At a Crossroads
A Muslim Call From Europe For Faith in CivilityAfter Jyllands-Posten first published the caricatures, a number of Danish Muslims brought news of the issue to the Middle East and stirred up resentment in several countries. Governments in the region, happy to prove their attachment to Islam — and by doing so find some sort of legitimacy in the eyes of their own people — took advantage of this piece of good fortune and presented themselves as champions of the great cause. Back in Europe, this was enough for some politicians, intellectuals and journalists to present themselves as champions of the equally great struggle for freedom of expression, as resistance fighters against religious obscurantism and for the preservation of Western values.
What an incredible simplification. What a simplistic polarization.
Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss-born philosopher, is one of the leading Muslim voices in Europe. A visiting fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford, and senior research fellow at the Lokahi Foundation in London, he is author of "Western Muslims and the Future of Islam" (Oxford University Press, 2005).
Copyright 2006 © The Forward
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