“Feeling sympathy and searching for explanations isn't the same as believing that the violence is justified.” Quote by Tariq Ramadan
“Islam, as a religion, has been established in France for a long time, and the religious question has been resolved in this country. Islam does not threaten France's future in any way.” WayLongDoeHas BeensCountryReligiousLong TimeIslamFrance Author:Tariq Ramadan
“Emancipation can only come from within; it cannot be dictated by someone else. A law banning the wearing of headscarves changes nothing, except perhaps external appearance. Naturally, Islamic feminism must also include the right to education, to work and the freedom to select one's own husband.” LawFeminismHusbandAppearanceIslamicSelectEmancipationExternal AppearanceHeadscarves Author:Tariq Ramadan
“The dogmatic and, therefore, invulnerable core in Islam is understandably simple: acknowledgement of faith, prayer, charity and fasting. Almost everything else is open to interpretation and modification in space and time.” PrayerSimpleSpaceCharityIslamCoreInterpretationTime And SpaceFastingAcknowledgementDogmaticModificationFaith Prayers Author:Tariq Ramadan
“Islam can only be modernized from within. If I state that I condemn the practice of stoning, that this punishment is despicable, it changes nothing. My fellow Muslims will say: Brother Tariq, you became a European, a Swiss citizen, so you are no longer one of us.” IfsStatesPracticeBrotherCitizensFellowsIslamPunishmentDespicableSwiss Author:Tariq Ramadan
“The suicide bomber who blows up Israeli children cannot transform himself into a martyr. The Palestinian problem is not an Islamic problem.” ChildrenProblemSuicideBlowIslamicPalestinianMartyrIsraeliBombersSuicide Bombers Author:Tariq Ramadan
“I am not a politician. I have often been approached in this regard, but I have always declined these sorts of offers. I view myself as an independent, critical intellectual, as someone who tries to stimulate thought on the left and the right, to encourage intellectual evolution.” TryingLeftViewsEvolutionPoliticianOffersIntellectualRegardIndependentCritical Author:Tariq Ramadan
“The Islamic world is obsessed with the notion of strong leaders. This is a mistake. We don't need powerful leaders, but rather unconventional, progressive thinkers with the courage to open our minds.” WorldNeedsMindStrongPowerfulMistakeLeaderNotionObsessedIslamicProgressiveThinkerUnconventionalPowerful LeadersStrong Leaders Author:Tariq Ramadan
“I sometimes joke that I am the first writer of historical fiction who can look out his window and point to the objects in his novels. I have a view of the entrance to the Bosporus, the old city, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque.” FirstsLooksSometimesViewsCitiesFictionNovelObjectsJokesWindowBlueHistoricalHistorical FictionEntrancesMosquesSophia Author:Orhan Pamuk
“The bloody years of war and all the atrocities in European history have taught the Europeans that secular politics free of religious hatred is mainly a question of peace. This concept is not anchored in the same way in the consciousness of Turks, which has to do with the fact that the secular was forced upon us by the army.” WayYearsWarFactsReligiousConsciousnessTaughtConceptsHatredArmyBloodySecularAtrocitiesEuropean HistoryReligious Hatred Author:Orhan Pamuk
“My religion is complicated. Literature is my true religion. After all, I come from a completely non-religious family.” LiteratureReligiousComplicatedTrue ReligionNon ReligiousReligious Family Author:Orhan Pamuk