By Matt Allen, news correspondent
The realities of what a Western Muslim thinker endured throughout his life were thoroughly examined Friday during a lecture titled “Knowledge Trumps Ignorance” at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC) in Roxbury Crossing.
“Our response to Trump’s Islamophobia must not be that of violence, nor can we just play the victim game,” said Oxford University professor Tariq Ramadan. “Our response must be that of turning the other cheek, and trying to peacefully show the Western world our true ways.”
Ramadan, a philosophy and French literature professor, is the senior research fellow at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University and president of the think tank European Muslim Network in Brussel.
Ramadan defined “Knowledge Trumps Ignorance” as the idea of Muslims using minds expanded by opening their hearts to defeat the prejudices cast by President Donald J. Trump and by the everyday Western “Islamophobe.” He explained how intellect alone will not defeat racisms directed toward Western Muslims.
Muslims using peaceful embracement to sway American opinion is analogous to good teachers, Ramadan said.
“The best teacher is not the one who knows how to talk to your mind,” Ramadan said. “A good teacher is one who can talk to your mind and your heart.”
While Ramadan did touch upon Islamic history, he stressed the importance of breaking away from believing that Islam is better than other religions. He said Muslims must embrace all human life, instead of trying to convert those who are different.
Sawsan Berjawi, an academic administrator at the Boston Islamic Seminary, said one is only Muslim when they use their hearts and compassion to view non-Muslims and their own religious scriptures.
“To truly comprehend the Quran, you must allow your heart to speak to you,” Berjawi said. “Once the heart opens up, the holy teachings become spiritual and intellectual, and there becomes no separation between your mind and your consciousness.”
Like many Western Islamic scholars, Berjawi expressed her desire to see Muslim immigrants maintaining their religious beliefs, while also successfully assimilating to American culture.
“We are now citizens, so we must be contributing to this country, and not be in the streets screaming,” Berjawi said. “We must make a positive impact if we are to stay here.”
Rasheed Wescott, a 46-year-old Boston resident, said radical Islamist terrorists are not true Muslims.
“A true Muslim knows Islam’s roots. Islam means peace,” Wescott said. “Those who distort the image of Islam and try to spread it in the name of violence are not true Muslims.”
Berjawi said she hopes the Western world realizes that those who flew hijacked planes into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 as an act of terror have also terrorized Islam.
“Do not mistake us for the people who hijacked our religion,” Berjawi said. “This is not us”.
