Western Muslims and the Future of Islam (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The word "Islam" has often been translated as "submission" to God, or "entering into the peace" of God, for these are indeed the two senses..." (more)
Key Phrases: commitment and political participation, constraining necessity, original breath, United States, Western Muslims, North America (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ramadan, named by Time magazine in 2000 as one of the 100 most important innovators of the coming century, argues that Islam can and should feel at home in the West. He takes stock of Islamic law and tradition to analyze whether Islam is in conflict with Western ideals; Ramadan is emphatic that there is no contradiction. He then spells out several key areas where Islam's universal principles can be "engaged" in the West, including education, interreligious dialogue, economic resistance and spirituality. Ramadan raises interesting issues about Islam's inherent critique of consumerism and its demanding spirituality, which "touches all the dimensions of life."
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Review

Western Muslims and the Future of Islam is must reading for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Tariq Ramadan, a prominent intellectual-activist in Europe and America, represents a new generation of Islamic reformers. Seeking to apply the principles and values of Islam to the realities of modern or post-modern life, Ramadan takes up the challenge of reinterpretation and reform, critically and boldly addressing the major issues facing Muslims in the West, from faith and identity to political participation, economic life, and interreligious relations. --John L. Esposito, author of Unholy War and What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam
"Thanks partly to Ramadan, Islam is on its way to becoming an integral part of Europe's religious landscape."--Time
"The work of Tariq Ramadan will take its place in the annals of Islamic thought."--Le Monde Diplomatique
"The Muslim philosopher Tariq Ramadan invites us to follow him in a reflection at once complex and profound.... This is a book for everyone who is willing to think."--Politis
"Makes enormous strides in bridging the gap between Islamic values and Western culture."--The Beirut Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; illustrated edition edition (November 27, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019517111X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195171112
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #977,436 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful Advice From a Western Muslim Scholar, January 9, 2004

By	Corey Brand (United States) - See all my reviews

Tariq Ramadan offers some practical advice for Muslims living in the West. He begins his discussion by explaining Islamic principles, shariah, and the desire for social justice and the common good. He explains how the old paradigms such as Darul-Islam (the abode of Islam) are no longer workable and states the need for contemporary Muslims to return to the authentic sources (the Qur'an and Hadeeth) in order to build practical models to meet today's environment, rather than to try to patch old, broken models developed by medieval scholars. He addresses many facets of daily life such as education, politics, and economics.

Ramadan's presentation offers Muslims some useful tools in order to begin this effort, but ultimately leaves concrete solutions for individuals and community leaders, leaving the door open to take into account the circumstances unique to each situation.

This is a worth-while read for the contemporary Muslim and non-Muslim alike.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Citizen Muslim, September 26, 2006

By	Lynne Roberts - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Western Muslims and the Future of Islam (Paperback)

Islamic philosopher Tariq Ramadan asks a fundamental question. Is it possible for a devout Muslim living here to also be a responsible and loyal American? As a member of what Ramadan calls the Other, I find it disturbing it even needs to be asked. It isn't trivial and Ramadan doesn't ask it on behalf of Muslims. He asks it of Muslims because they ask it of themselves. We have people living among us who are unsure of the answer, millions of them apparently, some of them second and third generation Americans. More than a few have concluded the answer is no. Their devotion to Islam supersedes and is incompatible with any duty to their adopted country. The question cuts to the heart of what Americans have been asking since 9/11. What on earth are these people so angry about and what in heavens name does it have to do with us? In attempting to answer Ramadan directs his comments to those Muslims living in the West for whom religion is at the center of daily life, Muslims who are struggling with a very real identity crisis. Ramadan isn't proposing an interfaith dialogue, though he thinks one is important. He is proposing an intra-faith dialogue. He wants to reopen a debate that has been closed for a thousand years.
At issue is the long held Islamic view of a world divided into two parts, dar al-Islam and dar al-harb, the abode of submission and the abode of war. This view didn't originate in the Koran or with the Prophet. It was developed later by Islamic scholars to offer a code of conduct for Muslims living in or traveling through areas not subject to Islamic rule, places where any exercise of an alien religion was usually restricted and often prohibited. Muslims in these conditions were called not to compromise their faith, to remain apart, at all costs to avoid assimilating. Sometime around the 10th century it became pretty much accepted dogma throughout Islam. It still is. It is a view that has been noted with alarm by modern Western commentators. It is at the root of the attitude among many Muslims to reject as un-Islamic all things Western. Ramadan argues that the doctrine can and should be revised in light of changed circumstance. It is no longer an appropriate view of Europe or of North America because in the modern West the Muslim is free to practice his religion.
Ramadan draws an all-important distinction between faith and culture. Islam requires Muslims to dress modestly but exactly how that applies in different societies is open to interpretation. There is also a difference between what is required by law and what is permitted. That alcohol may be legal does not force one to drink. There may be occasions when civil law presses an individual to violate his conscience, to participate say in an unjust war, but those occasions are rare and there are ways for Muslims to deal with them short of outright rejection of the offending legal system. Islam has adapted to differing cultures before. Indonesians are very different from Pakistanis and they can both be authentically Islamic.
This all seems obvious to us, the Other. That it does not seem obvious to so many Muslims is incomprehensible. Americans are accustomed to immigrants. We expect them to become naturalized, take their citizenship seriously, participate fully in our society, make it their own, even take on leadership roles. Ramadan wants his fellow Muslims to do that too, and he believes they will. He certainly believes they can, and without compromising their religion.

26 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, January 12, 2004

By	Mazen Mahmoud Abdel-Rahman (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

I believe this is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It was the first time a scholar elaborates on what it really means to be both Western and Muslim. He tackles just about every issue facing Muslims in the West - and while obvously not everyone will agree with him - he is the first one to really discuss these issues as far as I know.