Customer Reviews

What I Believe

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ramadan, the Oxford University theology professor and radical reformist, points to a growing negativity in perceptions of ordinary Muslims since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America. Other "crises" causing resentment have ranged from the Danish cartoons affair - when artists were threatened with death for insulting the prophet - to the headscarf controversy still raging in France as part of a divisive "national identity" debate. Ramadan singles out remarks by Pope Benedict XVI who, in his Regensburg address of 2006 about the founding of European civilisation, all but excluded the Islamic contribution. "The list is getting longer and longer," writes Ramadan, pointing to Muslims feeling "stigmatisation and constant pressure".

The key to coping with such problems (ones which Ramadan, predictably but fairly, blames the media for magnifying into "juicy" scare stories) is "to resist the temptation to reduce one's identity to a single dimension". This means that western Muslims should not emphasise their religion as their unique defining characteristic. Instead, he writes, "our identities are multiple and constantly on the move". He urges members of marginalised communities to be "creative" in every field of life, to "fully participate in citizenship" and to escape the "minority reflex".

Ramadan - whose academic background extends to a distinctly non-Islamic PhD on Nietzsche - sees societies achieving, as in his own studies, "a true philosophy of pluralism". This would mix a loyalty to classical religious texts with the imperatives of life in modern, multicultural, western societies. Such confident advice is particularly clear as it relates to Muslim women, with Ramadan attacking "literalists" who propagate horrors including female circumcision, forced marriages, honour killings and domestic violence. He says "Women must be present in the religious community's decision circles, in organisations, in mosque managing bodies, and other places."1

"Things should be shaken up so that women can recover their proper place, but women themselves must also get organised." Such an emphasis on rights and responsibilities runs throughout "What I Believe", with Ramadan arguing that religious and cultural ghettoes benefit nobody. That said, he dislikes the word "integration" because, by definition, it "highlights differences, it defines caricatured entities, and maintains the idea that after several generations certain citizens remain guests, who are too different, who perpetually need to 'adapt'."

Ramadan says that, on the contrary, being a Muslim should be about striving to feel "comfortable and at home" in whichever society one finds oneself. Filling in the gaps left by the pope at Regensburg, he mentions the Islamic thinkers "who deeply contributed to both Europe and the west at large, nurturing and enriching them with their critical reflections."

Ramadan wants to resume this tradition, emphasising this shared past in everything from school curricula to official histories. He is only too well aware of the discrimination faced by western Muslims in their day-to-day lives, calling for a "genuine jihad" battling for mutual understanding and trust between communities.

It is a high ideal, but the book is not a naive one. Ramadan understands the modern world, and his religion's place within it: this book makes this abundantly clear.

1 i have paraphrased from nabila ramdan

Ramadan gives a great introduction to his work. He has become controversial because he seeks to critique both the Muslim world and the Western world. Of course, this prophetic voice offends people on both sides - but Ramadan makes his critiques in the spirit and hope of reconciliation. Western Muslims must not take on a victim mentality, but take ownership in the West as citizens of the West by respecting the laws of the country where they live. The West must refuse to define Muslims as a negative "other." Both need to move forward with programs that seek to include rather than exclude. Ramadan's project is demanding and will require discipline, because it is tempting for all people to take on a victim mentality and define the "other" in a negative light. But he is right: The Muslim presence in the West will not go away. The West needs to live up to it's ideals of Democracy and Muslims have, and should continue to be faithful Muslims in a Democratic context.

"What I believe" has 17 chapters, each ranging about 3-5 pages. Of course, no one can go into much depth in 3-5 pages, but this book is meant to be an introduction for people who want to learn something about Ramadan's work but don't have much time to read his larger books. For more, I recommend "Western Muslims and the Future of Islam."

For more, check out the Raven Foundation.

A great read,.. for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Want to know what Tariq Ramadan thinks about a range of topics? Then this is the book for you.

Only negative (why I didn't give it five stars) of the book, besides having to read each sentence two or three times - lol, is that since it's a synopsis of all of Ramadan's ideas it is sort of incoherent at times... Just felt like he covered so many topics in so few pages. But there is an underlying thread tying it all together so it wasn't too bad

A fresh and clear book for the Western reader about the rock basics of Islam, by one of the top intellectuals in the world today.

I find this book intriguing as it discusses topics uncommon but essential in public discourse. Far from rhetoric and meant for debate, this book is an effort against non stop rhetoric.

the book was well written but it lacked enough depth that led the reader to conclude that it was more about his ego than his "philosophy"

Hmmm... I don't know. The first time I heard Tariq Ramadan's name it was associated with his being denied a US visa to teach at Notre Dame. As a result I expected What I Believe to have a bit of edge to it. It doesn't. Mr Ramadan published a perfectly reasonable treatise on, well, what he believes. The bottom line **potential spoiler alert** is that Mr Ramadan appears to believe the same thing as most people - "do unto others" and "love [or at least respect] thy neighbor" echo throughout this thin volume's pages. As the 1-star reviewer suggests, though, this may simply have been Islamic codespeak for "kill them while they sleep."

Anyway, politics aside (and I have no particular issues with the politics presented here), I expected something more along the lines (albeit on the other side of the divide) of Irshad Manji's The Trouble with Islam Today. Ms Manji's more reactionary (less scholarly?) style made for a more interesting read. Perhaps if I'd been better acquainted with the debate around Mr Ramadan's perceived subversiveness when he was denied the visa, this work would have been more meaningful for me.

That said, if What I Believe is truly a reflection of Mr Ramadan's values and aspirations for Islam and the West, I'd think he should be embraced by the US rather than locked out. But maybe that just puts me exactly where "they" want me...

