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Part of a series on the
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Meccan suras · Medinan suras
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Persons related to verses · Justice Asbab al-nuzul · Naskh · Biblical narratives Tahrif · Bakkah · Muqatta'at Esoteric interpretation
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v t e

Tafsīr (Arabic: تفسير‎, tafsīr, "interpretation") is the Arabic word for exegesis, usually of the Qur'an. Ta'wīl is a subset of tafsir and refers to assigning a specific meaning, often derived from inspiration or dreams, to some of the allegorical ayaat. An author of tafsir is a mufassir (Arabic: 'مُفسر‎, mufassir, plural: Arabic: مفسرون‎, mufassirūn).

Etymology[link]

The word tafsīr is derived from the Arabic root, F-S-R which means to explain, to expound, to disclose.^[1] In Islamic contexts, it is defined as understanding and uncovering the Will of Allah which has been conveyed by the Qur'anic text, by means of the Arabic language and one’s own knowledge.^[2] This definition includes;

• determining the style of the text and its eloquence
• defining unknown or otherwise less used words
• the clarification of the meanings of verses
• extraction of laws and rulings
• explaining the underlying thoughts in metaphors and figurative speech
• reconciling verses that seem contradictory
• finding out the underlying reasons for parables

History[link]

Muhammad[link]

The first examples of tafsir can be traced back to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. During his prophethood, as the Qur'an was revealed to him, he recited the verses to his companions, usually explaining their meanings to teach them. It must be noted that this is one of Muhammad's responsibilities.^[3] Elements of Muhammad's explanations are;

• Clarifying verses whose intents are not understood
• Indication of names, places, times etc. which have not been mentioned in the verse
• Restriction of meanings which have been given as absolute
• Reconciling expressions which seem contradictory

Although scholars including ibn Taymiyyah claim that Muhammad has commented on the whole of the Qur'an, others including Ghazali cite the limited amount of narratives, thus indicating that he has commented only on a portion of the Qur'an. These interpretations have not been collected independently in a book, rather, they have been recorded in hadith books, under the topic of tafsir, along with other narrations of Muhammad.^[4]

Sahabah (companions of Muhammad)[link]

After the death of Muhammad, his companions, the Sahabah, undertook the task of interpretation, thus starting a new age in tafsir. Most of the Sahabah, including Abu Bakr, refrained from commenting with their personal views, and only narrated comments by Muhammad. Others including ibn Abbas used their own knowledge from the Arabic language to interpret the Qur'an. At this stage, the Qur'an was still not fully interpreted, and commentaries were not separated from the hadith collection nor written separately, mainly due to other occupations such as the collection of the Qur'an.^[5]

Successors (tabi'in and beyond)[link]

By the time of the next generations ensuing the Sahabah, the tabi'in scholars started using a wide range of sources for tafsir. The whole of the Qur'an is interpreted, and narrations are separated from tafsir into separate books and literature. Grammatical explanations and historical data are preserved within these books; personal opinions are recorded, whether accepted or rejected.

Methodology[link]

The mufasireen (exegetes) listed 15 fields that must be mastered before one can authoritatively interpret the Quran^{[citation needed]}

