
© unknownTariq Ramadan
Professor Ramadan of Oxford University says the US killing of Osama bin Laden is being perceived in the Muslim world as a PR exercise.TONY JONES, PRESENTER: Joining us now from Berlin is Tariq Ramadan, Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Oxford University.
Tariq Ramadan, thanks for being there.
TARIQ RAMADAN, CONTEMPORARY ISLAMIC STUDIES, OXFORD UNI: Thank you for your invitation.
TONY JONES: What was your first reaction to the news that Osama bin Laden had finally been tracked down and killed?
TARIQ RAMADAN: You know, once again, just a week after what happened, I was in New York, and I condemn what happened. I think that this is completely against the Islamic value - and I said it: it's anti-Islamic.
But I wasn't happy. I wouldn't - I will never be happy that we are killing someone. And my first reaction was just simply to think about being - him being arrested and brought to justice. And this is - afterward I heard what the president, Barack Obama, was saying, that they wanted to bring him to justice. And then all these different versions and just very bizarre and weird that we don't get a straightforward version of what happened.
And look at what is happening now in the Muslim majority countries, is that all the people are asking questions. It's very strange and that we drop his body in the sea, against all the Islamic rituals and we are told the Islamic rituals and principles are respected.
At the end of the day, the way it has been done and all these versions and all this political statements that we have gives the impression that it's very much used as a PR exercise, putting the president Barack Obama in a situation where he is strong and he is showing how much he is protecting the country, because he has been criticised on that side by the neo-con and the Tea Party, saying that he's not good for the job in Iraq, in Afghanistan and even for security reason.
On the other side, is not at all helping a clear dialogue with the Muslim majority countries and the perception that the Muslims - it's not really an event in the Muslim majority countries, it's just a random event, it's - you know, the great, great, great majority of the Muslims were not at all following and supporting Osama bin Laden's rhetoric. But the way it's perceived is: it's much more a Western issue.