Tariq Ramadan, an important leader in the Global Muslim Brotherhood often described as “moderate”, appears to be doing his best to contribute to the current violence in Israel by tweeting a video alleging to show “impostor (IDF) demonstrators (dressed as Palestinians) instigate violence to lure Palestinians.” The GMBDW has reviewed the video in question and we conclude that no responsible analyst could possibly have any idea when or where this video was shot, much less the meaning of what is depicted.
Tariq Ramadan is best described as an independent power center within the Global Muslim Brotherhood who has 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.” Ramadan is currently Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at the Oxford University (Oriental Institute, St Antony’s College) and also teaches at the Oxford Faculty of Theology. He is Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Islamic Studies, (Qatar) and the University of Malaysia Perlis; Senior Research Fellow at Doshisha University (Kyoto, Japan) and Director of the Research Centre of Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE) (Doha, Qatar). In 2009, Ramadan was dismissed from his positions as an adviser on integration for the city of Rotterdam and from a Dutch University over his role as a talk show host on Iranian TV. A ban on Ramadan traveling to the US was lifted in January 2010 and since then he has appeared a number of times in the US to speak at events organized by various US Muslim Brotherhood organizations. The Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CLIE), headed by Ramadan, was launched in January 2012 and represented a significant coming together of Global Muslim Brotherhood leaders Tariq Ramadan and Youssef Qaradawi. Ramadan was banned from visiting the US until January 2010 when the ban was lifted.
Mustafa Ceric, the former Grand Mufti of Bosnia and also frequently described as moderate, has also chimed in on Twitter where he tweeted “I voice in defence of Al-Aqsa: Labbaika ya Al-Aqsa…labbaika…! Enough is Enough.” (For a report on conspiracy theories concerning Al-Aqsa, see our post from today on Raed Salah, the leader of the Israeli Muslim Brotherhood.) Considered by some to be a leading “liberal” Islamic leader, Mustafa Ceric is tied to the Global Muslim Brotherhood through his membership in the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), headed by global Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi and by his participation in the UK-based Radical Middle Way comprised of a wide range of associated scholars representing the global Muslim Brotherhood.” In November 2012, the International Union of Muslim Scholars, headed by global Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi, was expected to send a delegation to the Gaza Strip that included Dr. Ceric who is known to be a member of the IUMS.