This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)

Nazim al-Kudsi ناظم القدسي
President of Syria
In office 12 December 1961 – 7 March 1963
Preceded by	Gamal Abdul Nasser (United Arab Republic)
Succeeded by	Luai al-Atassi (Military Rule)
Prime Minister of Syria
In office 24 September 1949 – 27 September 1949
Preceded by	Hashim al-Atassi
Succeeded by	Khalid al-Azm
In office 4 June 1950 – 27 March 1951
Preceded by	Khalid al-Azm
Succeeded by	Khalid al-Azm
1st Ambassador of Syria to the United States
In office March 19, 1945 – 1947
Succeeded by	Faris al-Khoury
Speaker of the Parliament of Syria
In office October 1 – December 2, 1951
Preceded by	Maarouf al-Dawalibi
Succeeded by	Maamun al-Kuzbari
In office October 14, 1954 – October 1, 1957
Preceded by	Maamun al-Kuzbari
Succeeded by	Akram al-Hawrani
Personal details
Born	14 February 1906 Aleppo, Syria
Died	6 February 1998 (aged 91) Amman, Jordan
Political party	National Bloc, People's Party
Religion	Sunni Islam

Nazim al-Kudsi, also spelled "Koudsi", "al-Qudsi" or "al-Cudsi" (14 February 1906 – 6 February 1998^[1]) (Arabic: ناظم القدسي‎), was a Syrian politician and head of state (14 December 1961 - 8 March 1963). He was born in and raised in Aleppo. He obtained his undergraduate degree in law from Damascus University, his MA from the American University of Beirut (AUB), and his PhD from the University of Geneva.

Early career[link]

After university education in Beirut he returned to Syria in 1935 and joined the National Bloc, the leading anti-French independence movement, and became one of its prominent members in Aleppo. It was a political organization aimed at the emancipation from French control through diplomatic means rather than armed resistance. In 1936, he ran for Parliament on a Bloc ticket and won. He clashed with the Bloc leadership that failed to prevent the annexation of Alexandretta to Turkey in 1939, and resigned from Bloc ranks. Kudsi created a coalition of Aleppine intellectuals around himself and Rushdie Kikhia, another lawyer who shared in his views, and the two men nominated themselves for Parliament in 1943, winning with ease. They lobbied against the election of Shukri al-Kuwatli, a National Bloc leader, as president, but Kuwatli was voted into office in August 1943. To appease the opposition, the new President appointed Kudsi as Syria’s first Ambassador to the United States. Kudsi founded the Syrian Embassy in Washington, D.C. from scratch, and on 19 March 1945 presented his credentials to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1947, he and Rushdi al-Kikhiya founded the People’s Party in Aleppo. It was inaugurated as an opposition movement to the Kuwatli regime and created to counter-balance the political weight of the National Party, the successor to the National Bloc, loyal to Kuwatli. The People’s Party founders were mainly notables from Aleppo who aimed at creating union between Syria and Iraq, maintaining a democratic government, and advocating stronger ties with the West. The Hashemite royal family in Baghdad supported the party and funded many of its activities.

In 1947, Kudsi ran for Parliament on a party ticket and won. His election was repeated in 1949, 1954, and 1962. He voted against the re-election of Kuwatli as president, but a parliamentary majority pushed through the election. On 29 March 1949, the Kuwatli administration was toppled by a military coup d'état, launched by Chief of Staff Husni al-Za'im. Syria’s new ruler asked Kudsi to form a government but he declined, claiming that the Za’im regime was unconstitutional and arguing that despite his faults, Kuwatli was a constitutionally elected president while Za’im was an “illegal” one. As a result, Za’im had him arrested and the People’s Party was shut down. He was released shortly afterwards and placed under house arrest in Aleppo. He became highly critical of Za’im when the latter closed Syria’s border with Jordan and Iraq and threatened to go to war with both countries, accusing them of being agents of Great Britain in the Middle East. On 14 August 1949, he supported a coup that toppled and killed Za’im, launched by General Sami al-Hinnawi, an old friend of the People’s Party and an ally of the Hashemite royals in Baghdad. Hinnawi created a political committee to run political affairs in the absence of an official government and appointed Kudsi to its top leadership. Kudsi also served on the Constitutional Assembly that drafted a new constitution for Syria and became Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first post-Za’im cabinet of Prime Minister Hashim al-Atassi (an ally of the People’s Party as well as a founding member and former president of the National Bloc). His ally Kikhiya became Minister of Interior while other posts were distributed accordingly to members of the People’s Party and independents who also opposed the old regime.^[2] Kudsi conducted talks with Crown Prince Abd al-Illah of Iraq for creating immediate union between Syria and Iraq and made numerous journeys to Baghdad for the purpose. He formulated an agreement that called for federal union, preserving independent governments in Damascus and Baghdad while coordinating military, economic, social, cultural, and political affairs between the two states. He then went to Cairo and proposed a similar program for all Arab states at the Arab League on 1 January 1951.

