Closing the week 44 – Featuring Roshonara Choudry, Al-Awlaki and Online Radicalisation
Most popular on Closer this week:
- Nu online: Zoeken naar een ‘zuivere’ islam
- Islamizing Europe – Muslim Demographics
- Introducing Anthropology and Publicity
Notes:
- I’m honored that my blog Closer is nominated for the Annual Brass Crescent Awards. You can see the full list of nominees and vote at Brasscrescent.org
- Last week was quiet here because I was very busy with the Seminar Anthropology and/in Publicity. Also on behalf of my colleague Henk Driessen I would like to thank the speakers, discussants and participants of the seminar and the writers at the Antpub blog for their stimulating and thought provoking contributions.
- If you want to stay updated and did not subscribe yet, you can do so HERE
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Featuring: Roshonara Choudry, Al-Awlaki and online self-radicalisation
Roshonara Choudhry, Stephen Timms Stabber Radicalized By Anwar al-Awlaki, Gets 15 Years
A British university student radicalized by online sermons from an al-Qaida-linked Muslim cleric was sentenced Wednesday to at least 15 years in prison for trying to murder a lawmaker because he supported the Iraq war.
Roshonara Choudhry: Police interview extracts | UK news | The Guardian
This interview was conducted four hours after Choudhry’s arrest for stabbing Stephen Timms. Choudhry was interviewed by Simon Dobinson, a detective sergeant from Newham police, with detective constable Syed Hussain. Choudhry says she was studying English and Communications at King’s College London, but dropped out on 27 April 2010, in her third year.
Scott Atran: Understanding How the Privileged Become Violent Fanatics
If so many millions support jihad, why are only relatively few willing to kill and die for it? Although heroic action for a great cause is the ultimate end, the path to violent extremism is mostly a matter of individual motivations and small group dynamics in a specific historical context.
How much can we blame al-Awlaqi? | Indigo Jo Blogs
So, Roshonara Choudhary, the stupid woman who tried to murder the MP, Stephen Timms, has received a 15-to-life sentence. Today, the Guardian (and probably other papers) printed transcripts of her interviews with the police after the stabbing, in which she came across as calm and seemed to accept the consequences of what she had done.
The finger is, once again, being pointed at “Shaikh” Anwar al-Awlaqi, the American preacher currently living in Yemen, whose videos were found on Choudhary’s home computer. They didn’t say what the “hate videos” consisted of, but it’s widely known that he has begun to openly advocate violence since his imprisonment in Yemen a few years ago. Before that, he was best known for his Sirah tapes, which many young Muslims listened to keenly. His recent turn means that anyone who ever shared a platform with him or sells his old CD’s is presumed in some places to be a fellow traveller with him now.
Segments of the media and thinktank land have proclaimed that this was ‘radicalisation through the internet’, that Choudhry acted because radical preaching on the internet told her to. This is an oversimplified explanation that offers more populist hot air than meaningful insight.
To claim that the lectures ‘radicalised’ her into committing violence makes no sense.
Talking to the Enemy by Scott Atran – review | Books | The Observer
Rather than being brainwashed by militant recruiters, terrorists tend to be ordinary people driven by their peer group, argues anthropologist Scott Atran
In the last 5 years the Internet has become the principal platform for the dissemination and mediation of the ideology of Islamic movements, ranging from purist (non-violent) to politically engaged movements to Jihadi networks. Certainly in intelligence and security circles the Internet is considered the single most important venue for the radicalization of Muslim youth. On the other hand the Internet is seen as a means for people to transcend ethnic and religious divisions that are pervasive in other spheres of life.
In this paper I will argue that both premises seem to result from a lack of understanding of the relationship between online and offline realities and still more from the difficulty of ascertaining the extent to which websites influence wider audiences and users. In order to understand the reception of Internet messages the local context and the way global narratives are appropriated in the local context, should be taken into account.
My argument will be based on my empirical study of the practices of Muslim youth with regard to the Internet; I will explore how they act simultaneously as performers and observers in these virtual spaces.
Gender
Beyond the veil: London’s burka wearers go on the defensive | Life & Style
But just what is it about the burka and the niqab — two types of face veil, the terms are often used interchangeably — that has so captured public and political attention?
