“It is important that the Muslim leaders, scholars, and intellectuals are much more vocal and explain what Islam is.” Quote by Tariq Ramadan
“I wrote a call to the contemporary Muslim conscience, saying to the ordinary people that we might not like the video or the cartoons, but that violence certainly isn't the right answer. I don't think laws are going to solve the problem.” PeopleThinkingProblemMightLawAnswersViolenceOrdinaryConscienceSolveVideoContemporaryCartoonOrdinary PeopleRight Answers Author:Tariq Ramadan
“51% of the French people - who are not very religious - were thinking that what "Charlie Hebdo" did was unwise. They aren't asking for a law to prevent Charlie Hebdo from publishing caricatures, but they are calling on its editors to be a bit more sensible.” PeopleThinkingLawBitsReligiousCallingAskingEditorsSensiblePublishingCharlieCaricaturesUnwiseCharlie Hebdo Author:Tariq Ramadan
“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
“I was raised in Chicago and I guess that was one of the special breeding grounds for gangsters of all colors. That was the Detroit of the gangster world. The car industry was thugs.” WorldSpecialCarColorIndustryRaisedChicagoDetroitBreedingGangstersThugGood Breeding Author:Quincy Jones
“I am saying the same to Muslims in the global South, telling them: "Just ignore what is done." However, in the Southern countries they are not living in a comfortable society like you and me. They deal with unemployment, corruption, and surviving. For the majority of them, their religion is helping them survive.” CountryDoneHelpingDealsLike YouComfortableMajoritySouthCorruptionSouthernUnemploymentSurviving Author:Tariq Ramadan
“Just take Germany and the suffering of Jews during and after the Second World War. It would be legal to ridicule and to laugh at this suffering, but since it was such a trauma on the European conscience, no one is going to do it. It is an open scar, an open wound, an open reality.” WorldWarRealityWould BeSufferingLaughingConscienceJewTraumaWoundsWar Of The WorldsGermanyScarWorld War IRidiculeSecond World War Author:Tariq Ramadan
“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
“I keep on repeating something told to me by an American psychologist: "When you are making a joke about someone and you are the only one to laugh, it is not a joke. It is a joke only for yourself." If people are making a joke they have the right to laugh at me but I will ignore them. Ignoring doesn't mean that you don't understand. You understand it so much that you don't want to react.” PeopleIfsWantMeanLaughingJokesPsychologist Author:Tariq Ramadan
“I am talking about anything that is a provocation - ignore it. When something falls under freedom of expression, you can read it and take a critical distance.” FallTalkingExpressionDistanceCriticalFreedom Of ExpressionProvocation Author:Tariq Ramadan
“I opposed the Fatwa against Salman Rushdie. I read the book and took a critical distance. I did not think The Satanic Verses is a blasphemous book. I did not consider the book as being a great read, but as an intellectual I read, I assess, and I respond. I make a difference between true freedom of expression to which we owe a response and provocation, which we ignore.” ThinkingBookDifferencesExpressionIntellectualDistanceResponseCriticalMaking A DifferenceVersesFreedom Of ExpressionSatanicTrue FreedomProvocationRushdieSatanic Verses Author:Tariq Ramadan