The United Arab Republic[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Nazim al_Kudsi (back row, far right) attending the inauguration of President Hashim al-Atassi in 1936.

To advance union talks, al-Atassi, who had recently been elected president of the republic, called on Kudsi to form a government on 24 December 1949. The latter complied, but military officers vetoed his cabinet and he resigned from office five days after coming to power. The officers argued that his government did not include an officer among its midst and that many of its members were declared opponents of officer meddling in political affairs. On 4 June 1950, Kudsi created a new government, less extremist than the first, and was able to secure its approval by appointing General Fawzi Selu as Minister of Defense. Selu was the right-hand-man of General Adib al-Shishakli, the military strongman of Syria. The cabinet lived for ten months, but was unable to take the union issue any further. Kudsi resigned on 27 March 1951. On 1 October 1951, he was elected Speaker of Parliament. Shortly afterwards, on 28 November, Adib al-Shishakli seized power in Damascus and arrested the entire People’s Party leadership, accusing them of wanting to topple Syria’s republican regime and replace it with a monarchical one that was loyal to Britain and Iraq. He appointed Selu as provisional head of state and arrested Kudsi, sending him to Mezzeh prison. He was released in January 1952 but placed under house arrest. He joined the underground and worked in secret against Shishakli, supporting a coup d’etat that brought him down in February 1954.

In October 1954, Nazim al-Kudsi became a deputy in the first post-Shishakli Parliament and was elected speaker on 14 October 1954. He tried to regain some of his influence in political circles, but by that time, the People’s Party had fallen from grace, and few Syrians advocated union with Iraq. Instead, they wanted union with Egypt, under the rising leadership of the young and charismatic President Gamal Abd al-Nasser. In vain, Kudsi tried challenging Nasser’s authority. He advocated pro-British and pro-American views at a time when the majority of Syrians had become pro-Soviet Union. He called on Syria to join the Baghdad Pact, an Anglo-American treaty to contain Communism, and pro-Nasser newspapers accused him of working as an agent for the Hashemites. On 12 October 1957, Kudsi resigned from office and was replaced by the pro-Nasser socialist leader, Akram al-Hawrani. He voted against the Syrian-Egyptian union and when the two countries merged to form the United Arab Republic (UAR) in 1958, he resigned from public life altogether and retired to Aleppo.

International relations after the UAR[link]

On 28 September 1961, a new coup took place in Syria and toppled the UAR regime. Kudsi rallied to its support and nominated himself for the first post-union Parliament, becoming a deputy for Aleppo in December 1961. He then ran for presidential office and won, becoming the first post-Nasser leader of Syria on 12 December 1961. As president, he worked to restore Syria’s friendship with the anti-Nasser regimes in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon, and build bridges with the United States and Great Britain. The Hashemite family in Baghdad, which had supported his career for the past thirty years, had been toppled by a bloody military revolution in July 1958. He was never on good terms with the new leaders of Iraq, especially the revolt leader, General Abdul Karim Kassem. The West, particularly President John F. Kennedy, welcomed Kudsi’s ascent and labeled him a “friend” of the United States. To promote Syria’s relations with Washington, Kudsi appointed Omar Abu-Riche, a renowned poet from Aleppo who like him, was an AUB graduate, as ambassador in the years 1961-1963. He began a massive economic reform program, restoring factories that had been nationalized by Nasser when he headed the UAR, and dismissing all pro-Nasser officials from office. All officers who were still loyal to the Egyptian President were discharged from the Syrian Army. Kudsi drafted a new constitution for Syria, restored the outlawed political parties, and received loans from the World Bank for rebuilding Syria’s dislocated economy.

