TARIQ RAMADAN HAS BEEN ONCE AGAIN HOSPITALIZED/ TARIQ RAMADAN DE NOUVEAU HOSPITALISÉ (English below) Après plusieurs jours sans aucune nouvelle, la famille de Tariq Ramadan a été informée qu’une dégradation de l’état de santé du professeur a été jugée suffisamment préoccupante pour que l’administration pénitentiaire, sur injonction du corps médical, ait décidé de son hospitalisation sans date de sortie prévue. 37 jours sans une visite de sa famille. 37 jours sans appels téléphoniques. 37 longs jours.... Le combat continue contre ce traitement inhumain que subit Tariq Ramadan. After a few days without any news,Tariq Ramadan’s family has been informed that a deterioration in the Professor’s health was deemed sufficiently worrying by the prison administration to hospitalise him, on the orders of the medical staff, without an anticipated discharge date. 37 days without a visit from his family. 37 days without a phone call. 37 long days .... The fight continues against the inhumane treatment suffered by Tariq Ramadan. ********** Who is Tariq Ramadan? Meet the women and men who know him intimately, have come across his path and have been taught by him. All unanimously testify to Professor Tariq Ramadan’s exemplary character, his exemplary moral compass, his honesty and his deep concern for the wellbeing of others. ******** Qui est Tariq Ramadan? Rencontrez les femmes et les hommes qui le connaissent intimement, ont rencontré sur son chemin et ont été enseignés par lui. Tous témoignent unanimement du caractère exemplaire du professeur Tariq Ramadan, un sens moral profond, de son honnêteté et de sa profonde préoccupation pour le bien-être des autres. ****** GAMILA DHARI - ACCOUNT MANAGER, BELGIUM I met Tariq Ramadan in 1993 at a conference, I had some questions and he gave my sisters and I time to answer them. I then went on to work with Tariq for almost 20 years regularly where we would be in meetings until dawn, entire weekends of retreats and international events. Then there conferences and getting involved in on the ground in work. A very strong bond was immediately created with us and him. For myself and many others, Tariq gave us the courage, will and desire to engage on the ground at the grassroots and associative level. He also emphasized the absolute need to engage with our co-citizens. A direct and fraternal link was established between us. I have seen him in all different kinds of situations. I have seen him faint from fatigue between 2 flights, I have seen him happy, annoyed, exhausted, moved, motivated, demotivated. But what I have never seen is what they are accusing him of. Never. No, I was not blinded by my feelings ... this huge fraternal affection that I have and that I keep for him never prevented me from observing him closely, including in his relations with women. I have never seen any inappropriate gesture, yet he could have had the opportunity so many times. In fact, I have seen many disturbed and insistent women, probably paid by x, y or z trying to engage with him and he would respond to them very coldly. My fear today is not for him. Tariq has always known how to defend himself from the worst accusations. Today my fear is towards the real victims of rape. Those that will not be taken seriously because of what is happening now. ______________ J'ai rencontré Tariq Ramadan en 1993, lors d'une conférence, j'avais quelques questions, il nous a donné le temps d'y répondre à mes soeurs et moi, puis d'autres questions, d'autres rencontres... un lien très fort s'est tout de suite crée avec nous et lui. Il fut, avec d'autres, ce qui nous a donné l'envie, puis ensuite le courage de nous engager sur le plan associatif musulman et citoyen. J'ai côtoyé Tariq pendant quasi 20 ans régulièrement, je ne compte plus les réunions se finissant à l'aube, les week-ends tripartites, les événements à l'international. Un lien franc et direct s'est établi entre nous. Je l'ai vu dans tous ses états, je l'ai même vu s'évanouir de fatigue, entre 2 vols, je l'ai vu heureux, agacé, épuisé, ému, motivé, démotivé,...mais jamais je n'ai vu ce que l'on dit de lui. Jamais. Non, je n'ai pas été aveuglée par mes sentiments...cette énorme affection fraternelle que j'ai et que je garde pour lui ne m'a jamais empêchée de l'observer de près, en ce compris ses relations avec les femmes. Je n'ai jamais vu de geste déplacé, il en a pourtant eu l'occasion tellement de fois, ...ou plutôt si, je l'ai vu répondre parfois (très) froidement à l'une ou l'autre femme parfois insistante, souvent dérangée... ou probablement payée par x,y,z. Ma crainte aujourd'hui n'est pas pour lui. Tariq a toujours su se défendre des pires accusations. Aujourd'hui ma crainte va vers les vraies victimes de viol. Celles qui ne seront pas prises au sérieux à cause d'affaires comme celles-là. Gamila Dhari - Gestionnaire de compte ************ MARIE GUIDERDONI – SUPPORTING WOMEN THAT ARE VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE, FRANCE My Teacher, my educator, my brother Tariq Ramadan. I am a 36 years old woman and a convert to Islam. With rationality, I try to be a positive and constructive force.I try to create bridges between people at my level. I heard about Tariq Ramadan like everyone else without knowing the man, through his thoughts, convictions and lectures. I knew of Tariq Ramadan as a Professor, having read several of this books and watched many of his lectures in Europe, Morocco, Senegal, Iran. He consistently