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.