Exile[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

President Kudsi clashed with the officers that had brought him to power and tried to marginalize their role in political affairs. He appointed Maarouf al-Dawalibi, a veteran of the People’s Party with declared anti-officer views, as Prime Minister. Bitter from his experience with the officers since the Shishakli era, Dawalibi began curbing their influence in all state affairs and centralizing matters in the hands of Kudsi and the government. On 28 March 1962, a coup d’etat took place in Syria, launched by Colonel Abd al-Karim al-Nehlawi. He arrested Kudsi and Dawalibi, accusing them of misusing their powers and persecuting the officers of the Syrian Army. A counter coup broke out on 2 April, headed by Chief of Staff Abd al-Karim Zahr al-Din, who ordered all troops to stand by President Kudsi. The army complied, releasing Kudsi from prison and restoring the dissolved Parliament. Kudsi refused to arrest or kill Nehlawi, but rather, curbed his power by appointing him military attaché to Indonesia—a purely ceremonial post. He then tried to appease the officers and the socialists by calling on Bashir al-Azma, a doctor who had been close to Nasser and who held office as Minister of Health under the UAR, to become Prime Minister in April 1962. His cabinet included members of the socialist Baath Party that was pro-Nasser. Kudsi and Azma dispatched Foreign Minister Adnan al-Azhari to Cairo to mend relations with the Egyptian President. When that failed, however, they filed a complaint to the Arab League, accusing him of wanting to destabilize Syria through interfering in its domestic affairs and calling on the army to rebel against the government. On 8 March 1963, however, another coup d’etat took place in Syria, launched by the Military Committee of the Baath Party. The officers who came to power pledged to restore the UAR and had Kudsi arrested. He was released after a while. He moved to Lebanon, Europe, and Jordan, where he lived in exile until he died in Jordan in February 1998.

References[link]

Further Reading[link]

• Sami Moubayed, "Steel & Silk: Men and Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000" (Cune Press, Seattle, 2005).

v t e Heads of state of Syria since 1922 al-Khalidi • Pierre-Alype* • Shariyari • al-Hasani • al-Abid • H. al-Atassi • B. al-Khatib • al-Azm* • al-Hasani • al-Ulshi* • al-Ayyubi • al-Quwatli • al-Za'im • H. al-Atassi • Selu† • Shishakli† • H. al-Atassi • al-Quwatli • Abdel Nasser • al-Kuzbari* • an-Nuss* • al-Kudsi • L. al-Atassi† • al-Hafiz† • N. al-Atassi • A. al-Khatib • H. al-Assad • Khaddam* • B. al-Assad *denotes acting     †military ruler

v t e Prime Ministers of Syria since 1920 Kingdom of Syria (1920) al-Rikabi H. al-Atassi* al-Durubi al-Ulshi French Mandate of Syria (1920-1946) post established 1932 H. al-Azm al-Hasani A. al-Ayyubi Mardam Bey al-Haffar al-Bukhari post vacant, 1939-41 K. al-Azm al-Hakim H. al-Barazi al-Ulshi al-Jabiri al-Khoury al-Jabiri Syrian Republic (1946-1958) al-Jabiri K. al-Azm* Mardam Bey K. al-Azm al-Za'im M. al-Barazi H. al-Atassi al-Kudsi K. al-Azm al-Kudsi K. al-Azm al-Hakim al-Khatib al-Dawalibi Selu Shishakli al-Asali al-Ghazzi al-Khoury al-Asali al-Ghazzi al-Asali United Arab Republic (1958-1961) Kuhala Sarraj Syrian Arab Republic (1961-) al-Kuzbari al-Nuss al-Dawalibi al-Azma K. al-Azm al-Bitar al-Hafiz al-Bitar al-Hafiz Zuaiyin al-Bitar Zuaiyin N. al-Atassi al-Assad Kleifawi M. al-Ayyubi Kleifawi al-Halabi al-Kasm Zuabi Mero al-Otari Safar * acting

v t e Speakers of the Parliament of Syria since 1919 al-Atassi* • Muayyad • al-Atassi • al-Khoury • al-Khoury • al-Jabiri • al-Khoury • al-Khoury • Kikhia • al-Dawalibi • al-Kudsi • al-Kuzbari • al-Kudsi • al-Hawrani • Sadat† • al-Kuzbari • Ghazzi • al-Atrash • al-Khatib • al-Yusufi • al-Halabi • al-Halabi • Hadid • Zuabi • Zuabi • Kaddoura • Kaddoura • Kaddoura • Kaddoura • al-Otari • al-Abrash • Mohammad Jihad al-Laham *president of the Syrian National Congress     †within the UAR

Tariq Ramadan

Born	(1962-08-26) August 26, 1962 (age 49) Geneva, Switzerland
Era	21st-century philosophy
Main interests	Islamic studies Theology Philosophy Politics Interfaith dialogue Literature
Website	www.tariqramadan.com

Tariq Ramadan (Arabic: طارق رمضان‎; born 26 August 1962 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Swiss academic and writer. He is also a Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Oxford University. He advocates the study and re-interpretation of Islamic texts, and emphasizes the heterogeneous nature of Western Muslims.^[1]

Biography[link]

Tariq Ramadan (at table, right) speaking in Oxford.