has the same speech and words: with clarity, perseverance and precision. One winter day, I met him after a conference. I remember that moment completely changed my life, my convictions and my certainties. I attended "by chance" one of Professor's many lectures entitled "The Believer in Thought and Action". At that time, I was not yet a Muslim. I was captivated by this discourse, this precision in the choice of words, the gentleness that emanated from this man and the complexity of his thought. A complexity so simple, I knew immediately it would be part of my intellectual and spiritual universe. I discovered his works, his lectures. The first book I read talks about the biography of Prophet Muhammad, may peace and the blessing of God be upon him. I loved these pages about the desert, about silence, about this relationship to nature. So sweet and so authentic. My nights were spent enlightened by these works, these conferences, these words. Gradually, I built myself up intellectually, meditating on these concepts I had rediscovered. These readings and thoughts about rejecting the victim mentality, positive visibility, togetherness, citizenship, commitment. All these topics and so many more made me want to expand my learning each day, act better than the day before and question our goals, our intentions and our ethics. This learning has taken place and is still going on in serenity, aware that something is surpassing us all ... much bigger than what the human mind can grasp. Then I decided to register with the IIFE - Institut Islamique de Formation à l'Ethique, course in France to benefit directly from the learning of this great teacher. When you meet Tariq Ramadan for the first time, you are struck by his humility, his posture and his softness. One can feel a great modesty and a great respect emanating from his being towards others. I am now enrolled in the second level of the course and every time I meet Tariq Ramadan, he shows great wisdom and kindness to his students. Dear Professor, dear Brother, dear Tariq, you are my referent educator. You have allowed me to build my thinking, to rise to the occasion. I know that you have educated a significant number of Muslims in France who are trying to implement, in their own way, some of your observations. You are the one who guided my heart to Islam by the will of God and I will never stop thanking the Almighty for putting men like you on my path. I pray every day for you and your family. And to return to the beginning of my testimony, I wanted to tell you that after this conference, I put my forehead to the ground for the first time by thanking God. That was three years ago. Thanks to God, prayer has never left me since that day. That day I was so far from suspecting that God would guide me on the path of peace. Thank you again for everything. With all my respect and gratitude. ____________ Mon Professeur, Mon Educateur, Mon Frère Tariq Ramadan. Je suis une femme de 36 ans convertie à l’Islam avec toute sa raison et j’essaye à chaque moment d’être force de proposition, constructive et je tente de créer des ponts entre les gens à mon niveau. J’avais entendu parler de Tariq Ramadan comme tout le monde sans connaître cet homme, ses pensées, ses convictions et son discours. Je connais Tariq Ramadan en tant que Professeur et j’ai parcouru beaucoup de ses ouvrages et regardé bon nombre de ses conférences que ce soit en Europe, au Maroc, au Sénégal, en Iran…Il a toujours tenu le même discours avec clarté et persévérance. Un jour d’hiver, j’ai fait la connaissance de sa pensée lors d’une conférence. Je me rappelle de ce moment qui a complètement bouleversé ma vie, mes convictions et mes certitudes. Je suis tombée « par hasard » sur une des nombreuses conférences du Professeur qui s’intitule « Le Croyant en pensée et en action ». A cette époque je ne suis pas encore Musulmane. J’ai été captivée par ce discours, cette précision dans le choix des mots, par cette douceur qui se dégageait de cet homme et par la complexité de sa pensée. Une complexité si simple…Je découvrais pour la première fois la pensée de Tariq Ramadan et j’ai tout de suite su qu’il ferait parti de mon univers intellectuel et spirituel. J’ai découvert ses ouvrages, ses conférences et le premier livre que j’ai lu est celui qui parle de la biographie du Prophète Mohammed, Que la Paix et la Bénédiction de Dieu soit sur lui. J’ai aimé ces pages sur le désert, sur le silence, sur ce rapport à la nature si doux et si authentique. Puis mes nuits ont été éclairées par ces ouvrages, ces conférences. Petit à petit, je me suis construite intellectuellement, méditant sur ces concepts que je redécouvrais. Ces lectures et ces mots sur la pensée victimaire, la visibilité, le Faire Ensemble, la citoyenneté, l’engagement, tous ces sujets et tant d’autres qui donnent envie d’apprendre plus chaque jour, d’agir mieux que la veille et questionnent nos finalités, nos intentions et notre étique. Cet apprentissage s’est et se déroule encore en toute sérénité, consciente que quelque chose nous dépasse tous…bien plus Grand que ce que l’esprit humain peut appréhender. Puis j’ai décidé de m’inscrire à l’IIFE afin de bénéficier en direct des apprentissages de ce Grand Professeur. Lorsque l’on rencontre Tariq Ramadan pour la première fois, on est frappé par son humilité, sa posture et sa douceur. On sentait une grande pudeur et un grand respect émanant de son être à l’égard des autres. Je suis maintenant