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Book Review
Tariq Ramadan. Western Muslims and the Future of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2004.
Traditionally, the discourse on the relationship between the West and Islam
was primarily focused on mere being two separate and sometimes isolated worlds
with distinct identities. However, globalization, waves of Muslim immigrants to the
West, and the attacks of September 11, 2001 have introduced some novel approaches
as well as serious challenges to complicate this intellectual discourse. It is no longer
about two separate worlds or identities of the Christian West and Islam per se, but it
becomes more focused on Islam in the Western hemisphere. These developments
urged many intellectuals and scholars to broaden their scopes and thus view the
encounter between the West and Islam in new terms.
In his work, The Clash of Civilizations, Samuel Huntington suggests that the
dominant characteristic of the post-Cold War world is violence between different
ethnic and religious groups. If one agrees with Huntington’s thesis that the world’s
religious traditions are inherently and inevitably in conflict with each other, then
conflicts will not be conducted in the battlefields of remote deserts, but in the streets
of our cities. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001 many Westerners, particularly
Americans, found out that Islam and Muslims did not exist in remote and exotic parts
of the world ranging from Cairo to Jakarta, but they are indeed present in the midst of
their cities and towns: in Paris, New York, London, Amsterdam, and Munich. This
reality seemed to vindicate a conviction that “the enemy is at home now.”
The post-September 11th world made Muslims’ presence in the Europe and the
U.S. more conspicuous and in many respects more alarming to their Western
neighbors. These developments occurred when increasing Muslim communities in
the West were seeking recognition and visibility. Many mosques, Islamic schools,
and Islamic centers embodied this visibility, but the hopes for integration and
engagement seemed to be diminished with the rise of Islamphobia and the spread of a
culture of fear and exclusion in many Western communities. These new, sad realities
added salt to the wound and consquently brought daunting challenges to the dilemmas
of Western Muslims, both as individuals and communities. Tariq Ramadan is a
Western Muslim scholar and theologian living in Switzerland who has been genuinely
seeking to address these dilemmas and concerns of Western Muslims. His theology
responds to challenges and issues facing Western Muslims in the aftermath of the
September 11th attacks. In his book, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, he
seeks to provide answers to the multifaceted challenges and concerns of Western
Muslims.
Ramadan points out that his book is mainly written to a Western Muslim
audience that is struggling on a daily basis with the many challenges of integration,
engagement, absorption, and assimilation. Many of these Western Muslims also want
to maintain a sincere faithfulness and commitment to their Islamic traditions and
values. The daunting questions for these Western Muslims are: What is their identity
as Western Muslims? How can they maintain two identities of being both Western
and Muslim, which seems to be contradictory and conflicting? How can they apply
Islamic theology to their Western lifestyles? In other words: How can they live Islam
in a non-Muslim land? In response to all these questions and others, Ramadan
mentions that his intellectual and theological approach in addressing all these
challenges and concerns facing Western Muslims is “anchored in the Islamic tradition
and amplified from within: in the sense it is both deeply classical and radically new”
(3). Ramadan’s approach is to bring classic Islamic theology into dialogue with the
contexts of Western Muslims.
Reaching that objective for Ramadan is not a question of relativizing the
universal “Principles of Islam” in order to give the impression that Western Muslims
are integrating themselves into the rational Western order (6). But the main goal, he
argues, is to find out how classic universal Islamic principles accept and respect
“pluralism and the belief of the others,” (6) and, consequently, enable Western
Muslims to live peacefully and securely in the West. On this basis, Ramadan boldly
declares that the theological outlooks that he seeks to develop is only one step towards
building the Muslim personality in the West and in the modern era, too (7).
In relation to that, he points out that the “Path of Faithfulness” for Western
Muslims should be deeply grounded in a true understanding of the universality of the
message of the Islamic faith. This message highlights and illuminates the means that
enable Western Muslims to live in the West with respect for themselves, their faith, as
well as their Western countries (3). To reach that end, Ramadan immerses himself in
a close reading and recontextualization of the classical Islamic theological sources
(i.e.‫ القرأن الكريم والسنة‬: the Qur’an and the Sunna) in the light of the Western Muslim
context. Beginning with the message of Islam and its universal principles and values,
he proceeds to articulate what he calls “a movement of reform and integration for
Western Muslims” (5).
This movement has its ultimate objective in providing an authentic and
realistic Western Islamic theology that is both derivative from the true foundations of
the Islamic faith (from the Islamic terms of reference such as the Qur’an, the Sunna,
the early Muslim Fathers, etc.) and the experiences of Western Muslims. The first
part of the book is essentially a theoretical study of the fundamental principles of
“universal Islam” and the tools that Western Muslims have available to confront
diversity and change, whether historical, geographical, or cultural in the West. The
second part suggests a number of concrete responses to questions and concerns raised
by Western Muslims in arenas such as education, the economy, interfaith dialogue,
society, culture, and women’s participation.