1. Classical Arabic: Is how one learns the meaning of each word. Mujahid (rah) said, “It is not permissible for one who holds faith in Allah and the Day of Judgment to speak on the Quran without learning classical Arabic.” In this respect, it should be known that classical Arabic must be mastered in its entirety because one word may have various meanings; a person may only know two or three of them whereas the meaning of that word in the Quran may be altogether different.
2. Arabic Philology: Is important because any change in the diacritical marks affects the meaning, and understanding the diacritical marks depends on the science of Arabic philology.
3. Arabic morphology: is important because changes in the configuration of verb and noun forms change the meaning. Ibn Faris said, “A person who misses out on Arabic morphology has missed out on a lot.”
4. Al-Ishtiqaaq: should be learned because sometimes one word derives from two root words, the meaning of each root word being different. This is the science of etymology which explains the reciprocal relation and radical composition between the root and derived word. For example, masih derives from the root word masah which means “to feel something and to touch something with a wet hand,” but also derives from the root word masaahat which means “to measure.”
5. Ilm-ul-Ma’ani: is the science by which one figures the syntax through the meaning of a sentence.
6. Ilm-ul-Bayaan: is the science by which one learns the similes, metaphors, metonymies, zuhoor (evident meanings) and khafa (hidden meanings) of the Arabic language.
7. Ilm-ul-Badi’: The science by which one learns to interpret sentences which reveal the beauty and eloquence of the spoken and written word. The above mentioned three sciences are categorized as Ilm-ul-Balagha (science of rhetoric). It is one of the most important sciences to a mufassir because he is able to reveal the miraculous nature of the Quran through these three sciences.
8. Ilm-ul-Qira’t: Dialecticisms of the different readings of the Quran. This science is important because one qirat (reading) of the Quran may differ in meaning from another, and one learns to favor one reading over another based on the difference in the meanings.
9. Ilm-ul-Aqaa’id: is important because we cannot attribute the literal meaning of some ayaat to Allah. In this case, one will be required to interpret the ayah as in ‘the hand of Allah is over their hand’.
10. Usul-ul-Fiqh: are the principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. It is important to master this field so one understands the methodology of legal derivation and interpretation.
11. Asbaab-ul-Nuzul: is the field by which one learns the circumstances in which an ayah is revealed. It is important because the meaning of the ayah is more clearly understood once the circumstances in which it was revealed are known. Sometimes, the meaning of an ayah is wholly dependent on its historical background.
12. Ilm-ul-Naskh: is knowledge of the abrogated ayaat. This field is important because abrogated rulings must be separated from the applied rulings.
13. Fiqh: Jurisprudence. This field is important because one cannot gain an overview of any issue until he has understood its particulars.
14. Ilm-ul-Hadith: is knowledge of the ahadith which explain mujmal (general) ayaat.
15. Ilm Laduuni: Last but not least is the endowed knowledge which Allah grants to his closest servants. They are the servants indicated in the hadith: “Allah Y will grant one who acts upon whatever he knows from a knowledge he never knew.”

Riwaya[link]

There are two main methods and one prohibited method of commenting on the Qur'an:

It is the act of commenting on the Qur'an using traditional sources. This classical tafsir method is agreed upon by all scholars, and is the most used method throughout history, partly because other methods have been criticized;

• The Qur'an states that it is made easy to understand so no one is allowed to divert its literal meaning.^[6]
• The Prophet has condemned those who interpret the Qur'an from their own point of view.^[7]
• Most companions of the Prophet have refrained from presenting their own ideas.^[8]

Some important examples are Jami al-bayan by al-Tabari and Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by ibn Kathir. The sources used for riwaya tafsir are:

Qur'an[link]

Interpretation of the Qur'an with the Qur'an is very common because of the close interrelatedness of the verses of the Qur'an with one another. The Qur'anic verses explain and interpret one another, and therefore constitute the highest level of authenticity. Many verses or words in the Qur'an are explained or further clarified in other verses of the Qur'an. One example of this kind is Tafsir al-Mizan

Hadith[link]

Using narratives of the prophet to interpret the Qur'an. In this approach the most important external aids used are the collected oral traditions upon which Muslim scholars based Islamic history and law. The Qur'an states that the Prophet is responsible for explanation and guidance.^[9] While some narratives are of revelation origin, others can be the result of reasonings made by the Prophet.^[10] One important aspect of these narratives is their origin. Narratives used for tafsir, and in general, must be of authentic origin (see Hadith terminology). Narratives of such origin are considered requisite for tafsir.

