Category: Society & Politics in the Middle East
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.
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.
De training van tientallen Nederlandse mariniers en commando’s in Mali is afgeblazen. Is dit uitstel of afstel? Een update van een eerder bericht over de ‘training’ van Nederlandse militairen in Mali in Operatie Flintlock, onderdeel van Enduring Freedom.
Dertig Nederlandse commando’s en mariniers zijn naar Afrika vertrokken voor de grote anti-terreuroefening Flintlock. En dat uitgerekend in Mali, waar een ontvoerde Nederlander nog altijd spoorloos is, al-Qaeda trainingskampen heeft en rebellen een bloedige strijd voeren met de regering. ‘De minister doet alsof het een training op de Veluwe is met een hek eromheen. Dat is niet zo.’
Dr. Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle Eastern Politics and International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, was the keynote speaker for Arab Spring Symposium at the Army War College. In his inspiring lecture he engaged with the question of pluralism and democracy. This is only the first step in which we see the beginning of the crumbling of the iron wall of authoritarianism in the Arab world that has been there for 60 or more years. You can watch his entire, interesting and very accessible lecture here.
Joumana Haddad is a Lebanese writer and poet. In 2010 she published I Killed Scheherazade: Confessions of An Angry Arab Woman which is a really interesting, sometimes a somewhat confusing and contracting book. Dutch TV had an interview with a new darling of Western media.
Israeli PM Netanyahu visited the Netherlands. In his speech in the Portugese Synagogue of Amsterdam which you can watch here, Netanyahu refers to the critique on Israeli policies with regard to the Palestinians and Iran as a ‘theatre of the absurd’. But for his opponents his equation of jewishness with Israel and his views on Palestinians and Iran would equally amount to be part of a theatre of the absurd.
Syria’s Torture Machine is a documentary made by the British Channel4 is gruesome and heartbreaking but how to interpret the images shown?
This is actually a post you might want to skip. On Queen Beatrix’ visit to Abu Dhabi wearing a scarf and an abaya during her visit to the Grand Mosque and Geert Wilders’ comment about it: trolling as a political strategy.
