C L O S E R

Expatica’s – CDA leader, Wilders deny ‘Islam bashing’

Posted on April 12th, 2006 by .
Categories: Important Publications, Islam in the Netherlands, Multiculti Issues.

Expatica’s Dutch news in English: CDA leader, Wilders deny ‘Islam bashing’
CDA leader, Wilders deny ‘Islam bashing’

11 April 2006

AMSTERDAM — Maxime Verhagen, the parliamentary party leader of the Christian Democrat Party (CDA), and MP Geert Wilders have angrily rejected a claim they are guilty of rabble-rousing in the debate over Islam and Sharia Law.

The accusation has been levelled against them by researcher Jan Schoonenboom of the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR). Schoonenboom said Verhagen’s comments about Sharia Law are irresponsible. Verhagen responded by saying this was a malevolent suggestion.

The CDA politician said it is appalling that a member of the WRR is not basing his assertions on the facts. The WRR must deal with scholarship, not politics, Verhagen argued.

The WRR describes itself as an independent think tank for Dutch government. It advises government – asked and unasked – about a variety of themes in a long-term perspective.

On Wednesday, WRR chairman Wim van de Donk presents a report ‘Dynamiek in islamitisch activisme. Aanknopingspunten voor democratisering en mensenrechten’ (Dynamism in Islamic activism. Starting points for democratization and human rights). An English summary of the report will be available on the WRR’s website on Wednesday.

Schoonenboom has spoken out against Verhagen’s call to ban any political parties that advocate Sharia in the Netherlands. “We call for Islamic schools and Islamic parties as long as they adhere to Dutch law and Dutch values and norms. But we cannot tolerate Islamic lawmaking alongside the Dutch [law],” Verhagen said.

He expressed serious concern about the WRR’s contention contact should be made with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian Territories. “These are terrorist organisations with which we must not negotiate. It is very strange the WRR would make political statements over this,” Verhagen said.

Wilders also criticised the WRR’s findings. The founder of the new Partij van de Vrijheid (Party of Freedom), Wilders has received dozens of death threats for his views on limiting immigration and his criticism of Islam.

Accusing the WRR of engaging in politics, he described the report as “naive and dangerous”.

“I maintain that Islam is incompatible with democracy,” he said and he accused the WRR report of imperilling his right to exist. The politician also questioned the statement by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende that Islam is not a danger. “No danger? Islam is the biggest danger in the world,” Wilders said.

He wants Balkenende, a Christian Democrat, to explain his remarks about Islam made during a visit to Indonesia last week.

[Copyright Expatica News ANP 2006]

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Protected: nrc.nl – Buitenland – WRR: banden met Hamas aanknopen

Posted on April 12th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands, Multiculti Issues.

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Protected: nrc.nl – Binnenland – ‘Islam kan democratie helpen’

Posted on April 12th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Important Publications, Multiculti Issues.

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C L O S E R – Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Confrontatie, geen verzoening

Posted on April 12th, 2006 by .
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands, Multiculti Issues, My Research, Religious and Political Radicalization.

C L O S E R

Het hele opinie-artikel van Ayaan Hirsi Ali, afgelopen zaterdag in de Volkskrant.

Confrontatie, geen verzoening
Door: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is lid van de Tweede Kamer voor de VVD

Het onheil dat de radicale islam over Europa zal brengen, is onafwendbaar bij voortzetting van een doormodderpolitiek. Moslims nemen niet duidelijk genoeg afstand van radicale islamieten. Die sluiten intussen een duivels verbond met de visieloze voorstanders van verzoenen. Dat is een historische vergissing, stelt Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Zij pleit voor een confrontatiepolitiek en zal haar keuze voor een VVD-leider daarop afstemmen.

Aan het begin van de 21ste eeuw zijn we op een historisch belangrijk moment aangeland. Leiderschap kan niet langer betekenen: ‘op de winkel letten’ of ‘de boel bij elkaar houden’. Dat zijn termen van vroeger, uit de tijd voordat de globalisering in zo’n hoog tempo op ons afkwam. Nu wordt van leiderschap en leiders een samenhangende visie verwacht, een strategische plaatsbepaling op ideologisch, economisch en ook militair terrein. De keuze van een leider is dus geen louter personele kwestie, maar niet minder dan een koersbepaling en kan daarom zelfs een richtingenstrijd worden.

De PvdA heeft inmiddels duidelijk een keuze bepaald – een keuze voor vroeger. Binnen het CDA broeit het ongenoegen. De VVD staat na een lange worsteling op het punt een nieuwe politiek leider te kiezen, die het voortouw moet nemen bij de aanpak van de grootste problemen van dit moment.

Een van die grote problemen is de islam, in het bijzonder de radicale islam. Te veel moslims gedogen de radicale islam. Dit stelt ons voor een ongekende uitdaging. Radicale islamieten willen een samenleving die gebaseerd is op de sharia, de leer die is terug te vinden in de koran en de traditionele geschriften. Dat streven is onverenigbaar met de westerse liberale democratie, zoals mag blijken uit de volgende punten:

– Het grootste verschil van mening tussen de beide denkrichtingen ligt in de opvatting over wat een mensenleven waard is. Westerlingen zien een leven als een heilig doel op zich, een op individuele autonomie gestoelde vrijheid waar je niet mag aankomen. Binnen de islam is alleen de gelovige, de moslim, een mens en zelfs diens leven is alleen heilig als de persoon in kwestie zich aan alle regels heeft gehouden.