inscrite en deuxième année et à chaque fois que je rencontre Tariq Ramadan, il fait preuve de beaucoup de sagesse et de bienveillance envers ses élèves. Cher Professeur, cher Frère, cher Tariq, vous êtes mon éducateur référent. Vous m’avez permis de construire ma pensée, de prendre de la hauteur sur les évènements et je sais aussi que vous avez éduqué un nombre important de Musulmans en France qui tentent de mettre en application, à leurs façons, certaines de vos observations. Vous êtes celui qui a guidé mon cœur vers l’Islam par la volonté de Dieu et je ne cesserai de remercier Le Tout Puissant d’avoir mis des hommes comme vous sur ma route. Je prie chaque jour pour vous et votre famille. Et pour revenir au début de mon témoignage, je voulais vous dire qu’après cette conférence j’ai posé mon front au sol pour la première fois en remerciant Dieu dès le lendemain. C’était il y a trois ans et Grâce à Dieu, la prière ne m’a jamais quittée alors que la veille j’étais très loin de me douter que Dieu me guiderait sur le chemin de la paix. Encore merci pour tout. Avec tout mon respect et ma gratitude, Votre soeur, Marie Guiderdoni - Aide les femmes victimes de violence, France ****** CHAUKI LAZHAR, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CILE, QATAR Tariq Ramadan: I was there I am not one to speak in public, let alone aspire to public discourse. I am not present on social media and I don’t comment on the news. This is not my field nor is it my ambition. I would settle with presenting ideas from my research, through teaching. If I am expressing myself today, it is because I feel morally obliged to as I am a witness and in Islam, it is serious to conceal a testimony "for, verily, he who conceals it is sinful at heart;"(2: 283). Some have advised me to remain silent, at the risk of being thrown to the wolves, to see my name forever associated with Islamism, anti-Semitism, The Muslim Brotherhood. They warned I would no longer be able to find work or I would be under suspicion. This is perhaps the price to pay for those who do not cater to the French media-political atmosphere, but it is not for me to participate in this. If it were a question of addressing the media, I would have no issue to say the following unequivocally to certain pseudo journalists wanting to put an individual on trial in order to attack a message, a community and even a religion. I would tell them that God is great and you are small. In that sense, “and never will you be availed by your [large] company at all, even if it should increase" (8:19), even if it provokes clear attacks under the guise of freedom of expression. My faith in this truth remains unshakeable in the midst of this media agitation. When my forehead touches the ground, nothing remains of this agonizing and painful agitation than a frozen and silent image reflecting soothing, serene and liberating light. That is my belief and I have the right to cherish it, as it is their right to continue their childish fables and stories. However, this is not why I am here. I am here to provide a testimonial for a brother, far from pseudo-analysis, caricatures and other speculations. It is a testimonial from someone who knows Tariq Ramadan intimately. The goal is not to interfere in a case that will be resolved legally. I will just talk about Tariq Ramadan as I know him in response to the portrait drawn by those who do not know him. Having grown up in Flanders (Belgium), it was hard for me, as for many young people of immigrant background, to reconcile myself with my origins to achieve inner peace that reconciles me with the society I live. At the time, Dutch-speaking resources in Islam were very poor, and community events in Flanders were almost non-existent. So I quickly turned to the French-speaking community, and it was in Brussels that I heard about Tariq Ramadan for the first time. I often traveled from the Bruges region to Brussels to attend his conferences and later, I bought a number of tapes that I listened to during the long weekly trips on my way to work in Germany. At first, it was rather difficult, the level of French contrasted strongly with my basic rudimentary understanding that I had acquired through oral exchanges. But, little by little I began to grasp the fundamentals of a discourse, a saving grace, that I had not until then fully appreciated. He addressed my contradictions, my faults, my anger, my fears. It was a search for an identity, not being able to be completely be me because social rejection on both sides: Belgium and Maghreb. Through him, I learned that there was no contradiction between my religious affiliation and my European identity. I learned that in the very name of respect for my spirituality, I had to respect the laws of my country. So much so that I still remember feeling obliged to change my driving behavior in order to respect speeding limits. I learned that the other, citizens of other faiths, was part of myself. God has honored all of us "We have certainly honored the children of Adam" (17: 70). The value of the human being is a universal value and transcends a religion, an ethnicity, a gender, or a social class. God honored all humans, so I have no choice but to follow the Divine example. I learned that God calls Muslims to want good for all humans, beyond the possible injustices that affect us "And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good" (3: 104). Good for all. Tariq Ramadan also introduced me to