C L O S E R

Protected: Trouw, deVerdieping| podium – VS en Israël, is dat geen religieus geweld?

Posted on June 6th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Protected: Trouw, deVerdieping| podium – VS en Israël, is dat geen religieus geweld?

Posted on June 6th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Protected: NRC Handelsblad – Inburgeren doe je zo: Newcomers in Morocco

Posted on June 4th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

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spiked | 'Animals are less valuable than human beings'

Posted on June 4th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

spiked | ‘Animals are less valuable than human beings’
Animals are less valuable than human beings’
Leading researcher John Martin tells Helene Guldberg why it is morally justifiable to cause heart attacks in rats – and why he isn’t scared of animal rights extremists.

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spiked | ‘Animals are less valuable than human beings’

Posted on June 4th, 2006 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

spiked | ‘Animals are less valuable than human beings’
Animals are less valuable than human beings’
Leading researcher John Martin tells Helene Guldberg why it is morally justifiable to cause heart attacks in rats – and why he isn’t scared of animal rights extremists.

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spiked | The meaning of football

Posted on June 4th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

spiked | The meaning of football

Duleep Allirajah
The meaning of football
In the run-up to next week’s spiked-debate on the World Cup, we muse over soccerism, Wayne’s toe, and how the Fall of Public Man has been offset by the Rise of Soccer Bloke.

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spiked | The meaning of football

Posted on June 4th, 2006 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

spiked | The meaning of football

Duleep Allirajah
The meaning of football
In the run-up to next week’s spiked-debate on the World Cup, we muse over soccerism, Wayne’s toe, and how the Fall of Public Man has been offset by the Rise of Soccer Bloke.

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Protected: BN/DeStem – Overgrote meerderheid is niet racistisch

Posted on June 4th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

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Protected: Brabants Dagblad – Islam heeft in Nederland een heel slecht imago

Posted on June 4th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands, Multiculti Issues.

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Protected: Brabants Dagblad – Kwart heeft afkeer van allochtonen

Posted on June 4th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

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Protected: de Volkskrant – Binnenland – Koningin zal in moskee geen handen schudden

Posted on June 3rd, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

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C L O S E R – Saaie Linkdump

Posted on June 2nd, 2006 by .
Categories: Joy Category.

Volgens Sargasso’s Battle of the Blogs – Field Report 5 moet er hier wel iets ernstigs gebeurd zijn: ik ben schijnbaar geen saaie linkdump meer, maar een gewoon weblog dat alleen minder dan vier dagen per week iets nieuws heeft. Nou ja, dan toch maar even een zeer grappige linkdump:

Verdonk schrijft een brief aan Hirsi Ali (Met dank aan René).

En ook deze: Free. The Muslim Man (met dank aan Iris Blue)

En dan ietwat serieuzer: Don’t hate her because she is beautiful…and wears a […]  dat verwijst naar Culture Kitchen over een tentoonstelling in het Amsterdams Historisch waar ik al eerder over bericht heb.

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C L O S E R – SonicJihad: A Day in the Life of a Dutch Resistance Fighter

Posted on June 2nd, 2006 by .
Categories: Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

Sometimes, Dutch press is really sleeping.

Or isn’t this news:

CM: Can you tell us a little about yourself?

SJ: I am Samir. I was born and raised in Holland. But my parents are from Moroccan origin. I’m 25 years old. I have a master degree in management, economics and law. I work for a hospital as a quality manager implementing the ISO quality certificate. My hobbies are Battlefield 2, movies and Thai-Boxing.

CM: Are you Islamic? What are your political views on what’s going on in the Middle East right now? Did they affect your choice of theme for the video?

SJ: Yes I am Muslim. But my ethnic background and religion have nothing to do with this video. My political views are like most of the people of Europe. We think that Team America IS the WORLD police 😉 I live in the west, I love the west and I do love American culture. Especially rap such as Eazy-E, NWA, Public Enemy, T-KASH and especially…. Paris! Did my views effect my choice? Nah man we were just making videos for fun. Just look at the [BF2] community, there are lots of videos made.

CM: What’s the inspiration behind your handle, “SonicJihad”?

SJ: Paris is a rapper that is trying to put a positive message in his raps… Not that bling bling, ‘ho this… that’s what’s dominating the charts nowadays. Believe me I love some good “gangsta rap” once in a while; but there has to be balance. And that is what’s wrong with the hip-hop scene nowadays. I really liked the album Sonic Jihad. And I really felt the artist and his views of the messed up situation in the world nowadays.

CM: Paris once released a song called “Bush Killa”, but it was about Bush Sr., not Dubya. When did you first come up with the idea for the video? Is there a story the video is trying to tell, or is it just a collection of interesting footage from the game?

SJ: The idea came to me when I saw that Team America movie. GREAT movie everybody should watch it. This video was just for fun with a Team America twist. There is a character [Gary Johnston] in the movie that talks about his goats getting killed by a Blackhawk helicopter and that’s why he wanted revenge. I just took that story for my BF2 video and worked it out.

