Print Price: $24.50

Format:
Paperback
288 pp.
6 line illus., 231 mm x 155 mm

ISBN-13:
9780195183566

Publication date:
September 2005

Imprint: OUP US

Western Muslims and the Future of Islam

Tariq Ramadan

In a Western world suddenly acutely interested in Islam, one question has been repeatedly heard above the din: where are the Muslim reformers? With this ambitious volume, Tariq Ramadan firmly establishes himself as one of Europe's leading thinkers and one of Islam's most innovative and important voices.
As the number of Muslims living in the West grows, the question of what it means to be a Western Muslim becomes increasingly important to the futures of both Islam and the West. While the media are focused on radical Islam, Ramadan claims, a silent revolution is sweeping Islamic communities in the West, as Muslims actively seek ways to live in harmony with their faith within a Western context. French, English, German, and American Muslims--women as well as men--are reshaping their religion into one that is faithful to the principles of Islam, dressed in European and American cultures, and definitively rooted in Western societies.
Ramadan's goal is to create an independent Western Islam, anchored not in the traditions of Islamic countries but in the cultural reality of the West. He begins by offering a fresh reading of Islamic sources, interpreting them for a Western context and demonstrating how a new understanding of universal Islamic principles can open the door to integration into Western societies. He then shows how these principles can be put to practical use. Ramadan contends that Muslims can-indeed must-be faithful to their principles while participating fully in the civic life of Western secular societies. Grounded in scholarship and bold in its aims, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam offers a striking vision of a new Muslim Identity, one which rejects once and for all the idea that Islam must be defined in opposition to the West.

Readership : Readers interested in Islam, current affairs, and religious pluralism

Reviews

• "In the spirit of interfaith dialogue, which Ramadan embraces, one might as well describe this book as a splendid practical catechism for Muslims in the West. There is much food for thought in it as well for non-Muslim majorities in the West and Muslim majorities in the Middle East. The book is at its best when it describes and interprets the recent explosion of accusations of witchcraft and other superstitions in the region and links them to the exercise of political power." --Foreign Affairs
• "Tariq Ramadan is a Muslim Martin Luther."--Paul Donnelly, The Washington Post
• "An ambitious, complex effort to engage his fellow Muslims in reform The book reveals a voice of moral clarity and devout faith rooted in a sophisticated appreciation for what is good in Western society and for the contributions Muslims might make to Europe and the US, as well as to spurring change in the Muslim world."--Christian Science Monitor
• "Ramadan is Europe's leading Muslim intellectual. Ramadan's most important message--his advice to Muslims in the West to make the West their home--is one Americans should particularly welcome."-Alan Wolfe, The Chronicle of Higher Education
• Western Muslims and the Future of Islam is must reading for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Tariq Ramadan, a prominent intellectual-activist in Europe and America, represents a new generation of Islamic reformers. Seeking to apply the principles and values of Islam to the realities of modern or post-modern life, Ramadan takes up the challenge of reinterpretation and reform, critically and boldly addressing the major issues facing Muslims in the West, from faith and identity to political participation, economic life, and interreligious relations. --John L. Esposito, author of Unholy War and What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam
• "Thanks partly to Ramadan, Islam is on its way to becoming an integral part of Europe's religious landscape."--Time
• "The work of Tariq Ramadan will take its place in the annals of Islamic thought."--Le Monde Diplomatique
• "The Muslim philosopher Tariq Ramadan invites us to follow him in a reflection at once complex and profound.... This is a book for everyone who is willing to think."--Politis
• "Makes enormous strides in bridging the gap between Islamic values and Western culture."--The Beirut Review