Tariq Ramadan has been
accused of only being reasonable when it serves his purposes, but here he is in reasonable-mode:
A prominent Muslim scholar on Wednesday, September 20, accused some undemocratic Muslim governments of stoking anger over Pope Benedict XVI's criticism of Islam.
"Certain governments exploit this kind of crisis to enable a frustrated public to let off steam," Tariq Ramadan wrote in an opinion piece in the Swiss daily Le Temps, said Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"When one has deprived people of their fundamental human rights and freedom of expression, it costs nothing to let them express their anger."
The pope has sparked outrage in the Muslim world after quoting a Byzantine emperor who wrote that everything Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) brought was "evil and inhumane".
People across the Muslim world have taken to the streets in massive protests with mounting calls for the pontiff to apologize for his offensive remarks.
Ramadan, who published more than 200 books on Islam, suggested these angry crowds "give the impression that there is no debate amongst Muslims."
"We can question the short-cut in the thinking about the relationship between Islam and violence," said the Muslim scholar.
"But is it wise for Muslims to take offence and 'forget' that for the past five years they have been questioned daily about the meaning of jihad and the issue of violence?"
Of course, Ramadan could not leave it at that:
The high-profile Muslim scholar, nonetheless, slammed the pope's words as excluding Muslims from being part of the European identity.
He said Benedict's remarks defined European identity as being rooted in Christianity and Greek philosophy while excluded Islamic contributions.
"Europe should come to terms with the diversity of its past," he stressed.
The Muslim world could also acknowledge its debt to Judaism.
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