Brother Tariq: The Doublespeak of Tariq Ramadan
Page 30
51 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "LIslam. Le face-a-face des civilizations? [Islam: The confrontation of civilizations?]," interassociation training seminar, Brussels, Mediacom.
52 See the Dictionnaire mondial de l'Islamisme, P. 425.
53 Ibid., p. 424-
54 Hani Ramadan, Islam et la derive de l'Occident [Islam and Western Deviance], Paris, Maison d'Ennour, 2001, P. 57.
55 Hani Ramadan, Aspects du monotheis- me musulman [Some Aspects of Muslim Monotheism], Lyon, Tawhid, 1998, p. 98.
56 Hani Ramadan, "Limpasse de l'homosexualite [Homosexuality: A dead end]," interview with Yann Gessler, Le Nouvelliste, January 25, 2003-
57 Hani Ramadan, La Femme en Islam [Women in Islam], Lyon, Tawhid, 1998.
58 Ibid., p. 53•
59 Cited in the Dictionnaire mondial de l'Islamisme, P. 423-
6o Published in 2001 by the Geneva Islamic Center.
61 La Tribune de Geneve, December 21, 1992.
62 Manuel Grandjean, "Le Courrier naccordera plus de tribune a Hani Ramadan [Le Courrier will no longer publish contributions by Hani Ramadan]," Le Courrier, September 30, 2002.
63 Le Courrier, November 13, 2002.
64 T. Ramadan, " Lintellectuel musulman fait peur! [The Muslim intellectual is frightening!]," Le Journal du Mardi, no. 155, March 9, 2004. Interview with Laurent Arnauts and Malika Es-
Saidi.
65 Hani Ramadan, "Limpasse de l'homosexualite."
66 Opinion piece published in Le Temps, April 9, 2001.
67 Statement published in La Tribune de Geneve, September 12, 2001.
68 Le Progres, October 4, 2001.
69 Souffrant, the head of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood finally canceled at the last minute, but the two brothers gave their introduction.
7o Hebdo de Lausanne, May 7, 1998.
71 Alain Gresh and Tariq Ramadan, L'Islam en questions, p. 49-
72 "Lettre ouverte a M. Herve Loichem- ol," La Tribune de Geneve, October 7, 1993-
73 Tariq Ramadan, Les musulmans dans la laicite [Muslims in a Secular Society], Lyon, Tawhid, 1994, note 6o, p. 175.
74 Cited in L'Hebdo, July 3, 1996.
75 Tariq Ramadan, "Critique des (nouveaux) intellectuals communautaires [Critique of the (new) communitarian intellectuals]," published October 3, 2003 on www.oumma.com.
76 Liberation, November 25, 2003-
77 Tariq Ramadan, "Un pacte citoyen pour le culte musulman [A citizens pact for the Muslim Faith]," opinion piece, Le Monde, August 12, 2003-
78 "Message aux Musulmans de France," LNMF (Ligue nationale des musulmans de France), cassette recorded in Rosny, 2003-
79 Richard Labeviere, "Les reseaux eu- ropeens des Islamistes algeriens," Les Cahiers de l'Orient, 2nd trimester 2001, no. 62, pp. 133-49•
8o In accordance with the usual protective double discourse, "Mostafa Hamza," the pseudonym used in the staff's editorials, would have us believe that he had never met Said Ramadan in person. "I have never known Sheikh Said Ramadan personally, I regret it," one can read in The Cause. This admission is somewhat surprising, given that the editors of the The Cause also lived in exile in Geneva, were most admiring of Said Ramadan, and prayed in the same holy places. This statement can be interpreted in two ways: either it is a way of honoring the founder of the Center, while at the same time protecting his heirs from being questioned, or else Mourad Dhina and Moustapha Brahimi were actually in contact with his two sons, Hani and Tariq, and thus never knew the patriarch himself. The Cause, vol. 3, no. 25, August 12-19, 1995.