Het leven van afvalligen is wel heel onheilig: zij mogen, nee moeten zelfs worden gedood. Dat staat in islamitische landen in de wetgeving en waar dat niet zo is, wordt de familie geacht deze doodstraf uit te voeren. Overspeligen dient men te stenigen, zoals ook homo’s worden gedood in landen waar men de sharia naleeft. Ook zogeheten vijanden van de islam (bijvoorbeeld zij die de godsdienst weigeren te aanvaarden) dienen te worden gedood.

– In het Westen hebben we de vrijheid van de individuele mens vastgelegd in de grondwet: jouw eigen vrijheid eindigt daar waar je de vrijheid van anderen belemmert. Maar in landen waar de sharia niet wordt nageleefd door de staat, voelen aanhangers zich verplicht om die toch na te leven. Is iemand in je familie een homo, dan moet jij als gelovige ingrijpen. Hetzelfde deed Mohammed B., toen hij vond dat Theo van Gogh de islam beledigde: hij besloot zelf op te treden tegen deze vijand van de islam.

– Een scheiding tussen staat en geloof is ondenkbaar voor de radicale islam, want dat is een totalitair geloof dat navolging eist in alle facetten van het dagelijks leven. Ook vrijheid van godsdienst is dan vanzelfsprekend onmogelijk: volgens de Saoedische premier is het niet voorstelbaar dat in zijn land, de bakermat van de islam, ooit een kerk zal verrijzen.

– In het Westen is de gelijkwaardigheid van man en vrouw inmiddels algemeen aanvaard, hoewel er vaak nog wel een kloof gaapt tussen ideaal en praktijk. Binnen de islam is een vrouw nooit oud genoeg om zelfstandig te zijn: eerst moet zij haar ouders als voogd accepteren, daarna haar man.

– Ook seksualiteit is een duidelijk zichtbaar verschilpunt. Westerse landen staan relaties tussen homoseksuelen toe en kennen zelfs het homohuwelijk. In een islamitisch land worden homo’s vervolgd en isoleert men lesbiennes in hun huizen tot de dood hen komt halen.

Het Westen wordt bedreigd door een zeer gevaarlijke, internationale ideologie die zijn wortels heeft in de radicale islam. Deze beweging wordt onderschat, zoals Bruce Bawer terecht signaleert in zijn boek While Europe Slept. How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within (zie ook Cicero, 7 april). Deze ideologie wint binnen de islam veel aanhang door middel van missiewerk, dat bekostigd wordt met oliegeld van de machthebbers in de Arabische wereld. Want naast de olie is religie het voornaamste wapen voor de oliesjeiks om aan de macht te blijven. Anders dan Bin Laden en zijn aanhang koesteren deze heersers geen authentiek geloof in een wereldkalifaat. Saoedische prinsen financieren in het Westen koranscholen, om zo hun problemen te exporteren. Relativering van Mohammed en diens leer kan alleen maar leiden tot aantasting van hun macht. Bovendien levert de opkomst van de radicale islam in Europa en Amerika de Saoedische heersers prima argumenten tegen de westerse roep om meer democratie in hun land: de democratische landen schenden immers zonder pardon de burgerrechten van militante moslims. En leidt een democratie niet alleen maar tot een gekozen theocratie, zoals in Iran?

Intussen worden overal waar moslims hun geloof serieus nemen de westerse vrijheden bedreigd. (more…)

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hetkanWel.net » Rapport over Islam nu al beschikbaar- inspirerend weblog over onderwijs, spiritualiteit, wetenschap en samenleving.

Posted on April 10th, 2006 by .
Categories: Important Publications.

En zo doe je dat dus als je een echte blogger bent. Op: hetkanWel.net » Rapport over Islam nu al beschikbaar.

Gepost door St. Maarten

Het rapport over de Islam dat de Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid woensdag aan minister Bot (Buitenlandse Zaken) zal aanbieden ligt op straat. Het was de bedoeling dat het rapport pas vanaf woensdag 14.00 publiek beschikbaar zou zijn, maar het valt nu al te downloaden van de eigen site van de WRR. Oeps, foutje!

Rapport nr. 73 WRR Dynamiek in islamitisch activisme. Aanknopingspunten voor democratisering en mensenrechten.

En er komen er nog meer, (more…)

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Protected: NRC Handelsblad – Oostenrijk pronkt met ‘consistente islam-politiek’

Posted on April 10th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, Multiculti Issues.

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Protected: nu.nl/algemeen | Europese imams voor democratie en vrijheden

Posted on April 9th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, Multiculti Issues.

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Protected: nu.nl/algemeen | Europese imams voor democratie en vrijheden

Posted on April 9th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, Multiculti Issues.

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C L O S E R – Gerard Reve: Ach, je gaat dood of je blijft leven, het zit altijd goed

Posted on April 9th, 2006 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Nieuws van de dag:Gerard Reve overleden
Zijn werk is verschillende keren gebruikt tegen de achtergrond van het islamdebat. Zie bijvoorbeeld Islam onder mijn huid van Maurits Berger

In zijn boek Islam onder mijn huid doet de Nederlandse Arabist en islamitisch rechtsgeleerde Maurits Berger verslag van zijn persoonlijke ervaringen in de islamitische wereld. Aan de hand van een soort reisverslag beschrijft hij een periode vol aangrijpende gebeurtenissen: de aanslagen van de moslimextremisten in Egypte, de tweede intifada in Palestina, de dood van de Syrische dictator Assad en de reacties op de aanslagen van 11 september 2001 in de Verenigde Staten. Ondanks het feit dat hij zich thuis voelt in de cultuur, de gebruiken en gewoonten van de Arabische wereld blijft de auteur zich een buitenstaander voelen. Zo stoort hij zich aan het gebrek aan individuele vrijheid, maar tegelijkertijd beseft hij dat dat de prijs is die men betaalt voor een sterke gemeenschapszin, hechte familiebanden en duidelijke normen en waarden. Als Nederlander is hij geneigd de rol van de religie nagenoeg te ontkennen, terwijl die in de Arabische wereld bijna gelijk staat met iemands identiteit.

