This does not mean that all activities expressing solidarity should come to an end. On the contrary. Our thought is that they are insufficient, not that they are useless. Over the past two decades, acts of solidarity have multiplied in Western Muslim communities. After being at first expressions of solidarity only with Muslims, they have little by little extended to all groups in society. The “couscous de l’amitie´” in France and the food provided on university campuses during Ramadan (in the United States and some European countries) and to vulnerable people (e.g., the unemployed, the homeless) are examples of this. These actions have not always been welcomed as they should be by local political authorities and the media, who are often suspicious that there may be hidden motives (proselytism, fundamentalism), but they have nevertheless developed in the Muslim consciousness a sense of being at home in the West and of serving society. They have also given an opportunity for some citizens to come into contact with Muslims in a different way and to become aware of some of the social values of their religion.

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Tariq Ramadan ©2017

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Photograph courtesy of www.robjudges.com