81 Labeviere, "Les reseauxeuropeens des Islamistes algeriens."
82 La Cause, vol. 2, no. 17, March 3, 1995.
83 La Cause, vol. 2, no. 21, June 16-22, 1995.
84 La Cause, vol. 3, no. 29, October 7-13, 1995. The Cause has not been published since 1996.
85 T. Ramadan cassette, "Islam. Le facea-face des civilisations?"
86 Nouveau Quotidien, November 29,1995.
87 On December 5, 1995, the committee organized an evening event at the University of Geneva in support of Tariq Ramadan, attended by 250 people.
88 Several well-known figures signed: Roger Garaudy, but also Albert Jacquard, Father Pierre, His Grace Gaillot, Michel Lelong, Francois Burgat, Christian Grobet, Jocelyne Cesari, Jean Ziegler, and Erica Deuber-Pauli.
89 La Liberte, Geneva-Vaud edition, De
cember 10, 1995.
9o LeJournal de Geneve, June 29, 1996.
91 Cited in Le Progres, "Hani Ramadan. Le preche habile d'un Islamiste laique [Hani Ramadan: The skilful preaching of a "secular Islamist"]," October 4, 2001.
92 "Mille musulmans en colere devant l'ONU [A thousand angry Muslims on the steps of the UN building]," Tribune de Geneve, October 7-8, 2000.
93 Ibid.
94 Memorandum issued by the National Police Headquarters based on information provided by the UCIE (Unidad central de informacion exterior), July 3, 2000.
95 Le Courrier, November 25, 2003-
96 Sylvain Besson, "Sur la piste des chefs d'Al-Qaida [On the trail of the Al-Qaeda leaders]," Le Temps, December 4, 2003-
97 Dictionnaire mondial de l'Islamisme, p. 456.
98 Le Courrier, November 25, 2003-
99 Sylvain Besson, "La societe Al-Taqwa, au coeur de l'Islamisme radical [AlTaqwa at the center of radical Islamism]," Le Temps, December 23, 2003.
10o Sylvain Besson, "La vie secrete de Youssef Nada, ambassadeur de l'ombre des Freres Musulmans [The secret life of Youssef Nada, the Muslim Brotherhood's shadow ambassador]," Le Temps, November 20, 2002.
101 Cited in the Dictionnaire mondial de l'Islamisme, p. 454-
102 Interview with Richard Labeviere, May 15, 2004-
103 Richard Labeviere, Les dollars de la terreur [The Terror Dollars], Paris, Grasset, 1999, P.148.
104 Pierre Pean, L'extremiste Francois Ge- noud. De Hitler a Carlos [Francois Ge- noud, the Extremist: From Hitler to Carlos], Paris, Fayard, 1996.
105 Telephone interview with Ahmed Hubert.
io6 Cited by Labeviere, Les dollars de la ter- rear, p. 149-
107 Interview with Yann Gessler, Le Nou- velliste, January 25, 2003.
io8 Le Courrier, November 25, 2003-
ion"Le vrai danger vient des Freres musulmans [The real danger comes from the Muslim Brotherhood]," La Croix, April 6, 2004-
110 Statement published in La Tribune de Geneve, July 16, 2003.
iii He served as general editor for several volumes ofthis encyclopedia, which is a reference tool for fundamentalists, in particular Mary Martin and Scott Appleby (eds), Fundamentalism and Society: Remaking Politics, Economics, and the Military, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1997.