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^[2] 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.^[3]

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.^[4][5] 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.^[6][7] He was also a guest professor of Identity and Citizenship at Erasmus University Rotterdam,^[8][9][10] 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.^[11][12] Ramadan described this move as Islamophobic and politically charged.^[13] Beginning September 2009, Ramadan, was appointed to the His Highness Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Chair in Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University.^[14]

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.^[2] He is also the President of the Euro-Muslim Network, a Brussels-based think-tank.^[15]

He is widely interviewed and has produced about 100 tapes which sell tens of thousands of copies each year.^[16]

As of 2009, Tariq Ramadan was persona non grata in Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia,^[17] Libya and Syria because of his "criticism of these undemocratic regimes that deny the most basic human rights".^[18]

U.S. visa revocation and subsequent lifting[link]

In February 2004, Tariq Ramadan accepted the tenured position of Henry R. Luce Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, United States. He was granted a nonimmigrant visa on May 5, however, on July 28, his H-1B visa was revoked by the State Department.^[19] In August 2004, spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cited the "ideological exclusion provision" of the USA PATRIOT Act as the grounds for Ramadan's visa revocation.^[20] In October, the University of Notre Dame filed a H-1B petition on Ramadan's behalf. After hearing no response from the government by December, Ramadan resigned his position from the university.

In September 2005, Ramadan filed an application for a B Visa to allow him to participate at speaking arrangements with various organizations and universities. The government did not issue a decision on Ramadan's visa application, so the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on January 25, 2006 against the United States government on behalf of the American Academy of Religion, the American Association of University Professors and the PEN American Center – three groups who had planned on meeting with Ramadan in the US – for revoking Ramadan's visa under the "ideological exclusion provision". The ACLU and NYCLU argued that the ideological exclusion provision was in violation of the First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights of those three groups and that the government's actions violated the Administrative Procedures Act.^[21] After two months had passed without a decision being made, the plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. Pursuant to the injunction, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered the government on June 23, 2006 to issue its decision on Ramadan's pending B Visa application within 90 days.^[22]

On September 19, 2006, the government formally denied Ramadan's visa application. A State Department statement said: "A U.S. consular officer has denied Dr. Tariq Ramadan's visa application. The consular officer concluded that Dr. Ramadan was inadmissible based solely on his actions, which constituted providing material support to a terrorist organization."^[23][24] Between December 1998 and July 2002, Ramadan had given donations totalling $940 to two charity organizations, the Committee for Charity and Support for the Palestinians (CBSP) or Comité de Bienfaisance et de Secours aux Palestiniens and the Association de Secours Palestinien.^[25] The United States Treasury designated both the CBSP and ASP terrorist fundraising organizations for their alleged links to Hamas on August 22, 2003.^[26] The U.S. Embassy told Ramadan that he "reasonably should have known" that the charities provided money to Hamas. In an article in The Washington Post, Ramadan asked: "How should I reasonably have known of their activities before the U.S. government itself knew?"^{[25][27][28][29]}

On February 2, 2007, the ACLU and NYCLU amended their complaint, arguing that the government's explanation for denying Ramadan's visa application was not "facially legitimate and bona fide" and that the ideological exclusion provision of the PATRIOT Act was in violation of the First and Fifth Amendments. They also argued that Ramadan's denial violated the First Amendment rights of those who wanted to hear him speak. In his decision on December 20, 2007, District Judge Paul A. Crotty ruled that the government's justification for denying Ramadan's visa was "facially legitimate and bona fide" and noted that the Court "has no authority to override the Government's consular decision".^[30]

In January 2008, the ACLU appealed Crotty's ruling. Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project and lead attorney in the case, stated:

"The government's shifting positions only underscore why meaningful judicial review – the kind of oversight that the district court failed to provide – is so important. In Professor Ramadan’s case and many others, the government is using immigration laws to stigmatize and exclude its critics and to censor and control the ideas that Americans can hear. Censorship of this kind is completely inconsistent with the most basic principles of an open society."

