In a Western world suddenly acutely interested in Islam, one question has been repeatedly heard above the din: where are the Muslim reformers? As the number of Muslims living in the West grows, the ...question of what it means to be a Western Muslim becomes increasingly important to the futures of both Islam and the West. While the media are focused on radical Islam, this book claims that a silent revolution is sweeping Islamic communities in the West, as Muslims actively seek ways to live in harmony with their faith within a Western context. French, English, German, and American Muslims—women as well as men—are reshaping their religion into one that is faithful to the principles of Islam, dressed in European and American cultures, and definitively rooted in Western societies. The book's goal is to create an independent Western Islam, anchored not in the traditions of Islamic countries but in the cultural reality of the West. It begins by offering a fresh reading of Islamic sources, interpreting them for a Western context and demonstrating how a new understanding of universal Islamic principles can open the door to integration into Western societies. The author contends that Muslims can—indeed must—be faithful to their principles while participating fully in the civic life of Western secular societies. This book offers a vision of a new Muslim Identity that rejects the idea that Islam must be defined in opposition to the West.
This book addresses some of the fundamental issues borne of the several million strong Muslim presence in Europe in our times. Based on a thorough study of Islamic sources, it seeks to answer basic ...questions about a European Muslim's social, political, cultural and legal life as a practising Muslim while living together in multi-faith, pluralistic European nation states.
Religious diversity is one of the toughest challenges that today's European societies face in their search for identity, equality and cohesion in an increasingly globalised world. This book engages ...critically with the different models and approaches for managing religion adopted in Europe, Asia and Oceania in order to seek answers to this pressing normative, conceptual and policy issue. A truly intercontinental volume, this collection brings together high level scholarship from renowned scholars and rising stars in the fields of political theory, Islamic studies, sociology and law.
Here is a fresh and perceptive look at Muhammad, capturing a life that was often eventful, gripping, and highly charged. Ramadan provides both an intimate portrait of a man who was shy, kind, but ...determined, as well as a dramatic chronicle of a leader who launched a great religion and inspired a vast empire. More important, Ramadan presents the main events of the Prophet's life in a way that highlights his spiritual and ethical teachings. The book underscores the significance of the Prophet's example for some of today's most controversial issues, such as the treatment of the poor, the role of women, Islamic criminal punishments, war, racism, and relations with other religions. Selecting those facts and stories from which we can draw a profound and vivid spiritual picture, the author asks how can the Prophet's life remain -- or become again -- an example, a model, and an inspiration? And how can Muslims move from formalism -- a fixation on ritual -- toward a committed spiritual and social presence?.
What I Believe Ramadan, Tariq
2009, 2009-10-06, 2009-11-12
eBook
Ramadan in this work lays out the basic ideas he stands for in clear and accessible prose. He describes the book as a work of clarification, directed at ordinary citizens, politicians, journalist and ...others who are curious (or skeptical) about his positions. Aware that that he is dealing with emotional issues, Ramadan tries to get past the barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding to speak directly, from the heart, to his Muslim and non-Muslim readers alike.
In this paper, I explore the concept of applied Islamic ethics, the facts, its challenges, and its future. I aim to highlight some of the deep-rooted issues that Muslims have faced historically and ...continue to experience today as they apply religious guidance to their daily lives. I consider the causes and rationale behind the current situation and look beyond to suggest ways in which this may evolve, calling for a radical reform. Muslims throughout the world are experiencing a deepening crisis of identity and confusion about their faith's principles and practices. I suggest how improvements might be achieved, in order to gain more coherence and understanding. This approach recognizes the importance of inviting an in-depth, deliberate analysis of relevant dialogues between religious experts of the text (scholars) and practitioners, those working at the grassroots. This approach remains faithful to the fundamental principles of the Islamic sources but also considers our present context. I recommend a shift in authority from scholars alone to a more inclusive, critical engagement of practitioners. Through this more comprehensive methodology of applied Islamic ethics, I suggest that Muslim communities, organizations, and individuals can remain faithful to their religious principles while, at the same time, actively participating in and contributing to our evolving societies. While I recognize that this will be a long process, I am confident that with applied Islamic ethics, the current feelings of confusion, self-doubt, and even apathy, given the previous failed processes of adaptation and reform, will give way to a new confidence in knowing how to address contemporary challenges.
