An anthropology of Muslims in Europe - A modest attempt by Martijn
A weekly round up of writings on the Internet, some relevant for my research, some political, some funny but all of them interesting (Dutch/English). (As usual to a large extent based upon suggestions from Dutch, other European, American and Middle Eastern readers. Thank you all.)
Great, American Ethnologist has a special issue on the Arab Spring! And even better: Free Access!. What they have in common is that the contributions go beyond the easy and very visible dimensions of Egyptian society such as the secular and the religious (that rule much of the media discourse on the Arab spring) and the highly mediatized protests at Tahrir (by for example looking at how people in a particular village or women at home in Cairo experienced the uprising and the collapse of the regime). I’m listing the titles and abstracts here.
De actie van Kinneging tegenover Rutger van Powned is te zien als zelfverdediging van burgers die gefrustreerd zijn door een beroepsgroep die denkt dat ze zich alles kan veroorloven. Het is zonder meer terecht dat journalisten beschermd worden en dat de staat deze beroepsgroep niet teveel moet belemmeren, maar wie beschermt de burger tegen het mediageweld de journalisten?
When the people in Tahrir called for “Dignity, Freedom, and Social Justice.” they challenged stereotypes of Arabs as apathetic, politically backward and submissive to their authoritarian leaders. For women these stereotypes were even stronger since they were seen as not only having to deal with the authoritarian leaders in the political elite but also at their homes. Now with the revolutions it were in particular the men who were portrayed as the hero’s and there worries that women would become victims of the revolution. Here two films challenge that assumption.
The European Commission spread a viral video showing a white (as European) woman facing down Chinese, Indian and Brazilian fighters. This video, entitled Growing Together, led to accusations of depicting Chinese, Indian and Brazilian people or non-Europeans in general in a racist manner. Furthermore it depicts Europe as self-evidently white with women as the carriers of whiteness.
At the intersections of faith and fashion, designers explore what it means to be young, female and Muslim in today’s America. A documentary by Yasmin Moll
Het doorgronden van de ideologie van de PVV was een hersenkrakende exercitie volgens arabist Jan Jaap de Ruiter. In zijn boek de Ideologie van de PVV geeft hij een analyse en weerlegging van de gedachten en overwegingen die Martin Bosma in zijn boek De schijn-élite van de valse munters onder woorden heeft gebracht. Een persoonlijk verslag door Jan Jaap de Ruiter.
Enkele weken geleden nodigde de Islamitische Studentenvereniging Amsterdam de Brits-Palestijnse prediker en islamitisch schriftgeleerde Haitham Al-Haddad uit voor een lezing. Dat leidde tot de nodige commotie en de Vrije Universiteit verbood zijn bezoek. Daarna volgde een debat met hem in De Balie met onder meer Tofik Dibi. Hier een overzicht van de commotie en het debat.
An exclusive interview with Pakistani actress, activiste, Muslima Veena Malik by Nazima Shaikh about celebrity, career and controversy.
As Tunisia celebrates its first democratic election, Annette Young speaks to Malika Zeghal, Professor of Modern Islamic Thought and Culture at Harvard University, about the tough road ahead for the country’s new rulers. They discuss whether the Islamist party Ennahda will be able to keep its promise of creating a new model for the Arab world, one that reconciles Islamic principles with Western-style democracy.
