Closing the week 9 – Dutch local elections II
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- Fitna in the Netherlands – Elections and the myth of tolerance
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Dutch local elections II
Keep the PVV’s Dutch gains in perspective | Mark Fonseca Rendeiro | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
I shall go against the international headlines and some of the Dutch media when I say to you, please remain calm. This sudden explosion of intolerance and fragmented politics is nothing new; we have been reading about it for decades. The myth maintained by international media outlets and perhaps the Dutch bureau of tourism, which parrots the Netherlands as an open-minded leftwing paradise, has long kept a smoke screen over the well-established and not always tolerant tradition of smaller parties, extremist or moderate, left or right, which rise up suddenly, gain power and occasionally disappear into obscurity as fast as they came.
http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/203771-wilders-imaginary-eurabia
Brandishing the spectre of “the threat of Islam,” populist leader Geert Wilders obtained a breakthrough in the 3 March local elections, which will constitute a major step forward in his campaign to become prime minister. For Czech daily Mladá Fronta Dnes, Muslims are not a real threat to multicultural Dutch society: the main danger is the manner in which the majority of the population intends to live with them.
Or are the Dutch people just fed up with being told they’re not allowed to criticise Muslim extremists because to do so is “Islamophobic”? As a defender of free speech, I don’t believe for one moment that the Koran ought to be banned. But if I was a member of the Dutch electorate I would vote for Geert Wilders’ party nonetheless because I don’t think he deserves to go to jail for 16 months just for arguing that it should.
The anti-Islamist party led by Dutch firebrand Geert Wilders has triumphed in municipal polls in The Netherlands, opening the way for a political breakthrough for the far-right in general elections in June.
Discussion » Who can still govern the Netherlands?
Although local results cannot be translated to the national level for a number of reasons a few predictions can be made based on them. The upcoming election campaign is likely to focus on the battle between CDA prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Labour leader Wouter Bos, with anti-Islamic Wilders as the strong third competitor.
New Statesman – Geert Wilders and the welcome silence of the majority
Considerable sound and fury was generated last year when Geert Wilders, the far-right Dutch politician who warns that Britain’s capital is in danger of turning into “Londonistan” (yawn), was refused entry into the country.
Now he’s been, showed his odious little film Fitna to a small audience at the House of Lords, and… to what effect, exactly?
The scary world of Geert Wilders – The Globe and Mail
This is the disarming thing about Mr. Wilders, the thing that allows many otherwise moderate Dutch voters, including some gay-rights leaders and leftists, as well as a surprising number of otherwise sane foreigners, to give him a chance: He comes to his politics from a position of “anything goes, let it all hang out” liberalism.
BBC News – The opportunity Geert Wilders has waited for
A party that calls Islam a backward religion, wants a ban on headscarves in public life and has compared the Koran to Hitler’s Mein Kampf has made major gains in local elections in the Netherlands.
Muslims in Europe
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/03/racist-question-brown-answer-curious
It may not be racist, but it’s a question I’m tired of hearing
Looking a bit brown still means being asked where you’re from. So here’s a ready-made answer for the overly curious
* Ariane Sherine
Last weekend, I had The Conversation for the 3,897th time – and this time, it took place in central London just two roads away from the hospital where I was born. As usual, it went like this:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,681948,00.html
With Germany lacking schools of Islamic theology, Muslim congregations have long imported religious leaders. As Germany considers steps to create more homegrown imams, countries like Turkey — which sends state-employed imams to Europe to serve large segments of the Turkish diaspora — are filling the gap.
4 convicted over foiled German terror plot – CNN.com
Four men were convicted in Germany on Thursday in connection with a foiled terrorist plot against Western targets, court officials said.
Let These Women Pray! – Page 1 – The Daily Beast
In an uprising reminiscent of the lunch-counter protests of the 1960s, women at one of Washington D.C.’s most popular mosques are copying the tactics of the civil-rights movement, and refusing to follow rules that ban them from praying with the men. Asra Q. Nomani on the arrest threats and outrage that followed.
FT.com / UK – Majority supports outlawing the burka
Almost six out of 10 Britons think women should be banned from wearing the burka in public, saying they would support a prohibition similar to the one being contemplated in France, according to an opinion poll for the Financial Times.
Global Voices Online » Bulgaria: A Debate on Islam
On Feb. 26, some 40 people attended a debate titled “Islam as a threat – again in fashion?”, held at the Center for Culture and Debate “Red House” in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia. Speakers included Saleh Breh, a psychologist at the University of Damascus, Vladimir Chukov, a specialist in Islam, and Nidal Hlayf, a student in film directing.
