tr.htm
Western Muslims and the Future of Islam
by Tariq Ramadan
Description from the publisher:
In a Western world suddenly acutely interested in Islam, one question has been repeatedly heard above the din: where are the Muslim reformers? With this ambitious volume, Tariq Ramadan firmly establishes himself as one of Europe's leading thinkers and one of Islam's most innovative and important voices. As the number of Muslims living in the West grows, the question of what it means to be a Western Muslim becomes increasingly important to the futures of both Islam and the West. While the media are focused on radical Islam, Ramadan claims, a silent revolution is sweeping Islamic communities in the West, as Muslims actively seek ways to live in harmony with their faith within a Western context. French, English, German, and American Muslims--women as well as men--are reshaping their religion into one that is faithful to the principles of Islam, dressed in European and American cultures, and definitively rooted in Western societies.
Ramadan's goal is to create an independent Western Islam, anchored not in the traditions of Islamic countries but in the cultural reality of the West. He begins by offering a fresh reading of Islamic sources, interpreting them for a Western context and demonstrating how a new understanding of universal Islamic principles can open the door to integration into Western societies. He then shows how these principles can be put to practical use. Ramadan contends that Muslims can-indeed must-be faithful to their principles while participating fully in the civic life of Western secular societies. Grounded in scholarship and bold in its aims, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam offers a striking vision of a new Muslim identity, one which rejects once and for all the idea that Islam must be defined in opposition to the West. (Islamic Book Store)
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/islamicbookstore-com/b8032.html
What it means to be a Western Muslim?
As the number of Muslims living in the West grows, the question of what it means to be a Western Muslim becomes increasingly important to the futures of both Islam and the West. While the media are focused on radical Islam, Tariq Ramadan claims, a silent revolution is sweeping Islamic communities in the West, as Muslims actively seek ways to live in harmony with their faith within a Western context. French, English, German, and American Muslims--women as well as men--are reshaping their religion into one that is faithful to the principles of Islam, dressed in European and American cultures, and definitively rooted in Western societies.
Ramadan's goal is to create an independent Western Islam, anchored not in the traditions of Islamic countries but in the cultural reality of the West. He begins by offering a fresh reading of Islamic sources, interpreting them for a Western context and demonstrating how a new understanding of universal Islamic principles can open the door to integration into Western societies. He then shows how these principles can be put to practical use. Ramadan contends that Muslims can-indeed must-be faithful to their principles while participating fully in the civic life of Western secular societies. Grounded in scholarship and bold in its aims, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam offers a striking vision of a new Muslim Identity, one which rejects once and for all the idea that Islam must be defined in opposition to the West.
Reviews
Western Muslims and the Future of Islam is must reading for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Tariq Ramadan, a prominent intellectual-activist in Europe and America, represents a new generation of Islamic reformers. Seeking to apply the principles and values of Islam to the realities of modern or post-modern life, Ramadan takes up the challenge of reinterpretation and reform, critically and boldly addressing the major issues facing Muslims in the West, from faith and identity to political participation, economic life, and inter-religious relations. --John L. Esposito, author of Unholy War and What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam
"Thanks partly to Ramadan, Islam is on its way to becoming an integral part of Europe's religious landscape."--Time
"The work of Tariq Ramadan will take its place in the annals of Islamic thought."--Le Monde Diplomatique
"The Muslim philosopher Tariq Ramadan invites us to follow him in a reflection at once complex and profound.... This is a book for everyone who is willing to think."--Politis
About the Author
Tariq Ramadan is Professor of Philosophy at the College of Geneva and Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He is the author of numerous books, including To Be a European Muslim. In 2000 he was named one of Time's 100 most important innovators for the 21st century. (K Vision Books)
http://www.kvisionbooks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=434
Open Democracy – June 7, 2004
Reinventing Islam in Europe:
a profile of Tariq Ramadan
By Rosemary Bechler
Who is Tariq Ramadan? The question that French intellectuals and media outlets have been asking with accumulating force in the past two years is getting serious. In December 2003, Le Monde offered part of the answer: even as a Swiss national, he is the central figure of Islam in France today. A month later, Serge Raffy in Le Nouvel Observateur posed the matter in provocative terms: is he a brilliant, young philosophy lecturer who cites the Koran and Nietzsche’s or Heidegger’s critiques of western rationalism with equal mastery, while drawing crowds of young immigrants in Paris and New York; or the undercover heir to the Muslim Brotherhood, the “Trojan horse of jihad in Europe”, an arch dissimulator whose suave exterior hides an anti–Semitic core?