In de inleiding maakt Berger een vergelijking tussen het proces tegen de Nederlandse auteur Gerard Reve die in 1966 in Nederland werd aangeklaagd wegens godslastering en de Egyptische hoogleraar Nasr Abu Zeid die in 1996 hetzelfde overkwam. Reve werd uiteindelijk vrijgesproken. De Egyptische Hoge Raad verklaarde Nasr Abu Zeid evenwel schuldig aan afvalligheid en dat de hoogleraar geen moslim meer was. De auteur vraagt zich af hoe het mogelijk is dat twee bijna identieke juridische systemen (zowel het Egyptische als het Nederlandse zijn afgeleid van het Franse) tot zo een tegengestelde uitspraak komen. Zijn conclusie is treffend: terwijl men in Nederland de rechten van het individu essentieel vindt, beschermen de Egyptische rechters vooral de mening van de meerderheid. Diezelfde gedachtegang schetst de auteur ook in het belang dat mensen in de Arabische wereld schenken aan het begrip vrijheid. Terwijl men in Nederland (en in het Westen) juist trots is op de verworven individuele vrijheid en zich zorgen maakt over een teloorgang van de gemeenschapszin, bestaat een tegengestelde houding in de Arabische wereld. Daar staat de geborgenheid binnen de familie en het hooghouden van normen en waarden centraal. Het lijken clichés maar Marits Berger beschrijft het allemaal vanuit persoonlijke ervaringen.

Een ander voorbeeld is Nader tot U. Eerbewijs aan Reve:

Nader tot U is een bij uitstek godsdienstig boek dat ook in Nederland tot theologische discussies heeft geleid en als zodanig ook heeft bijgedragen tot de Nederlandse benadering van Godsdienst in het algemeen. Die functie zou het nu weer kunnen vervullen.

Nog een voorbeeld is natuurlijk het ‘ezeltjesproces‘ dat te pas en te onpas is gebruikt na de Rushdie-affaire, El-Moumni-affaire, Submission/Van Gogh en de Cartoon-affaire

Als God zich opnieuw in Levende Stof gevangen geeft, zal Hij als Ezel terugkeren, hoogstens in staat een paar lettergrepen te formuleren, miskend en verguisd en geranseld, maar ik zal Hem begrijpen en meteen met Hem naar bed gaan, maar ik doe zwachtels om Zijn hoefjes, dat ik niet te veel schrammen krijg als hij spartelt bij het klaarkomen.

’En God Zelf zou bij mij langs komen in de gedaante van een éénjarige, muisgrijze Ezel en voor de deur staan en aanbellen en zeggen: „Gerard, dat boek van je – weet je dat Ik bij sommige stukken gehuild heb?” „Mijn Heer en mijn God! Geloofd weze Uw Naam tot in alle Eeuwigheid! Ik houd zo verschrikkelijk veel van U”, zou ik proberen te zeggen, maar halverwege zou ik al in janken uitbarsten, en Hem beginnen te kussen en naar binnen trekken, en na een geweldige klauterpartij om de trap naar het slaapkamertje op te komen, zou ik Hem drie keer achter elkaar langdurig in Zijn Geheime Opening bezitten, en daarna een present-eksemplaar geven, niet gebrocheerd, maar gebonden – niet dat gierige en benauwde – met de opdracht: „Voor De Oneindige. Zonder Woorden”.’

Volgens Trouw:

Het Ezelsproces is met recht beroemd. Maar er mankeert iets aan de manier waarop men het in herinnering pleegt te roepen. Zo noemt men de uitkomst vaak een triomf van secularisatie: het terugdringen van godsdienst uit de publieke naar de privé-sfeer. Maar Van het Reve eiste juist het recht om zijn eredienst openbaar te maken. En terwijl progressieve opinieleiders seks verschoonden van morele en religieuze connotaties, gaf hij het geslachtsleven weer bovenaardse luister. Zijn eigengereide gebruik van religieuze termen en beelden bracht traditionele gelovigen van de wijs, maar ging ook in tegen de verlichte koekoekszang van zijn tijd.

Het Ezelsproces heet verder een overwinning voor de homo-emancipatie. Terecht, want vóór Van het Reve waren weinigen zo onbeschroomd uit de kast gekomen. Maar ten onterechte suggereert men dat die bevrijding vooral bevochten moest worden op religieuze instituties. Sommige theologen of ’pastors’ blijken er juist veel toe te hebben bijgedragen. Toegegeven: kerkelijke Nederlanders waren (en zijn) sterker geneigd om homoseksualiteit af te keuren. Maar naast die afkeuring was (en is) er in brede lagen van de bevolking een diepgevoelde afkeer van homoseks, die weinig te maken had of heeft met godsdienstige overtuiging.

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Protected: de Volkskrant – Is Europa een doetje?

Posted on April 9th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Important Publications.

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C L O S E R – I for Islam, M for Matrix and V for Vendetta

Posted on April 9th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Public Islam.