CM: What was the original intent in making the video? Fan-film, demo of gaming skill, protest, art project, clan recruitment, just for fun?

SJ: It was just a fan-film made by me. There are a lot of films made by the battlefield community. There is an in game battle recorder, so that encourages [you] to make movies about the game you have just played.

CM: When did you originally release the video?

SJ: I released the video in I think December last year. So I don’t know why they come up with this about 6 months later. Is the defence department that slow in searching the net for possible threats? If that is the case I fear the worst…

CM: When did you first hear that your video was being touted as an example of “terrorist propaganda”? What was your reaction to hearing this?

SJ: I head it first from a PlanetBattlefield member named “Drezeir” he opened a topic about it at PlanetBattlefield.com. And he send me a mail about it… Of course I was shocked. It’s not everyday that they label you part of al-Qaeda… and a Jihad recruiter. They demonised me by directly labeling me to someone from al-Qaeda who’s trying to recruit innocent children that are playing this game, by using a mod.

CM: What did you think when you heard the claim that you had “modded” the game? Isn’t the character in the footage just the “Insurgent” faction from the “BF2: Special Forces” expansion pack?

SJ: It is just in game footage from SF, no self made mod at all. I can’t get even my own computer to work. So you can see programming isn’t on of my strong points As a matter of fact my computer crashed just a few days ago, and for a month now I cant get BF2 to work…

CM: Do you regret having made the video at all? Or releasing it, considering how it’s being treated by the media?

SJ: I don’t regret making the video. It wasn’t intended for the purpose what it was portrayed to be by the media. So no I don’t regret making a funny video.. why should I? The only thing I regret is thinking that news from Reuters was objective and always right. The least they could do is some online research before publishing this. If they label me al-Qaeda just for making this silly video, that makes you think, what is this al-Qaeda? And is everything al-Qaeda? Or has this name become synonymous to the “communist” labeling a few decades ago…

CM: Have you seen any videos al-Qaeda uses to recruit members? Were any used as a template or inspiration for your film?

SJ: Everybody has seen videos of al-Qaeda. [They are] constantly in the news. If they were an inspiration… not directly no. The C4 blowing up and RPG are very popular in the game. You could say those are exactly the tools being used by al-Qaida, but to link this game to that organisation goes too far even for me. And I personally think it’s a shame that BF 2 is put in a bad spotlight. I think whats wonderful about this game is that there are no politics at all. There is no good or bad, there are no evildoers. You can chose each side you want and enjoy the game. Hmmm that’s not the case with America’s Army. A game that was meant to recruit people. Do I smell a little bit of hypocrisy?

CM: Has anyone from the government contacted you about your film? How about major news media such as Reuters?

SJ: No, nobody from the government or Reuters. Thank god for that (governm.). Yes I have had interviews for CNBC, ABC and others… and a lot of online magazines.

CM: Other than Team America: World Police, what other sound clips did you use? Which were taken from fictional portrayals of al-Qaeda/insurgents (movies & video games), and which were from real-life circumstances (such as the Bush “crusade” speech remix)?

SJ: That crusade part was some audio clip with a “combat tune” underneath it, that I found online. And because the video was about the man getting revenge through “Jihad”, I thought it fit the clip and the story. In the Team America sound clip he says that the Americans invaded his country and he was holding them responsible for that, so why not take a sound clip that quotes the man in charge? And that other “Allahu Akbar” [“God is Great”] sound clips were mostly from the movie “Lion of the Desert” and some of real life clips. I don’t know where to find that stuff anywhere else. I first did it without the “Allahu Akbar”, but I thought it wasn’t complete without it. And it just fit the story.

CM: What prompted the various choices of music used in the background?

SJ: I was just looking for music that fit a “jihad” story and sounded middle-eastern. Most of the sounds are from the movie called “Lion of the Desert” with Anthony Quinn. And it just fit the movie that I was trying to make. And that music from the “crusade” part sounded just like some good drums before going to “war”. I don’t even know what they are saying, because I speak just a little bit of Arabic. I’m a Moor so I speak Berber. I hope that the message in the audio wasn’t coming off too strong.

CM: Have you seen South Park/Team America writer Trey Parker’s take on all this?

SJ: Yes I have seen it. It looks like I have involved him too in this messed up affair. Sorry for that 😉 I just want to say to him, Loved Team America and keep up the good work… Stop involving Al-Jazeera in this…

CM: Once again, thank you for taking the time to talk to GamePolitics. I’ll let you get back to dodging counter-terrorist agents. Best of luck getting your copy of BF2 running bug-free.

SJ: I hope EA helps me with finding a solution to this bugged out game. Thank you for the interview.

Yes, its about a game altered by Samir S. (SonicJihad), that is to be found on the Planet Battlefield forum.