Sahaba and Tabiiun[link]

The Ṣaḥābah, or companions of Muhammad, also interpreted and taught the Qur'an. If nothing is found in the Qur'an or the Hadīth, the commentator has recourse to what the Ṣaḥābah reported about various verses. These are generally considered above personal opinion, because these people grew up with everyday interaction with Muhammad, and had often asked about the meanings of verses or circumstances of their revelation; and they were very knowledgeable in both Arabic literature and Islamic thought.

Arabic literature[link]

The classical Arabic poetry and the text of the Qur'an are two resources which can be used as foundational reference in ascertaining the meaning and signification of the remaining literal and figurative diction of the Qur'an and its style of expression.^[11] Using Arabic poetry for defining words is a long used practice, in fact there are nearly no scholars who haven’t used this source.^[12]

Isra'iliyat[link]

Isra'iliyat is the body of narratives originating from Judeo-Christian traditions, rather than from other well-accepted sources. The Isra'iliyat are mostly non-biblical explanatory stories and traditions (Hebrew: midrashim) giving extra information or interpretation about events or individuals recorded in the Hebrew scriptures. Scholars starting with the Sahabah have studied narrative accounts of other Abrahamic religions to further explain and clarify verses, especially parables, in the Qur'an. While some may be accurate, these narratives are not subject to hadith authenticity criteria, and are generally not favored for use. It is considered a major weakness in tafsir, as theses narratives are not compatible with Islamic thought.

Diraya[link]

The use of reason and mind (ijtihad) to form an opinion-oriented tafsir. This method is not interpretation by mere opinion, which is prohibited, but rather opinions must be based on the main sources. Its most distinctive feature is the inclusion of the opinions of the commentator, thus forming an objective view on Qur'anic verses. Some important examples include Anwar al-Tanzil by al-Baiḍawi and Irshad al-Aql as-Salim by Abu Sa'ud al-Ḥanafi. Some parameters used by these scholars are:

Linguistic resources[link]

Literary elements of the Arabic language, including morphology, eloquence, syntax are an integral part of tafsir, as they constitute the basis of understanding and interpretation. Arabic has a systematic way of shaping words (see morphology) so one can know the meaning by knowing the root and the form the word was coined from. If any word can be given a meaning that is compatible with the rules of grammar, Qur'anic text can be interpreted that way.

Historical sources[link]

Scholars may choose to interpret verses according to;

• Their historical context. This is particularly important to interpret verses according to how the Qur'an was revealed, when and under which circumstances. Much commentary was dedicated to history. The early tafsir are considered to be some of the best sources for Islamic history. (see Asbab al-nuzul).
• Their place of revelation, whether it was revealed in Mecca or Medina. This classification is important because generally, Meccan verses tend to have a legislative nature, whether it be theological foundations or basic faith principles. On the other hand, Medinan verses constitute rules of worship and social regulations.

Maqasid[link]

Verses may be interpreted to preserve the general goals of shariah (see maqasid), which is simply to bring happiness to a person in this life and the hereafter. That way, any interpretation that threatens to compromise the preservation of religion, life, lineage, intellect or property may be discarded or ruled otherwise in order to secure these goals.

Socio-cultural environment[link]

This includes understanding and interpreting the Qur'an while taking into account the cultural and social environment to which it has been revealed; or according to the scholars' own time. This is an integral part of the universality of the Qur'an. Scholars usually do not favor to confine verses to a single time interval, but rather interpret according to the needs of their time.

Prohibited tafsir[link]

Some Muslims believe that it is prohibited to perform Qur'anic interpretation using solely one's own opinion. Thus, they base on an authenticated hadith of Muhammad which states;

"He who says (something) concerning the Qur'ân without knowledge, he has taken his seat of fire"'.^[13]

However, this hadith can alternatively refer to the importance of first properly studying and learning the Qur'an before attempting to teach or preach it to others.