The movie ‘V for Vendetta’ seems to be a hit and has certainly received some attention at Muslim blogs and anti-islam, and ‘critical islam’ blogs. The Anti-Jihad Pundit sees it as ‘another pro-terrorism film‘

So the Totalitarian future State will repress free speech, homosexuals and Islam because it’s Christian. I am really no fan of the Wachowski brothers (I did not like Matrix very much and the 2nd and 3rd part were really rubbish), but now I have a very good reason not to see this Vendetta. I also am dissappointed to see that Natalie Portman plays a role in this film: I thought that as a Jewish herself, she was going to be more compromised against terrorism. Looks like she is not.

Frontpagemag.com has also picked up the issue “V” for Vicious Propaganda

It’s an exciting, quality Bin Laden film.But if you’re like the rest of mainstream America–you support our troops, believe in firmly responding to terrorists on our own shores, and/or respect Christianity–then, don’t waste your time at this piece of garbage masquerading as a superhero movie. It is anything but.

If most other Hollywood films subtly whisper of an agenda, “V” clocks you over the head with it with a still sizzling, iron frying pan of extreme leftism. It doesn’t arrive in theaters until March 17, but already the mainstream (ie. liberal) movie critics and entertainment media are raving about this egregious attack on our war on terror.

The probably most harsh critique and often cited and noticed on several blogs is written by Fjordman on Gates of Vienna: I’m a Terrorist Groupie, Hear Me Roar!

I have heard some people say that Western popular culture will destroy Islam. That is possible, but we need to remember that this is not a one-way street. What if the opposite happens? Sometimes the barbarians also influence the civilized people, and there is a disturbing amount of “understanding” for terrorists in Western movies and media these days. Creeps come crawling out of the woodwork, more or less cheering for the terrorists who are trying to bring society down. There are probably always people who are drawn to blood and mayhem. They would like to destroy the current political order, but aren’t capable of doing it themselves, so they end up as cheerleaders for those who are attempting to do so. Let’s call them “terrorist groupies.” I’m not just talking about the Oscar-nominated suicide bomber film Paradise Now. There are others examples of this mentality.

(more…)

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The Observer | UK News | Leak reveals official story of London bombings

Posted on April 9th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

The Observer | UK News | Leak reveals official story of London bombings
Leak reveals official story of London bombings

· Al-Qaeda not linked, says government
· Internet used to plan 7/7 attack

Mark Townsend, crime correspondent
Sunday April 9, 2006
The Observer

The official inquiry into the 7 July London bombings will say the attack was planned on a shoestring budget from information on the internet, that there was no ‘fifth-bomber’ and no direct support from al-Qaeda, although two of the bombers had visited Pakistan.

The first forensic account of the atrocity that claimed the lives of 52 people, which will be published in the next few weeks, will say that attacks were the product of a ‘simple and inexpensive’ plot hatched by four British suicide bombers bent on martyrdom.

Far from being the work of an international terror network, as originally suspected, the attack was carried out by four men who had scoured terror sites on the internet. Their knapsack bombs cost only a few hundred pounds, according to the first completed draft of the government’s definitive report into the blasts.

The Home Office account, compiled by a senior civil servant at the behest of Home Secretary Charles Clarke, also discounts the existence of a fifth bomber. After the bombings, police found an unused rucksack of explosives in the bombers’ abandoned car at Luton station, which led to a manhunt for a missing suspect. Similarly, it found nothing to support the theory that an al-Qaeda fixer, presumed to be from Pakistan, was instrumental in planning the attacks.

A Whitehall source said: ‘The London attacks were a modest, simple affair by four seemingly normal men using the internet.’ (more…)

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The Observer | UK News | Leak reveals official story of London bombings

Posted on April 9th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

The Observer | UK News | Leak reveals official story of London bombings
Leak reveals official story of London bombings

· Al-Qaeda not linked, says government
· Internet used to plan 7/7 attack

Mark Townsend, crime correspondent
Sunday April 9, 2006
The Observer

The official inquiry into the 7 July London bombings will say the attack was planned on a shoestring budget from information on the internet, that there was no ‘fifth-bomber’ and no direct support from al-Qaeda, although two of the bombers had visited Pakistan.

The first forensic account of the atrocity that claimed the lives of 52 people, which will be published in the next few weeks, will say that attacks were the product of a ‘simple and inexpensive’ plot hatched by four British suicide bombers bent on martyrdom.

Far from being the work of an international terror network, as originally suspected, the attack was carried out by four men who had scoured terror sites on the internet. Their knapsack bombs cost only a few hundred pounds, according to the first completed draft of the government’s definitive report into the blasts.

The Home Office account, compiled by a senior civil servant at the behest of Home Secretary Charles Clarke, also discounts the existence of a fifth bomber. After the bombings, police found an unused rucksack of explosives in the bombers’ abandoned car at Luton station, which led to a manhunt for a missing suspect. Similarly, it found nothing to support the theory that an al-Qaeda fixer, presumed to be from Pakistan, was instrumental in planning the attacks.

A Whitehall source said: ‘The London attacks were a modest, simple affair by four seemingly normal men using the internet.’ (more…)

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Aljazeera.Net – A testing time for immigrants

Posted on April 8th, 2006 by .
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

Aljazeera.Net – A testing time for immigrants

A testing time for immigrants
by Nurah Tape
Wednesday 22 March 2006 12:49 PM GMT

The Islamic Rights Commission says Muslims are not welcomed

A new entrance test for would-be immigrants to the Netherlands has been condemned by some as Islamophobic and detrimental to the country’s economy.