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This paper serves to explore the concept of the European Muslims, the facts and challenges, from the perspective of a European Muslim. I aim to highlight some of the deep-routed issues that European ...Muslims have faced historically and continue to experience today. I consider the causes and rationale behind the current situation and look beyond to suggest ways in which this may evolve. Four contributory factors have led to the deepening multidimensional identity crisis of Western society – globalisation, immigration, the emergence of a new kind of citizen and social and terrorist violence. These have lead to the creation of physiological and emotional tensions, doubts and fears in both Muslims and people of other faiths. Similar questioning is also evident within Muslim-majority countries. I propose suggestions for how improvements might be achieved, for better coherency and understanding to enable us to evolve from this feeling of fear and doubt towards self-confidence and mutual trust through a long-term dialectical approach. I highlight the importance of long-term education to overcome the lack of knowledge of one another and the associated confusion that exists today. Official institutions and politicians also have an important role to play in the development of civic awareness and a common goal to consider a vision for more meaningful communication. There is a need to create and build upon sound foundations of respect for both the values of individuals and those of religious communities throughout Europe; a need to invite an in-depth, deliberate analysis of relevant dialogue between one another. Critical reflection and analysis of the fundamentals of all faiths are essential to help us to recognise the role of the spirituality and its importance to the individual, and for us to recognise the benefits and richness that the embracement of the plurality of our faiths can provide. I argue that effective public dissemination of accurate information is also necessary, looking at the influence of the media and the need for journalists to consider making more responsible, positive contributions – to be bold and to challenge but to be prepared to ask appropriate questions and distribute findings responsibly. This will in turn seek to encourage individual choice and responsibility of the ordinary citizen – enabling and encouraging us to listen to our neighbours, to take time to better understand one another wholly, without judgement and preconceptions and to identify how we can best cooperate – each of us actively participating and positively contributing towards our more all-inclusive societies.
This article is a discussion of the relationship between Muslims, Islam, and the West. There is an increasing need for both Muslims and people of other faiths (or with no faith) of the West to change ...the way they perceive Islam. Moving away from the first immigrants generations ago, Muslims are now fully-entitled contributors to Western societies and will remain so in the future. Islam is no longer a foreign religion to the West, and discourse surrounding it should not be solely about immigrants, as if Muslims are foreigners rather than residents and citizens. The way forward is to jettison the time-worn dialogue of "them and us" which generates its own set of challenges, and instead for each to accept diversity as an asset and consider a shared future together -- a shared responsibility towards the new "We." Western countries are compatible. To be fully and actively participating citizens, Muslims need to nurture a sense of attachment, belonging, respect, pride, and loyalty in "my country."
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10.
لقاء مع طارق رمضان Ramadan, Tariq
Religions (Dawḥah, Qatar),
12/2012, Volume:
2012, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
في هذا اللقاء يتحدث طارق رمضان عن العدل في الإسلام، ويتطرق إلى ثلاثة مصادر التي شكلت مفهوم العدل في الإسلام، مثل القرآن والسنة والإجتهاد. ويتطرق رمضان إلى أن العدل والمساواة يستخدمان بشكل متفاوت إلا ...أن المساواة لا تضمن العدل، ولكن العدل هو “شرط من شروط السلام”. وبالرغم من أهمية تطبيق مفهوم العدل إلا أن رمضان يحذر القارئ أنه لا يمكننا “أن نعبد العدل”، حيث أنه سوف “ينتابنا على الفور هاجس الإحساس بأننا ضحايا”. ويضيف أن العدل في “هذه الدنيا عدل ناقص” حيث أن “العدل الكامل هو عدل الله”، مما يجعل رمضان يشير إلى أهمية معرفة أنواع العدل المتواجدة ومعنى العدل في الإسلام. ويتحدث طارق رمضان عن مفهوم العدل في الإسلام من حيث العبادات والمعاملات، مثل الصلاة والزكاة. ومن هنا يتطرق رمضان إلى العلاقة ما بين العدل والحوار بين الأديان، حيث أن رمضان يضيف أن الحوار ما بين الأديان هو نوع من أنواع العدل الإجتماعي، ويضيف رمضان إلى أن مقاومة الأموار السيئة في المجتمع يعتبر كجهاد حيث أن المرء يقاوم السيئ ويسعى من أجل الإصلاح في المجتمع من أجل الوصول للسلام في المجتمع. ويضيف رمضان إلى أن المرء الظالم يمكن أن يتهرب من العدل في هذه الدنيا ولكنه لن يستطيع الفرار من عقاب يوم القيامة، و لذلك “من الأفضل أن تتحمل العقاب اليوم”.