112 Lyon Mag, no. 134, March 2004-
113 Ibid.
114 Scott Appleby, "Job description for the next pope," Foreign Policy, 13-19 February 2004, available at www.foreign- policy.com
115 Toby Helm, Daily Telegraph, September 12, 2005.
116 The following articles on Tariq Ramadans doublespeak are worth consulting: Dominique Avon, "Une reponse a `l'Islam reformiste' de Tariq Ramadan," Nunc, no. 4, October 2003; Jacques Jomier, "L Islam et sa presence en Occident suivant les perspectives d'un Frere musulman," Esprit et Vie, February 17, 2000; Michel Audetat, "Les habits neufs du fondamental
isme," L'Hebdo, December 4, 2003; Cynthia Fleury and Emmanuel Lemieux, " Lentrisme de Tariq Ramadan," Liberation, November 19, 2003.
Chapter three
i Tariq Ramadan, Etre musulman europeen: etude des sources islamiques a la lumieres du contexte europeen [To Be a European Muslim: A Study of Islamic Sources in the Light of the European Context], Lyon, Tawhid, 1999, tr. from English by Claude Dabbak, p. 452. This book is a translation of the English original, To Be a European Muslim, published by the Islamic Foundation of Leicester in 1999.
2 Tariq Ramadan, Les musulmans d'Occident et l'avenir de l'Islam [Western Muslims and the Future of Islam], Arles, Actes Sud-Sindbad, 2003, PP. 55-56
3 T. Ramadan, Etre musulm
an europeen, P• 397.
4 Ibid., p. 397.
5 Tariq Ramadan, Les musulmans d'Occident et l'avenir de l'Islam, p. 56. The same statement occurs in Etre musulman europeen, but with a slight difference. In 1999 the reference is to "Europe"; in 2003 it is a question of the "Occident." The later work, Les musulmans d'Occident, was greeted as representing a certain evolution in Ramadans thinking. But an evolution in what direction? In 1999 it is Europe that is the target, in 2003 the Occident as a whole...
6 T. Ramadan, Les musulmansd'Occident, p. 56.
7 Leila Babes, "Lidentite europeenne d'apres Tariq Ramadan [Tariq Ramadans concept of European identity]," Islam de France, no. 8, October 2000, p. 16.
8 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "Islam et Occident. References et valeurs [Islam and the West: References and values]," part 2, lecture recorded in Abidjan, QA 15, Tawhid.
9 T. Ramadan, Etre musulman europeen, PP- 389-403-
1o Alain Gresh and Tariq Ramadan, L'Islam en questions [Questioning Islam], a debate organized and presented by Francoise Germain-Robin, Sindbad, 2002, p. 36.
ii Cited by Martine Nouaille, "Tariq Ramadan, personnalite influente et con- troversee [Tariq Ramadan: An influential and controversial figure]," AFP, November 15, 2003-
12 This symposium was organized by the ADICR (Association du dialogue interculturel et interreligieux) on the topic "Religion and democracy."
13 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "Islam et le fondamentalisme religieux [Islam and religious fundamentalism]," QA 11, Tawhid.
14 Sura IV, "Women," 24. The Meaning of the Holy Koran, ed. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, new ed., rev. tr., Beltsville (Md.), USA, 1989, p. 19o.
15 According to the statistics provided by the Minister of Health, 3,600 little girls undergo circumcision every day in Egypt; only 15 percent of the operations take place in clinics or hospitals.
16 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "La femme musulmane. Realites et espoir [The Muslimwoman: Realities andhopes]," part 2, recorded in Senegal in 1998, QA 20, Tawhid.
17 Cited in Azadeh Kian-Thiebaut, "LIslam, les femmes et la citoyen- nete" in "Islam et democratie," Pou- voirs, no. 104, January 2003-
18 Sura IV, "Women," 38, Meaning of the
Holy Koran, p. 195.
19 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "Islam, moderate et modernisme [Islam, modernity and modernism]," TAW 07, Tawhid.
20 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "Le renouveau islamique [The Islamic revival]," QA 23, Tawhid.
21 Le Monde des Debats, January 2, 2002. Sophie Gherardi and Jean-Luc Pouthi- er, Interview with Alain Boyer and Tariq Ramadan.
