C L O S E R

An anthropology of Muslims in Europe - A modest attempt by Martijn

C L O S E R Blog

Uprising – Music, Images and The Tunisia and Egypt Revolution on Youtube 2

Arts & culture / Society & Politics in the Middle East

Uprising – Music, Images and The Tunisia and Egypt Revolution on Youtube

Music, images and nowadays video have always been an important part of protest movements. These practices of making and spreading music videos can enhance the solidarity with a movement, its identity and ideas, values and goals. It makes distant sympathizers (feel) part of the movement, in this case global movement’ because they are actually participating in spreading the word (and image) and the express their own political position in public. In combination with the visual representation the musical videos on Youtube have become important platform for what has been called ’semiotic resistance’and creativity; one that has profound cultural and political significance.

Verantwoordelijkheid en Schuldgevoel – Volksprotesten in het Midden-Oosten 1

Guest authors / Society & Politics in the Middle East

Verantwoordelijkheid en Schuldgevoel – Volksprotesten in het Midden-Oosten

Volksprotest in Tunis, Egypte, Amman en Jemen. Hoe lang hebben zij gewacht totdat ze in opstand kwamen tegen de gehate regimes die er enkel zitten omdat “het Westen” denkt dat dat het eigen belang dient? Wiens belang? Niet het mijne. Aldus Evert van der Zweerde tijdens het Actualiteitencollege aan de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen. Hier zijn gehele column.

Closing the week 6 – Featuring the Egypt Revolution 2

Blogosphere / Society & Politics in the Middle East

Closing the week 6 – Featuring the Egypt Revolution

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.) This week all more essential readings on the Egypt uprising.

Egypte en het gelijk van de islambashers 0

Guest authors / Multiculti Issues / Religious and Political Radicalization / Society & Politics in the Middle East

Egypte en het gelijk van de islambashers

Roel Meijer laat zijn licht schijnen over de discussie in Nederland over de protesten in Egypte. Waar de Egyptische facebook generatie juist een aardige combinatie had weten te vinden tussen individualisme en flashmobs, prudentie en duivelse moed, rationalisme en pathos, houden Nederlandse islambashers hun eigen vijandsbeeld in stand en lopen westerse belangen niet parallel met die van het Egyptische volk.

"Now, it's gonna be a long one" – some first conclusions from the Egyptian revolution 3

anthropology / Guest authors / Headline / Society & Politics in the Middle East

"Now, it's gonna be a long one" – some first conclusions from the Egyptian revolution

Anthropologist Samuli Schielke was present at the protest on Tahrir Square and maintained a diary. In this blogpost he offers some pre-liminary conclusions based upon his experiences, observations and talks. Schielke makes clear that the protests have a strikingly festive aspect. It is not just a protest against an oppressive regime and a demand for freedom. In itself, it is freedom. It is a real, actual, lived moment of the freedom and dignity that the pro-democracy movement demand. A revolution however also requires persistence.

Closing the week 5 – Featuring the Tunisia & Egypt Uprising 4

anthropology / Blogosphere / Society & Politics in the Middle East

Closing the week 5 – Featuring the Tunisia & Egypt Uprising

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.) This week all about the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

Verandering komt eraan? – De ‘Arabische revolte’ in Jordanië 2

Guest authors / Society & Politics in the Middle East

Verandering komt eraan? – De ‘Arabische revolte’ in Jordanië

Wat vele jaren lang voor onmogelijk werd gehouden lijkt nu toch bewaarheid te worden: al decennialang heersende regimes in de Arabische wereld, allen gedomineerd paternalistische en autoritaire leidersfiguren die met hun eeuwige zitvlees op de stoel van de macht blijven en die het vaak zelfs presteren om hun zoon klaar te stomen voor hun opvolging, schudden op hun grondvesten. Ook de bevolking van Jordanië is aangestoken door deze protestkoorts, die daar zoals ook elders in de Arabische wereld het geval is, wordt aangejaagd door toenemende armoede, werkloosheid en gebrek aan vrijheid en burgerrechten. In dit blog bespreekt Egbert Harmsen de achtergronden van de protesten en de vraag: Hoever reikt dat Jordaanse protest nu eigenlijk en wat zijn de specifieke implicaties ervan?

Two Faces of Revolution 8

Featured / Guest authors / Headline / Society & Politics in the Middle East

Two Faces of Revolution

Two young men have played a major role in igniting the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt: Mohammed Bouazizi and Khaled Said. According to Linda Herrera their evocative if tragic deaths speak reams about the erosion of rights and accountability under decades of corrupt dictatorship, about the rabid assault on people’s dignity. They remind us of the desperate need to restore a political order that is just and an economic order that is fair.