C L O S E R July 2007 Archives - C L O S E R

Protected: de Volkskrant – Binnenland – Hofstadleden doorgezaagd over islam

Posted on July 30th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, My Research, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements, Young Muslims.

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Protected: NRC/Hester Carvalho – De onvrede van de Marokkaanse 'reality-rappers': Luister! Dan komt het goed

Posted on July 30th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture, Multiculti Issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

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Protected: NRC/Hester Carvalho – De onvrede van de Marokkaanse ‘reality-rappers’: Luister! Dan komt het goed

Posted on July 30th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture, Multiculti Issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

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Violence won't work: how author of 'jihadists' bible' stirred up a storm | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Posted on July 30th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism, My Research, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements.

Violence won’t work: how author of ‘jihadists’ bible’ stirred up a storm | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Violence won’t work: how author of ‘jihadists’ bible’ stirred up a storm

Revisionist message from prison cell shakes al-Qaida colleagues

Ian Black Cairo
Friday July 27, 2007
The Guardian

In a prison cell south of Cairo a repentant Egyptian terrorist leader is putting the finishing touches to a remarkable recantation that undermines the Muslim theological basis for violent jihad and is set to generate furious controversy among former comrades still fighting with al-Qaida.

Sayid Imam al-Sharif, 57, was the founder and first emir (commander) of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organisation, whose supporters assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981 and later teamed up with Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan in the war against the Soviet occupation.

Sharif, a surgeon who is still known by his underground name of “Dr Fadl”, is famous as the author of the Salafi jihadists’ “bible” – Foundations of Preparation for Holy War. He worked with Ayman al-Zawahiri, another Egyptian doctor and now Bin Laden’s deputy, before being kidnapped in Yemen after 9/11, interrogated by the CIA and extradited to Egypt where has been serving a life sentence since 2004.

Sharif recently gave an electrifying foretaste of his conversion by condemning killings on the basis of nationality and colour of skin and the targeting of women and children, citing the Qur’anic injunction: “Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress the limits; for God loveth not transgressors.” Armed operations were wrong, counterproductive and must cease, he declared sternly.
(more…)

Violence won’t work: how author of ‘jihadists’ bible’ stirred up a storm | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Posted on July 30th, 2007 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism, My Research, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements.

Violence won’t work: how author of ‘jihadists’ bible’ stirred up a storm | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Violence won’t work: how author of ‘jihadists’ bible’ stirred up a storm

Revisionist message from prison cell shakes al-Qaida colleagues

Ian Black Cairo
Friday July 27, 2007
The Guardian

In a prison cell south of Cairo a repentant Egyptian terrorist leader is putting the finishing touches to a remarkable recantation that undermines the Muslim theological basis for violent jihad and is set to generate furious controversy among former comrades still fighting with al-Qaida.

Sayid Imam al-Sharif, 57, was the founder and first emir (commander) of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organisation, whose supporters assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981 and later teamed up with Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan in the war against the Soviet occupation.

Sharif, a surgeon who is still known by his underground name of “Dr Fadl”, is famous as the author of the Salafi jihadists’ “bible” – Foundations of Preparation for Holy War. He worked with Ayman al-Zawahiri, another Egyptian doctor and now Bin Laden’s deputy, before being kidnapped in Yemen after 9/11, interrogated by the CIA and extradited to Egypt where has been serving a life sentence since 2004.

Sharif recently gave an electrifying foretaste of his conversion by condemning killings on the basis of nationality and colour of skin and the targeting of women and children, citing the Qur’anic injunction: “Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress the limits; for God loveth not transgressors.” Armed operations were wrong, counterproductive and must cease, he declared sternly.
(more…)

Harry Potter's Koran – Haaretz – Israel News

Posted on July 26th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture.

Very interesting article by Zvi Bar’el: Harry Potter’s Koran – Haaretz – Israel News

“The story line is not important. We have to take into account that reading itself is what’s lacking in Arab nations. Those nations do not even read the Koran. I say we must learn the love of reading from the West without saying that reading that book is a waste of time. Hundreds of thousands of [Westerners] stood in line to get a copy of the book and no one in the Arab nations even goes into a bookstore more than once a year. There’s no crowding in bookstores. People crowd around the television, and they’re highly skilled in wasting time on the Internet.”

These words, written by a reader named Khaled, were posted on the Al Jazeera Web site the morning the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series was released. J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” has yet to be translated into Hebrew, but the book’s official Arabic Web site, ar-hp.com, is already up, and it is possible to download all the Harry Potter books in Arabic there. The site also contains information about the author, the number of copies sold and news related to the book.

For example, one article reports that police in Pakistan defused a bomb set to explode next to the Karachi bookstore where the book was set to go on sale. Another article informed would-be viewers that Al Jazeera was about to air a television special about the Harry Potter phenomenon.

