Intention

Tariq Ramadan has several intentions with his article “You Can’t Go Home Again”. The first is to persuade European Muslims to form a united Muslim community, respecting European principles while maintaining their own religion. The second is to persuade non-Muslim Europeans to accept and embrace Muslims and learn more about Islamic culture. The speaker uses logical, direct argumentation to get his points across, while appealing to the reader’s emotions.

Arguing for a united community of European Muslims

Tariq Ramadan’s main intention is to convince Muslims living in Europe that they should be active citizens and form a “European Islamic culture” (p. 204, ll. 45-46). This could imply the suggestion that European Muslims should vote, run for certain political posts, or have a say in the decisions made within a community. Ramadan appeals to logic, when he mentions the attitude of the earlier generations of Muslims, arguing that it is “outdated” (p. 204, l. 35) and cannot be applied by current generations:

Religious principles should not be confused with culture of origin: European Muslims should be only Muslims instead of forever remaining North Af...