Eman Al-Nafjan, for instance, said over coffee on the “all-female” second floor of the Kingdom Mall in Riyadh that she began blogging in English two years ago, after she returned from studying in the United States, in an effort to “break through stereotypes” about her country at home and abroad. “I believe in the Saudi monarchy,” she said. “And I don’t hate Saudi Arabia. But restrictions that people think are religiously based are actually rooted in our culture, not our religion. They must change. But I’m not optimistic that they will.”
But these My Lais are all conveniently labeled accidents. They get filed away and forgotten as the inevitable “collateral damage” of war. There was, however, a massacre recently that was not a mistake–a massacre which, while it only involved fewer than a dozen people, bears the same stench as My Lai. It was the execution-style slaying of eight handcuffed students, aged 11-18, and a 12-year-old neighboring shepherd boy who had been visiting the others, in Kunar Province, on Dec. 26.
8 weeks on, Nato admits ‘terrorists’ it killed were really innocent students – The Scotsman
The International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) issued a statement on 30 December, four days after the attack, claiming “a joint assault force” had been attacked from several buildings as they entered the village. Isaf said nine people had been killed when the force returned fire. “Several assault rifles, ammunition and ammonium nitrate used in bomb-making were discovered,” it said.
Yesterday, an official admitted: “Knowing what we know now, it would have probably not been a justifiable attack… We don’t now believe we busted a major ring.”
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/04/malaysia.anwar.interview/
Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is on trial in Kuala Lumpur on sodomy charges for a second time, speaks to journalist Wajahat Ali about the controversy and discusses the country’s ethnic and religious conflicts as well as issues facing the Muslim world.
The Definitive Guide to the Iraqi Elections | Foreign Policy
“The Land of Two Rivers” is also the land of thousands of aspiring political leaders. Foreign Policy takes you inside the diverse parties, coalitions, and sects, from the center of power to its outermost fringes, that make up Iraq’s political mosaic.
Muslim Leader Issues Anti-Terrorism Fatwa
The leader of a global Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism.
Transcript of interview with Jordanian suicide bomber Khurasani – Threat Matrix
Below is the full transcript of the last interview with Abu Dujanah al Khurasani, a longtime internet jihadi who was recruited by Jordanian intelligence to provide targeting information for the US’ covert air campaign against al Qaeda’s leaders and operations in Pakistan’s tribal areas. Khurasani (who is also known as Humam Khalil Muhammed Abu Mulal al Balawi) turned on his handlers and carried out the suicide attack against the CIA at Combat Outpost Chapman in Khost province. Seven CIA agents and a Jordanian intelligence official were killed in the attack, which took place on Dec. 30, 2009.
How to do really terrible Middle East analysis « The Mezze – ?????
I do think the way in which Karsh arrived at his conclusions, though, gives us a great introduction to how to do bad Middle East analysis. Here are a few lessons drawn from his piece:
The Arab fashion industry is set to further broaden its global appeal following years of steady acceptance and the growing support of top fashion icons, according to French Fashion University Esmod – Dubai, the leading fashion institution in the Middle East.
Misc.
A Parting Message « Umar Lee
I will continue to write occasionally for MQ Magazine and sometimes Islamonline and to work on books; but I think the blogging format is dead in the community after having been very vibrant. It is also a fact that I am very busy. With four children in my home and a stay at home wife I have to stay focused on money. Making money at my job now and looking for bigger and better things to earn more money for my family insha’Allah. The time I spend blogging I could be working. There is also the fact that what is a better use of time; blogging or spending more time in the masjid with the believers? Reading the Quran or reading Twitter? Reading Ibn Kathir or the Daily Beast? Bilal Phillips or the Huffington Post? Watching a Youtube video or listening to an Islamic lecture?
Experts theorize on human migration / LJWorld.com
Conventional wisdom says the first humans made their way into the Americas some 12,000 to 14,000 years ago, in a single mass migration from Africa to Asia to an area that now includes North America.
Eske Willerslev doesn’t buy it.
UNESCO/JLU – Caribbean Indigenous and Endangered Languages, The University of West Indies at Mona
Berbice Dutch Creole is a language formerly widely spoken in the former Dutch colony of Berbice, which became in the early 19th century part of the British colony of British Guiana, now Guyana. The last speakers of this language were found in the 1970s by Ian Robertson, living on the upper reaches of the Berbice River in and around the area of the Wiruni Creek. The last known Berbice Dutch Creole speaker is Bertha Bell, who was 103 years old when last interviewed by Ian Robertson and a UWI linguistics research team in March, 2004.
