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Books to buy: Everything written by Tariq Ramadan

As a preemptive birth-day treat I bought almost every book written by the Muslim transformer Tariq Ramadan. Like a transformer toy from the '80s, Ramadan can open up his mind into origami art for the rest of us to marvel at. In my not-as-insightful opinion Dr Ramadan isn't a traditional philosopher as his thinking stems from Islamic theology. He may be close to a scholar but within Muslim kingdoms, we throw that mighty title around to often too. Nor is he a 'controversial' speaker; he never asks us to burn things or start a congo line. That would be madness. But haters gotta hate, so psshht to whomever dislikes a man for the good he says.

I studied Ramadan's books at high school/college/uni and found his style to be exacting, fluid but consistent. His speaking may not win over every heart (it must be the Swedish-French accent) but his writing is poetic. So, I bought the following of his published works in English:
  • Western Muslims and the Future of Islam
  • In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad
  • The Quest for Meaning
  • What I believe
  • L' autre En Nous: Pour Une Philosophie Du Pluralisme : Essai - The other In Us: For a Philosophy Of Pluralism: Test
  • Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation

The first two have arrived; they look wonderful. The red biography (seerah) of the Prophet is more appealing to me as Ramadan's contemporary yet universal take on his life is a "school" of teaching experience. The second book is great for understanding and tackling Muslim discrimination issues in the West, Europe, and developing our sense of dignity against all oppression. There's none of that wishy washy ideology from non-Muslim "experts" nor is there a barge of holy preaching. Straight forward and researched well, it's an excellent read.

To shorten an otherwise ranty (long-winded) post, I shall be sharing excerpts from the seerah book soon, which are spiritually nurturing. Has anyone else bought his books? What do you think of the Ramadan man?

Make du`a for me, yourself and our family.

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3 comments:

  1. Oh I love ALL his books, he's great! Especially liked "In the footsteps of the Prophet", amazing read! Unlike other (very good, historical) biographies, he described some aspects of Prophet's saws life and made it so so close to our points of view, I mean as ordinary ppl.. its just wonderful.

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  2. I agree, I'm making notes from the Seerah book, things like "active acceptance", lessons in humility, having 'snow-cleansed' hearts... much, much more. (:

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  3. I haven't read anything from T. Ramadan yet, though I've been tempted to buy the "In the Footsteps" but just haven't made the move yet . . .I want to finish THe Sealed Nectar, which is almost complete from this summer. I love his talks though and I think he is a great voice for European Muslims and of course, Muslims as a whole. Insha'allah, will definitely get around to some of those listed here - I think the one on Western Muslims should be of particular interest given the atmosphere these days. Jazak'Allahu Khairan for informing.

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