Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan is the son of Said Ramadan and Wafa Al-Bana, who was the eldest daughter of Hassan al Banna, who in 1928 founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Gamal al-Banna, the liberal Muslim reformer is his great-uncle. His father was a prominent figure in the Muslim Brotherhood and was exiled by Gamal Abdul Nasser[3] from Egypt to Switzerland, where Tariq was born.
Tariq Ramadan studied Philosophy and French literature at the Masters level and holds a PhD in Arabic and Islamic studies from the University of Geneva. He also wrote a PhD dissertation on Friedrich Nietzsche, entitled Nietzsche as a Historian of Philosophy.[4] Ramadan then studied Islamic jurisprudence at Al-Azhar university in Cairo, Egypt.[5]
He taught at the College de Saussure, a high school in Geneva, Switzerland, and held a lectureship in Religion and Philosophy at the University of Fribourg from 1996 to 2003. In October 2005 he began teaching at St Antony's College at the University of Oxford on a Visiting Fellowship. In 2005 he was a senior research fellow at the Lokahi Foundation.[6][7] In 2007 he successfully applied for the professorship in Islamic studies at the University of Leiden, but then declined to take up the position, citing professional reasons.[8][9] He was also a guest professor of Identity and Citizenship at Erasmus University Rotterdam,[10][11][12] till August 2009 when the City of Rotterdam and Erasmus University dismissed him from his positions as "integration adviser" and professor, stating that the program he chairs on Iran's Press TV, Islam & Life, was "irreconcilable" with his duties in Rotterdam. Ramadan described this move as Islamophobic and politically charged. Beginning September 2009, Ramadan, was appointed to the His Highness Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Chair in Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University.
Ramadan established the Mouvement des Musulmans Suisses (Movement of Swiss Muslims),which engages in various interfaith seminars. He is an advisor to the EU on religious issues and was sought for advice by the EU on a commission on “Islam and Secularism”.In September 2005 he was invited to join a task force by the government of the United Kingdom.[3] He is also the President of the Euro-Muslim Network,a Brussels-based think-tank.
He is widely interviewed and has produced about 100 tapes which sell tens of thousands of copies each year
As of 2009, Tariq Ramadan was persona non grata in Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia[19] Libya or Syria because of his "criticism of these undemocratic regimes that deny the most basic human rights".
Ramadan is married to a French convert to Islam and they have four children.
“Man is certainly free, but he is responsible for this freedom before God as before men. This responsibility is inevitably moral. In order of this morality, to be free is to protect the freedom of others and their dignities.”
“It is impossible to live in autarchy, to make the testimony of faith, pray and fast and go to pilgrimage only, far from men and worrying about no one except oneself. It is worth repeating that to be with God is tantamount to being with men; to carry faith is tantamount to carrying the responsibility of a continuous social commitment. The teaching that we should extract from zakat is explicit: to posses is tantamount to having to share.”
“It must be admitted that the West has reached a level of scientific mastery and outstanding specialisation. In its points of reference, this evolution commands admiration and all civilisations have to benefit from the dynamic of this rationality, as they can derive lessons from the progress achieved. "Benefiting", "deriving lessons" do not, nevertheless, mean submission. In the same way, it must be acknowledged that other civilisations and cultures propose a rich vision of the world, and that some of these have managed to preserve the basic values of life, and glimpses of their fundamental shape are beginning to be seen in the West. It is not a question of suggesting a new wave of "love for exoticism and folklore". On the contrary, it is a question of engaging in an exigent reflection about cultural specificities and possible enrichment starting from within cultures and not at their peripherals.”
“North-South imbalances and the exploitation of men and raw materials, combined with the resignation of the peoples of the North, produce a much more devastating violence than that of armed groups, even if the latter are spectacular.”
“Before God and in conscience, Muslims cannot satisfy themselves by repeating what the texts say and then snap their fingers at daily social realities: that would be to speak of an ideal while at the same time blind themselves as to their daily betrayal.”
“Behind every great man is not a woman, she is beside him, she is with him, not behind him”
“I am too old to think that numbers are creating change”
“We are then content with some well-intended speeches, and as far as the rest is concerned we would have to rely on God. As if "reliance on God" means a lack of intelligence or competence in action; as if the Qur'anic Revelation has not distinguished between orientation and state, between where we should be and where we are; between the actualised foundation of a social project and the well-intended expression of its form.”
“Acknowledged differences may create mutual respect, but hazy misunderstandings bring forth nothing but prejudice and rejection.”
“Always walking along despite the dangers and adversities, despite the injustices and horrors, trusting in God so as not to despair of men and events.”
“One would love nonetheless to know how to be a man, how to be a woman before God, in the mirror of one's own conscience, in the looks of those who surround us. One would wish to find the strength to beautify one's thoughts and to purify one's heart. It is everyone's hope and expectation to live in serenity and to plod along in transparency: the palms of the hands patiently directed towards heaven, at the heart of all this modernity.”
“Ghettos have their own characteristics and consequences :be they physical. social, intellectual or mental, those who live in them always nurture projection of themselves or world around them that are more imaginary than true.In the ghettos of the intellect and idealistic theories, there are a lot of intertolerant and racist people who do not realize that they are.”
“Saying that Islam is in heart, is similar to giving back the exam's paper completely white and saying : knowledge is in brain.”
“In Ramadan, you should eat less and think more.”
“No one must ever let power or social, economic, or political interest turn him or her away from other human beings, from the attention they deserve and the respect they are entitled to. nothing must ever lead to a person to compromise this principle or faith in favor of a political strategy aimed at saving or protecting a community from some peril. The freely offered, sincere heart of a poor, powerless individual is worth a thousand times more in the sight of God than the assiduously courted, self-interested heart of a rich one.”
“إن شاء الله;تعبر عن الحدود,عن شعور التواضع من جانب الذي يتصرف وهويعلم أن الله وحده بيده كل مايحدث,بما يتجاوز مابإستطاعة المرء قوله أو فعله”
“I have learned that one should say "Peace!" to those who shout their hatred for one's being and presence or at one's passage.”
“The 'fires'n that produce thick, rarely innocent, often strategic smoke should therefore be scrutinized. they should be known and identified; and when they involve dishonesty, lies, or manipulation, they they should be ignored.”
“If there is a smoke, there is a fire, the saying goes, That is quite true, but one should find what the fire is, and who lit it.”
“Je suis ravi pour ces révoltes qui se font entendre un peu partout dans le monde. Une chaine s’est brisée. En revanche, je reste très vigilant car nous avons vu comment les américains étaient impliqués en Tunisie et comment ils le sont avec l’armée de l’administration de Moubarak. En réalité nous avons deux dictateurs qui sont partis mais deux systèmes restent à réformer. Nous devrions tendre vers une démocratie transparente et incorruptible. Or, qui souhaite cela aujourd’hui ? Surement pas le gouvernement américain et encore moins les européens qui n’ont cessé de cautionner et de profiter des avantages des dictateurs. Et les Etats-Unis ne voudraient pas d’une vraie démocratie « transparente ». Même si Barack Obama clame le contraire, son administration a un tout autre programme.”
“Humility is my table, respect is my garment, empathy is my food and curiosity is my drink. As for love, it has a thousand names and is by my side at every window.”
“Intellect is a part of a good faith. Intellect is the light, the heart is the direction.”