It’s Not the Size of the State, but the Ambulation of the Nation » Sociological Images
the ad agency actually reproduces a long list of stereotypes
Coming soon to a bookshop near you: an all new dimension of culture « Culture Matters
Brendan McSweeney, whose devastating analysis of intercultural communication guru Geert Hofstede caused Joana and me much pleasure when we were writing Seeing Culture Everywhere (it involved, among others, Bambi and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch), alerted us that the master with the trademarked name (as he likes to point out: one of the most highly cited authors in the social sciences, unmatched by any anthropologist) is preparing a new edition of his seminal work, The Dimensions of Culture. According to the flyer, it includes “an entirely new dimension: indulgence versus restraint, focusing on happiness and life control. Also, Professor Hofstede introduces a Darwinian explanation of the evolution of cultures, explaining the variety of cultures found in today’s world.”
On Reaching a Broader Public: Five Ideas for Anthropologists « Neuroanthropology
How can anthropologists reach a wider audience? Good debate on that question has sprung up in recent weeks at Savage Minds, Culture Matters, and Ethnografix. We’ve also written about this question here. Now it’s time for a synthesis.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100302/1024048361.shtml
For years and years we’ve been hearing about the supposed threats of “cyberwar” and “cyberterrosism.” For nearly a decade we’ve questioned whether this was all hype, and the story hasn’t changed. Sure, there are hackers and those who look to break into systems, but the real risks and overall threats still seem fairly minimal. But that’s not enough for some people. Wired’s Ryan Singel has a long, but excellent look at how former director of national intelligence (now consultant) Michael McConnell appears to be trying to build up a giant moral panic about this ill-defined threat, with the goal of basically ripping out the guts of today’s internet to recreate it with almost no privacy at all.
http://anthropologyworks.com/?p=1655
The United State Institute of Peace recently presented the second part of its program on The Other Side of Gender: Masculinity Issues in Violent Conflict. Panelists Elisabeth Wood, Professor of Political Science at Yale University, and Jocelyn Kelly, Research Coordinator with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, drew on their diverse experiences in conflict zones worldwide to answer the question: Why are some wars worse for women than others?
Four women and a prophet – People – Life – The Times of India
Repression of sexual desire, enforcement of the hijab, zero-tolerance for criticism of the Quran… These are just some of the issues these four gutsy women have been fighting. Their battle to reform their religion has left them scarred, and without a home, yet they continue their crusade …
Dutch
Wilders: ‘Het gaat tussen Bos en mij’ – HP/De Tijd
Volgens opiniepeiler Maurice de Hond staat de PVV nu op 27 zetels, het CDA op 24. Maar Geert Wilders richt zijn pijlen nu op Wouter Bos die óók op 24 zetels staat. De snelle zondagochtendanalyse: dat is geen slecht nieuws voor Bos. Wanneer de kiezer het idee heeft dat het écht tussen Bos en Wilders gaat, dan zal het snel voorbij zijn met de 19 virtuele zetels van D66. Want die gaan dan naar de PvdA. U begrijpt, Wilders kiest zijn eigen opponenten. Het is zondag 7 maart, de campagne is begonnen.
Wij Blijven Hier! Dames en heren, komt naar het Mawlid Festival. Een festival wat je niet mag missen. Een hele dag in teken van Profeet Mohammed met lezingen, nasheed, workshops, etc. etc. Check www.mawlidfestival.nl
Marokkaan gezocht, niet de waarheid – Opinie – Villamedia
In 2009 bracht met name De Telegraaf heel Nederland in rep en roer vanwege een Marokkaanse jongen die een buschauffeur in de Goudse wijk Oosterwei zou hebben mishandeld. Bij nader inzien bleek het niet om een Marokkaanse jongen te gaan, was onduidelijk of het om mishandeling ging, en vond het incident evenmin plaats in de wijk Oosterwei. Gouda werd ondertussen neergezet als de zoveelste stad met problemen met ‘Marokkaans terreur’. Als je al de afkomst noemt, geef dan de relevantie hiervan aan, vindt hoofdredacteur Mercita Coronel van Wereldjournalisten.nl.
