Tariq Ramadan

I really appreciated most of what Tariq Ramadan had to say in the assigned reading. I noticed that there is a great disparity between my preconceived notions about each writer and what I think about their opinions after having read something by them. I had heard things about Tariq Ramadan being too controversial or liberal in his stance on certain issues, but I found him to be quite moderate. I agreed with his opinion about how Muslims should stop demonizing aspects of modernity, specifically scientific thought. As a Biology major, I found it hard to learn about the ideas inherent in Darwinian evolution while listening to different Muslim completely deny everything about it. I myself, could not completely deny or accept either side. I appreciated how a scholar such as Tariq Ramadan spelled out explicitly the point of view which I eventually came to adopt. Science should not be thought of as opposite to tenets of Islam. Progress is not in opposition to an Islamic way of life. The big bang and ideas of evolution may not be in opposition to the Islamic conception for the beginning of time and how life progressed from then on. How we interpret texts may not be exactly what Islamic explanations mean to convey. If only Ramadan had an easier time getting back into the country, perhaps we could all benefit more from this great thinker.