The “civic integration” test, part of a broader government policy shift on immigration, came into effect in February.

It includes the compulsory viewing of a film which includes scenes of gay men kissing and topless women.

Critics say the film, which forms part of a study pack for would-be immigrants, is designed to discourage applicants from Muslim countries who may be offended by its content.

Arzu Merali, spokeswoman for the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, says the test indicates that Muslims are not welcome. People seeking entrance from other EU countries, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan do not have to take it.

“Sadly the Dutch authorities are now openly exhibiting the type of Islamophobia that sends a very clear message to wider society,” Merali said. She said the message is that new Muslim immigrants are unwelcome, as are those already present who do not conform to a uniform idea of a Dutch citizen.

But Maud Bredero, spokeswoman for the Dutch ministry of justice for integration policy, denied that was the case. “Everyone is welcome,” she said. (more…)

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Protected: Trouw, deVerdieping| podium – Godsdienst is geen probleem, maar oplossing

Posted on April 8th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

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Protected: Trouw, deVerdieping| podium – Godsdienst is geen probleem, maar oplossing

Posted on April 8th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

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The Grand Rapids Press – Got Dutch? Well, not much

Posted on April 7th, 2006 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Got Dutch? Well, not much
About the Dutch in the US and what happens if people from the Netherlands visit the Dutch migrants in the US.

Friday, April 07, 2006
By Kym Reinstadler
The Grand Rapids Press

HOLLAND — They didn’t pack a Dutch costume because they don’t own one.

They never wore wooden shoes or learned traditional klompen dancing until they arrived in Michigan.

Those are answers five Dutch students from a hospitality school in the Netherlands have given regularly since arriving March 10 to do a three-month internship at Dutch Village in Holland.
“We love it here, but it’s old Holland,” said Nicolle van Sambeek, 19, from Sint Anthonis. “We hope Americans realize this is not how it still goes in the Netherlands.”

The Netherlands is a modern, progressive country that plays a major role in the economy of Europe, even though it’s smaller than Michigan, said Serani van der Helm, 19, of Helmond.

Today, to see people wearing wooden shoes or dining on pigs in blankets off Delftware, you would have to visit old people in rural regions of the country, the students said.

Holland Mayor Al McGeehan, who met the students Thursday, asked the visitors to forgive Holland for stereotypes. Its icons — from klompen dancing to cuisine — all celebrate the culture the first settlers in West Michigan 160 years ago fondly remembered.

He acknowledged that he learned through his travels that giving wooden shoes — his city’s highest honor reserved for presidents and other dignitaries — would be considered an insult in the Netherlands.

“Holland has grown to be more than our Dutch heritage, yet this is our key to recognition across the country,” McGeehan said. “Please do not laugh at our old symbols.”

The students, who will work in a variety of capacities at Dutch Village, say it’s hard to get too homesick in Holland. There are the same gray skies and a telephone book full of familiar names.

They enjoyed learning that DeZwaan, Holland’s 240-year-old working Dutch windmill, was dismantled in 1964 from the province of North Brabant, where their school is based.

McGeehan was a tour guide when Windmill Island opened 40 years ago and can still recite his spiel — a skill the students imagine they will hone during careers in tourism.

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Protected: nu.nl/algemeen | Balkenende: islam geen gevaar

Posted on April 7th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News, Uncategorized.

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Protected: nu.nl/algemeen | Balkenende: islam geen gevaar

Posted on April 7th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News, Uncategorized.

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ISIM – The Shifts in Hizbullah's Ideology: Religious Ideology, Political Ideology, and Political Program

Posted on April 7th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Important Publications.

My colleague Joseph Alagha at Isim has defended his PhD thesis in February 2006. His book is out now:

The Shifts in Hizbullah’s Ideology: Religious Ideology, Political Ideology, and Political Program

The Lebanese Shi‘ite resistance movement, Hizbullah, is going through a remarkable political and ideological transformation. Hizbullah was founded in 1978 by various sectors of Lebanese Shi‘ite clergy and cadres, and with Iranian backing as an Islamic movement protesting against social and political conditions. Over the years 1984/85 to 1991, Hizbullah became a full-fledged social movement in the sense of having a broad overall organization, structure, and ideology aiming at social change and social justice, as it claimed. Starting in 1992, it became a mainstream political party working within the narrow confines of its pragmatic political program. The line of argument in this dissertation is that Hizbullah has been adjusting its identity in the three previously mentioned stages by shifting emphasis among its three components: (1) from propagating an exclusivist religious ideology (2) to a more encompassing political ideology, and (3) to a down-to-earth political program.

Joseph Alagha is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at the Lebanese American University. Alagha received his M.Phil. degree in Islamic Studies from the ISIM in 2000. As a Ph.D. candidate at ISIM from 2001 to 2005, he conducted research on the changing role of Hizbullah in the Lebanese public sphere and its contribution to the integration processes. His research interests include the impact of the democratisation and the liberalisation processes on Islamic movements in the Middle East, surveying the role of core and peripheral states.

ISBN – 13 978 90 5356 910 8
ISBN – 10 90 5356 910 3

The dissertation can be ordered via orders@aup.nl or bestellingen@aup.nl .

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ISIM – The Shifts in Hizbullah’s Ideology: Religious Ideology, Political Ideology, and Political Program

Posted on April 7th, 2006 by .
Categories: Important Publications.