Ramadan himself remarked:

"The U.S. government's actions in my case seem, at least to me, to have been arbitrary and myopic. But I am encouraged by the unwavering support I have received from ordinary Americans, civic groups and particularly from scholars, academic organizations, and the ACLU. I am heartened by the emerging debate in the U.S. about what has been happening to our countries and ideals in the past six years. And I am hopeful that eventually I will be allowed to enter the country so that I may contribute to the debate and be enriched by dialogue."^[31]

On July 17, 2009, the US federal appeals court reversed the ruling of the lower district court. The three-judge panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit – composed of Judges Jon O. Newman, Wilfred Feinberg and Reena Raggi – ruled that the Court had "jurisdiction to consider the claim, despite the doctrine of consular nonreviewability". They stated that government was required by law to "confront Ramadan with the allegation against him and afford him the subsequent opportunity to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he did not know, and reasonably should not have known, that the recipient of his contributions was a terrorist organization." Under the limited review permitted by the 1972 Supreme Court ruling in Kleindienst v. Mandel, the panel concluded that the "record does not establish that the consular officer who denied the visa confronted Ramadan with the allegation that he had knowingly rendered material support to a terrorist organization, thereby precluding an adequate opportunity for Ramadan to attempt to satisfy the provision that exempts a visa applicant from exclusion under the 'material support' subsection if he 'can demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that [he] did not know, and should not reasonably have known, that the organization was a terrorist organization.'" Additionally, the panel agreed with the plaintiffs' contention that their First Amendment rights had been violated. The panel remanded the case to a lower court to determine if the consular officer had confronted Ramadan with the "allegation that he knew that ASP provided funds to Hamas and then providing him with a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate, by clear and convincing evidence, that he did not know, and should not have reasonably known, of that fact."^[32]

Following the ruling, Ramadan stated, "I am very gratified with the court's decision. I am eager to engage once again with Americans in the kinds of face-to-face discussions that are central to academic exchange and crucial to bridging cultural divides." Melissa Goodman, staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project, issued a statement saying, "Given today's decision, we hope that the Obama administration will immediately end Professor Ramadan's exclusion. We also encourage the new administration to reconsider the exclusion of other foreign scholars, writers and artists who were barred from the country by the Bush administration on ideological grounds."^[33]

On January 20, 2010, after more than five years of waiting, the American State Department has decided, in a document signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to lift the ban that prohibited Ramadan (as well as Professor Adam Habib from South Africa) from entering the United States. On the lifting of this ban, Ramadan has stated:

Coming after nearly six years of inquiry and investigation, Secretary Clinton’s order confirms what I have affirmed and reaffirmed from day one: the first accusations of terrorist connections (subsequently dropped), then donations to Palestinian solidarity groups, were nothing more than a pretense to prohibit me from speaking critically about American government policy on American soil. The decision brings to an end a dark period in American politics that saw security considerations invoked to block critical debate through a policy of exclusion and baseless allegation.

On April 8, 2010, Ramadan spoke as part of a panel discussion at the Great Hall of Cooper Union in New York City, his first public appearance since the State Department lifted the ban.^[34] The group debated the lengths to which Western nations should go to accommodate their Muslim populations.

Views[link]

Ramadan works primarily on Islamic theology and the position of Muslims in the West and within Muslim majority countries. In general, he believes it necessary to interpret the Qur'an, not simply to read the Arabic text, in order to understand its meaning and to practice Islamic philosophy.^[35] He also emphasizes the difference between religion and culture, which he believes are too often confused, arguing that citizenship and religion are separate concepts which should not be mixed. He claims that there is no conflict between being both a Muslim and a European; a Muslim must accept the laws of his country. But he is opposed to some politicians or people who try to circumvent or to give a new sense of their own laws.

He believes that Western Muslims must create a "Western Islam" just as there is a separate "Asian Islam" and an "African Islam", which take into account cultural differences.^[36] By this he means that European Muslims must re-examine the fundamental texts of Islam (primarily the Qur'an) and interpret them in light of their own cultural background, influenced by European society.

He rejects a binary division of the world into dar al-Islam (the abode of Islam) and dar al-harb (the abode of war), on the grounds that such a division is not mentioned in the Qur'an. He has been also known to cite favourably the Dar al-Da'wa (Abode of Information Dissemination).^[37] However, Ramadan has articulated both the "ideological geography" of the West and the duty of da'wa in an original fashion and one that is starkly more pro-integration than the more conservative "loyal resident alienage" articulated by such jurists as al-Qaradawi. For Ramadan, the West is neither the Abode of War nor the Abode of da'wa but "dar al-shahada," the "Abode of Testimony" [to the Islamic Message]. He argues that Muslims are "witnesses before mankind"; they must continue to review the fundamental principles of Islam and take responsibility for their faith.

