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Mukhtar M. Ibrahim

Speaking in the overcrowded Central High School auditorium in St. Paul, Professor Tariq Ramadan, a renowned Islamic scholar, gave a much awaited lecture about integration which resonated with Minnesota Muslims.

Despite being named by Time magazine in 2004 as one of the top 100 most influential people in the 21 century, Ramadan, who is a Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University, was barred from entering the U.S. for six years under the Bush administration. He was accused of giving donations to pro-Palestinian organizations. Ramadan said that he was denied a visa because of a “pretense to prohibit me from speaking critically about American government policy on American soil.”

This past January, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed an order clearing the way for him to come to the U.S, marking a change in policy from the previous administration.

“The decision brings to an end a dark period in American politics that saw security considerations invoked to block critical debate through a policy of exclusion and baseless allegation,” Ramadan wrote on his website.

The diverse audience who attended the event included many college students and women with brightly colored hijabs, in addition to mainstream non-Muslim Americans. Before he began his  speech, Ramadan, who was wearing a dark suit and a light blue shirt,  gave special instructions telling people not to clap while the lecture was in progress. He told his audience that he preferred to have them absorb the message and that clapping would be a needless distraction. The audience remained quiet and attentive throughout the lecture, except for occasional laughter when Ramadan’s humorous side showed itself.

Emotion driven world

The event which was titled “Coexistence – Contributing to the common good while maintaining our values” was organized by Islamic Civic Society of America, which also operated Dar Al-Hijrah mosque. In recent months, Dar Al-Hijrah has upped the ante on promoting greater engagement between the Muslim community and the non-Muslims they live in.

One Dec. 1, ICSA in collaboration with the Islamic League of Somali Scholars in America held an open house for non-Muslim neighbors in an effort to start a dialogue in a climate that has been clouded by recent unpleasant events – the foundered plan to burn the Qur’an, the hyped up proposal to build an Islamic center in New York, and the recent botched plot to blow up a Christmas-tree lighting festival in Portland by a 19 year-old Somali student.

The Dar Al-Hijrah mosque has recently contended with its own share of problems with some community members. The leaders of the Center were called “infidels” after attending a multi-faith event at the end of September.  The aim of the event was for religious leaders from other faiths to show solidarity with Muslim leaders since the nation had seen a rise anti-Muslim rhetoric in the summer. The venue of the event which was a temple led to criticism from a local Muslim cleric. This rush to judgment by people of all backgrounds is what Ramadan was protesting.

Ramadan said that we’re living in world which is “driven by emotions.” He encouraged dialogue with the larger community and warned Muslims against keeping themselves isolated. Ramadan, who is one of the leading Muslim intellectuals in the world, said it’s time to embrace the new “we”.

“Look at this room,” Ramadan said, “we’ve Muslims coming from the Middle East, coming from Pakistan, and non-Muslims coming, and they are here with us. This us is the new we.”

He said the idea of “us versus them” should be discontinued and it is essential to promote a more comprehensive approach to understanding one another. He told the Muslims in the audience that they live in the post-integration era and the time has come to contribute to their new communities.

“If we want to be effective in this new ‘we,’ everyone of us should contribute,” he said.

Ramadan acknowledged that people have different cultures, backgrounds, and histories, but also stressed that they have “the same citizenship and the same future.”

Intermittently referring to his notes, Ramadan mainly focused on how American Muslims should stay true to their faith while fully participating as citizens of this country. He said Muslims should contribute to the society and should be active citizens, taking part in all manner of activities from participating in inter-faith dialogue to playing sports.

He gave an analogy of how international soccer star, Zinedine Zidane, who is originally from Algeria, is revered in France as a true Frenchman. He pointed out that people forget his Algerian background and focus on his talent instead. Ramadan referred to this as the “Zinedine syndrome.” He said Zidane contributes to his society and thus is an “added value.” The direct consequence is having Zidane viewed as truly French and “ color is removed as an obstacle.”

But “If you are an added trouble,” Ramadan said,  “you are one of them [not true citizens].”  In other words, a true citizen adds value to his or her community, not trouble.

Body here, hearts there

Ramadan, who was apparently notified of the large Somali presence in the audience, called this community out for making the same mistakes that earlier immigrants did – harboring a painful longing of going back home one day and living their lives in a transit state.

He said many parents long to go back home but then they become a “father and mother and then grandfather and grandmother” and are still here many years later, despite having a mentally packed bag ready to leave at any time.

“Reconcile your body and your heart. Here you live, here you educate, here you are going to stay,” he said, adding “you can’t raise any child when your heart is there [in Somalia] and your body here [in the U.S.]. At one point you are creating a fracture.” This fracture is creating a disenfranchised community whose members cannot relate to one another or the society they live in.

Instead, Ramadan encouraged people to strive to contribute to the social and political development in their local communities. He views this as the only way they will feel at home

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