Tariq Ramadhan: Being a good Westerner by being a good Muslim

Tariq Ramadhan: Being a good Westerner by being a good Muslim

Santi W.E. Soekanto, Contributor, Jakarta

TIME named him one of the world's "innovators in spiritualism,"
praising him to the hilt for being "an academic who is creating a
new European Islam".

Many other publications have described him the epitome of
moderate Muslim scholars, as certainly opposed to the
"fundamentalists". But Tariq Ramadhan, fast emerging as a fresh
speaker for Islam in the West, declares his distaste for any such
attempts at "pigeon-holing Muslims".

He is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder in 1928 of
the Ikhwanul Muslimun (Muslim Brotherhood), an Islamic revival
movement that spread from Egypt throughout the Arab world and
many other countries.

In the face of Western colonialism, the movement was soon
identified -- if not vilified -- as anti-West. In Indonesia, the
movement became the inspiration for the Tarbiyah Haraqah
(education movement), which in 1999 spawned the increasingly
influential Justice Party, now the Justice and Welfare Party
(PKS).

Tariq, a professor of philosophy at City College of Geneva and
Islamic studies at the University of Freiburg, has written
hundreds of papers while one of his most recent books, To Be a
European Muslim, has been translated into many languages.

Rather than allowing oneself to be called a minority, Tariq
believes Muslims should focus on integration.

"I am not a minority," he says. "When I speak about freedom,
justice, self respect, I am speaking with the majority. I am
integrating others. I am inclusive."

Tariq was here last month for a series of lectures in Java.
Understandably, more than a few people were baffled because the
co-sponsors of his visit were Nurcholish Madjid's Paramadina
University and Jaringan Islam Liberal (Liberal Muslim Network).

Why? Because, JIL has clearly described the Islamic haraqah
that drew their inspiration from the Ikhwanul Muslimun, including
the Tarbiyah and Justice Party, as "fundamentalists" -- an
accusation that has been repaid in kind by the so-called
fundamentalists who called the liberals "seculars pretending to
be Muslim".

"Alhamdulillah (praise God), of course I am not a secular,"
the Geneva-based Tariq said. "As a Muslim I can live in a secular
environment, as long as we can enforce (Islamic principles)."

"Shalat (prayer) is something that you have to do. If you say
that shalat is not obligatory, you can do that, but do not say
that it is from Islam."

Born in Geneva to Al-Banna's daughter Ummu Aiman and Dr.
Sayyid Ramadhan, Tariq recounted a strict Islamic upbringing. He
spoke of witnessing his father's struggle to work for Islam in
exile following the family's flight from Gamal Abdel Nasser's
Egypt, how difficult it was at that time for his parents and for
other faithful Muslims to be in the West.

His father helped found the Islamic Center in Switzerland, the
Mecca-based Rabithah Alam Islamy, and Islam for Al Quds.

Tariq went back to Egypt for a five-year Islamic studies
program which he crammed into two years, setting his pace such
that he had a different teacher for each of his subjects. The
learning period in Egypt gave Tariq his foundation in Islamic
studies and philosophy, completing doctorates in both.

For the past 15 years, Tariq has been focusing his energy on
two main works at the grasroots level. He was involved in the
antiglobalization movement and helped found the Alter
Globalization Movement.

Offering an alternative concept of globalization that is based
on sustainable development, Tariq traveled to various African and
South American countries, as well as other poor countries being
subjected to the brunt of the current globalization initiated by
the capitalists.

His second line of work is cultivating potential Muslim
leaders in Europe. Within a year, he and his colleagues train up
to 300 Muslim youth between 20 and 40 years of age, exchanging
ideas and designing concrete steps to strengthen the Muslim
presence in Europe.

"It such a big job for me, but alhamdulillah, I am part of the
movement where we have Muslim brothers and sisters committed to
set it up," he said.

The following is an excerpt of the interview.

Question: What did it feel like to be a member of Al-Banna's
family?

Tariq Ramadhan: I am humbly proud (of my heritage). I have a
very deep respect for my father and grandfather, especially my
grandfather. He visited 17,000 villages in 20 years, which meant
he really knew people, he built 2000 schools, and it was a great
example.

As for me, when I write books, I am educating people. In a
sense, I am following his footsteps. He was from the reformist
tradition, (something that he did in order) to adapt to his
environment.