Importantly, for him the "Islamic message" to which Muslims are expected to bear witness is not primarily the particularist, socially conservative code of traditionalist jurists, but a commitment to universalism and the welfare of non-Muslims; it is also an injunction not merely to make demands on un-Islamic societies but to express solidarity with them.^[38][39]

"... the European environment is a space of responsibility for Muslims. This is exactly the meaning of the notion of "space of testimony" [dar al-shahada] that we propose here, a notion that totally reverses perspectives: whereas Muslims have, for years, been wondering whether and how they would be accepted, the in-depth study and evaluation of the Western environment entrusts them, in light of their Islamic frame of reference, with a most important mission... Muslims now attain, in the space of testimony, the meaning of an essential duty and of an exacting responsibility: to contribute, wherever they are, to promoting good and equity within and through human brotherhood. Muslims' outlook must now change from the reality of "protection" alone to that of an authentic "contribution."

He emphasizes a Muslim's responsibility to his community, whether it be Islamic or not. He criticizes the 'us vs. them' mentality that some Muslims advocate against the West. He also advocates having Muslim scholars in the West who are versed in Western mores, and not relying on religious studies that come only from the Islamic world. He wants more Islamic philosophy written in European languages. He thinks that European Muslims' reliance on an "external" Islam, leaves them feeling inadequate and impure, which is one of the main causes of alienation from European culture.

He believes that most Muslims in the West are quietly and successfully integrating into society. The main problems for the community come from those who are ignorant of Western society.

He also worries about Western perceptions of Islam. He says the Muslim community has been bad at representing itself, and that this has allowed westerners to confuse Islam with cultural traits, as well as political problems. For example, he believes that many notionally Islamic countries have governments which betray the principles of Islam.

He believes that the Muslim leadership in Europe is partially responsible for the sometimes shaky relations between Muslims and the rest of society. He believes that they have been overly defensive, and have not properly explained the philosophy of Islam, nor have they engaged sufficiently with non-Muslim society.

He stresses that a Muslim's freedom of religion is very extensive in the West, and that permission for "un-Islamic" activities, such as drinking, or pre-marital sex, does not compel Muslims to do anything. Only a few situations warrant the invocation of the "clause of conscience" which allows a Muslim to make it clear that certain actions or behaviours are in contradiction of their faith. These are, participating in a war whose sole desire is for power or control; fighting or killing a fellow Muslim, unless their attitude is unjust or wrong; participating in an unlawful transaction (such as purchasing insurance, burial, incorrect slaughter). He stresses that in such cases the situation should be carefully analysed, and the degree of compulsion considered. Only non-violence and negotiation are acceptable in these cases.^[40]

Ramadan has voiced his opposition to all forms of capital punishment but believes the Muslim world should remove such laws from within, without any Western pressure, as such would only further alienate Muslims, and instead bolster the position of those who support hudud punishments.

He has said "Muslim populations are convincing themselves of the Islamic character of these practices through a rejection of the west, on the basis of a simplistic reasoning that stipulates that 'the less western, the more Islamic'."^[41]

Politically, Ramadan was opposed to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He believes that jihad against the United States military in Iraq was justified as an act of resistance to oppression.

He has condemned suicide bombing and violence as a tactic.^[42] Perhaps more importantly, he believes that terrorism is never justifiable, even though it is sometimes understandable.^[43]

He was opposed to the French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools.

Ramadan wrote that the Muslim response to Pope Benedict XVI's speech on Islam was disproportionate, and was encouraged by reactionary Islamic regimes in order to distract their populations, and that it did not improve the position of Islam in the world.^[44]

Ramadan wrote an article entitled, Les (nouveaux) intellectuels communautaires, which French newspapers Le Monde and Le Figaro refused to publish. Oumma.com did eventually publish it. In the article he criticizes a number of French Jewish intellectuals and figures such as Alexandre Adler, Alain Finkielkraut, Bernard-Henri Lévy, André Glucksmann and Bernard Kouchner, for allegedly abandoning universal human rights, and giving special status to the defence of Israel. Ramadan was accused, in return, of having used inflammatory language.^[45][46]

Debate[link]

In a French television debate in 2003 with Nicolas Sarkozy, Sarkozy accused Ramadan of defending the stoning of adulterers, a punishment stipulated in the section of the Islamic penal code known as hudud, roots being in Mosaic law as mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible and not having been abrogated by later revelations, consequently Sura 6 verse 89 of the Quran is interpreted in orthodox Islam as sanctioning the death penalty for certain crimes. Ramadan replied that Sarkozy was wrong. He said that he opposed stoning and that he favored “a moratorium” on such practices to have time to discuss the law outright. Many people, including Sarkozy, were outraged. Ramadan later defended his position arguing that, because it involved religious texts, the law would have to be properly understood and contextualised. Ramadan argued that in Muslim countries, the simple act to "condemn" won't change anything, but with a "moratorium", it could open the way for further debate. He thinks that such a debate can only lead to an abolishment of these rules.^[47] He further engaged in similar debates on the issue, notably at the Cambridge Union with Sir Bernard Crick, among others, in 2008.