Schools of tafsir[link]

Theologists are divided into myriad of sects; each commenting the Qur'an with their own point of view. Some of these sects and their famous examples are;

Classic Sunni[link]

The oldest and widest school of tafsir, they are generally classified as riwaya tafsirs, made by Sunni scholars. Major examples are;

• Tafsir al-Tabari; written by Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
• Ma'alim al-Tanzil by al-Baghawi
• Al-Muḥarrar al-wajiz by ibn Atiyyah
• Tafsir ibn Kathir by ibn Kathir
• Zad al-Masir by ibn al-Jawzi
• Khazain al-Irfan by Syed Naeem al deen Murad Abadi
• Zia' ul-Qur'ān by Allamah Pīr Muhammad Karam Shāh al-Azharī

Mu’tazilah[link]

Mu’tazilah have a very rational way of tafsir, making them an important part of diraya tafsir. Most famous example are:

• Al-Kashshaaf written by al-Zamakhshari
• Cami al-Ta’wil; written by al-Isfahani

Shia[link]

Interpretation of the Qur'an according to Shia point of view. Examples include:

• Tafsir al-Kummi a work by Ali ibn Ibrahim Kummi
• Al-Tibyan by Abu Cafer Tusi
• Tafsir al-Mizan by Allamah Tabatabai
• Tafsir il Imam al-Askari attributed to Imam Hasan al-Askari
• al-Borhan Fi Tafsir al_quran by Hashem Ibn Soleiman al-Bahrani

Sufistic approach[link]

It is an interpretation of the Qur'an which includes attribution of esoteric or mystic meanings to the text by the interpreter. In this respect, its method is different from the conventional exegesis. Esoteric interpretations do not usually contradict the conventional (in this context called exoteric) interpretations; instead, they discuss the inner levels of meaning of the Qur'an. A hadith from Muhammad which states that the Qur'an has an inner meaning, and that this inner meaning conceals a yet deeper inner meaning, and so on (up to seven levels of meaning), has sometimes been used in support of this view. Islamic opinion imposes strict limitations on esoteric interpretations specially when interior meaning is against exterior one. Esoteric interpretations are found mainly in Sufism and in the sayings (hadiths) of Shi'a Imams and the teachings of the Isma'ili sect. But the Prophet and the imams gave importance to its exterior as much as to its interior; they were as much concerned with its revelation as they were with its interpretation. These are generally not independently written, however they are found in the books of Sufis. Some examples are;

• Hakaik al-tafsir by Sulemi

Scientific approach[link]

Scholars deeply influenced by the natural and social sciences followed the materialists of Europe or the pragmatists. Under the influence of those secular theories, they declared that the religion's realities cannot go against scientific knowledge. What the religion claims to exist, but which the sciences reject should be interpreted in a way that conforms with the science; as for those things which the science is silent about, like the resurrection etc., they should be brought within the purview of the laws of matter; the pillars upon which the divine religious laws are based — like revelation, angel, Satan, prophethood, apostleship, Imamah (Imamate) etc. - are spiritual things, and the spirit is a development of the matter. As for the Qur'an itself, one should not explain it in the light of the old philosophy and theories, because they were not based on observations and tests — they were just a sort of mental exercise which has been totally discredited now by the modem science. Found by Ghazali and built upon by Razi, it is one of today's most abundant way of tafsir. Common examples are;

• Mafatiḥ al-Ghayb by Fakhruddin al-Razi

Philosophic approach[link]

The philosophers try to fit the verses on the principles of Greek philosophy . If a verse was clearly against those principles it was explained away. In this way the verses describing metaphysical subjects, those explaining the genesis and creation of the heavens and the earth, those concerned with life after death and those about resurrection, paradise and hell were distorted to conform with the said philosophy. That philosophy was admittedly only a set of conjectures — unencumbered with any test or proof; but the Muslim philosophers felt no remorse in treating its views on the system of skies, orbits, natural elements and other related subjects as the absolute truth with which the exegesis of the Qur'an had to conform.