the true concept of "Jihad". He taught me that the solutions to my frustrations, to my anger, to injustices were first to look inside of myself. He taught me to identify the number one enemy as my own ego. To take up arms of knowledge and learning to fight against it. I began to besiege my enemies, my faults, one after another, to exhaust them with heavy fire and to break their defenses. Then all of a sudden, the world around me changed because this inner Jihad allowed me to free myself from the yoke of evil. "The true Mujahid is the one who makes Jihad against his own ego and passions," the Prophet tells us this in an authentic hadith. The hostility of the outside world does not cross our path by chance. It is primarily a divine blessing that calls for introspection; my frustration against it is only a reflection of unfinished business with my own internal reform. He also taught me that in the face of insults, offences and caricatures, it is a duty to remain calm and serene. Anything but demonstrates an internal spiritual failing as the Qur’an clearly tells us through the first Muslims: "You shall most certainly be tried in your possessions and in your persons; and indeed you shall hear many hurtful things from those to whom revelation was granted before your time, as well as from those who have come to ascribe divinity to other beings beside God. But if you remain patient in adversity and conscious of Him - this, behold, is something to set one's heart upon. "(3: 186). This is the breadth of Tariq Ramadan's teaching. Is this then what Islamism is? The discourse he has tirelessly repeated for decades throughout the world to millions of hearts and minds, consciences, Muslims or not, Westerners or not, young or old? If so, then long live Islamism! Years later, after having studied deeply Islamic sciences and obtained the position of lecturer in Leuven, teaching undergraduate students, I was contacted by Tariq Ramadan, who offered me a position at CILE : Research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics. It was a huge challenge because I was not going to keep only writing and teaching in my corner, I would now have the opportunity to debate with major players from around the world about contemporary Islamic thought and reform. Before that, I had devoted years to an in-depth critical study of Tariq Ramadan's book "Radical Reform", that gave me the advantage of understanding the contours of CILE's vocation. Beyond that, I was getting to know Tariq Ramadan personally, I was now part of his inner circle. I was able to measure the coherence between his public and private speech, because I was there. The Tariq Ramadan I have come to know is neither a Prophet, nor a Guru, nor a Superman (apart from his ability to work enormously). The Tariq Ramadan I have come to know is deeply human in every sense of the word. The Tariq Ramadan I know is a man of principles, a man who does not make concessions. The Tariq Ramadan I know is a humble, very humble man who listens to those around him and does not despise anyone. The Tariq Ramadan I know is someone who never condemns but seeks to accompany, advice, and accepts himself advice. The Tariq Ramadan I know is far from being dogmatic, but is rather open-minded, ready to have people question his positions, listen to even the most distant and reconsider his own positions if required. By integrating within CILE, I quickly understood that the academic world is very competitive, where titles, number of publications, quotes published and, in short, the individual ascension, often take precedence over the cause or the objectives. Where contempt is even commonplace. From this deplorable reality, the Tariq Ramadan I know is totally different. For years, he asked me to stop calling him "Doctor" or "Professor" before "Tariq Ramadan". He is one of the few who have believed in me, despite my age and my limited experience. The Tariq Ramadan I know is like all of us, a man with faults, but the political struggles I saw him leading, I saw him leading them on himself as well. He is also a man who is very sensitive and sentimental. I was there, surrounded by a very small circle, when overwhelmed by emotion, he was unable to finish his speech at his daughter’s wedding after looking at her in the eyes to tell her how much they will miss her. He burst into tears that their family life would never be the same again. I was there at home watching him from afar playing and cuddling with my children. I was there also in private conversations where he had a thoughtful concern for the weak and needy. I was there when he behaved respectfully with women, veiled or not. I was there when we recruited at the Center people of all backgrounds, Muslim and non-Muslim men, veiled or non-veiled women. None of that mattered, he was only interested in people’s competencies and skills. I was there when, during an internal meeting, he spoke about the ethical qualities of his non-Muslim female Oxford collaborator, to the point of not being able to contain his tears. I was there when he was leaving his office door always open every time he talked with woman colleagues or students. I was there when he was constantly attentive to ideas of my female colleagues, veiled or not. My faith calls me to only think good of my brother. "Why do not the believing men and women, whenever such [a rumour] is heard, think the best of one another" (24:12). I am bound by my faith not to spread rumors or slander "when you take it up with your tongues, uttering with your mouths something of which you have no knowledge, and deeming it a light matter whereas in the sight of God it is an awful thing!"