Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss citizen, weighs in on the minarets ban.
After discussing the political background, he makes the following interesting contentions:
Who is to be blamed? I have been repeating for years to Muslim people that they have to be positively visible, active and proactive within their respective western societies. In Switzerland, over the past few months, Muslims have striven to remain hidden in order to avoid a clash. It would have been more useful to create new alliances with all these Swiss organisations and political parties that were clearly against the initiative. Swiss Muslims have their share of responsibility but one must add that the political parties, in Europe as in Switzerland have become cowed, and shy from any courageous policies towards religious and cultural pluralism. It is as if the populists set the tone and the rest follow.
aziz 1:15 pm on November 30, 2009 Permalink |
good response to Tariq Ramadan by the Islam in Europe blog –
abunoor 1:44 pm on November 30, 2009 Permalink |
It’s odd that Ramadan wouldn’t know that about kosher slaughter.
I think the larger discussion is very interesting. I try not to pontificate about Muslims in Europe since I don’t have any personal feel for their situation. I would resist generalizations of either kind — since it would seem that while there is a significant lack of acceptance of Islam as being swiss, there is also significant and widespread opposition to this vote on various levels of European society.
thabet 4:20 pm on November 30, 2009 Permalink |
The churches and various Jewish groups opposed the ban.
aziz 7:21 am on December 1, 2009 Permalink |
true, and that supports TR’s main point is that the muslim community there has tried to hide and avoid attention in dealing with this rather than aggressively engaging, and asserting, their cause with their natural allies.
a single TV commerecial with a rabbi and a imam would have done more to forestall the bill than all the posters have done to promote it.
Conrad Barwa 2:01 am on December 2, 2009 Permalink
a single TV commerecial with a rabbi and a imam would have done more to forestall the bill than all the posters have done to promote it.
If the blog response to TR is anything to go by, it could have terrified voters into supporting the bill as well.
thabet 2:48 am on December 2, 2009 Permalink
CIF comments are usually nasty.
Hicham Maged 6:27 pm on December 1, 2009 Permalink |
I found Tariq Ramadan’s article insightful since it deals with the problem of Muslim integration in their corresponding ‘European societies’ which became a segneficant issue as citizens, and here I agree that it is not about the minarets themselves but the message behind this.
On the other hand, needless to mention that Tariq himself is not only a swiss citizen but was born and raised there, so he is aware what is happing.
Anyway, I am aganist generalizing, stereotyping and extremism in anything.