Tariq Ramadan: Bemoans the "West's [Self-] Interest in Islamic Studies"
As in the 19th and 20th centuries, the West's interest in Islamic studies continues to be "driven by self-interest," writes Tariq Ramadan, the controversial European Muslim scholar who since 2004 has been barred from residing or working in the United States.
In those past centuries, interest in Islamic studies came largely from colonial powers, such as France and Britain, that were "attempting to understand the religious references and practical motivations of their colonized subjects," according to Mr. Ramadan, now a research fellow at the University of Oxford. Today, he says, scholarship on Islam is fueled by factors that include "the increased visibility of new generations of western Muslims" and, of course, terrorism. In each instance, he writes, "Islamic studies are directly or indirectly involved as part of an attempt to understand and to prevent, to protect ourselves, to dominate, and even to fight should the adversary be violent Islam."
That approach presents several difficulties, he argues. For example, it makes it harder "to establish a distance between the stress generated by current affairs, and the objective study of contemporary Islamic thought." Likewise, it reduces critical aspects of Islam, such as its legal heritage and mystical elements, "to elementary, contemporary surveys of political ideologies, migrations, and social movements."...
Read entire article at Chronicle of Higher Ed summary of the December Issue of Academic Matters: The West's Self-Interest in Islamic Studies
In those past centuries, interest in Islamic studies came largely from colonial powers, such as France and Britain, that were "attempting to understand the religious references and practical motivations of their colonized subjects," according to Mr. Ramadan, now a research fellow at the University of Oxford. Today, he says, scholarship on Islam is fueled by factors that include "the increased visibility of new generations of western Muslims" and, of course, terrorism. In each instance, he writes, "Islamic studies are directly or indirectly involved as part of an attempt to understand and to prevent, to protect ourselves, to dominate, and even to fight should the adversary be violent Islam."
That approach presents several difficulties, he argues. For example, it makes it harder "to establish a distance between the stress generated by current affairs, and the objective study of contemporary Islamic thought." Likewise, it reduces critical aspects of Islam, such as its legal heritage and mystical elements, "to elementary, contemporary surveys of political ideologies, migrations, and social movements."...