Critical reception[link]

Some academics have greeted his works with enthusiasm, detecting liberalising and rationalising tendencies.^[48]

Praise[link]

Paul Donnelly^{[disambiguation needed ]} at the liberal^[49] online magazine Salon.com asked rhetorically: "Tariq Ramadan: The Muslim Martin Luther?".^[50] Similarly, an article at the self-described liberal^[51] The American Prospect praised Ramadan and his work in particular as an "entire corpus consists of a steady and unyielding assault on Muslim insularity, self-righteousness, and self-pity."^[52]

Criticism[link]

In a book published by Encounter Books, Caroline Fourest analysed Tariq Ramadan's 15 books, 1,500 pages of interviews, and approximately 100 recordings,^[53][54] and concludes "Ramadan is a war leader," and the "political heir of his grandfather," Hassan al-Banna, stating that his discourse is, "often just a repetition of the discourse that Banna had at the beginning of the 20th century in Egypt," and that he "presents [al-Banna] as a model to be followed."^[16][55] She argues that "Tariq Ramadan is slippery. He says one thing to his faithful Muslim followers and something else entirely to his Western audience. His choice of words, the formulations he uses – even his tone of voice – vary, chameleon-like, according to his audience."^[53] Tariq Ramadan responded that Caroline Fourest's book was filled with inaccuracies and untruths, a few of which she later acknowledged on her blog^[56].

Olivier Guitta, writing in The Weekly Standard, welcomed the U.S. decision to refuse Ramadan a visa, based on Ramadan's supposed links to terrorist organizations and claiming that his father was the likely author of "'The Project'... a roadmap for installing Islamic regimes in the West by propaganda, preaching, and if necessary war." He further claimed that the former head of the French antiracism organization SOS Racisme, "Malek Boutih told Ramadan after talking with him at length: ‘Mr. Ramadan, you are a fascist.’"^[16] In an interview with Europe 1 Boutih likened him to "a small Le Pen^{[disambiguation needed ]}";^[57] in another interview he accused him of having crossed the line of racism and anti-Semitism, thus not genuinely belonging to the alter-globalization movement. Similarly, self-described conservative^[58] Daniel Pipes concurred with the revocation of Ramadan's visa on grounds of Ramadan's alleged ties with Islamic extremism.^[59] After the lifting of the visa revocation, an article in the National Review criticized the double standard of lifting the visa restriction on Ramadan, but not for Issam Abu Issa who was banned by the Bush Administration for being a whistleblower against the Palestinian Authority's corruption.^[60]

Bertrand Delanoë, Socialist mayor of Paris, declared Ramadan unfit to participate at the European Social Forum, as not even "a slight suspicion of anti-Semitism" would be tolerable. Talking to the Paris weekly Marianne, Fadela Amara, president of Ni Putes Ni Soumises (Neither Whores Nor Submissive, a French feminist movement), Aurélie Filippetti, municipal counsellor for The Greens in Paris, Patrick Klugman, leading member of the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France and Dominique Sopo, head of SOS-Racisme accuse Ramadan of having misused the alter-globalization movement's ingenuousness to advance his "radicalism and anti-Semitism."^[61] Similarly, an article in the online publication of Alliance for Workers' Liberty published 40 reasons why Ramadan was a reactionary, criticizing views on Islamic extremism, women's rights and anti-Semitism.^[62] Egyptian intellectual Tarek Heggy has also charged Ramadan with saying different things to different audiences.^[63] Other criticisms have included claims that that an essay attacking French intellectuals was anti-semitic ^[64] and that he has shown excessive generosity in his rationalization of the motives behind acts of terrorism, such as in the case of [Mohammed Merah].^[65]

Response to some of the criticism[link]

Ramadan vehemently denies contacts with terrorists or other Islamic fundamentalists and the charges of anti-Semitism and double talk, attributing the charges to misinterpretation and an unfamiliarity with his writings.^[66] He stated: "I have often been accused of this 'double discourse', and to those who say it, I say – bring the evidence. I am quite clear in what I say. The problem is that many people don't want to hear it, particularly in the media. Most of the stories about me are completely untrue: journalists simply repeat black propaganda from the internet without any corroboration, and it just confirms what they want to believe. Words are used out of context. There is double-talk, yes, but there is also double-hearing. That is what I want to challenge."^[42] In answer to criticism of his response to September 11th, Ramadan replied that two days after the attacks he had published an open letter, exhorting Muslims to condemn the attacks and the attackers, and not to "hide behind conspiracy theories."^[67] and that less than two weeks after the attacks he had stated that “The probability [of bin Laden's guilt] is large, but some questions remain unanswered ... But whoever they are, Bin Laden or others, it is necessary to find them and that they be judged,” and that the interview had been conducted before any evidence was publicly available.^[68]