(24:15). The media pressure will not push me to spread rumors or throw my brother in Islam or humanity under the bus. For the excellent reason that he is an integral part of who I am. "Believers, in their mutual love and pity for one another, are like a body, if one part of the body feels pain, the whole body will suffer." (Bukhari and Muslim). This fever will pass and the heckling of the media will never get to the better part of a life's work. Because success is not measured in terms of audience, number of views, clicks or likes, nor even in terms of the image left in the History books. _________ Tariq Ramadan : J’étais là Je ne suis pas de ceux qui aiment parler en public, encore moins de ceux qui aspirent à entretenir un discours public. Je ne suis pas présent sur les réseaux sociaux et je ne commente pas l’actualité. Je n’en ai ni les compétences ni l’ambition. Je me contente d’exposer des idées issues de mes recherches, le plus souvent dans le cadre de l’enseignement. Ceci pour dire que si je m’exprime aujourd’hui, c’est que je m’y sens moralement contraint car je suis témoin et qu’en Islam il est grave d’occulter un témoignage « et quiconque l’occulte à certes un cœur perverti » (2 :283). D’aucuns m’ont conseillé de garder le silence, au risque d’être jeté en pâture, de voir mon nom être assimilé à tout jamais à l’islamisme, l’antisémitisme, à la confrérie des Frères musulmans… de ne plus trouver de travail, voire d’être fiché ou de me faire perquisitionner. Tel est peut-être le prix à payer pour ceux qui ne caressent pas dans le sens du poil l’ambiance médiatico-politique française, mais il ne s’agit pas pour moi de participer à la cohue. S’il était question de répondre à la somation des médias de s’exprimer, je n’aurais aucune gêne à m’adresser sans équivoque à certains pseudo journalistes voulant faire, à travers un individu, le procès d’une pensée, d’une communauté, voire d’une religion. D’une manière tout à fait décomplexée, je pourrais leur dire que Dieu est grand et vous petits et qu’en ce sens « votre masse, même nombreuse, ne vous est d'aucune utilité » (8 :19), quitte à susciter des moqueries dans un espace de liberté d’expression d’apparence. La foi en cette vérité demeure toutefois inébranlable devant la brise d’agitation médiatique, et quand mon front caresse le sol, il ne reste de cette agitation agaçante et douloureuse qu’une image figée et muette transpercée par les rayons d’une sérénité apaisante et libératrice. Telle est ma conviction et il est de mon droit de la chérir, comme il est de leur droit de n’y voir que fables et comptes pour enfants, ce que je respecte sans pour autant solliciter la charité de leur respect. Cependant il ne s’agit pas ici de cela. Il s’agit tout d’abord de témoigner pour un frère, pour qui souhaite, loin des pseudo-analyses, caricatures et autres spéculations, avoir un regard d’un témoin de l’intérieur. Le but n’étant pas de m’ingérer dans une affaire qui revient à la justice seulement, je me contenterai donc de parler de Tariq Ramadan comme je le connais en réponse au portrait dressé par ceux qui ne le connaissent pas. Ayant grandi en Flandre (Belgique), il était pour moi, comme pour beaucoup de jeunes issus de l’immigration, important de me réconcilier avec mes origines afin de me réconcilier avec moi-même et de facto, avec la société dans laquelle je vivais. À l’époque, les ressources néerlandophones en matière d’Islam étaient très pauvres, et les évènements communautaires en Flandre presque inexistants. Je me suis donc très vite tourné vers la communauté francophone, et c’est à Bruxelles que j’ai entendu parler de Tariq Ramadan pour la première fois. Je faisais très souvent le trajet à partir de la région de Bruges vers Bruxelles afin d’assister à ses conférences et, plus tard, j’achetais en nombre ses cassettes que j’écoutais durant les longs trajets hebdomadaires pour me rendre sur mon travail en Allemagne. Au début c’était plutôt difficile, le niveau de français contrastait fortement avec mes bases rudimentaires que j’ai pu acquérir à travers l’échange oral, mais petit à petit je commençais à appréhender la teneur d’un discours salvateur que je n’avais jusqu’à là pas pu apprécier. Il s’adressait à mes contradictions, mes failles, mes rages, mes peurs. En quête d’identité, ne me sentant, du fait d’un certain rejet social de part et d’autre, ni Belge ni Magrébin. J’ai appris qu’il n’y avait pas de contradiction entre mon appartenance religieuse et mon identité européenne. J’ai appris qu’au nom même du respect de ma spiritualité, il me fallait respecter les lois de mon pays, à tel point que, je m’en souviens encore, je me sentais par exemple spirituellement obligé de changer ma conduite routière en respectant scrupuleusement les limitations de vitesse. J’ai appris que l’autre, les citoyens d’autres confessions, c’était aussi moi-même. Que Dieu l’a honoré au même titre que moi «On a très certainement honoré les fils d’Adam » (17 :71), et que la valeur de l’humain est une valeur universelle, au-delà d’une religion, d’une éthnie, de son sexe, ou de sa classe sociale. Dieu l’a honoré, je n’ai donc pas d’autre choix que suivre l’exemple Divin. J’ai appris que Dieu appelle les musulmans à vouloir le bien pour tous les humains, au-delà