Ramadan believes that Western Muslims should go back to the foundations of
Islam, because they are undergoing the experience of becoming established in new
Western societies. Consequently, Western Muslims should study their points of
reference in order to distinguish what, in Islam, is unchangeable from what is subject
to change (9). This intellectual and theological endeavor suggested by Ramadan
would eventually urge Western Muslims “to measure, from the inside the faith, what
they have achieved, and what they have lost by being in the West” (9).
In the first part of the book, Ramadan discusses the six dominant tendencies of
Islam that are prevailing among Western Muslims: Scholastic Traditionalism, Salafi
Literalism, Salafi Reformism, Political Literalist Salafism, Liberal or Rationalist
Reformism, and Sufism. He concludes that these six major tendencies have failed to
respond to the real theological needs and concerns of Western Muslims. He
thoroughly explains the pitfalls of these six tendencies as well as their failures to
address the challenges facing Western Muslims. These six tendencies are mainly
bounded to specific experiences and realities of Muslims in the Middle East, North
Africa, or Southeast Asia. They all fail to capture the many dimensions and
complexities of the Muslims in a Western context. Worse still, their rigidity has led
to many negative implications on the lives of Western Muslims such as the emergence
of “a minority mentality complex” with bore alienation, lack of participation, and
religious extremism.
Ramadan argues that what is truly needed is “a new form of Western Muslim
Islam” that is both grounded in the classic sources of the Qur’an and the Sunna as
well as the experiences of Western Muslims. For Ramadan, the realm of Islamic faith
necessarily calls on the human intellect to be creative and innovative. Therefore, he
explains that the Qur’an and the Sunna call on the human intellect to determine the
categories, methodologies, and rules for reading and deduction, allowing it to identify
first the absolute and universal and then to establish the specifics of religious practices
(36). Employing this innovative approach will open up vast areas of rational
investigation and inquiry. Thus, in order to remain faithful to their religion, Western
Muslims “must be creative in the matter of relations with the societies and cultures
within which and upon which it is working” (36).
For those Western Muslims who may perceive Ramadan’s approach with
suspicion and skepticism, he adamantly insists that his approach of renewal is not a
modification of the Islamic sources, but “a transformation of the mind and eyes that
read them, which are indeed naturally influenced by the new social, political, and
scientific environment in which Western Muslims live” (38) (italics added). So,
between the ghetto and dissolution, Ramadan claims that the Western Muslims’ paths
toward faithfulness must be constructed on solid, consistent, and coherent foundation.
This should be based on a double dialectical approach, encompassing both the
contextualized study of the Islamic texts and more importantly the study of the
context in the light of the texts (63). Ramadan finds that in the comprehensive
character of Islam, the universality of its message is the way to promote the principles
of integration and solidarity. He invites Western Muslims “to integrate everything
that is positive, to move forward selectively, and to act from within, as full members
in the society,” in order to promote what is good, to work against injustices and
discrimination, and to develop alternatives that do not restrict Muslim theology in the
West to a narrow minded thinking of itself but as an inclusive vision of integration
and solidarity” (55).
Ramadan’s industrious attempts to provide Western Muslims with new
rational and authentic judgments guided by the Qur’an and Sunna (‫)القرأن الكريم والسنة‬
lead him to carry out a deep, thorough, and detailed study of some foundational
Islamic theological concepts and principles. For example, he thoroughly explains the
meanings of the Islamic concept of Al-maslaha (‫المصلحة‬: the common good). This is
an Islamic legal term which means that Muslims are always seek something beneficial
and avoid anything harmful. He also explores the theological meanings of the Islamic
concept of Ijitihad (‫)االجتهاد‬, which is both the source and the legal instrument that
allows a dynamism to be set in motion at the heart of the Islamic law and
jurisprudence.
Ijtihad is defined by Ramadan as the total expenditure of effort made by a
jurist in order to infer, with a degree of probability, the rules of Sharia (‫الشريعة‬:
Islamic Law) from their detailed evidence in the sources. Ramadan emphasizes that
the Ijtihad remains the most important instrument that the Muslim Ulama (‫العلماء‬:
theologians) have “at their disposal to fulfill the universal vocation of Islam, through a
constant dynamic of adaptation in response to the time and the context” (48). For
Ramadan, an authentic understanding, and contextualization of the Islamic concepts
of Al-maslaha and Ijtihad will broaden the horizons of Western Muslims by providing
a perspective of inclusion, flexibility, participation, citizenship, and solidarity.
In addition, a contextualization of this “theological understanding” will urge
Western Muslims to perceive the West neither as an “Abode of Islam” or an “Abode
of War.” On the basis of this theological perspective, the West becomes for Western
Muslims Dar Al Shahada (‫دارالشهادة‬: Abode of Testimony). Ramadan points out that
the concept of Dar Al Shahada means to be entrusted as a Western Muslim with “a
pledge that gives meaning to life: it is to be indwelt and pregnant with a
comprehensive perception of life, death, and destiny, guided by faith in One Creator”
(93). Ramadan also adds that for Western Muslims living in this state of Dar Al
Shahada, they have to balance between the Western laws they have decided to accept,
and at the same time they have to find “a way between the sometimes constraining
nature of these laws and their Islamic sources,” in which they may “live at peace with
their conscience as Western citizens as well as their commitment to their Islamic
faith” (99).
