In Pursuit of Justice

Ramadan is no-doubt one of the most thought-provoking Muslim scholars in the world today. His book Western Muslims and the Future of Islam is a must-read for all Muslims (especially in the “West”) and those interested in truely understanding Islam and its potential role in our world today.

This is the link to a recent interview with him. I recommend reading the whole interview, but below are my favourite answers:

The picture you present of Mohammed is someone who had a very forward-looking attitude about the status of women. What lessons can Muslim women take away from Mohammed’s life?
First, he was really treating women as women — and not only as mothers, or sisters or daughters in Islam. Women are equal before God and have the same rights and duties. More than that, he was so respectful. He taught people the way they have to deal with women. When his daughter came to him, he stood up and welcomed her, talked to her, respected her, kissed her in front of the people. At that time, to have a daughter in this Arab tribe was quite a dishonor. It was not valued in society. And he was welcoming women in the mosque, letting them enter and talk in the mosque. Today, in the 21st century, people don’t even let women come into the mosque and practice their religion. He was promoting knowledge. His own wife, Aishah, was a scholar. This is something that we cannot forget about his life.

What about the Quran itself? Does the Quran have a similar status for Muslims as the Bible does for Christians?
Not exactly. For Muslims, the Quran is the very word of God. The Quran is what was revealed. But we still need our intelligence, our reason and our mind to understand what was said to us. Some of the verses should be understood as immutable. When we speak about the six pillars of Islamic faith, this is not going to change. This is trans-historical. When we speak about practices, there is no change. We pray as the Prophet was praying. We fast the same. And we perform the pilgrimage in the same way. But when it comes to understanding the Quran in social affairs, we need our mind and our intellect to understand the meaning of the verses in order to implement them in a new historical context.

You have gone on record condemning all acts of terrorism. Would you say suicide bombings are never justified?
Yes, I’ve said that many times. To kill innocent people will never be justified. People were using this against me. I said, “Look, it’s never justified. You can, in certain circumstances, understand why people could be led to this. But to understand what is happening doesn’t mean you are justified.” But I’m also saying the situation of Palestinians now is so bad that it’s understandable without being justifiable. As an international community, as democrats, as people protecting human rights, we have to say that we need to do something. You can’t be silent as to the Palestinian oppression. My silence is as condemnable as their violence. We have to say no to suicide bombings, but also no to oppression.