Fiqhi approach[link]

Fiqhi tafsir deals mainly with verses that have a legislative meaning (see ahkam), and it strives to obtain Islamic law from the Qur'an. It is a very common school classically and modernly. There is a dispute over the number of verses that contain jurisprudence, numbers ranging from 5 to 200 are reported. Some works part of this school are;

• Aḥkam al-Qur'an by al-Jassas
• Aḥkam al-Qur'an by Qaḍi Abū Bakr ibn al-'Arabī

Written tafsirs[link]

A wide range of Tafsirs heve been written in many languages since Sahaba and Tabiiun. One source can be the following website: www.altafsir.com ^[14]

See also[link]

• Asbab al-nuzul
• Quran translations
• List of tafsir

Sources[link]

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. (November 2011)

Hamza Yusuf
Hamza Yusuf at Doha Academy Education Conference in Qatar, 2010.
Born	Mark Hanson 1958 (age 53–54) Walla Walla, Washington, United States
Residence	Northern California, United States
Occupation	Islamic scholar
Religion	Sunni Islam[1][2]
Spouse	Liliana (Umm Yahya) Hanson
Website
Sandala.org

Hamza Yusuf Hanson is an American Islamic scholar^[3][4], and (with Zaid Shakir and Hatem Bazian) is co-founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California, United States. He is a convert to Islam, and is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding. He has described the 9/11 attacks as "an act of 'mass murder, pure and simple'". Condemning the attacks, he has also stated "Islam was hijacked ... on that plane as an innocent victim".^[5] The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom reported that he "is arguably the west's most influential Islamic scholar" and added that "many Muslims find his views hard to stomach."^[6]

Biography[link]

Hamza Yusuf was born to two academics^[7] in Washington State and raised in Northern California. In 1977, he became Muslim and subsequently traveled to the Muslim world and studied for ten years in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, as well as North and West Africa.^[8] Hamza Yusuf spent four years studying in the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere in the Middle East. Later he traveled to West Africa and studied in Mauritania, Medina, Algeria, and Morocco under such scholars as Murabit al Haaj; Baya bin Salik, head of the Islamic court in Al-'Ain, United Arab Emirates; Muhammad Shaybani, Mufti of Abu Dhabi; Hamad al-Wali; and Muhammad al-Fatrati of Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.^{[citation needed]} After more than a decade abroad, he returned to the United States and earned degrees in nursing from Imperial Valley College and religious studies at San José State University.^{[citation needed]}

Hamza Yusuf is a co-founder of Zaytuna College, located in Berkeley, California. He is an advisor to Stanford University's Program in Islamic Studies and the Center for Islamic Studies at Berkeley's Graduate Theological Union.^{[citation needed]} He also serves as a member of the board of advisors of George Russell's One Nation, a national philanthropic initiative that promotes pluralism and inclusion in America. In addition, he serves as vice-president for the Global Center for Guidance and Renewal, which was founded and is currently presided over by Abdallah Bin Bayyah, one of the top jurists and masters of Islamic sciences in the world.^{[citation needed]}

Hamza Yusuf has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching methodologies throughout the world. He has also been an advocate for social justice, peace, and conviviality among peoples and places. For several years, he has argued that the "them versus us" problem is fundamentally flawed, and, in R. D. Laing’s term, a “knot” that will destroy people if they do not extricate themselves from it.^{[citation needed]}

Hamza Yusuf has served as an advisor to many organizations, leaders, and heads of state.^{[citation needed]} He has been an innovator in modern Islamic education^{[citation needed]}, founding the highly imitated Deen Intensives, and with Ibrahim Osi-Efa, he started the first Rihla program in England, which has been running for over fifteen years. Dozens of young Muslims who were influenced by his call to reviving traditional Islamic studies in the West went to the Muslim lands in the nineties and early part of the current decade to study, many of who are now teachers in their own right.^{[citation needed]}