It’s not just the French and European press that can’t make up their minds about Ramadan. Mohamed Sid–Ahmed in Egypt’s AlﾖAhram asks why this young intellectual is granted so much importance. His answer is that the controversy around Ramadan – from accusations of anti–Semitism by French intellectuals to the parallel critique from within Islam that he is soft on Israel – stem from the essential duality of his Swiss–Egyptian point of origin and intellectual project: “the issue goes beyond Ramadan as an individual. It has its origins in the undeniable duality between the Islam to which Ramadan assigns himself and the western, Judeo–Christian environment in which he was brought up”.
So who is Tariq Ramadan? He is, in the first instance, the 42–year–old grandson of Hassan al–Banna, founder (in 1928) of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic revival movement that spread from Egypt throughout the Arab world, criticising western decadence and advocating a return to Muslim values - often using violence in pursuit of this objective.
Hassan al–Banna’s moral example continues to exert enormous influence in Egypt today; the founder of Islamic Relief, Hany el–Banna (no relation) recently said “in Egypt, you don’t learn about him, you grow up with him”. Tariq’s father, Said Ramadan, was driven into exile by Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1954, and found refuge in Geneva. There, he founded an Islamic Centre, now headed by his combative brother, Hani Ramadan.
Tariq grew up in Geneva. He studied philosophy, writing a doctorate apiece on Islamic studies and on Nietzsche, and taught at the universities of Geneva and Fribourg. He led students on several field–trips to developing countries, meeting figures such as the Dalai Lama and Catholic exponents of “liberation theology”. After marriage, he took his family back to Egypt in a search for roots.
For a decade now, he has dedicated himself to the project of inventing a coherent “European Muslim personality”. He lectures in Switzerland, France, Belgium, the United States and across the Arab and Muslim world. He tells his audience: “whatever does not oppose our values we should take up and add to our legacy”. His answer to the question: “can Muslims live as full citizens in the area once known as Christendom?” is a resounding “yes”.
Tariq Ramadan has written a dozen books, most recently Western Muslims and the Future of Islam (Oxford, 2004)……..
Close encounter
In short, openDemocracy wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Along with a well–annotated copy of Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, I met Tariq Ramadan for breakfast in a decorous hotel near London’s Victoria station.
From the start, I felt in the presence of leadership: but of the style of an exiled prince, a king over the water, a president in exile, an errant soul. Tariq Ramadan, one had the impression, was what might have happened to Hamlet, had he survived the first intimations that there was “something rotten in the state of Denmark”. It is easy to forget that he is also a philosopher and erstwhile teacher, whose simple and clear examples of argument contain fastidious formulations it is easy to underestimate. One consequence of his analytical emphasis, and the greatest area of dissent with Arab nationalists, is that it insists on what Muslims and non–Muslims have in common.
What distinguishes Tariq Ramadan, and which he shares with other Muslim leaders – even those he strongly disagrees with, like (the Arab European League’s) Abou Jahjah – is his refusal to be a victim.
Whatever you make of his mission or of him, to meet Tariq Ramadan is to recognize that he wants to free himself above all from dissimulation and pretence. He is most passionate in articulating the discomfort of so many young Muslims in Europe who must cope with an “unhealthy schizophrenia…an uneasiness with the other and an inferiority complex almost impossible to live with”. Whatever else he is after – to be whole, and to make a contribution – this straightness of vision is, I believe, a genuine driver in his life.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-5-57-1996.jsp#
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