Quotessence
Home / Authors / Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan

Tariq Ramadan Quotes

Writer

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleIslamIfsWayShouldPoliticalNeedsThinkingIslamicWorldCountryStatesEconomicKnowsWantCitizensIntellectualProblemSocialFacts

Famous Tariq Ramadan Quotes

“Since the uprisings in the Middle East many scholars have come out saying that freedom comes first before the Shariah. There is also something important that we must keep in mind in our understanding the Shariah, and that is the room for what is permissible should be as wide as possible. So we should leave it open to let people be creative.”

PeopleShouldMindFirstsImportantUnderstandingRoomsCreativeMiddleWideEastScholarMiddle EastBe CreativeUprising
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“Things need to be properly named. Political confusion starts with terminology confusion. Islamism implies some sort of political and social plan for Muslim people. In that classification, we find different categories. Legalist ones, traditional ones and revolutionary ones. Some of them are revolutionary but are non-violent, others are extremely violent. There are also the ones we call the literalists, like the Egyptian party Hizb al-Nour that used to be against democracy and now is getting into the political game.”

PeopleNeedsDifferentPoliticalUsedGamesSocialPartyDemocracyPlansViolentConfusionTraditionalUsed To BeRevolutionaryAlsCategoriesEgyptianClassificationNon ViolentTerminologyPolitical Games
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“The fact that this organisation is called the Islamic State reveals something even deeper. In fact, it implies that every single Islamist party in Egypt, Iraq or Tunisia are not really representing Islam and Muslim people. Nowadays, political Islam is going through a crisis, however this crisis is necessary, for it will lead to a changing way of thinking. In order to make it out of this dead-end, reviewing political Islam becomes mandatory.”

PeopleThinkingWayEndsStatesFactsPoliticalOrderPartyCrisisIslamIraqDeeperIslamicEgyptWay Of ThinkingOrganisationRepresentingDead EndsIslamistsIslamic StateTunisia
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“When I am talking to people from Germany, we should know that there are certain things and certain histories that are very important for people. If you look at all the Muslims living in the West, they didn't react in a violent way. They don't like what they saw but they are citizens like you and me and they look at it and say: "This is a silly video but we are not going to react."”

PeopleIfsKnowsWayShouldLooksImportantCertainTalkingSawsLike YouCitizensWestSillyViolentVideoGermany
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“The collective psychology is something very close to being sacred - we can do it but we don't do it. We should understand that the Holocaust in the European conscience is reaching a point which is very close to what is sacred for people in the Southern countries, whether they are Muslims or not. Because of that we need to try to have intellectual empathy.”

PeopleNeedsShouldTryingCountryCan DoPsychologyIntellectualEmpathyConscienceSacredReachingCollectivesSouthernHolocaust
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“We need to acknowledge that there is a real issue with how the Scriptures are being interpreted. Whenever I am told that terrorists are not Muslim, I systematically reply that they actually are, and they cannot be marginalised, the same way they are marginalising other Muslim people. Scriptures are quoted even though their interpretations are twisted. In the face of misinterpretation the only way out would be using another interpretation of the Scriptures.”

PeopleWayNeedsRealWould BeFacesIssuesScriptureTerroristAcknowledgeInterpretationTwistedMisinterpretation
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“I think many thinkers and activists, even in the Islamist parties like the Muslim Brotherhood, and the people who left the Muslim Brotherhood to follow Abou el-Fatouh, these people do have an understanding that the relationship between religion and the state must be re-thought and re-assessed. They're not going to use the concept of secularism in any straightforward way, because the concept of secularism is still far too loaded in that part of the world.”

PeopleThinkingWorldWayStillsStatesUseLeftUnderstandingPartyConceptsActivistThinkerBrotherhoodSecularismStraightforwardLoadedIslamistsMuslim Brotherhood
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“Islamism implies some sort of political and social plan for Muslim people. In that classification, we find different categories. Legalist ones, traditional ones and revolutionary ones. Some of them are revolutionary but are non-violent, others are extremely violent. There are also the ones we call the literalists, like the Egyptian party Hizb al-Nour that used to be against democracy and now is getting into the political game.”

PeopleDifferentPoliticalUsedGamesSocialPartyDemocracyPlansViolentTraditionalUsed To BeRevolutionaryAlsCategoriesEgyptianClassificationNon ViolentPolitical Games
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“Salafi is a very broad concept in Islam. What we have now is, like, for example, the Nour Party in Egypt or the Salafi in Tunisia are people who, in fact, we call very often Wahhabi, following the Saudi school of thought and law. And they are literalists in the way where it's black and white, there's a very narrow interpretation of the scriptural sources. For decades, we knew that they were there, but they were not involved in politics. What is completely new for all of us over the last years is that they are now within the political arena and playing the democratic game.”