des éventuelles injustices qui nous touchent « que d’entre vous naisse une communauté qui appelle au bien » (3 :102), qui appelle au BIEN, dans l’absolu et pour tout le monde. Aussi, Tariq Ramadan m’a initié au « Djihadisme », il m’a appris que les solutions à mes frustrations, à mes colères à l’injustice étaient d’abord à chercher à l’intérieur de moi-même. Il m’a appris à identifier l’ennemi 1er, l’égo, à prendre les armes, le savoir, la connaissance, à m’insurger et lutter contre lui. Je me suis mis à assiéger mes ennemis, mes failles, les uns après les autres, à les épuiser avec des tirs nourris et à briser leurs défenses. Le monde autour de moi changea car le Jihad m’a permis de me libérer du joug du mal. « Le vrai moudjahid est celui qui fait le Jihad contre son ego et ses passions » nous dis le Prophète dans un récit authentique. L’hostilité éventuelle du monde extérieur ne croise pas notre route par hasard. Elle est tout d’abord un bienfait divin qui appelle à l’introspection, ma frustration à son encontre n’est que le reflet de l’inaboutissement de ma réforme intérieure. De ce fait il m’a aussi appris que face à l’insulte, l’injure, la caricature il était de mon devoir de rester serein et posé et que le cas contraire témoignerait d’une défaillance spirituelle comme nous l’indique le Coran à travers le récit des premiers musulmans : « Certes vous serez éprouvés dans vos biens et vos personnes ; et certes vous entendrez de la part de ceux à qui le Livre a été donné avant vous, et de la part des Associateurs, beaucoup de propos désagréables. Mais si vous êtes endurants et pieux… voilà bien la meilleure résolution à prendre » (3 : 186). Telle est la teneur de l’enseignement de Tariq Ramadan, est-ce donc cela l’islamisme, ce discours qu’il n’a eu de cesse de dire inlassablement pendant des décennis à travers toute la planète auprès de millions de cœurs et de consciences ? Musulmans ou non ? Occidentaux ou non ? Jeunes ou moins jeunes? Si oui, alors vive l’islamisme! Des années plus tard, après avoir fait des études plus approfondies en sciences Islamiques, et obtenu le poste de maitre de conférences à Louvain, où j’enseignais à des étudiants en licence, je fus contacté par Tariq Ramadan qui me proposa un poste au Centre de Recherche pour la Législation Islamique et L’Éthique (CILE) fraichement inauguré(CILE : Research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics). Pour moi c’était un défi énorme car il ne s’agissait plus seulement d’écrire et d’enseigner dans mon coin, j’allais dorénavant avoir la chance de débattre avec des acteurs majeurs du monde entier de la pensée islamique contemporaine et de sa réforme. Avant cela, j’avais consacré des années à faire une étude critique approfondie de l’ouvrage de Tariq Ramadan « La Réforme Radicale », ce qui me donnait l’avantage de bien cerner les contours de la vocation du CILE. Au-delà de la pensée, j’apprenais à présent à connaitre Tariq Ramadan personnellement, faisant désormais parti de son cercle proche. J’ai pu mesurer la cohérence entre sa parole publique et privée, car j’étais là. Le Tariq Ramadan que j’ai appris à connaitre n’est ni un Prophète, ni un gourou, ni un surhomme (abstraction faite de sa capacité de travail). Le Tariq Ramadan que j’ai appris à connaitre est profondément humain dans tous les sens du terme. Le Tariq Ramadan que je connais est un homme de principes, un homme qui ne fait pas de concessions à cet égard. Le Tariq Ramadan que je connais est un homme humble, très humble, qui écoute tout le monde et ne méprise personne. Le Tariq Ramadan que je connais est quelqu’un qui ne se laisse jamais aller à la condamnation mais cherche à accompagner, à conseiller, et qui accepte lui-même le conseil. Le Tariq Ramadan que je connais est loin d’être dogmatique, mais plutôt quelqu’un d’ouvert prêt à remettre en question ses positions et à écouter les plus éloignées pour ensuite reconsidérer les siennes le cas échéant. En intégrant le CILE, j’ai vite compris que le monde académique est un monde très compétitif, concurrentiel où les titres, le nombre de publications, de citations et, en somme, l’ascension individuelle, priment souvent sur les causes où les finalités. Où le mépris est même souvent de mise. De cette réalité déplorable, le Tariq Ramadan que je connais se démarque totalement. Ne cessant depuis des années de me demander d’arreter de le vouvoyer ou d’arrêter de dire « Docteur » ou « Professeur » avant « Tariq Ramadan ». Il est un des rares qui a cru en moi, malgré mon âge et mon expérience limitée. Le Tariq Ramadan que je connais est, comme nous tous, un homme avec ses défauts, mais les combats politiques que je l’ai vu mener, je l’ai vu les mener sur lui-même aussi. Il est aussi un homme de sentiments, c’est à un être très sensible que j’ai à faire. J’étais là, parmi un cercle intime très restreint, lorsque submergé par l’émotion, il fut incapable de terminer son discours lors du mariage de sa fille, après l’avoir regardé dans les yeux pour lui dire à quel point elle allait leur manquer. Il éclata en sanglot à l’idée que leur vie familiale ne sera plus jamais pareille. J’étais là lorsque, chez moi, je l’observais, de loin, jouer avec mes enfants en les câlinant. J’étais là aussi lors de conversations privées où il avait une pensée attentionnée pour les plus faibles et démunis. J’étais là quand il se comportait respectueusement avec des femmes, voilées ou non. J’étais la quand on a recruté au Centre