Spiegel Online
"We Have to Turn Up the Volume of Reason"
With unrelenting Muslim anger over the Muhammad caricatures, sentiments between Islam and the West once again have all the delicacy of a powder keg. SPIEGEL ONLINE spoke with Tariq Ramadan, Europe's leading Muslim scholar, about the overreaction of the Muslim world, rampant anti-Semitism and the frustrations of Muslim immigrants in Europe.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: The Muslim world's reactions to the publishing of the Muhammad caricatures first in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and then in other European publications have not done much to improve the image of Islam in the West. Are Muslims overreacting?
Tariq Ramadan: Of course. The reaction has been way too severe. I traveled to Denmark back in October and I told Muslim leaders there not to react emotionally, because it would be the reactions and the emotions of the Muslims that would become the center of attention. The best thing would have been for us to take an emotional distance. But now, all you see is angry faces, crying and rage on the television. This is not the way forward for the Muslims.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: But clearly there are deeper reasons for this enormous outburst of emotions than just a handful of offensive cartoons. It's as though huge amounts of pent up frustration are finally being released. Is there something larger going on here?
Ramadan: Of course it started with a few people being hurt by the cartoons. But then a few people took the cartoons to the Middle East. Some governments there were very happy to present themselves as the great champions of Islam. One reason, of course, was to gain legitimacy in the eyes of their own people. But secondly, it was to direct the attention of the people, living under these dictatorial governments, toward the West and to provide their people with a vent for their own frustrations. And it worked -- it became Muslims against the West. All the first reactions from the Islamic majority countries came from those countries (and places) where there is a difficult relationship with the West: Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Gaza, and then Iran. It's more than just the cartoons. It's part of a broader picture that we have to keep in mind.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Where does this intense resentment against the West come from?
Ramadan: There are a number of countries, like Syria or Iran, in the Islamic world which are under tremendous pressure from the West. The governments present themselves as victims and turn their people against the West. In Gaza, to take another example, there is a perception that the West is speaking about democracy, but when the votes are tallied, it considers the result unacceptable. There is also a perception that Israel is supported to the disadvantage of the Palestinians. So there are many things that add up and the result is a perception that the war on terror isn't only against terror but it is also against Muslims. The cartoon showing the Prophet's turban as a bomb didn't help.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: None of this is terribly new. After all, burning American flags in the Middle East has become something of a tradition. But Muslims living in Europe also talk about an anti-Islam prejudice.
Ramadan: If you're living in Europe as a Muslim, it's in the atmosphere. There is the presence of far-right parties and their discourse -- even though such parties don't have much support. But even mainstream political parties have accepted and propagated a discourse which is perceived by Muslims to be a continuous and permanent attack.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: There are also plenty of people and political parties preaching tolerance and doing their best to help Muslims in Europe. Why focus on the negatives?
Ramadan: I have long been saying that we Muslims have to get rid of this victim mentality. But it's there. And it's hard to ignore the Islamophobia or racism that is present. Many allow themselves to be hurt and their emotional reaction spins out of control. Muslim leaders in Europe have a responsibility to help shape the response of the Muslims to the West and of the West to Islam. We have to somehow take the emotion out of the response.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: How is that possible when the Muslim world and some radical Muslim leaders here in Europe are constantly saying that the West is the source of all evil?
Ramadan: The great majority of Muslims in Europe feel they are Europeans. They may face troubles sometimes and may face negative perceptions, but the great majority of Muslims in Europe are demonstrating that they are citizens of Europe and want to change the image of Islam. We have to pay more attention to these people than to the vocal radicals on the margins who think that Europeans will never accept Muslims.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: But there are many who listen to these radical voices on the fringes.
Ramadan: But there are many who don't. The media should speak about these Muslims who are trying to become active and committed European citizens and who are accepting European culture. They need to be helped. Media pressure is undermining our work and we are regressing. Every six months you have some new event which ratchets up the pressure and focuses the attention on emotions, reactions and on Muslims committing violence. The latest event just happens to be the Muhammad caricatures. But these events really undermine the process of reform, the process of settling down and the process of dialogue. Today, there is no dialogue, there is no debate. It's a power struggle and it's very, very vicious.
Published Febriary 09, 2006, Spiegel Online
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,399965,00.html
Part II: "In a Clash of Civilizations, We Both Lose"
