C L O S E R Blog

'Laughing Killer': Bouyeri and the Murder of Theo van Gogh 2

'Laughing Killer': Bouyeri and the Murder of Theo van Gogh

On 2 November 2004 Mohammed Bouyeri killed Dutch writer and film director Theo van Gogh. He shot him, slit his throat and planted a knife in his chest with a letter to Ayaan Hirsi Ali attached to it. One of the most remarkable references in his letter (and again strongly contested by other Muslims) was to the Prophet as the ‘laughing killer’. Where does it come from and what does it mean?

Material Religion – Popularizing Islam: Muslims and Materiality 1

Material Religion – Popularizing Islam: Muslims and Materiality

A short commentary of mine was published in the last issue of Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art and Belief: Styles of Salafi Activism: Escaping the Divide. This issue also contains a special issue: Popularizing Islam: Muslims and Materiality edited by prof. Annelies Moors who also invited me to write the comment.

Tawakkol Karman, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (2011) 1

Tawakkol Karman, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (2011)

This week is the Nobel Peace Price 2012 will be awarded. France24 spoke with last year’s laureate: Tawakkol Karman from Yemen during the first edition of the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg. The young icon of the Yemeni uprising criticises the world’s weak response to the Syrian crisis and says she dreams of the day Bashar al-Assad will be brought before the ICC. She also explains why Yemen has become a better place since Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to relinquish power.