My colleague Joseph Alagha at Isim has defended his PhD thesis in February 2006. His book is out now:

The Shifts in Hizbullah’s Ideology: Religious Ideology, Political Ideology, and Political Program

The Lebanese Shi‘ite resistance movement, Hizbullah, is going through a remarkable political and ideological transformation. Hizbullah was founded in 1978 by various sectors of Lebanese Shi‘ite clergy and cadres, and with Iranian backing as an Islamic movement protesting against social and political conditions. Over the years 1984/85 to 1991, Hizbullah became a full-fledged social movement in the sense of having a broad overall organization, structure, and ideology aiming at social change and social justice, as it claimed. Starting in 1992, it became a mainstream political party working within the narrow confines of its pragmatic political program. The line of argument in this dissertation is that Hizbullah has been adjusting its identity in the three previously mentioned stages by shifting emphasis among its three components: (1) from propagating an exclusivist religious ideology (2) to a more encompassing political ideology, and (3) to a down-to-earth political program.

Joseph Alagha is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at the Lebanese American University. Alagha received his M.Phil. degree in Islamic Studies from the ISIM in 2000. As a Ph.D. candidate at ISIM from 2001 to 2005, he conducted research on the changing role of Hizbullah in the Lebanese public sphere and its contribution to the integration processes. His research interests include the impact of the democratisation and the liberalisation processes on Islamic movements in the Middle East, surveying the role of core and peripheral states.

ISBN – 13 978 90 5356 910 8
ISBN – 10 90 5356 910 3

The dissertation can be ordered via orders@aup.nl or bestellingen@aup.nl .

0 comments.

C L O S E R – 'feisty, gutsy Muslim women'

Posted on April 6th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Religious and Political Radicalization.

A lot has been said about Wafa Sultan’s (an Arab-American psychologist from Los Angeles) appearance on Al Jazeera. On MEMRI TV you can find excerpts from her clash with Ibrahim Al-Khouli:

Wafa Sultan:

The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete.

[…]

Host: I understand from your words that what is happening today is a clash between the culture of the West, and the backwardness and ignorance of the Muslims?

Wafa Sultan: Yes, that is what I mean.

[…]

Host: Who came up with the concept of a clash of civilizations? Was it not Samuel Huntington? It was not Bin Laden. I would like to discuss this issue, if you don’t mind…

Wafa Sultan: The Muslims are the ones who began using this expression. The Muslims are the ones who began the clash of civilizations. The Prophet of Islam said: “I was ordered to fight the people until they believe in Allah and His Messenger.” When the Muslims divided the people into Muslims and non-Muslims, and called to fight the others until they believe in what they themselves believe, they started this clash, and began this war. In order to stop this war, they must reexamine their Islamic books and curricula, which are full of calls for takfir and fighting the infidels.

My colleague has said that he never offends other people’s beliefs. What civilization on the face of this earth allows him to call other people by names that they did not choose for themselves? Once, he calls them Ahl Al-Dhimma, another time he calls them the “People of the Book,” and yet another time he compares them to apes and pigs, or he calls the Christians “those who incur Allah’s wrath.” Who told you that they are “People of the Book”? They are not the People of the Book, they are people of many books. All the useful scientific books that you have today are theirs, the fruit of their free and creative thinking. What gives you the right to call them “those who incur Allah’s wrath,” or “those who have gone astray,” and then come here and say that your religion commands you to refrain from offending the beliefs of others?

I am not a Christian, a Muslim, or a Jew. I am a secular human being. I do not believe in the supernatural, but I respect others’ right to believe in it.

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: Are you a heretic?

Wafa Sultan: You can say whatever you like. I am a secular human being who does not believe in the supernatural…

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: If you are a heretic, there is no point in rebuking you, since you have blasphemed against Islam, the Prophet, and the Koran…

Wafa Sultan: These are personal matters that do not concern you.

[…]

Wafa Sultan: Brother, you can believe in stones, as long as you don’t throw them at me. You are free to worship whoever you want, but other people’s beliefs are not your concern, whether they believe that the Messiah is God, son of Mary, or that Satan is God, son of Mary. Let people have their beliefs.

[…]

Wafa Sultan: The Jews have come from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united and won their rights through work and knowledge. We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people. The Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a single Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy. Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them.

On the Net many people searching for ways to degrade Muslims/Islam have used it and also on islamist websites it is covered. I haven’t much to add to their arguments, but I found a particular reaction from Zuriani ‘Ani’ Zonneveld on MuslimsWakeUp! much more interesting.

When Dr. Wafa Sultan demanded respect from a Muslim cleric after being called a heretic, I cheered her on. When she criticized the Muslims who react violently in typical knee-jerk fashion, I was smiling with glee. And she nailed it when she said Muslims should learn from the example of the Jewish community who command world respect with their accomplishments despite decades of anti-Semitism and the decimation of the Holocaust. How could anyone disagree with that?

But when Dr. Sultan is quoted in a recent interview as saying Islam is beyond repair, riddled with teachings that exhort Muslims to kill non-Muslims, subjugate women, and disregard human rights; when she says “I don’t believe you can reform Islam,” and that the only reason the vast majority of the world’s Muslim population is peaceful is because they can’t read Arabic and don’t know what the Quran teaches, that’s when I stop cheering.

I’m a practicing Muslim. I’m peaceful. I don’t have any intention of killing off non-Muslims, and I don’t believe my religion asks me to.

In fact, Islam teaches me to value every life, and that murder – of Muslims or of non-Muslims – is wrong. And there are about 1.2 billion of us who agree with me.