des femmes non voilés ou en niqab, des hommes musulmans ou non-musulmans, qu’importe pour lui, il n’est intéressé que par les compétences. J’étais là lorsque, lors d’une réunion interne, il a évoqué les qualités éthiques de sa collaboratrice à Oxford (non-musulmane, non-voilée) au point de ne plus pouvoir contenir ses larmes. J’étais la lorsqu’il laissait la porte de son bureau systématiquement ouverte à chaque fois qu’il s’entretenait avec une femme. J’étais là lorsqu’il était sans cesse à l’écoute de mes collègues de sexe féminin, voilée ou non. Ma foi me somme de ne penser que du bien de mon frère «Pourquoi, lorsque vous l’avez entendu, les croyants et les croyantes n’ont-ils pas, en eux-mêmes, présumé le bien » (24 :12). Aussi suis-je tenu par ma foi de ne pas propager des rumeurs ou des calomnies « Quand vous colportiez la nouvelle avec vos langues et disiez de vos bouches ce dont vous n’aviez aucun savoir ; et vous le comptiez comme insignifiant alors qu’auprès d’Allah cela est énorme » (24 :15). La pression médiatique ne me poussera pas à diffuser des rumeurs ou jeter en pâture mon frère, en Islam ou en humanité, afin de me débarrasser de son poids embarrassant. Pour la bonne raison qu’il fait partie intégrante de moi. "Les croyants, dans leur amour mutuel et leur pitié l'un pour l'autre, sont semblables à un corps, si une partie du corps sent la douleur, tout le corps souffrira d’insomnie et de fièvre." (Bukhari et Muslim). La fièvre passera et le chahut médiatique n’aura jamais raison de l’œuvre d’une vie, car la réussite ne se mesure ni en audimat ni en nombre de vues, clics ou likes, ni même en terme d’image laissée dans l’Histoire. Chauki Lazhar, Directeur adjoint du CILE ************************************** HAMZA EL KOSTITI - POLITICAL SCIENCE CONSULTANT, FRANCE You meet a man of an exceptional philosophical and political depth. You work with a personality whose key qualities in public and private are modesty, intelligence, respect, gentleness, consideration. This man is Tariq Ramadan. I met him as a teenager and have known him for almost 25 years. No one can change or invent what I witnessed. He has a self-imposed discipline and a moral code of great rigor. Today, he is a personality that most resembles Malcolm X. This is the story of a man who gives a lot, eats little, sleeps little and writes while at the same time is in a constant state of sacrificing his time for displacement at various lectures and conferences. His preoccupation is to remain independent. His gift is his power of persuasion, his works have paved the way on the place of woman in Islam and Muslims in the West. This has allowed so many to find fulfillment. For many young Muslims of my generation in France and Europe, he allowed us to lift our heads high and have hope in the endless possibility of achieving something beautiful, thanks to the confidence and energy he gave us. Very involved in dialogue with our Christian friends, I found in his meetings and literature, words that strengthened and consolidated a sacred commitment to inter-religious dialogue. Today nothing can erase the intellectual and human heritage of these achievements. This heritage is firmly anchored in our hearts and minds. In the hearts and minds of artists, entrepreneurs, doctors, researchers, craftsmen, scientists, journalists, students. They are numerous to have told me that in the teachings, writings, texts, positions of Tariq Ramadan, they have become ethical and humanistic citizens. A citizen who is demanding, pacifist, critical and free. In Tokyo, Melbourne, Montreal, New York, Brussels, Paris, Marseille, Madrid, Tangiers, Algiers, Ouagadougou, Istanbul and so many more places, his books translated into several languages have combated prejudice and fought against obscurantism. No one can erase Tariq Ramadan’s enormous contribution to the contemporary public debate of Islam in the West and the need to work on a broader and more ambitious stream of reform. A sincere thank you to the one who has become a friend, a big brother. The one who is a beacon of light, a gentleman of our time. We as a community are so much richer without precedence for several decades because of his contribution. My solidarity goes to his wife and children, his mother, his brothers and sister, this family who are the rich anchors, the roots and indispensable ingredients of his radiance. To all those who read me, may this message find you in peace. ****** COORDINATING COMMITTEE, MAURITIUS: TARIQ RAMADAN’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE MAURITIAN NATION Who knows if these last flowers of my dreams Shall find beneath this naked strand that streams The mystic substance which their strength imparts? O misery! misery! Time eats our lives, And that dark Enemy who gnaws our hearts Grows by the blood he sucks from us, and thrives. (Excerpt from The Enemy, Les Fleurs du Mal, Charles Baudelaire, 1857 – Translated by Jack Collings Squire, Poems and Baudelaire Flowers (London: The New Age Press, Ltd, 1909)) At the time of its 50th anniversary of Independence, Mauritius bears witness the constructive support provided by Professor Tariq Ramadan to the construction of a plural and modern nation, more just and more united, and above all, peaceful. Twenty-three years, eleven visits, more than a hundred conferences open to all, countless training workshops and numerous meetings covering all the horizons of our rainbow country. Topics ranged from