Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity Quotes

“Man is certainly free, but he is responsible for this freedom before God as before men. This responsibility is inevitably moral. In order of this morality, to be free is to protect the freedom of others and their dignities.”
― Tariq Ramadan, Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity

“Acknowledged differences may create mutual respect, but hazy misunderstandings bring forth nothing but prejudice and rejection.”
― Tariq Ramadan, Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity

“It is impossible to live in autarchy, to make the testimony of faith, pray and fast and go to pilgrimage only, far from men and worrying about no one except oneself. It is worth repeating that to be with God is tantamount to being with men; to carry faith is tantamount to carrying the responsibility of a continuous social commitment. The teaching that we should extract from zakat is explicit: to posses is tantamount to having to share.”
― Tariq Ramadan, Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity

“Always walking along despite the dangers and adversities, despite the injustices and horrors, trusting in God so as not to despair of men and events.”
― Tariq Ramadan, Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity

“One would love nonetheless to know how to be a man, how to be a woman before God, in the mirror of one's own conscience, in the looks of those who surround us. One would wish to find the strength to beautify one's thoughts and to purify one's heart. It is everyone's hope and expectation to live in serenity and to plod along in transparency: the palms of the hands patiently directed towards heaven, at the heart of all this modernity.”
― Tariq Ramadan, Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity

“It must be admitted that the West has reached a level of scientific mastery and outstanding specialisation. In its points of reference, this evolution commands admiration and all civilisations have to benefit from the dynamic of this rationality, as they can derive lessons from the progress achieved. "Benefiting", "deriving lessons" do not, nevertheless, mean submission. In the same way, it must be acknowledged that other civilisations and cultures propose a rich vision of the world, and that some of these have managed to preserve the basic values of life, and glimpses of their fundamental shape are beginning to be seen in the West. It is not a question of suggesting a new wave of "love for exoticism and folklore". On the contrary, it is a question of engaging in an exigent reflection about cultural specificities and possible enrichment starting from within cultures and not at their peripherals.”
― Tariq Ramadan, Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity

“North-South imbalances and the exploitation of men and raw materials, combined with the resignation of the peoples of the North, produce a much more devastating violence than that of armed groups, even if the latter are spectacular.”
― Tariq Ramadan, Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity

“Before God and in conscience, Muslims cannot satisfy themselves by repeating what the texts say and then snap their fingers at daily social realities: that would be to speak of an ideal while at the same time blind themselves as to their daily betrayal.”
― Tariq Ramadan, Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity

“We are then content with some well-intended speeches, and as far as the rest is concerned we would have to rely on God. As if "reliance on God" means a lack of intelligence or competence in action; as if the Qur'anic Revelation has not distinguished between orientation and state, between where we should be and where we are; between the actualised foundation of a social project and the well-intended expression of its form.”
― Tariq Ramadan, Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity