Closing the week 16
English (international)
Women in Muslim movements
Sisters in the Muslim Brotherhood by Omayma Abdel-Latif – Common Ground News Service
A conservative culture in the Brotherhood, coupled with an oppressive socio-political context – which the movement sometimes appears to mirror – is why women in the Brotherhood fail to acquire adequate representation reflective of their contribution to the movement’s political struggle.
Integrating women in the Brotherhood’s organisational structure will help alter the perception that it is as patriarchal and undemocratic as the regime it challenges. It will also give recognition to the central role played by women in the movement’s social and political struggles.
The question now is whether the emergence of a young generation of activists – men and women alike – will ultimately generate a new political force which could prove crucial to the Muslim Brotherhood as a whole, indirectly affecting the social and political culture in Egypt.
A Sister’s experiences from 1980’s Salafi Movement « Umar Lee
To this day you will find salafis gathered in person or on the internet, still discussing trivia to the point of insanity…Like the ruling regarding a particular sheikh who made a mistake in prayer, or the ruling on a particular community member who committed a sin. Hours and hours, days, weeks, months, volumes written on one single error—how to deal with it, discuss it, benefit from it, distance from it, ostracize the offender, etc, etc, etc.
Is this the Islam I envisioned when I took my shahada? No, and Alhamdulilah by the grace of Allah I never got sucked into it.
So the rise and fall of the salafi movement in the USA is a reality. It’s probably much worse actually then Brother Umar has indicated. There is a hadith of the Prophet (saw) that says…What starts on wrong is wrong. The beginning of the salafi movement in the
USA started with groups of men who were not willing to do their Islamic duties to Allah, themselves or their families, preferring instead to laze around the masjid in the name of “knowledge”. From my viewpoint, none of that has changed. The salafi dawah started on wrong, and will remain so. Unlike Islam—no sects, no labels, no bull—which will flourish and one day glorify hard-working, true believing Muslims, everywhere.
Fashion
Fashionable quandary
By DZIREENA MAHADZIRAs Muslim women have become more affluent in the last decade or two, Islamic fashion has evolved into a lucrative industry. Yet, no one – not even designers, it seems – can actually define what Islamic fashion is.
A lifestyle revolution
By CAMILLA IBRAHIMAn Aussie designer has been making waves with her range of activewear for Muslim women.
A DECADE ago, a “Muslim swimsuit” would have been an oxymoron. Indeed, conventional Islamic notions of femininity have been depicted as anything but athletic.
Gender and dominance
epiphanies: Elektra and the Sharaf Heroes
[…]honour killing, and the twisted reasoning behind it, needs to be completely eradicated, and for this to happen, the causes of the crime need to be actually dealt with, and the main cause, one which is prevalent in quite a few cultures, is the equation of women with property, the perverted idea that girls ‘belong’ to the family and have no say in who they marry or when they marry or even if they want to marry at all. The only way this idea can be changed is with education.
This is why I think the Sharaf program is a brilliant idea and wholeheartedly support it. But its also why the umbrella programme Elektra dissappoints me. For all the faux-arabesque logo and designs – or perhaps because of them – their explanations of the issues lurch from naive to simplistic. It doesn’t help that they are also sickeningly self-congratulatory. This is perhaps best illustrated in their frequent and interchangable use of “patriachal culture” and “immigrant culture” as though patriarchy was a foreign concept, entirely unheard of in Sweden before the hordes of svartskalles invaded.
The child bride of Onaiza « Saudiwoman’s Weblog
In court he stated that it is in the interest of the girl’s welfare that he would not annul the marriage and everyone is wondering what that means. In what way would it be in the interest of the child to stay married to her father’s friend? Just like in the Qatif girl’s case when the judge said that there are particulars concerning the rape victim that only the court knew about, the judge in the child bride case is hiding behind vague statements. Average Saudis have started to question this ambiguity in courts and demand more transparency.
This whole case will through example affect many mothers who will be able to gain strength in speaking out against this happening to their daughters.
Clarification:For those of you who have not bothered to read the news article linked at the beginning of this post, the girl is NOT with her 50 year old husband and the judge has ordered that she remain with her family until puberty. Then she will be granted the right to choose between remaining married and moving in with her husband or asking for a divorce. The mother and uncle are currently appealing this verdict because they want an immediate anullment.
The two girls in Onaizah were able to overcome the problem due to the help of a judge but not every girl can do this. For this reason, I believe that it is not enough to depend on the work of preachers and imams to enlighten fathers against this. A man who will not consent to his daughter’s marriage because he is unwilling to part with her salary surely is made of stone. We need to teach these fathers that their daughters are not property or investment.
I also believe that the Shoura Council should create a mechanism that would enable girls to overcome their shyness and take their cases to court. Such a system should also protect the girls from the social implications that might result from their defiance of fathers who do not behave like normal human beings. They stoop lower than animals; animals at least respect the instincts of their fellow creatures.
Middle East News | Iranian women can run for president: watchdog
There is no restriction on women standing in this year’s presidential election, a spokesman for constitutional watchdog the Guardians Council said, according to a Mehr news agency report on Saturday.
“Women have sought to be candidates in the past and the Guardians Council has no special opinion. There are no restrictions and no law on the nomination and assessment of women candidates,” Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaye said.
Feministe » Housewives, Babymakers, and Sex Partners
because sponsorhip is so difficult to find, essentially, as Sivali Shah says in the trailer, these women are “being brought in[to the United States] only in the most base functions as women: housewives, babymakers, and sex partners.”
Listening to the radio show, it was easy to see why these women are so isolated. Their social lives revolve around their husbands’ work contacts, their independence is dependent on their husbands’ good graces, their education and work experience is for nothing. It’s hard to explain why it’s so difficult to friends and family back home because their husbands are national golden boys, and because of the opportunity narratives the U.S. cultivates worldwide.
Music
The raï phenomenon is part of a Mediterranean mélange that defies easy categorization. In fact, raï has varied and transformed so much over the decades that it is hard to delimit its boundaries: there is no fixed subject matter, no typical or emblematic instruments, and even the gender of the performers has shifted from female dominance in its early history, to male dominance in the present. Nor is it fixed to any one place any longer, having become a transnational phenomenon that emerged from a locale that, of course, was itself at the crossroads of numerous Mediterranean cultures, ranging from Arab to Berber, to Jewish, French and Spanish. The one, enduring and distinctive feature of raï is its situational quality of opposition to whatever dominant regime is in place that dictates limits to people’s freedom, whether that be the French colonial regime, the post-independence regimes, Islamic fundamentalism, or anti-Algerian discrimination in France. Women, passion, dance, and alcohol are now characteristic features of the raï message, and not surprisingly some raï performers have been beaten and assassinated in Algeria, and Cheb Khaled also fled Algeria for France.
Technology
For some time now, an application named Pocket God has consistently been at the top of the iPhone application store list of bestselling apps. One review describes Pocket God as “an entertaining app that lets you explore multiple ways of tormenting your cute little islanders.” But see for yourself […]
AAA is pleased to announce the debut of our new, unified association blog. We have created this blog as a service to our members and the general public. It is a forum to discuss topics of debate in anthropology and a space for public commentary on association policies, publications and advocacy issues. We will post select items that we think are of interest to our members and that readers have voiced an interest in. We invite all anthropologists to use this domain to stimulate intellectual discussion, and would be delighted to host guest bloggers who are active in any of anthropology’s four fields.
The new AAA blog, available through WordPress, combines our previous Anthropology News, Public Affairs and Human Rights blogs, with all archived content and comments migrated from Blogger to WordPress. The updated format enables visitors to easily post comments, link to our Flickr photostream, search content, browse posts by category, find other anthropology blogs, and more. This is a living forum, and we welcome your feedback! Use the “Contact Us” bar at the top of the screen to tell us what you think of this new design and to offer content suggestions.
AAA thanks staff members Brian Estes, Lisa Myers and Dinah Winnick, and intern Leo Napper, for their work in developing this online forum.
Dutch
De Dagelijkse Standaard » Vrijheid van meningsuiting beperkter voor moslims?
Zij (Rabia Frank, de vrouw van Ali Eddaoudi – MdK) komt tot de conclusie dat – met het oog op de dubbele moraal die er volgens haar hier in Nederland heerst – een moslim beter niet scherp kan zijn; als moslim kun je in Nederland niet zoveel zeggen als menig ander Nederlander. […]
Waar doelen jullie wel op? Rabi’a, jij hoeft niet bang te zijn dat manlief wordt vervolgd vanwege zijn uitspraken, noch dat hij op straat ritueel wordt afgeslacht. Dat zijn toekomstig werkgever vraagtekens zet bij een aantal controversiële uitspraken lijkt mij niet meer dan logisch. Vooral wanneer je de functie die hij zou gaan vervullen in acht neemt. Ik mag hopen dat het ministerie van Defensie geen persoon die dergelijke uitspraken doet ooit nog in aanmerking laat komen voor een soortgelijke functie. Daarbij maakt het natuurlijk niets uit of die persoon christen, moslim, hindu, atheïst et cetera is.
Ik stop de fun terug in fundamentalisme! – Wij Blijven Hier!
Dus mijn moeder zei uiteindelijk tegen me: “Eigenlijk ben je een fundamentalist, toch?”
AD.nl – Amsterdam – ‘Homo’s net zo veel rechten als moslims’
Er is kritiek op de aanpak van Marcouch. Zo is bestuurder Faoud Sidali van stadsdeel Bos en Lommer bang dat hij de kloof juist vergroot. Veel moslims zijn boos, ze voelen zich geschoffeerd. En lokt hij geweld niet juist uit? Marcouch wil er niets van horen. De kloof ís juist al te groot. Moeten we dan níets doen, om de intolerante mensen te sparen, vraagt Marcouch zich af. ,,Niet in míjn stadsdeel,’’ zegt hij. Homobelangenvereniging COC Nederland steunt zijn aanpak.
Marcouch wacht nog op steun uit – vooral – christelijk politieke hoek, preciezer van minister André Rouvoet (Jeugd en Gezin) en van premier Balkenende.
’Echt schandalig die Nederlanders, ze weten niet wat schaamte is’ – Trouw
’Echt schandalig die Nederlanders, ze weten niet wat schaamte is’
„Jaaa doei! Ik ga een beetje met jou over seks praten.” Senna (16 jaar, skinny-jeans, sneakers en gezegend met een grote bos krullen) begrijpt niet hoe iemand van de krant het in haar hoofd haalt om zomaar Marokkaanse meisjes vragen te stellen over seksualiteit. „Hasjoema, hasjoema (schande, schande)”, blijft ze herhalen terwijl ze met haar vriendin Farah (eveneens 16 jaar, skinny-jeans, stoere sjaal en bijpassend hoofddoekje) tegen een muurtje leunt bij het roc aan het Hofplein in Rotterdam „Wij mogen geen seks hebben als we niet getrouwd zijn’’, zegt Farah. „Jongens eigenlijk ook niet maar die doen het wel, of ze zeggen in ieder geval dat ze wel seks hebben. Maar dat geloof ik niet, want als ze echt zo veel en vaak seks hebben, wanneer maken ze dan hun huiswerk?”
’Imam moet sekstaboes doorbreken’ – Trouw
’Imam moet sekstaboes doorbreken’
Integratie
Imams hebben een belangrijke rol om het taboe over seksualiteit bij Marokkaanse jongeren in Nederland te doorbreken. Dit zegt de Marokkaanse hoogleraar Abdessamad Dialmy.
Stan de Jong » Fitna II, goed idee
Er komt dus een vervolg op Fitna, de veelbesproken film van Geert Wilders. Fitna ging over de gevaren en gruwelijkheden van de (internationale) politieke islam. Ik heb nooit begrepen waarom Nederlandse journalisten zo geinteresseerd waren om te horen wat de moslimgemeenschap van Fitna vond. De film was helemaal niet bedoeld voor moslims, maar voor ‘ons’. Fitna II moet gaan over hoe de islam in de porieën van onze samenleving is doorgedrongen.
[…]
Bij deze doe ik dan ook een oproep aan de lezers van dit weblog: kent u dagelijkse voorbeelden van islamisering, uit de krant of uit uw eigen omgeving, meld ze ons! Ik zet ze in een handzaam overzicht bij elkaar en stuur ze tezijnertijd naar de Tweede Kamer. Zo besparen we ome Geert een hoop werk!
Frontaal Naakt. Ongesluierde opinies, interviews & achtergronden
Doorsnee moslims kennen het leerstuk niet; handboeken over islamitische rituelen en concepten beschrijven taqiyya als een rechtvaardiging voor het huichelen in levenbedreigende situaties (en dan nog niet eens altijd); en zelfs radicale soennieten gebruiken taqiyya als een beschuldiging om sji’ieten mee om de oren te slaan.
Je zou denken dat prof. dr. Hans Jansen, voorheen belast met een leeropdracht modern islamitisch denken en met verschillende studies over islamistisch gedachtegoed op zijn naam, van dit alles op de hoogte is. Zeker aangezien een paar uurtjes Googelen een en ander eenvoudig aan het licht brengt.
[…]
Maar het roept wel bedenkingen op, over zowel de competentie als de intellectuele eerlijkheid van Nederlands bekendste islamgeleerde, dat hij in één alinea de schaduw van de verdenking werpt over een hele bevolkingsgroep, met een theologisch begrip waarvan niet de minste aanwijzing is dat de moslims waar hij over spreekt het überhaupt kennen, laat staan hanteren.