With Eissa Bougari, Hamza Yusuf initiated a media challenge to the Arab world that resulted in a highly successful cultural religious program that he hosted for three years and was one of the most watched programs in the Arab world during Ramadan.^{[citation needed]} Cambridge Media Studies stated that this program had a profound influence on subsequent religious programming in the Arab world. He has also been interviewed on BBC several times and was the subject of a BBC documentary segment The Faces of Islam, ushering in the new millennium, as it aired at 11:30 pm on December 31, 1999. Hamza Yusuf has been an outspoken critic of American foreign policy as well as Islamic extremist responses to those policies.^{[citation needed]}

He has drawn criticism from both the extreme right in the West and Muslim extremists in the East.^[9] He told The Guardian: "Many people in the west do not realise how oppressive some Muslim states are – both for men and for women. This is a cultural issue, not an Islamic one. I would rather live as a Muslim in the west than in most of the Muslim countries, because I think the way Muslims are allowed to live in the west is closer to the Muslim way. A lot of Muslim immigrants feel the same way, which is why they are here."^[10]

He and colleagues founded the Zaytuna Institute in 1996, which has established an international reputation^{[citation needed]} for presenting a classical picture of Islam in the West and which is dedicated to the revival of traditional study methods and the sciences of Islam. Hamza Yusuf currently resides in Northern California with his wife and five children.^{[citation needed]}

Hamza Yusuf has also authored several encyclopedia articles and research papers. His published books include The Burda (2003), Purification of the Heart (2004), The Content of Character (2004), The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi (2007), Agenda to Change our Condition (2007), and Walking on Water (2010). Forthcoming are The Prayer of the Oppressed, and The Helpful Guide.^{[citation needed]}

Hamza Yusuf is the first American lecturer to teach in Morocco's prestigious and oldest university, the University of Al-Karaouine in Fes.^[11] He is married and has five children, all boys.

Critical reception[link]

Jordan's Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre placed him on its list of the top 50 most influential Muslims in the world.^{[citation needed]} The magazine Egypt Today described him as a kind of theological rock star, "the Elvis Presley of western Muslims."^[12] Recently, Hamza Yusuf was ranked as "the Western world's most influential Islamic scholar" by The 500 Most Influential Muslims, edited by John Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin, (2009).^[13]

Publications[link]

Books Authored[link]

• The Burda The Burda (2003)
• Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart (2004)
• The Content of Character (2004)
• The State We Are In: Identity, Terror, and the Law of Jihad (contributing Author) (2006)
• The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi The Creed of Imam Al-Tahawi (2007)
• Agenda to Change our Condition co-authored with Zaid Shakir (2007)
• Walk on Water: The wisdom of Jesus Walk on Water: The wisdom of Jesus (2010)
• Educating your Child in Modern Times

Books with Foreword or note[link]

• Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning
• The Prophetic Invocations By Mostafa Al-Badawi

Book Edited with Zaid Shakir[link]

• Submission Faith and Beauty Submission Faith and Beauty, The Religion of Islam by Joseph Lumbard (2009)

Papers[link]

• Caesarean Moon Births Part 1
• Caesarean Moon Births Part 2
• Climbing Mount Purgatorio
• Religion, Violence, and the Modern World
• Generous Tolerance in Islam and its Effects on the Life of a Muslim
• Chess in the Light of the Jurist
• Who are the Disbelievers?

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hamza Yusuf

Websites[link]

• Sandala.org – Official website of Hamza Yusuf
• Zaytuna.org – Zaytuna College
• Sheikhhamza.com – Contains list of books recommended by Hamza Yusuf and a biography

See also[link]

• Zaytuna College
• Zaid Shakir

Suhaib Webb
File:Suhaibwebb3.jpg
Born	William Webb (1972-06-29) June 29, 1972 (age 39) Oklahoma  United States
Occupation	Imam
Title	Imam
Religion	Islam
Website
http://www.suhaibwebb.com

Suhaib Webb is a contemporary American-Muslim educator, activist, and lecturer.^[1] He is currently the imam of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC), the largest mosque in the New England area.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

He was born William Webb in 1972 in Oklahoma to a Christian family, including a grandfather who served as a preacher.^[2] At age 14, he lost interest in religion going through a self-described spiritual crisis. He also began engaging in delinquency by joining a local gang, was involved in a drive by shooting, and became a successful local Hip-Hop DJ and producer,^[3] making records with various artists.