What is it with people? Why can’t so-called intelligent people make the distinction between theology and human nature? Muslims throughout the world read the Quran and find a message of peace, of social justice, and of compassion and care for all people. They are inspired by verses regarding the equality of all human beings, and particularly the equality of men and women, to eradicate misogynist, racist, and classist discrimination. Is it Islam’s fault that human beings are cruel, sexist, or violent, or is it the fault of human beings, who all too often ignore the teachings of their religion?

Dr. Sultan says, “Islamic scriptures are riddled with violence, misogyny and other extremist ideas.” When she quotes snippets of Quranic verses dealing with warfare out of context and in isolation, then she is doing exactly what the militants who use the very same snippets to justify their actions do – distorting the message of the Quran. How is that going to reform anyone’s mind?

There are so many Muslims in America challenging unjust cultural traditions, confronting the established American Muslim institutions in religious practice, and calling for a humane implementation of Islam. The Progressive Muslim Union is one such organized entity. It is considered a pariah by some Muslim organizations because of its insistence that a woman’s spirituality is equal to that of a man, its advocacy for the human and civil rights for all, its unwavering commitment to the separation of church and state, and its promotion of freedom of conscience and religious practice.

Why are these progressive Muslims not on the front pages of American newspapers and news channels? Why aren’t non-Muslim organizations throwing money at progressive groups if change within Islam is what they claim to be advocating? What is it about Dr. Wafa Sultan that so intrigues the American media? Is it because she is an ex-Muslim “tattle-taleing” on her “people?” Is it because she has rejected a religion which many in this country have branded as “the enemy?” Or is it simply because she’s a feisty, gutsy, woman? If it’s the latter, I can introduce you to many feisty, gutsy Muslim women who believe that reform is best achieved from within. We’re not that boring you know!

Zuriani ‘Ani’ Zonneveld is Executive Director of the Progressive Muslim Union of North America (PMU).

Her last name sounds ‘Dutch’ but I do not know if that is actually the case.

1 comment.

C L O S E R – ‘feisty, gutsy Muslim women’

Posted on April 6th, 2006 by .
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Religious and Political Radicalization.

A lot has been said about Wafa Sultan’s (an Arab-American psychologist from Los Angeles) appearance on Al Jazeera. On MEMRI TV you can find excerpts from her clash with Ibrahim Al-Khouli:

Wafa Sultan:

The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete.

[…]

Host: I understand from your words that what is happening today is a clash between the culture of the West, and the backwardness and ignorance of the Muslims?

Wafa Sultan: Yes, that is what I mean.

[…]

Host: Who came up with the concept of a clash of civilizations? Was it not Samuel Huntington? It was not Bin Laden. I would like to discuss this issue, if you don’t mind…

Wafa Sultan: The Muslims are the ones who began using this expression. The Muslims are the ones who began the clash of civilizations. The Prophet of Islam said: “I was ordered to fight the people until they believe in Allah and His Messenger.” When the Muslims divided the people into Muslims and non-Muslims, and called to fight the others until they believe in what they themselves believe, they started this clash, and began this war. In order to stop this war, they must reexamine their Islamic books and curricula, which are full of calls for takfir and fighting the infidels.

My colleague has said that he never offends other people’s beliefs. What civilization on the face of this earth allows him to call other people by names that they did not choose for themselves? Once, he calls them Ahl Al-Dhimma, another time he calls them the “People of the Book,” and yet another time he compares them to apes and pigs, or he calls the Christians “those who incur Allah’s wrath.” Who told you that they are “People of the Book”? They are not the People of the Book, they are people of many books. All the useful scientific books that you have today are theirs, the fruit of their free and creative thinking. What gives you the right to call them “those who incur Allah’s wrath,” or “those who have gone astray,” and then come here and say that your religion commands you to refrain from offending the beliefs of others?

I am not a Christian, a Muslim, or a Jew. I am a secular human being. I do not believe in the supernatural, but I respect others’ right to believe in it.

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: Are you a heretic?

Wafa Sultan: You can say whatever you like. I am a secular human being who does not believe in the supernatural…

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: If you are a heretic, there is no point in rebuking you, since you have blasphemed against Islam, the Prophet, and the Koran…

Wafa Sultan: These are personal matters that do not concern you.

[…]

Wafa Sultan: Brother, you can believe in stones, as long as you don’t throw them at me. You are free to worship whoever you want, but other people’s beliefs are not your concern, whether they believe that the Messiah is God, son of Mary, or that Satan is God, son of Mary. Let people have their beliefs.

[…]

Wafa Sultan: The Jews have come from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united and won their rights through work and knowledge. We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people. The Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a single Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy. Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them.

On the Net many people searching for ways to degrade Muslims/Islam have used it and also on islamist websites it is covered. I haven’t much to add to their arguments, but I found a particular reaction from Zuriani ‘Ani’ Zonneveld on MuslimsWakeUp! much more interesting.

When Dr. Wafa Sultan demanded respect from a Muslim cleric after being called a heretic, I cheered her on. When she criticized the Muslims who react violently in typical knee-jerk fashion, I was smiling with glee. And she nailed it when she said Muslims should learn from the example of the Jewish community who command world respect with their accomplishments despite decades of anti-Semitism and the decimation of the Holocaust. How could anyone disagree with that?

But when Dr. Sultan is quoted in a recent interview as saying Islam is beyond repair, riddled with teachings that exhort Muslims to kill non-Muslims, subjugate women, and disregard human rights; when she says “I don’t believe you can reform Islam,” and that the only reason the vast majority of the world’s Muslim population is peaceful is because they can’t read Arabic and don’t know what the Quran teaches, that’s when I stop cheering.