Dr Tariq Ramadan is a leading intellectual who is tackling one of the most formidable challenges of the West to embrace its new reality and to create a most prosperous and an enriched future for the West and its inhabitants ( new and old)

When I picked up this book, my goal was to get a better understanding of Islam through Tariq Ramadan's eyes. This book is far from that. "What I Believe" is a small rebuttal to criticism's made by Tariq's detractors.

Before I delve into what I had a problem with, I will touch on what was good. Chapter 16, The West and it's Mirror, makes note of the importance of integrating ALL people into society, to find ways of finding mutual benefit and respect for everybody. The Conclusion had a few good points along with the Appendices.

This is my first introduction to Tariq Ramadan. I know nothing of his work or history. In "What I Believe", that remains pretty much the same. There is little history of why he is rebutting his detractors, or who his detractors are, or any detail of why this is important.

The first three chapters are Ramadan's pity party. Basically he is saying his detractors are treating him unfairly. He is stating that they say he is "double-speaking". Ramadan also states that they are saying things about him without backing it up with facts. The problem is Tariq is doing the same thing. Making derogatory statements with little to back up his claims.

The rest of the chapters continue with his frustrations of people, governments, etc. getting in the way of his goals.

Now this is what I believe:

- Tariq's expectations that people start treating each other the way he wants them to is unrealistic. What Ramadan is proposing has never happened in any culture ever that I am aware of. He wants the cultures that embrace Islam to respect western culture and the opposite. He discusses it in away that makes him seem like a spoiled child of privilege. It does nothing to make me feel any sympathy towards him.

- If Tariq is criticizing his detractors, he should expect it in return. It's called Karma in Hindu and Buddhism. It's reap what you sow to Christians. I was hoping to know what it was in Islam. I think his goals are good. He should keep a positive position, even if bumps get in his way. Ramadan should continue to work towards his goals with patience, peace and a positive attitude.

- Care more about your goals of better Islam and Western relations than what people think about Tariq.

From what I see on amazon, Ramadan's other books may be a better place to start when it comes to understanding Islam and his perspective. Hopefully those books are a party of peace, mutual respect and understanding.

On a side note that can be related to Ramadan's book, here is my experience with Islam and my western society:

In college I was renting an apartment from a Middle Eastern Islamic man. He was an extremely nice fellow and we talked often. We had built up a respectable relationship.

One night he invited me to join him with some Middle Eastern friends to eat. His two friends were less than thrilled I was there. My friend spent the time explaining his thought on Jesus (a good man) and other opinions relating to Islam. I was agnostic at the time so It didn't matter to me the similarity or differences between Islam and Christianity. What did matter was how my friend and his friends treated me.

Though my friend and I had an amicable relationship, there was an underlying problem: My belief was something other than Islam so the outlook towards me was this: Infidel. A nice infidel, but infidel just the same. The respect between us was unequal. I was lower than him. The same thing was true with his friends opinions of me.

My point is, as long as Westerners are looked at as less than equal with believers in Islam, equality will be impossible. Western society has always had trouble with others different from them. I am seeing more positive steps forward than backward.

To finish, I wish Ramadan the best in his quest to better Islamic and Western relations and hope he can set aside his ego to help accomplish that goal.

I'd call this book well-intentioned yet paradoxical and hypocritical. Calling for minarets in Europe, while building a church in Turkey or Saudi Arabia gets you flogged and jailed; asking for burqas in France while Christians and Jews are systematically murdered off in Iraq?

Islam does have its mystical and peaceful traditions; sufism is probably one of the most beautiful and deeply religious ways that resonates universally and has much to contribute to this planet... yet sufis themselves have been persecuted by salafists all over the place. Ramadan should be talking about the talibanization of Islam, about illiterate bedouins striking it rich, taking a Bronze Age monotheist system and using it to exert social, cultural and gender control, essentially perverting the concept of "jihad". Yet here he takes an easy way out - by blaming politically correct Europeans who have bent over backwards to accommodate the immigrants.

And what do they get in return? Muslims are guests in Europe - yet they perpetrate a hugely disproportionate number of crimes. I am not kidding. Go to the Netherlands, Paris or Brussels and you won't feel safe, won't BE safe surrounded by swarms of predatory Maghrebians. No wonder the public opinion is turning. Anti-immigrant sentiment has its reasons.

I mean: look at how Arabs treat guest workers from Pakistan, India, Nepal and the Philippines. They treat them like dogs. Guest workers have no political rights, are exploited, brutalized and taken advantage of by morbidly obese and pathologically lazy Emiratis and Saudis. Their passports are confiscated and human beings are violated systematically, ruthlessly and without any consideration of inalienable human rights or freedoms. When Arabs themselves come to Europe in search of a better life the story is very different. Now there is talk of freedoms, rights, equality, multiculturalism... forgive me if I find this not a little hypocritical. I will find Ramadan credible once he shows the courage to talk about the Tunisian, Morrocan, Algerian, Saudi, Bahraini, Egyptian despots. Once he advocates for citizenship for Pakistani guest workers in Qatar. Once he condemns the throwers of acid into women's faces. Honor murders. The religious intolerance which persecutes the humble and God-loving sufis and Bahai's. The rampant sexual and drug/alcohol abuse amongst Saudi princes while their religious police walks around whacking couples holding hands. What do you believe in, Tariq? Do you have guts to stand for what is right?

The first thing a Muslim intellectual living in the West and profiting from the fruits of Enlightenment should do is look at his/her doorstep. Convince their fellow immigrants to be better citizens and to play by the rules of their adopted country. Otherwise, things can only get harsher.