22 Babes, "Lidentite europeenne d'apres Tariq Ramadan," p. 9.
23 Tariq Ramadan, Peut-on vivre avec l'Islam? [Can One Live with Islam?], an exchange between Tariq Ramadan and Jacques Neirynck, Lausanne, Fa- vre, 2004 [1999], p. 121.
24 As recounted by Sakina Bakha, "Tariq Ramadan, cheval de Troie de l'Islamisme [Tariq Ramadan: Islamisms Trojan Horse]," address given on the occasion of the symposium organized by the journal POUR, April 2000.
25 T. Ramadan, Peut-on vivre avec l'Islam?, p. 146.
26 Ibid., p. 148-
27 Sura IV, "Women," 34, Meaning of the Holy Koran, p. 195-96.
28 Youssef al-Qaradhawi, "Ce qu'on doit faire quand la femme se montre fiere ou rebelle [What must be done when a wife is too proud and rebellious]," Le licite et l'illicite [The Lawful and the Unlawful], Paris, Al-Qalam, 2002 [1992], p. 207.
29 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "La vie conjugale en Islam [Married life in Islam]," recorded in Mauritius, Tawhid.
30 T. Ramadan, Etre musulman europeen, p. 166.
47 T. Ramadan, "Islam, modernite et
modernisme."
48 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "Vivre en Occident. Les cinq fondements de notre presence [Living in the West: The five grounds for our presence]," part 1, QA 39, Tawhid.
49 T. Ramadan, "Islam et Occident. References et valeurs."
Chapter four
I Yasmina, no. ro, July 2003, interview with Nadia Khouri-Dagher.
2 But then he adds: "Since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head." i Corinthians 11.
31 On the program A ioo minutes pour convaincre.
32 On this subject, see Juliette Minces, Le Co ran et les femmes, Paris, Hachet- te, 1996, p. 116.
33 Liberation, November 25, 2003-
34 Des filles comme les autres [Just Ordinary Girls], a book of interviews with Lila and Alma Levy, Paris, La Decou- verte, 2004-
35 T. Ramadan, Peut-on vivre avec l'Islam?, p. 131-
36 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "Lidentite musulmane. Construire notre discourse [The Muslim identity: Developing our discourse," Abidjan, July 1999, QA 28, Tawhid.
37 T. Ramadan, Lesmusulmansd'Occident, p. 113-
38 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "Islam et politique, entre confusion et separation [Islam and politics, between confusion and separation]," QA 48, Tawhid.
39 Ibid.
4o T. Ramadan, "Islam et le fondamentalisme religieux."
41 "La democratie est une donnee con- stante chez les Musulmans [Muslims have always stood for democracy]," interview in an Ivory Cost newspaper published on Tariq Ramadaris website.
42 T. Ramadan, "Islam et le fondamentalisme religieux."
43 "La democratie est une donnee con- stante chez les Musulmans."
44 T. Ramadan, "LIslam et le fondamentalisme religieux."
45 Ibid.
46 Ibid.
3 St. Paul specifies, in fact: "For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head." i Corinthians 11.
4 "The women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church." i Corinthians 14.
5 The context in which the verses recommending the wearing of the veil were written, and their unwarranted interpretation, are brilliantly analyzed in Leila Babes, "La voile comme doxa [The veil as doxa]," MSR, JulySeptember 2002. See also Leila Babes and Tareq Oubrou, Loi d'Allah, lois des hommes. Liberte egalite et femmes en Islam [Allah's Law and Man's Law: Liber ty, Equality and Women in Islam], Paris, Albin Michel, 2002.
6 Sura XXXIII, "The Leagues," 59, The Meaning of the Holy Koran, ed. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, new ed., rev. tr., Beltsville (Md.), USA, 1989, p. 1077.
