C L O S E R Blog

Linda Herrera and Arjan de Haan – A court case and an election: Letter from The Hague 0

Linda Herrera and Arjan de Haan – A court case and an election: Letter from The Hague

Linda Herrera and Arjan de Haan reflect on the connections between the current criminal case of Karadzic and the recent municipal elections in The Hague both involving “the Muslim question” in Europe). They argue that the Hague is a microcosm for Europe, with two contradictory forces. A reconciliation of crimes and mistakes of Europe’s recent past. And at the same time possibly reproducing the conditions that make such crimes possible in the first place.

De curieuze verdwijning van Mohammed Chentouf 2

De curieuze verdwijning van Mohammed Chentouf

Mohammed Chentouf is nadat hij zijn straf wegen terrorisme gerelateerde activiteiten heeft uitgezeten, uitgezet naar Marokko alwaar hij spoorloos is verdwenen. En hij is niet de enige De zaak van Mohammed Chentouf e.a. doet vrezen dat de steun voor de rechtsstaat helemaal niet zo principieel is. De rechtsstaat is dan niet bedoeld om de vrijheid van de individuele burger ten opzichte van de staat te waarborgen, maar om de burger onder controle te houden. Een omkering van de situatie waar niemand erg blij mee zou moeten zijn.

New Book – A world of insecurity: Anthropological perspectives on human security 1

New Book – A world of insecurity: Anthropological perspectives on human security

A world of insecurity: Anthropological perspectives on human security, a collection of essays edited by Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Ellen Bal and Oscar Salemink. The book defines Human Security as a multidimensional and dynamic conceptual lens which allows us to link these various dimensions – superficially classified as physical and existential security – with one another in order to achieve a richer, more complex and more compelling analysis. If cultural and religious dimensions are left out of the equation, then a Human Security analysis is bound to be incomplete, theoretically barren, and politically irrelevant.

Fitna in the Netherlands – Elections and the myth of tolerance 1

Fitna in the Netherlands – Elections and the myth of tolerance

Wilders is showing his movie Fitna (chaos, strive) today in the House of Lords in the UK (see HERE for a critique) signalling his belief that Islam is a danger to a stable tolerant country. The real fitna however is already apparent in the Netherlands. The local elections to do not present the breakthrough of an intolerant ideology; that already happened. It is not a breakthrough for xenophobia and islamophobia, but xenophobia and islamophobia that has become acceptable and moreover a reason to vote. Not a breakthrough washing away political opposition but a deadlock situation making the country difficult to rule for left and right. Not a breakthrough but a result that puts the myth of tolerance into perspective.