Right Answer, Wrong Reason: Why “Muslim” Is Not A Halloween Costume » Muslimah Media Watch
Just in time for Halloween, the Toronto Star’s ethics columnist, Ken Gallinger (whose columns I enjoy), received a question from a parent:
We are a Christian family. Our daughter, 7, goes to a school where there are many Muslim kids. Some of their moms walk them to school in burqas. My daughter is fascinated by these mysterious “costumes” and says she wants to go out on Halloween as a “Muslim lady.” Do I let her?
Is Muslim Feminism More Than Just a Hijab Defense? » Muslimah Media Watch
There may be 1,001 Muslim feminist critiques on the European burqa ban and its attendant jokes and jibes, insults, and ridiculousness. But what should remain clear is that we Muslim feminists are not just about the hijab. The recent discussion on LGBT acceptance on MMW revealed the cracks in the Muslim “sisterhood” and it began with a post on gay Muslim women in Indonesia.
Othering
Five Chinese Crackers: ‘Muslims tell British: Go to Hell!’ Should Bill Maher be alarmed?
Yesterday, the case of the attempted murder of Stephen Timms MP was in court for sentencing. One lone weirdo, inspired apparently by extremist websites, attempted to murder an MP and was sentenced to life with a minimum of 15 years. The judge only took 14 minutes to reach a decision.
From a tabloid perspective, this just won’t do. There’s no involvement with a shadowy, many-tentacled international organisation of evil cackling baddies, and 15 to life isn’t exactly a low sentence.
This leaves the tabloids in a quandary.
The ‘us and them’ tactic « Enemies of Reason
And the message is clear. Muslims are not us. Muslims are not you. Muslims are not British. Beyond that, Muslims are just one great big homogenous lump of humanity, which ‘we’ – nice, white Express and Star-reading folk – should probably be afraid of.
If Cooke was saying that Timms’ interpretation of his faith led him to do good, whereas Choudhry’s interpretation of hers led her to an act of attempted murder, that would be fair enough. All faiths are open to conflicting interpretations. But Cooke’s words could also be taken as arguing that Christianity is a religion of love and peace whereas Islam is a religion that inspires violence. Trying to be charitable, I initially concluded that his statements were ambiguous.
Anthropology and the Culture of Poverty Debate
‘”Culture of Poverty” Makes a Comeback:’ New York Times « Culture Matters
I have been reading a Festschrift for Jojada Verrips, a prominent Dutch anthropologist whose house I am temporarily occupying (with his permission). Verrips contends that much of 20th-century anthropology has been complicit with the rest of social sciences in a grand exercise of rationalization, which exorcises evil from the “civilized world,” banishes the wild, and sweeps the sinister under the rug. It has focused too much, he says, on explaining and thus taming human behaviour, with the consequence that it is unable to accept irrationality. In contemporary China, the idea that some people are evil and need to be killed or put away is still more or less commonplace. Not in the West. Certainly not in Europe, where the rationalising exercise has gone farther than in the United States.
How does this relate to the “culture of poverty?”
Culture of Poverty: From Analysis to Policy | Neuroanthropology
The Culture of Poverty. Let’s continue the debate. I’ve got some things to say myself, and I also want to round up posts on the culture of poverty concept and on the role of policy.
Misc.
Leadership and Leitkultur – NYTimes.com
SINCE the end of August Germany has been roiled by waves of political turmoil over integration, multiculturalism and the role of the “Leitkultur,” or guiding national culture. This discourse is in turn reinforcing trends toward increasing xenophobia among the broader population.
Between The Spiritual And The Material : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR
Unfortunately, we are lost in the unnecessary polarization of matter and spirit, and often go to one extreme or the other and make a mess out of it.
tabsir.net » Those Yemeni parcels
I have just finished a first reading of the three statements AQAP posted to jihadi forums earlier today. The one that is getting the most attention – not surprisingly – is the one that takes credit for two parcel bombs and the downing of a UPS plane in Dubai in September.
But for me, by far the most interesting statement is #27, which denies that AQAP had anything to do with two bombs outside a sports club in Aden on October 11. I will return to this below, and talk about why I think this statement is so significant. but first a couple of notes.
Dutch
De leugenaars: taqiyya vs de islamofoben – Wij Blijven Hier!: Het schrijversplatform van moslims
Een van de nare bijwerkingen van de suggestie van een verborgen agenda bij bepaalde moslimgroeperingen in Nederland, is dat het niet meer uitmaakt wat deze moslims voor gedrag tonen of aan daden laten zien. Uiteindelijk is de suggestie dat ze niet te vertrouwen zijn. Dit irriteerde me al rond de publicatie van het AIVD-prutswerkje “Van dawa tot jihad” uit 2004. Ik ergerde me er nog meer aan rond een oud interview van Wilders in Elsevier over de twee fundamentele redenen dat hij een probleem had met de Islam: de vermeende evangelisatiedrift van moslims (ironie aan: doen Christenen namelijk niet aan. Ironie uit.) en hun ‘taqiyya’.
