Norwegian media has reported that Tariq Ramadan, one of the most important leaders in the global Muslim Brotherhood, has made an appearance before a local organization also tied to the global Brotherhood. According to a translated report:
Muslims must stop seeing themselves as victims and oppressed minorities. They should instead define themselves as European when they live in Europe and not as Muslims in exile, Tariq Ramadan, philosopher and professor of Islamic Studies, said in a talk in Oslo. The Islamic Council of Norway in cooperation with the Islamic Association had a talk with Tariq Ramadan on Saturday Jan. 24 titled ‘To be a European Muslim: Possibilities and Challenges’.
Previous posts have discussed the controversy surrounding the Islamic Council of Norway and it’s failure to contradict the rulings of Youssef Qaradawi, perhaps the most important leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood, who has ruled that homosexuals should received the death sentence.
Tariq Ramadan, on the other hand, is perhaps best described as an independent power center within the global Brotherhood with sufficient stature as the son of Said Ramadan, and the grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood to challenge positions taken by important Brotherhood leaders. His statements and writings have been extensively analyzed and he has been accused by critics of promoting anti-Semitism and fundamentalism, albeit by subtle means. On the other hand, his supporters promote him as as example of an Islamic reformer who is in the forefront of developing a “Euro Islam.”