Education[link]

After converting to Islam in 1992, Webb left his career as a DJ and studied at the University of Central Oklahoma, where he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Education. He also studied privately under a Senegalese Sheikh, learning enough Islam and Arabic to become a community leader in Oklahoma City, where he was hired as Imam at The Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City.^[4] He simultaneously started teaching at Mercy School, an Islamic K-12 school in Oklahoma City.

From 2004-2010, Suhaib Webb studied at the world’s preeminent Islamic institution of learning, Al-Azhar University, in the College of Shari`ah, in Cairo. During this time, after several years of studying the Arabic Language and the Islamic legal tradition, including maliki law, he also served as the head of the English Translation Department at Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah.^{[5][dead link]}

Career[link]

Apart from his studies, he frequently lectures in the United States and Malaysia, and records public lecture series on Islam and contemporary Muslim matters. After graduating from Al-Azhar, he moved to Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay area, where he hosted the weekly "Real Talk" call-in radio show.^[6] On December 1, 2011, Webb was inaugurated as the Imam of the Islamic Society of Boston's Cultural Center (ISBCC)^[7], the largest Islamic center in New England^[8].

Suhaib Webb is an active member of the Muslim American Society and its youth department and has been so for the last ten years. It is through the Muslim American Society's scholarship program that he was sent to Egypt to attain fluency in Arabic and focus on Islamic studies.^[9] Webb frequently hosts lectures and posts articles offering Islamic perspectives on modern-day issues such as community involvement and social relevance.^[10]

Reputation[link]

Some UK government officials were quoted in a 2004 edition of The Guardian describing Webb as a "moderate leader" along with the likes of Hamza Yusuf and Amr Khaled.^[11] Webb was named one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in 2010.^[12] Webb's website, www.SuhaibWebb.com, was voted the best "Blog of the Year" by the 2009 Brass Crescent awards ^[13] and his tweets won him the vote of "Best Muslim Tweeter" of 2010.^[14]

Views & Accomplishments[link]

Webb joined a trip of imams to Auschwitz in 2010, followed by a public statement to condemning Holocaust-denial and anti-Semitism.^[15] He helped raise $20,000 for widows and children of firefighters killed in the 9/11 attack.^[16] He is a part of efforts to more effectively rebut militants and religious extremists ^[17][18] and is an advocate for grassroots Muslim activism to promote social change. He advocates for an American-style Islam, one that is true to the Quran and Islamic law but that reflects this country's customs and culture.^[19][20]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Suhaib Webb's Official Website
• Suhaib Webb on Twitter
• Suhaib Webb's Official Youtube Page
• Suhaib Webb Video and Audio lectures from Halal Tube
• Suhaib comments on his conversion to Islam
• Advice by Suhaib Webb to the Converts (Audio Lecture)

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Nouman Ali Khan is a Muslim speaker and the CEO and founder of Bayyinah, an Islamic educational institution in the United States.^[1][2]

His early education in Arabic started under in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and continued in Pakistan. His serious Arabic training began in 1999 in the United States. He has been teaching Modern Standard and Classical Arabic at various venues for several years with over 10,000 students nationwide.^[1] Nouman Ali Khan teaches about the religion of Islam through his video speeches.^[3] He also frequently speaks at Islamic Circle of North America Conventions about Islam, family, and other life topics.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Detailed Student Notes of Nouman Ali Khan's Lectures

• Nouman Ali Khan lectures

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!