Taqiyya dl 2: Wat gebeurt er nu echt? – Wij Blijven Hier!: Het schrijversplatform van moslims
Van de week schreef ik een stuk over Taqiyya en eindigde ik met twee koranverzen – eraan toevoegend dat liegen en bedriegen is toegestaan. Misschien is het handig als ik een en ander een beetje toelicht met wat geschiedenis, wat moderniteit en met een van de andere primaire bronnen van de Islam – de overleveringen.
Islamitische onbetrouwbaarheid
Martin Bosma speelt hoog spel met zijn verwijzing naar ‘taqiyya’, het islamitisch recht te doen alsof. Hij denkt dat dat ons dwingt geen enkele moslim te vertrouwen maar miskent de kracht van zijn eigen argument: als het deugt is iedereen verdacht, hijzelf incluis. Daarover zo meer. Eerst iets over ‘taqiyya’ voor wie Bosma’s verhaal gemist heeft.
Waarom moslims net zo hard liegen als Piet Paulusma | DeJaap
Schokkend nieuws! Martin Bosma van de PVV heeft ontdekt dat alle moslims liegen. En dat ze dat ontkennen, betekent dus dat dit klopt. Moslims, zo had ie namelijk ergens gelezen, kennen de term taqiyya. “Dat komt uit de Koran”, zo zei hij in Pauw & Witteman, “of eigenlijk de Hadith. Niet dat dit iets zegt, want niet-moslims kunnen ook liegen.” Waarom hij dit erbij zei werd niet echt duidelijk. Een Turkse vrouw die niets om religie gaf, maar omdat ze tegen de PVV was nu ineens weer wel, riep dat dit aanzetten tot haat was. Pauw vroeg zich af of het wel handig was moslims hier aan te herinneren. Ze zouden het immers kunnen gaan gebruiken tegen ons. De rest keek beduusd. Wat moesten ze er mee?
‘Christenasielzoekers bedreigd door moslims’ – GeenCommentaar
Dat gezegd hebbend, rezen er toch een aantal vragen. Hoe het bijvoorbeeld mogelijk was om zo’n onderzoek in asielzoekerscentra uit te voeren, terwijl het COA (Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers) daar toch de eerst aangewezene voor zou zijn? Waarom hebben, terwijl we al jaren asielzoekers opvangen, ons nooit eerder dit soort signalen bereikt? Wie voerde het onderzoek uit, wie werkten eraan mee? Waarom wordt voorbij gegaan aan de omstandigheden die gebruikelijk zijn in asielzoekerscentra, een wereld die ik jaren van dichtbij heb meegemaakt?
Hoofdoekjesprobleem Rietveld bestaat niet | DNU.nu
De hele affaire over problemen met hoofddoekjes op het Utrechtse Gerrit Rietveld College dat door het Utrechtse PvdA-raadslid Gadiza Bouazani is aangeslingerd strookt volgens onderwijswethouder Jeroen Kreijkamp niet met de feiten.
It’s not your passport, it’s you stupid!
Het gemak waarmee de kersverse minister-president het argument van bemoeienis door het land van herkomst met huid en haar erbij haalt om vervolgens een volstrekt ongeoorloofd onderscheid tussen Nederlandse burgers te rechtvaardigen, is voorbij het betamelijke. Vooral als je bedenkt dat het hem helemaal niet om het paspoort is te doen.
Wervingskracht extreemrechts afgenomen omdat sommige standpunten salonfähig zijn geworden
“Voor extreemrechts geldt dat de wervingskracht in de loop der jaren is afgenomen doordat sommige van hun standpunten op de landelijke politieke agenda zijn gekomen. Zo zijn in het integratie- en islamdebat, zoals dat na de aanslagen van 11 september 2001 begon, veel van de standpunten van extreemrechts aan de orde gesteld en bespreekbaar geworden. Voorbeeld hiervan is het veronderstelde failliet van de multiculturele samenleving. Deze ontwikkeling heeft er mede toe geleid dat van de destijds bestaande extreemrechtse groeperingen en bewegingen niet veel over is.”