The situation has changed, however. Rather than facing
colonialism (as Al-Banna did), we are now facing a cultural
colonialization which is more dangerous because it is invisible.
Our new challenge is globalization, the domination of a culture,
which is the narrow definition of secularization. The
secularization is very damaging.

Al-Banna ... had some answers for the 1940s, but we now are in
2003. He came up with some ethical answers for the Egyptian
society; I am not for Egypt (alone). Am I like my grandfather? I
can say that I am with him as (I can be with) any (other) human
being. He actually said that the only human being from which we
take everything is Prophet Muhammad.

I am selecting things, and I am discarding some (other)
things. I have to be critical. When you are promoting freedom, it
is an Islamic thing to do. There is a difference between freedom
and persmissiveness ...

Are you a secular?

Alhamdulillah (Allah be praised), I am not a secular ... Islam
has universal principles (guiding the question of the relations
between religion and the state), but we do not have models. We do
not want to call it a secular model of the Western society, which
means a separation between the church and the state. What is the
Islamic model?

I don't know. What I know is that we have Islamic principles
(on the subject) and the distance between those principles and
models.

The Medina society was only for a specific time and people.
During the lifetime of the Prophet, there were the same rights
and duties with those that we have today -- but we cannot call
them equality for the citizens. We know that leaders should be
elected by those being led. This is (a principle of) suffrage
that Islam recognizes.

I come from the West and so I know the weaknesses of the
secularism in the West. Instead of a separation (between religion
and the state), what we have there is the absence of Islam.

You were born and raised in Switzerland, the land where
Zionism was born. What is your opinion of the Mideast conflict?

The creation of Israel was an injustice. (But) now that we
have Israel here, we can't deny its presence. I am against the
proposal of the establishment of two states. There should only be
one state, which is faithful to the Islamic ideal and to
international principles. There should only be one common state,
which incorporates the Muslim, the Jewish and the Christian on an
equal footing.

A common state cannot be a Jewish state. What Israel wants for
a Palestinian state is a small, segregated state with no power.
It would not even really be a state. A common state would be an
Islamic state (in nature because) it encompasses the reality of
the presence of the Muslim, the Christian and the Jewish peoples.
(Muslims should ask) don't you want us to have something for us?
That's the key. They do not want us to have something for us.

Imagine having a young man come and tell you that he will be
going tonight on a suicide bombing mission. What would you tell
him?

(He paused for a few long minutes). I would tell him what
Hassan al-Banna once told a crowd of people chanting Allahuakbar
(God is great) and declaring their wish to die for Allah. Al-
Banna said, "Dying in the way of Allah is difficult but living in
the way of Allah is much more difficult".

I would tell the young man, that it is a very big decision,
but you might be more useful for your country by trying to build
it than to go to die.

I would also tell the young man that it is against Islam to
kill innocent people. An eight-year-old Jewish boy is an innocent
person, and to decide to kill is a tremendous decision, so be
careful ...

In Islam, it is wrong to kill innocent people, but some people
are facing torture, being forgotten by the so-called Islamic
states or world, (while receiving) no help from the West, they
are being destroyed.

My point is, (suicide bombing) is contextually explainable.
This is not to legitimize the killing of innocent people, but we
have to ask why the context has become such? ...

Do Muslims need different organizations and movements such as
the Ikhwanul Muslimun, the Hizbuth Tahrir and others?

They are useful if we understand that one organization
complements, completes the others. But they are useful only if
they start with an intracommunity dialog. Take, for example, the
Salafians (who emphasize the scripture/text), they are useful
because sometimes you are driven so much by context that you
forget the text. I would never discount their importance.

What we need in Indonesia is a popular movement of Islamic
education, and reeducation, which means da'wa (preaching) and
development of aspects of spirituality at the grassroots. The
lack of these is the biggest problem in the West. (But in
Indonesia, people have to ask), "Is this an Islamic society?
Where is the place of rahmat, spirituality?"

You are currently under a very strong cultural
colonialization. Now is the time to ask students and leaders, to
start working at the grassroots to build a new Muslim mind which
is marked by a deep faith to direct the critical mind, and the
critical mind to build a strong faith.

One of the ways to do it is by reading the Koran. It is very
important to have discipline in our ways of life, as well as a a
very broad understanding of ibadah (worship) -- when you do
everything to remember Allah.