Tariq Ramadan On Being Considered A “Muslim Intellectual”

Tariq Ramadan, author of The Quest for Meaning, addresses the problem of being a “Muslim intellectual” in an editorial in The Guardian.
Ramadan writes that his book is designed to promote pluralism for all, regardless of religion or place within society.
But, as he promoted the book, Ramadan says it became clear that some thought he could not write about pluralism.
“Prisoners of their certainties about what a ‘Muslim intellectual’ is entitled to be and to say, some critics have evaluated the book on the basis of their preconceived opinion of its author,” Ramadan said.
Rather than focusing on the message of his book, Ramadan feels critics and reporters have focused on his religion — or the lack of his writing directly about it. One commentator even suggested Ramadan’s intentions were suspect simply because he is Muslim.

Ramadan says that, more important than what critics have said about him, is the way their writings have illustrated the point of his book.

Such open, critical readings reinforce my optimism about the future of our pluralist societies, as against the hasty dismissals of certain intellectuals and critics trapped in their certainties, ready to insist that an intellectual they describe as “Muslim” must either speak of Islam or hold his piece.

Read More: The problems of being called a ‘Muslim intellectual’ (The Guardian)

Source ;http://muslimvoices.org/tariq-ramadan-considered-muslim-intellectual/Tariq Ramadan On Being Considered A “Muslim Intellectual”