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Cartoonesque – MoorishGirl: Defend Freedom of Speech…Everywhere

Posted on February 16th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News, Public Islam.

MoorishGirl: Defend Freedom of Speech…Everywhere
Moorish Girl states: Defend Freedom of Speech…Everywhere

Her entry about the cartoon affair is a nice round up of several publishings in the Arab world, Morocco for example:

I have said it before, and I will, unfortunately, have to say it again: Leave the cartoonists alone! Okay, so maybe it’s not cartoonists this time, but it’s all the same. All together now: Leave the editors alone!

Jihad Al-Momani, the editor of the Jordanian daily Al-Shihane has been fired for reprinting one of the infamous Jyllands-Posten cartoons in the February 2nd issue of his newspaper, along with an editorial in which he asked: “What brings more prejudice against Islam, these caricatures or pictures of a hostage-taker slashing the throat of his victim in front of the cameras or a suicide bomber who blows himself up during a wedding ceremony in Amman?” Al-Momani was arrested on February 4th, while King Abdullah was on an official visit to the United States. He was released without bail, the following day. He is now awaiting trial.

Also in Jordan, editor Hashim Al-Khalida reprinted and denounced the cartoons in Al-Mihwar. He has now run into trouble. What’s interesting is that Al-Khalida reprinted the cartoons back in November, and only now has he been charged with “harming religious feelings.” Like Al-Momani, Al-Khalida is now awaiting trial.

Meanwhile, in Morocco, Annahar Al-Maghribiya reprinted the most offensive of the twelve cartoons, the one in which the Prophet is portrayed with a bomb in his turban, along with a caption attributing the drawing to Jyllands-Posten. The editor, Abdelhakim Badie, was asked to come to the police station to answer questions. He, too, expressed surprise, considering he had published two of the cartoons, without hitch, on October 20. It’s unclear yet whether Badie will be charged with a crime.

The latest arrests come from Algeria and Yemen. Kahel Bousaad of Errisala and Berkane Bouderbala of Iqraa are facing charges today in Algiers for reprinting the cartoons, even though the drawings were deliberately “fogged,” and were accompanied by articles denouncing them. Mohammad al-Asaadi, the editor of the English-language Yemen Observer, and Akram Sabra and Yehiya al-Abed of al-Hurriya weekly newspaper have all been arrested; a warrant has been issued against a fourth editor, Kamal al-Aalafi of al-Rai al-Aam.

Ironies abound, of course. President Bush, who was so keen on offering Denmark support over freedom of speech, didn’t bring up the case of Al-Momani or Al-Khalidi during King Abdullah’s visit. Freedom of speech, in this case, is secondary to Jordanian-American relations in the so-called war on terror. And France-Soir, La Stampa, Die Welt, and all those other European newspapers who were so keen on putting the cartoons on the front page in the name of freedom of speech might do well to offer front-page support to the Arab editors who face charges for the same decision. Similarly, let’s not forget that, despite the offense that Arab readers must surely have felt at seeing the cartoons in the local press, the fraction of them that ended up protesting on the street did so only at the behest of the Islamist parties, which were eager to pose themselves as the defenders of Islamic honor and identity against an imperial West. Finally, it’s also quite clear that the Moroccan and Jordanian governments had no problem with freedom of expression until the right-wing religious parties fell on the cartoons like flies on, um, a Danish.

She also lashes out at the ‘right-wing religious parties’:

Ironies abound, of course. President Bush, who was so keen on offering Denmark support over freedom of speech, didn’t bring up the case of Al-Momani or Al-Khalidi during King Abdullah’s visit. Freedom of speech, in this case, is secondary to Jordanian-American relations in the so-called war on terror. And France-Soir, La Stampa, Die Welt, and all those other European newspapers who were so keen on putting the cartoons on the front page in the name of freedom of speech might do well to offer front-page support to the Arab editors who face charges for the same decision. Similarly, let’s not forget that, despite the offense that Arab readers must surely have felt at seeing the cartoons in the local press, the fraction of them that ended up protesting on the street did so only at the behest of the Islamist parties, which were eager to pose themselves as the defenders of Islamic honor and identity against an imperial West. Finally, it’s also quite clear that the Moroccan and Jordanian governments had no problem with freedom of expression until the right-wing religious parties fell on the cartoons like flies on, um, a Danish.

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Protected: de Volkskrant – Rabat in rep en roer

Posted on February 16th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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Het Amsterdams Historisch Museum – Mijn hoofddoek

Posted on February 16th, 2006 by .
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues.

Mijn hoofddoek

16-02-2006 tot en met 14-05-2006
16 Feb – 14 May 2006
The Amsterdam Historical Museum has collected stories, comments and a large number of headscarves, which Muslim women and girls have personally lent the museum, for the My Headscarf presentation. The presentation includes film portraits of young Muslim women, who talk about their experience of wearing a headscarf. For one headscarf is not the same as another. You can also see many different beautiful photo portraits of women wearing a headscarf, some made by the Amsterdam photographer Gon Buurman.

Muslim women in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a city with a huge diversity of cultures. This is most apparent on the street. The headscarf increasingly features in the street scene. Women and girls wear headscarves as a symbol of their Islamic convictions. Individual Muslims experiment a lot with the headscarf, choosing all kinds of colours and shapes especially for when they’re out on the street, at work, in the sport school and so on.

Questions
What does wearing a headscarf actually mean, why does someone choose to wear a headscarf, where do you buy them, how many have you got, how do you tie a headscarf, what must you be careful about when putting on a headscarf, when did you first wear one and have you still got it, does your headscarf go with the clothes you wear? All these questions were put to Amsterdam Muslim women and girls on the street, at the university, in shops and other places. Their answers give an impression of the relationship young women in Amsterdam have with their headscarves.

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Sargasso » Waarom Hirsi Ali haar doel niet haalt

Posted on February 16th, 2006 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Sargasso » Waarom Hirsi Ali haar doel niet haalt

Op Sargasso is virtuele edoch reële ruimte voor gastbijdragen. Vandaag ventileert Stijn zijn visie over de bekendste Nederlandse vrouw ter wereld, wier naam onlangs nog door een Deense imam (mede) werd gebruikt om de Grote Cartoonoorlog (30 september 2005 – 13 februari 2006) aan te zwengelen: Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Interessante bijdrage; lees ook de commentaren.

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Protected: nu.nl/algemeen | Demonstratie in Utrecht tegen spotprenten

Posted on February 16th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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Protected: nu.nl/algemeen | Demonstratie in Utrecht tegen spotprenten

Posted on February 16th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) – In Their Own Words: Reading the Iraqi Insurgency

Posted on February 16th, 2006 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) – In Their Own Words: Reading the Iraqi Insurgency

The U.S. and its allies seem to know little about the enemies they are fighting in Iraq, despite volumes of information on insurgent web sites, chat rooms, magazines and videos, which are a large part of their communication with each other and their constituents. Analysis of this undervalued communication suggests armed insurgency groups are less divided between nationalists and foreign jihadis than commonly reported, and are increasingly coordinated, confident and information-savvy. The better the U.S. understands their message and why it resonates, the better it will understand how to win hearts and minds. Coalition forces should take what the opposition says seriously, rather than dismiss it as propaganda, and adjust political strategy accordingly. An anti-insurgency approach based squarely on reducing the insurgents’ perceived legitimacy – rather than, as at present, on military destruction and dislocation – is likelier to succeed.

Download the report

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