I’m a practicing Muslim. I’m peaceful. I don’t have any intention of killing off non-Muslims, and I don’t believe my religion asks me to.

In fact, Islam teaches me to value every life, and that murder – of Muslims or of non-Muslims – is wrong. And there are about 1.2 billion of us who agree with me.

What is it with people? Why can’t so-called intelligent people make the distinction between theology and human nature? Muslims throughout the world read the Quran and find a message of peace, of social justice, and of compassion and care for all people. They are inspired by verses regarding the equality of all human beings, and particularly the equality of men and women, to eradicate misogynist, racist, and classist discrimination. Is it Islam’s fault that human beings are cruel, sexist, or violent, or is it the fault of human beings, who all too often ignore the teachings of their religion?

Dr. Sultan says, “Islamic scriptures are riddled with violence, misogyny and other extremist ideas.” When she quotes snippets of Quranic verses dealing with warfare out of context and in isolation, then she is doing exactly what the militants who use the very same snippets to justify their actions do – distorting the message of the Quran. How is that going to reform anyone’s mind?

There are so many Muslims in America challenging unjust cultural traditions, confronting the established American Muslim institutions in religious practice, and calling for a humane implementation of Islam. The Progressive Muslim Union is one such organized entity. It is considered a pariah by some Muslim organizations because of its insistence that a woman’s spirituality is equal to that of a man, its advocacy for the human and civil rights for all, its unwavering commitment to the separation of church and state, and its promotion of freedom of conscience and religious practice.

Why are these progressive Muslims not on the front pages of American newspapers and news channels? Why aren’t non-Muslim organizations throwing money at progressive groups if change within Islam is what they claim to be advocating? What is it about Dr. Wafa Sultan that so intrigues the American media? Is it because she is an ex-Muslim “tattle-taleing” on her “people?” Is it because she has rejected a religion which many in this country have branded as “the enemy?” Or is it simply because she’s a feisty, gutsy, woman? If it’s the latter, I can introduce you to many feisty, gutsy Muslim women who believe that reform is best achieved from within. We’re not that boring you know!

Zuriani ‘Ani’ Zonneveld is Executive Director of the Progressive Muslim Union of North America (PMU).

Her last name sounds ‘Dutch’ but I do not know if that is actually the case.

1 comment.

Wereldmuseum Rotterdam – Fotolezing: De Madrasa, een intiem portret van het leven op een religieuze hogeschool in India

Posted on April 6th, 2006 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Tip voor het Nationaal Museum Weekend aanstaande zaterdag en zondag:

Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, Theater de Evenaar

Zaterdag 8 april
Aanvang: 14.30 uur, Entree: gratis, Voertaal: Engels

Fotolezing: De Madrasa, een intiem portret van het leven op een religieuze hogeschool in India

De madrasa, een school voor wetenschappelijk onderwijs in islamitische en aanverwante vakken, staat onder forse druk sinds de ‘oorlog tegen het terrorisme’ begon. De scholen zouden bolwerken zijn van islamitisch fundamentalisme en docenten zouden banden onderhouden met terroristen. In zijn fotolezing geeft Farish Noor een kijkje in de wereld van de madrasa, een institutt dat honderden jaren bestaat en talloze wetenschappers, rechtsgeleerden en leiders in de islamitische wereld voortbracht. Noor staat stil bij het dagelijkse leven in de twee meest prestigieuze scholen van India, de Dar’ul Uloom in Deoband en Nadwatul Uloom madrasa in Lucknow, en toont ons een wereld waar veel over wordt geschreven maar die zelden wordt bezocht.

Dr. Farish Ahmad-Noor is wetenschappelijk onderzoeker aan het Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlijn.
Programma i.s.m. ISIM (International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World) in Leiden.

Lezing i.h.k.v. Museumweekend met als thema: de kennis van het weten
Op www.nmo.nl via tv/onderhandelen over identiteit kunt u meer te weten komen over Farish Noor.
Willemskade 25, 3016 DM Rotterdam
Informatie en reserveringen: 010 – 270 7190 (di t/m zo van 10.00 – 17.00 uur)
www.wereldmuseum.rotterdam.nl/evenaar.html

0 comments.

Muslims urge end to boycott of Danish products – International Herald Tribune

Posted on April 6th, 2006 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Muslims urge end to boycott of Danish products – International Herald Tribune

By Hassan Fattah The New York Times
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2006

DUBAI A group of prominent Muslim scholars has called for an end to the boycott of the Danish retailer Arla Foods, in what may prove to be a major step toward resolving the crisis between Muslim nations and Denmark over the publication last autumn of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

The International Committee for the Support of the Final Prophet, in a statement issued at the end of a meeting of prominent religious leaders in Bahrain last week, advised that “Arla Foods should be withdrawn from the boycott on Denmark,” in recognition of the company’s efforts to reach out to the Muslim world.

Arla, the second-largest dairy products company in Europe and the largest Danish packaged foods supplier in the Middle East, saw its sales drop to nearly zero in the region when the boycott began in February. Although the statement names only Arla, the move is widely expected to break the embargo on other Danish suppliers in the region.

The scholars’ statement said that their recommendation “is based on the announcements that Arla Foods had placed throughout the Middle East condemning the actions of the Danish newspaper, as well as refusing to accept any excuse in this regard.”

“Arla has been facing tremendous pressure and criticism for its position,” it added.

Arla last week placed full-page ads in major Arab newspapers condemning the cartoons for insulting Islam, a move that sparked as much approbation in Denmark as it did applause in the Middle East. (more…)

0 comments.

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