7 Sura XXIV, "Light," 31, The Meaning of the Holy Koran, pp. 873-74-
8 Youssef al-Qaradhawi, "Que doit faire une femme pour rester en dehors de l'exhibitionisme [What a woman must do to avoid exhibitionism]," Le licite et l'illicite en Islam [The Lawful and the Unlawful], Paris, Al-Qalam, 2002 [1992], p.171.
9 Cited by Azadeh Kian-Thiebaut, "Islam, les femmes et la citoyennete," in "Islam et democratie," Pouvoirs, no. 104, January 2003-
io Tariq Ramadan cassette, "La femme musulmane face a son devoir d'engagement [The Muslim woman and her duty to participate]," part 2, recorded in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), QA 22, Tawhid.
ii Babes, "Le voile comme doxa."
12 Scheib Bencheikh, Marianne et le prophete [Marianne and the Prophet], Paris, Grasset, 1998, p. 145.
13 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "La femme musulmane. Realites et espoir [The Muslimwoman. Realities andhopes]," part 1, QA 19, Tawhid.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
16 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "Relations hommes-femmes [Relations between men and women]," QA 5, Tawhid.
17 Hassan al-Banna, "Les cinquante demandes du programs des Freres Musulmans (1936) [The fifty demands of the Muslim Brotherhood program of 19361," Islam de France, no. 8, October
2000.
18 T. Ramadan, "La femme musulmane face a son devoir d'engagement'.
19 Tariq Ramadan cassette, `Vivre en Occident. Les cinq fondements
de notre presence [Living in the West. The Five Grounds for our Presence]," part i, QA 39, Tawhid.
20 T. Ramadan, "La femme musulmane face a son devoir d'engagement."
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Interview with Jacqueline Costa-Lascaux, February 2004-
24 Asma Lamrabet, Musulmane tout simplement [A Muslim Woman, No More, No Less], Lyon, Tawhid, 2002.
25 "We are confronted by oppressive powers that are prepared to exceed the limits of humanity. It is thus necessary that we also prepare women for our defense." Sayyid Mawdudi, Come Let Us Change This World, Markazi, Maktaba Islami, Delhi, 1975, pp. 11213. (Translated back from the French.) 26 Ibid.
27 LUnion feminine pour le respect et l'aide a la maternite [Feminine Union for Respecting and Supporting Maternity], an anti-abortion French association, explains that "a true feminism must respect our femininity and our maternal vocation." Extract from an information bulletin of the UFRAM, undated but probably 1991, private archives.
28 Tariq Ramadan, Les musulmans d'Occident et l'avenir de l'Islam [Western Muslims and the Future of Islam], Arles, Actes Sud-Sindbad, 2003, P. 244-
29 Tariq Ramadan cassette, "Le renouveau islamique [The Islamic revival]," QA 23, Tawhid.
3o T. Ramadan, "La femme musulmane. Realites et espoir."
31 "Feminist movements conceive of the relations between men and women in terms of strength. We think of them in terms of complementarity." Bulletin du CNFE, March 1986.
32 A Bangladeshi woman doctor, condemned for apostasy by the Islamists on account of her stand in favor of feminism and secularism.
44 Given, as an example of the openmindedness of the Muslim Brotherhood in regard to women, by Tariq Ramadan, Aux sources du renouveau musulman. D'al-Afghani a Hassan al-Banna, un siecle de reformisme islamique [On the Origins of the Muslim Renaissance: From al-Afghani to Has
san al-Banna; a Century of Islamic Reformism], Lyon, Tawhid, note, p. 331-
45 T. Ramadan, "La femme musulmane. Realites et espoir."
46 Ibid.
47 Ibid.
48 T. Ramadan, "La femme musulmane face a son devoir d'engagement."
49 Cited by Claudie Lesselier in "De la Vi- erge Marie a Jeanne d'Arc. Lextreme droite frontiste et catholique et le femmes (1984-90)," in Claudie Lesselier and Fiammetta Venner (eds), L'extreme droite et les femmes [Women and the Radical Right], Villeurbanne, Golias, 1997.