PVV-stemmer is bang voor allochtonen | Kennislink
Wat beweegt de PVV-stemmer? De gevestigde politiek zou het ontzettend graag willen weten, vooral om er achter te komen waar zij de steken precies laten vallen. Maar ook de wetenschap buigt zich over het mysterie van het uitdijende PVV-electoraat. De nieuwste inzichten komen van het Groningse Instituut voor Integratie en Sociale Weerbaarheid. Angst voor allochtonen blijkt een belangrijke drijfveer om op de PVV te stemmen.
Weblog Anja Meulenbelt » Petra Stienen: Europa en de moslims
We horen in de media eindeloos dat de Europese moslims niet integreren, dat ze op moeten houden met burka’s dragen, dat de op moeten houden met moskeeën met minaretten bouwen, dat ze net als wij moeten leren er tegen te kunnen dat hun religie wordt beledigd, hoe pijnlijk dat ook mag zijn. Maar is de zaak eigenlijk niet precies omgekeerd? Door steeds maar weer hun tradities en geloof te bekritiseren, en er op staan dat ze net als wij worden, zijn we daarmee niet bezig om onze eigen principes aan te tasten, die zeggen dat mensen de vrijheid hebben om hun eigen leven te leven? In plaats van dat de moslims er niet in slagen zich als goede Europeanen te gedragen is het niet Europa die faalt om zich tolerant op te stellen en die steeds maar bezig is om moslims onder druk te zetten? Kortom: wie schieten er tekort? Europa of de moslims?
Turkije » Wilders noemt Turkse premier ‘total freak’ (video)
Geert Wilders heeft de vertoning van zijn film Fitna in Groot-Brittannië en de aansluitende persconferentie gebruikt om flink af te geven op de islam.
‘Wij voelen ons niet ongewenst’ – Almere – Almere Vandaag
almere / Liset van Ravenzwaaij –
Ruim zeventienduizend Almeerders stemden bij de gemeenteraadsverkiezingen deze week op de PVV en maakte de partij hiermee in een klap de grootste van de stad. Hoe voelen de moslims van Almere zich onder deze politieke verschuiving? Hoe kijken zij aan tegen het belangrijkste speerpunt van de PVV: een hoofddoekjesverbod bij gemeentelijke instellingen. Zien ze hun stadbewoners tegen zich keren en voelen zij zich nog welkom hier?
‘Mam, ik word moslima’ – vrouw.telegraaf.nl [Psyche & Relatie]
Bep Weerts-De Vulder (52) kreeg de schrik van haar leven toen ze haar e-mail opende en een bericht van haar dochter las. Linda (25) had zich bekeerd tot de islam. Die nacht deed ze geen oog dicht.
Joost Niemöller » Islamdebat in Brussel: alle kritiek weggehoond
Martien Pennings was aanwezig bij een ‘groot Islam debat’ op de universiteit in Brussel. Maar wat bleek? Er was geen sprake van enig debat. De moslim dreun stampte ieder kritisch geluid te grond in. Pennings nam alles op en in dit zeer uitvoerige verslag gaf hij weer hoe de vrije meningsuiting de nek om werd gedraaid en er uiteindelijk vooral heel veel niet gezegd werd.
Allochtonenweblog: Evaluatierapport radicaliseringsproject Amsterdam-Oost/Watergraafsmeer
In het Amsterdamse stadsdeel Oost/Watergraafsmeer is de afgelopen jaren het project Weerbaar Oost/ Netwerken tegen radicalisering uitgevoerd. Het project is eind december 2009 afgesloten. Het project was gebaseerd op het plan van aanpak dat in 2007 door het stadsdeel was geschreven en werd uitgevoerd door ACB Kenniscentrum.
Brief Koranexperts is boemerang (2) « Peter Wierenga
U en enkele andere Koranexperts hebben kennelijk gemeend om hierop te moeten reageren. In een brief aan de rechtbank, het Openbaar Ministerie en de verdachte, bestrijdt u diens visie op Koranverzen in de film Fitna. Mijn stelling is niet dat u ongelijk heeft in dit theologische dispuut – het gaat immers om de interpretatie van een heilig boek. Sterker nog, ik noem enkele van uw observaties ‘terecht’. Maar ik vrees dat u onbedoeld (tenzij u een briljante dubbelspion bent…) Wilders een handje helpt in zijn proces.
Moslims in Almere hoeven de PVV niet te vrezen. Dit zei partijleider Geert Wilders woensdag in de stad waar zijn partij als grootste uit de verkiezingsstrijd kwam. ,,Als zij zich aan de wetten houden, zijn ze gelijk aan ieder ander en hebben ze geen enkele reden om bang te zijn”, aldus Wilders.
