Tariq Ramadan Quotes
Muslims must decide, lest they end up divided by the very religion that calls upon them to unite.
Ramadan, Tariq. Western Muslims and the Future of Islam. Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 112.
Most Muslims when asked what they are will say “A Muslim” whereas most members of every other religion will give his/her nationality first and his/her occupation or profession second. Very few answer with their religion.
Or Moslems are of one body…. Assist your brother Moslem, whether he be an oppressor or an oppressed.
The new his Islamic concept is it the heart of much of the ambivalence that Muslims have for others and that many non-Islamic nations have for Islam. Normally Mohammed was very insistent are not tolerating oppression. However it is this passage which for many Muslims justifies their support of terrorists and other malevolent forces so long as they are brother Muslims. Counter pressure which exists in other religious groups is there by diminished with Islam. Essentially this is the religious equivalent of “my country right or wrong”. The first sentence of the quotation is one of the main reasons that Islam is viewed by most Muslims as super national. It represents the first and most important identity for a Muslim in contrast to country or even family.
While it may be true that some major powers do not presently want unity between Muslims, the Sunni-Shiite conflict has been ongoing for centuries—long before many “major powers” even existed. It is the oldest, continual civil war in history. It is certainly true that major Islamic powers like Saudi Arabia oppose unity was Saudi Arabia is a Sunni majority country and regard the Shiites as not only blasphemous and evil, but see them as dangerous.
This is a noteworthy quotation for two reasons: First, it shows part of the motivation for his murderous acts. Second, it illustrates a unique characteristic of Islam. Most people in the world first view themselves nationally or tribally, then often locally or occupationally, and then religiously. Eg ‘I am a French, Parisian, attorney who is Christian. For many Muslims, they are first a Muslim and the other identities follow. Eg ‘I am a Muslim, Nigerian teacher.
Tariq Ramadan is a Swiss Muslim academic, philosopher, and writer. He was a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at St Antony's College, Oxford and the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford, but as of 2018 is taking an agreed leave of absence. He is a visiting professor at the Faculty of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, and the Université Mundiapolis in Morocco. He is also a senior research fellow at Doshisha University in Japan. He is the director of the Research Centre of Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE), based in Doha. He is a member of the UK Foreign Office Advisory Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief. He was elected by Time magazine in 2000 as one of the seven religious innovators of the 21st century and in 2004 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world and by Foreign Policy readers (2005, 2006, 2008–2010, 2012–2015) as one of the top 100 most influential thinkers in the world and Global Thinkers. Ramadan describes himself as a "Salafi reformist".