citizenship to reform, from integration to ecology, from women's rights to the struggle against injustices. This is where he was heard live for the first time via the internet ... all the way to Canada. He went from there to South Africa, Madagascar, and Reunion. He animated here the first "live chat", and initiated the “jihad” against poverty with social workers and educators of our country. Professor Ramadan illuminated our path by advocating pluralism, respect and dialogue. Safeguarding secularism and rule of law were constant reminders during his interventions. His influence quickly exceeded the Muslim community as evidenced by multiple television broadcasts; he was also much sought out by both journalists and local personalities. From the top of the state to members of the opposition, from civil society to representatives of various faiths, from intellectuals to young people or ordinary persons, he has rubbed shoulders with them all. He insisted on meeting with the poor that we had forgotten. He went to the bedside of the first AIDS patients, listened to drug addicts struggling to cope, and supported those who were suffering far from the watchful eye, including detainees in Beau Bassin. And with him, Mauritius also hosted a remarkable family whom we learned to appreciate over the visits. There was only one visit where they could not come, a very quick two-day trip to honor an inter-religious symposium. Family was a theme that kept coming back, his own often inspiring those around him. Friendly bonds were created naturally between locals and his family. His wife, Iman, became for many a big sister. Mauritius has seen the elders Mariam and Sami grow from childhood to maturity. The "little" Moussa was everyone’s friend. The youngest, Najma, always full of energy, never went unnoticed. Afterwards, the visits were spaced out a bit as his commitment was taking an international dimension. However, Mauritians were proud every time he referred to their island in the media as his adopted country, along with Morocco. However, Professor Ramadan was not complacent with his adoptive compatriots. To Muslims and others, he reminded them of their duty: a commitment without discrimination, in the name of our human fraternity. Well before September 11, he warned them against extremism, isolationism and victimhood. His message was always imbued with a spiritual dimension. This did not prevent Tariq Ramadan from taking a stand on hot topics such as the war against terrorism, domestic violence, the construction of an incinerator or corporate social responsibility. He also hosted several events in support of the Palestinian cause and invited different professional institutions. His books were sold at each visit. He was happy to dedicate them and converse with readers. Everywhere, he was constantly answering questions about what was happening elsewhere in the world, the loss of moral values, crises, wars, revolutions, Islamophobia or even terrorism. Tariq Ramadan and Mauritius, it is ultimately a matter of the heart. His first visit took place in July-August 1995, but his father died. Whenever he comes, this memory remains alive. Here, Professor Ramadan is not known as the son or grandson of ... because he has forged his own identity with the Mauritian nation. There is no doubt that what he is undergoing in France is a despicable media lynching from a certain milieu. The presumption of innocence is violated. He is not entitled to a fair trial. The difference in the treatment of similar cases, where the presumption of innocence has been respected, demonstrates the organic dysfunction of the French politico-judicial system and its unacknowledged plans to destroy Professor Ramadan. His state of health is of great concern and he is not allowed any contact with his wife and children. Mauritius, then known as Isle de France, was a French colony for nearly a century. Thank God, this is not the case anymore! That is all thanks to our independence. Even if everything is not perfect in Mauritius, what is happening in France, the country of Enlightenment and human rights, can only highlight our happiness to be citizens of the Republic of Mauritius. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, the colonial assembly of Isle de France already showed the way to what would one day become our Independence. In 1794, it refused to submit to the republican decree stipulating the end of the payment of the cults’ expenses and wages. A year later, it did again by establishing, without the agreement of the mother country, a court of revision to determine, among other things, if the "judgments do not represent any contravention to the law ... when there was false application of the penal laws, when the forms or procedures prescribed by law ... have been violated or omitted, etc. ". Times have changed, but we see that for both the neutrality of the state vis-à-vis religions and the rule of law, some, like Professor Ramadan, continue to suffer injustice. If Mauritius is a tropical tree in full multicolored bloom, brother Tariq Ramadan is the bee that contributes to its pollination at each visit. In France, for some whose hearts are gnawed, it is nothing but the most dangerous of critters. If only they had understood these verses of Baudelaire, this great poet who has known Mauritius, land of diversity since always? And if only they had recognized in Tariq Ramadan this "mystical substance" they are lacking so much?