Public reception[link]

One of the world's top 100 innovators of the 21st Century (one of the world's top 7th religious leaders) by Time Magazine in 2000

One of the world's top 100 most influential intellectuals in the world by Time Magazine in 2004

An online poll provided by the American Foreign Policy magazine in 2009 and in 2010 placed Ramadan on the 49th spot in a list of the world’s top 100 contemporary intellectuals.^[69]

In 2008, an open online poll, Tariq Ramadan was voted the 8th top most intellectual person in the world on the list of Top 100 Public Intellectuals by Prospect Magazine (UK).

Selected works[link]

• The quest for meaning: developing a philosophy of pluralism, 2010, ISBN 978-0-14-191957-7
• What I Believe, 2009. ISBN 978-0-19-538785-8
• Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation, 2009. ISBN 978-0-19-533171-4
• In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad, 2007. ISBN 978-0-19-530880-8
• Western Muslims and the future of Islam, 2004. ISBN 0-19-517111-X
• Islam, the West, and the Challenge of Modernity, 2001. ISBN 0-86037-311-8
• To Be a European Muslim, 1999. ISBN 0-86037-300-2

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• "Tariq Ramadan and the Oxford Haskalah Attempt (February 18, 2011).
• Berman, Paul, 'Who's Afraid of Tariq Ramadan?', in The New Republic, June 2007.
  • Wie is er bang voor Tariq Ramadan?, Paul Berman, 2007, ISBN 978-90-290-8063-7 Translation from Dutch:'Who is Afraid of Tariq Ramadan?' This is presumably a version of the long essay by Paul Berman in The New Republic of June 2007, which may still be under copyright protection.
• Berman, Paul, The Flight of the Intellectuals; ISBN 978-1-933633-51-0
• Lionel Favrot : Tariq Ramadan dévoilé – hors série de Lyon Mag'.
• Nicholas Tampio, "Constructing the Space of Testimony: Tariq Ramadan’s Copernican Revolution" "Political Theory", Vol 39.5 (2011).
• Irfan Khawaja, Review of Paul Berman's "The Flight of the Intellectuals" and Tariq Ramadan's "What I Believe" [1], "Reason Papers: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Normative Studies," vol. 33 (Fall 2011), pp. 165-89.
• Frère Tariq: Discours, stratégie et méthode de Tariq Ramadan, Caroline Fourest; ISBN 2-246-66791-7
  • Frère Tariq, Extraits exclusifs, Un livre de Caroline Fourest, L'Express, October 18, 2004
  • Translated into English as Brother Tariq: The Doublespeak of Tariq Ramadan. New York: Encounter Books. 2008. pp. 262 pages. ISBN 978-1-59403-215-8. 
• Tariq Ramadan und die Islamisierung Europas, Ralph Ghadban; ISBN 3-89930-150-1
• Le sabre et le coran, Tariq Ramadan et les frères musulmans à la conquéte de l'Europe, Paul Landau, 2005, ISBN 2-268-05317-2
• Jonathan Laurence, "The Prophet of Moderation: Tariq Ramadan's Quest to Reclaim Islam" 'Foreign Affairs, (May/June 2007).
• Jack-Alain Léger, Tartuffe fait Ramadan, Denoël, 2003,
• À contre Coran, livre de Jack-Alain Léger, mars 2004, collection « Hors de moi », éditions HC
• Andrew F. March, "Reading Tariq Ramadan: Political Liberalism, Islam and 'Overlapping Consensus'," Ethics and International Affairs, Volume 21.4 (Winter 2007).
  • "Law as a Vanishing Mediator in the Theological Ethics of Tariq Ramadan," European Journal of Political Theory, (Vol. 10, No. 2, April 2011, pp. 177-201.).
  • "The Post-Legal Ethics of Tariq Ramadan: Persuasion and Performance in 'Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation' (A Review Essay)," Middle East Law and Governance, (2010).
• Faut-il faire taire Tariq Ramadan ?, Aziz Zemouri; ISBN 2-84187-647-0
• Tariq Ramadan on the Arab Spring: A Revolution in Suspense

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tariq Ramadan

• Official website
• Tariq Ramadan audio and video lectures from Halal Tube
• Tariq Ramadan argues for a new understanding of what it means to be a “moderate” Muslim
• Tariq Ramadan Debates Moustafa Bayoumi on Proposed Islamic Center Near Ground Zero – video by Democracy Now!