More background information: (more…)

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C L O S E R – 'Wilkommen zum' commodification of Islam

Posted on June 1st, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Multiculti Issues, Some personal considerations, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

Commodification is the transformation of what is normally a non-commodity into a commodity. In case of religion and culture it means that beliefs, symbols, experiences, and practices are turned into free-floating signifiers of an authentic, (read consumerist), self that can be consumed like any other product. Boubekeur (in ISIM Review 16: 12) sees a development of ‘cool islam’: the revalorization of the personal pleasure of consumption, success and competiveness. The youth forges a new urban islamic culture based both on an individualistic ethic that promotes economic success and a certain conception of well being. Religious and secular (consumer) symbols can come together as Boubekeur shows in several examples such as Mecca Cola’s French slogan: Drink with commitment (familiar with Nike’s Just do it!) which in Arab could mean: Drink faithfully.

Or what to think of a short story that was told by one of my ISIM colleagues. About a boy who was asked if he was a Muslim or not, and he stated (after a bit of thinking), yes, I have a mobile phone with the Quran on it! Nice for the Ilkone:

More orthodox people might find it offensive or ridiculous. Commodification is often seen in a negative light. But we shouldn’t forget that youth nowadays are growing up in a society that places much value upon consumerism. We shouldn’t be surprised that this has consequences for the religious convictions. We can probably also see it among youth that for example support Globalicious in their struggle against poverty and famine.

But also non-Muslims know how to commodify Islam. For example Dutch HEMA in a advertisement campaign in 2003 for their clothes. They used a woman with a headscarf in the campaign:

Probably not meant as a political statement, but as a means to expand their share of the market. Considering the discussions on internet however we should consider it as a political statement as well. Certainly when an another campaign from a mobile phone provider used a woman with a headscarf as well. On some internetfora this was seen as ridiculous: the backwardness (in their view) of Muslims combined with a highly sophisticated Western product. And of course now there is the campaign of Puma for the World Cup Football in Germany:

These are examples of a different type of commodification of course, because it is used by ‘Western’ companies with a completely different message. In this case Pumafootball is also supporting an aid campaign for Africa. Off course one can be a little cynical about their good intentions, but perhaps adds like these could also normalize the public presence of Islamic symbols. And yes, normalize in this case means (also) pulling them into the neo-liberal free market sphere and the culture of consumerism. Both forms of commodification are recent developments, interesting and relevant for thinking about religion and identity in the modern world.

2 comments.

C L O S E R – ‘Wilkommen zum’ commodification of Islam

Posted on June 1st, 2006 by .
Categories: Multiculti Issues, Some personal considerations, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

Commodification is the transformation of what is normally a non-commodity into a commodity. In case of religion and culture it means that beliefs, symbols, experiences, and practices are turned into free-floating signifiers of an authentic, (read consumerist), self that can be consumed like any other product. Boubekeur (in ISIM Review 16: 12) sees a development of ‘cool islam’: the revalorization of the personal pleasure of consumption, success and competiveness. The youth forges a new urban islamic culture based both on an individualistic ethic that promotes economic success and a certain conception of well being. Religious and secular (consumer) symbols can come together as Boubekeur shows in several examples such as Mecca Cola’s French slogan: Drink with commitment (familiar with Nike’s Just do it!) which in Arab could mean: Drink faithfully.

Or what to think of a short story that was told by one of my ISIM colleagues. About a boy who was asked if he was a Muslim or not, and he stated (after a bit of thinking), yes, I have a mobile phone with the Quran on it! Nice for the Ilkone:

More orthodox people might find it offensive or ridiculous. Commodification is often seen in a negative light. But we shouldn’t forget that youth nowadays are growing up in a society that places much value upon consumerism. We shouldn’t be surprised that this has consequences for the religious convictions. We can probably also see it among youth that for example support Globalicious in their struggle against poverty and famine.

But also non-Muslims know how to commodify Islam. For example Dutch HEMA in a advertisement campaign in 2003 for their clothes. They used a woman with a headscarf in the campaign:

Probably not meant as a political statement, but as a means to expand their share of the market. Considering the discussions on internet however we should consider it as a political statement as well. Certainly when an another campaign from a mobile phone provider used a woman with a headscarf as well. On some internetfora this was seen as ridiculous: the backwardness (in their view) of Muslims combined with a highly sophisticated Western product. And of course now there is the campaign of Puma for the World Cup Football in Germany:

These are examples of a different type of commodification of course, because it is used by ‘Western’ companies with a completely different message. In this case Pumafootball is also supporting an aid campaign for Africa. Off course one can be a little cynical about their good intentions, but perhaps adds like these could also normalize the public presence of Islamic symbols. And yes, normalize in this case means (also) pulling them into the neo-liberal free market sphere and the culture of consumerism. Both forms of commodification are recent developments, interesting and relevant for thinking about religion and identity in the modern world.

2 comments.

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