Ramadan insists that the Islamic faith calls for a certain way of being in the
world. One should contemplate it while being aware of one’s memory, time, body,
behavior and actions, and trying as much as possible to live with God as one sees
Him and with the Prophet Muhammad as if one were in his company. Therefore, he
points out that his theological approach cannot be complete without exploring the
main tenets of Islamic spirituality (122). Ramadan observes that Islamic spirituality
touches all dimensions and aspects of a human’s life and consquently Islamic
spirituality makes Western Muslims open to human universality. Ramadan mentions
that the nature of Islamic spirituality can create bridges with women and men of other
faiths—and even with all the humanists, agnostics, and atheists who are concerned
about human values, ethics, and respect for the universe (124). Thus, Islamic
spirituality can be a path to promote inclusion, harmony, peace, and coexistence.
In the second part of the book, Ramadan proposes some concrete steps in
order to help Western Muslims in the process of integration and coexistence with their
Western communities. First, he highlights the importance and value of the
“awareness of citizenship” in all the countries where Western Muslims live, notably
France, the UK, and the US. This awareness of citizenship, Ramadan argues, should
lead to a strong participation and engagement of Western Muslim women and men in
the process of reappropriation and affirmation of the Western identity. A true
challenge to this awareness of citizenship is that many Western Muslims still have “a
minority consciousness,” Ramadan warns (110). Ramadan observes that many
Western Muslims continue to consider themselves as an alienated minority of the
defensive. To address this problem, he urges Western Muslims to get rid of this
“destructive” mentality and to participate as equal citizens in their respective contexts.
Engagement can be a remedy for alienation and exclusion. For Ramadan, the first
area of engagement must “take place inwardly” for Western Muslims since “there can
be no harmony with the environment without a search for inner peace” (114).
Second, Western Muslims should pay an attention to education as a mean for
integration, coexistence, and solidarity. Ramadan says the first objective of education
for Western Muslims is the education of the heart, which links consciousness with
God and should awaken in Western Muslims an awareness of their responsibilities
toward themselves, their bodies, their relatives, their communities, and the human
family at large (129). The second objective is the education of mind, which should be
able to understand the message of the Islamic scriptural sources and develop a
knowledge of the environment as well as the human beings who live in it (129). This
type of education by necessity and choice should promote integration and coexistence.
This would, consequently, enhance Western Muslims’ participation because this
vision echoes the practicability of the universality of Islam as well as its
comprehensive human message.
Third, Western Muslims who want to remain faithful to their Islamic terms of
reference are called to develop “a civic awareness” founded on their sense of moral
responsibility as well as the universality of Islam. This promotion of an ethic of
responsibility, Ramadan argues, can take place with partners of other religions,
ecological groups, alternative movements, etc. (156). Ramadan says that for Western
Muslims the “way of faithfulness” is a way that leads towards justice, peace,
coexistence, and civil as well as political involvement in their societies (164).
Fourth, Western Muslims should work towards a sincere interfaith dialogue.
The Qur’an, Ramadan mentions, calls for the promotion of an interfaith dialogue in
which the form is not a mere exchange of information, but it should also be a way of
being and of speaking, an attitude (204). “Difference might naturally lead to
conflict,” Ramadan points out, “therefore it is the responsibility of humankind to
make use of difference by establishing a relationship based on excelling one another
in doing good…” (203).
Ramadan again insists that Western Muslims can normalize their presence in
the West without trivializing its means. This can be achieved, he explains, through
insisting that Western Muslims develop a sense of belonging and a solid commitment
to their Western societies in general (169). For Ramadan, the talents of Western
Muslims scholars and intellectuals should express and eventually produce original and
authentic works inspired by their perceptions and their ethics and at the same time
maintain an authentically European or American quality, style, and taste (221). This
is the challenge for the present as well as upcoming generations of Western Muslims
who will determine the directions their destiny and identity are heading in the West.
Ramadan’s book is a very important contribution to the narrative and
intellectual discourse on Western Muslims. This book provides a genuine intellectual
and theological attempt to establish a comprehensive proposal with specific guidelines
for Western Muslims on how to balance the demands of their Islamic faith as well as
the requirements for Western citizenship, coexistence, and integration. Certainly,
there is no magical recipe for the challenges and dilemmas facing many Western
Muslims. However, Ramadan’s intellectual contribution is a sign of hope that we are
witnessing the emergence of some intellectual voices that earnestly endeavor to
address the needs and concerns of this growing and conspicuous community in the
Western hemisphere. Ramadan’s book supplies these signals of hope and light from a
Western Muslim perspective so that Western Muslims can be accepted and treated as
equal citizens, not as potentials threats. Western Muslims’ choices are between the
culture of fear and exclusion or the positive spirits of inclusion and engagement.
Ramadan’s book suggests taking the second road. Western Muslims are a minority in
the West, but hopefully not with minor human rights and, certainly, not of minor
contribution to the Western civilization, Insha Allahu.