A prominent scholar will visit Calgary next week to talk about how Muslim youth can integrate into the greater Canadian community.
The lecture by Tariq Ramadan, entitled Jihad of the West: Alienation, Integration and Identity, takes place Wednesday at the University of Calgary.
"Jihad is not about war, it is about resistance and reform. Resisting the dark side of our being and reforming it for the better. The main aim is peace," says Ramadan in an e-mail to the Herald.
"Western Muslims should indulge in this spiritual journey: to reform themselves and to be committed -- with their fellow citizens -- to make their society more humane, more just, more peaceful, more ethical. Beyond 'integration,' it is time to contribute."
Ramadan has been named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most important innovators of the 21st century.
The lecture takes place Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the 3rd Floor Ballroom, MacEwan Student Centre, U of C. Tickets are $18 for general admission.
Ramadan is professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University. He has authored several publications, including Western Muslims and the Future of Islam and Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation.
He holds a masters in philosophy and French literature and a PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Geneva.
Tickets for the lecture can be purchased at the University of Calgary Campus Ticket Centre, MacEwan Student Centre or by calling the Campus Ticket Centre at 403-220-7202.
Imran Mohiuddin, communications liaison of the Western Muslim Initiative, says the initiative aims to promote positive interaction between the Muslim community and the greater Canadian community, as well as encouraging Muslims living in the West to form meaningful relationships with their fellow Canadian citizens, not simply on a professional level, but also on a personal level.
"We believe that it is not only possible, but imperative for Muslims to form a dual identity with both their faith and the western countries that they live in, countries which afford us vast freedoms and opportunities that are a luxury in the countries our parents immigrated from," says Mohiuddin. "Tariq Ramadan embodies this creed and is an important voice in the realization of a moderate Muslim community that seeks peaceful relations with non-Muslim groups. "
The decision to bring Ramadan to Calgary was influenced by the recent increase in cultural confrontations between Muslims and secular society, particularly in some European countries, says Mohiuddin.
"Tariq Ramadan has been an important voice in the call for moderation from the Muslim side as well as from understanding from the secular side. We feel his message is important for us as Canadians to hear as we too have felt the effects of similar incidents in our own society."