PeopleWayYearsFactsSchoolLastsLawPoliticalGamesBlackWhitePartyExampleSourceInvolvedConceptsDemocraticIslamFollowingDecadesInterpretationBroadsBlack And WhiteLast YearEgyptArenaSaudisTunisia
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“What is irreversible in the Arab world is this intellectual revolution, the awakening that we can get rid of dictators. That is here, and the people have this sentiment and this political power. They feel that they can do it, and it's still there. At the same time, we don't know what is going to happen. So to be very quick by saying, "Oh, revolutions and Arab Spring," and - you know, what I'm advocating is to take a cautious optimism as the starting point of our analysis and to look at what is happening.”

PeopleKnowsWorldFeelsLooksStillsHappensPoliticalCan DoRevolutionIntellectualSpringHappeningsOptimismStartingAwakeningAnalysisSentimentsDictatorCautiousStarting PointPolitical PowerAdvocatingIrreversibleArab WorldArab Spring
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“If Barack Obama was to say Egypt, with the Muslim Brotherhood, is an ally, he's going to be destroyed here by, you know, the opposition saying, "How come you can say that the Islamists are your ally when these people are the same who are Hamas, and Hamas is against Israel?" It's the end of it. So he's saying, "We are just wait and see; we are trying to deal."”

PeopleIfsKnowsTryingEndsWaitingDealsIsraelDestroyedBarackOppositionAlliesBrotherhoodEgyptHamasIslamistsMuslim Brotherhood
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“Unsettled Middle East, in these times where the people are trying to find their way towards democracy, could be interesting for many reasons - for weapons to be sold, for new geostrategic interests to be protected, and something that we are not talking about, which is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The people who are lost in the whole discussion here are the Palestinians. We have demonstrations in Palestine in West Bank. Nobody is covering this. It's as if they don't exist anymore. And this is, in fact, central. And Israel is silent.”

PeopleIfsWayTryingReasonWholeFactsLostInterestInterestingTalkingDemocracyMiddleConflictWeaponsSilentWestIsraelEastDiscussionMiddle EastProtectedPalestinianPalestineIsraeliDemonstrationCoveringNot TalkingIsraeli Palestinian Conflict
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“As Muslims, we must have an active presence based on ethical and moral consistency. We need to be very vocal, to inform people, to demonstrate when necessary. We need to write so that the people understand that what they are getting from the media and politicians is biased and not accurate. And this is true especially when it comes to some communities within the U.S. or with respect to the Middle East and Africa. This is what I am expecting from a new generation of leaders: Meet these expectations of moral consistency.”

PeopleNeedsWritingCommunityLeaderMoralGenerationsMiddleMediaPoliticianExpectationsActiveEastEthicalMiddle EastExpectingAccurateConsistencyVocalNew GenerationBiased
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“As Muslims, we are all equals, we abide by the laws and we understand that we have to be active citizens wherever we are. Our goals are first to live by our principles, to remind people of these values, to reconcile our respective societies with these shared universal values and to try our best to push for a spiritual agenda with more ethics in society, in politics, in economics, and in culture.”

PeopleTryingFirstsSpiritualLawValuesCultureGoalPrinciplesCitizensEthicsEconomicsUniversalActiveAgendasLive ByReconcile
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“If people who cherish freedom, who know the importance of mutual respect and are aware of the imperative necessity to establish a constructive and critical debate, if these people are not ready to speak out, to be more committed and visible, then we can expect sad, painful tomorrows. The choice is ours.”

PeopleIfsKnowsChoicesSpeakReadyTomorrowImportancePainfulCommittedCriticalDebateVisibleMutualCherishImperativesConstructiveNot ReadySpeaks OutMutual Respect
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image

“The challenge for Muslims in America is to respect the fears of ordinary people while resisting the exploitation of those fears by political parties, lobbies and sectors of the media. To meet this challenge, Muslims must reassess their own involvement, behavior and contributions in American society.”

PeopleAmericaPoliticalChallengesPartyMediaBehaviorOrdinaryContributionExploitationPolitical PartiesOrdinary PeopleInvolvementResistingAmerican Society
Author:Tariq Ramadan
Create image