By Tariq Ramadan

OXFORD, ENGLAND – In her opinion page article on Dec. 8, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the former Dutch legislator and author of “Infidel,” accused the so-called “moderate” Muslims of remaining silent instead of condemning acts done in the name of Islam by individuals or governments.

Surprisingly, I was mentioned among the “moderate” Muslim scholars who did not condemn what happened in Saudi Arabia (the lashing sentence of a female rape victim) or Sudan (the indictment of a grade school teacher for allowing her students to name their teddy bear after the Prophet). All the while, I have been paying the price of my regular criticisms of such kinds of actions these past few years by being banned from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and . . . (for reasons still not explained to me) the United States.

Let us start first with Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s quotation of the Koran.The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication, flog each of them with 100 stripes: Let no compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. (Koran 24:2)

What kind of message does she want to convey by quoting a verse referring to corporal punishment? That Islam, per se, is advocating violence? That violent Muslims or the so-called Islamic governments acting undemocratically are in fact genuinely implementing the Islamic message? Through her text, the message becomes clear: Islam is an archaic religion, the Koran is a violent text and the only way to reform Islam is simply to “de-Islamize” the Muslims.

Would it not be possible to quote dozens of passages from the Bhagavad Gita, the Torah and the Gospels that are violent without reaching the conclusion that Hinduism, Judaism or Christianity are violent per se? Is it difficult to understand that this is a question of interpretation and that to condemn a religion in such a way is not only unjust but deeply counterproductive? It does not help the inner dynamic of reforms.

Contrary to what Ayaan Hirsi Ali said – that no “moderate” Muslims, and in particular myself, had spoken out in protest over these incidents – I wrote a piece as the story in the Sudan was unfolding about the situation in Sudan, in Pakistan and in Saudi Arabia. I started by rejecting any kind of victim mentality on the part of Muslims, for it would have easily been possible to claim that the media were once again covering only damaging stories about Muslims and Islamic countries. For Muslims to simply blame this “ongoing campaign against Islam, its Book, its Prophet and its values and practices” is no longer enough.

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