The site features links to forums for Arabic-speaking Harry Potter fans, advice on how to quickly obtain the book and an interactive trivia competition about the life and adventures of the boy wizard. Islamic religious decrees, or fatwas, on why it is forbidden to perform spells and the difference between regular magic and wizardry, are also included.

This is not the only Web site where it is possible to download the books in Arabic, and given the traffic on other sites with similar services, it appears that many thousands, though not millions, have taken the opportunity.

In Arab nations, most copies of the new book were snapped up by children in Beirut and the Gulf States, where the first Arabic copies were ordered online and received through air freight. Iranians also lined up to buy the book. This year was the first time Iranians were able to obtain the book at the same time as residents of other countries.

The fact that children (and adults) all over the world, including Arab nations, are reading the same book at the same time raised questions as to whether an Arabic writer could attract so many readers. In addition, it prompted residents of Arab countries to compare their own reading habits with those of other places.

A bookstore owner in Dubai quoted in the local newspaper Gulf News says he keeps about 10,000 titles in his shop but sells no more than two to five books each month.

Another Dubai bookstore owner says sales of Arabic books in his shop comprise only 8 percent of total sales. That means that most of his clientele read in English and French.

Salah, another visitor to the Al Jazeera site, also expressed concern regarding Arab reading habits. He says that proper promotion of reading among Arab youth cannot rely on just anything that falls into their hands, even if it bears the name Harry Potter.

“Literature,” says Salah, “must strive to achieve lofty aims rather than feed the illusions that nurture Western culture.” Salah calls on Arabic readers to return to Muslim texts, the Koran and its commentators.

An Internet surfer from California, identified as Marmour, suggests that Arabs unite to support the Palestinian cause and read sacred texts rather than the “drivel” that surrounds the boy wizard.

Razi, another readers’ forum participant, chimes in: “If our parents had accustomed us to reading when we were young, we would already have read a major portion of modern literature from all parts of the world, as well as works by acclaimed writers like the author of ‘Harry Potter,’ who would enrich imaginations.”

Razi continues: “I intend to encourage my children to read and hope that everyone does that. Together, we will change the world.”

Images are from AR-HP.com

Harry Potter’s Koran – Haaretz – Israel News

Posted on July 26th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture.

Very interesting article by Zvi Bar’el: Harry Potter’s Koran – Haaretz – Israel News

“The story line is not important. We have to take into account that reading itself is what’s lacking in Arab nations. Those nations do not even read the Koran. I say we must learn the love of reading from the West without saying that reading that book is a waste of time. Hundreds of thousands of [Westerners] stood in line to get a copy of the book and no one in the Arab nations even goes into a bookstore more than once a year. There’s no crowding in bookstores. People crowd around the television, and they’re highly skilled in wasting time on the Internet.”

These words, written by a reader named Khaled, were posted on the Al Jazeera Web site the morning the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series was released. J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” has yet to be translated into Hebrew, but the book’s official Arabic Web site, ar-hp.com, is already up, and it is possible to download all the Harry Potter books in Arabic there. The site also contains information about the author, the number of copies sold and news related to the book.

For example, one article reports that police in Pakistan defused a bomb set to explode next to the Karachi bookstore where the book was set to go on sale. Another article informed would-be viewers that Al Jazeera was about to air a television special about the Harry Potter phenomenon.

The site features links to forums for Arabic-speaking Harry Potter fans, advice on how to quickly obtain the book and an interactive trivia competition about the life and adventures of the boy wizard. Islamic religious decrees, or fatwas, on why it is forbidden to perform spells and the difference between regular magic and wizardry, are also included.

This is not the only Web site where it is possible to download the books in Arabic, and given the traffic on other sites with similar services, it appears that many thousands, though not millions, have taken the opportunity.

In Arab nations, most copies of the new book were snapped up by children in Beirut and the Gulf States, where the first Arabic copies were ordered online and received through air freight. Iranians also lined up to buy the book. This year was the first time Iranians were able to obtain the book at the same time as residents of other countries.

The fact that children (and adults) all over the world, including Arab nations, are reading the same book at the same time raised questions as to whether an Arabic writer could attract so many readers. In addition, it prompted residents of Arab countries to compare their own reading habits with those of other places.

A bookstore owner in Dubai quoted in the local newspaper Gulf News says he keeps about 10,000 titles in his shop but sells no more than two to five books each month.

Another Dubai bookstore owner says sales of Arabic books in his shop comprise only 8 percent of total sales. That means that most of his clientele read in English and French.

Salah, another visitor to the Al Jazeera site, also expressed concern regarding Arab reading habits. He says that proper promotion of reading among Arab youth cannot rely on just anything that falls into their hands, even if it bears the name Harry Potter.

“Literature,” says Salah, “must strive to achieve lofty aims rather than feed the illusions that nurture Western culture.” Salah calls on Arabic readers to return to Muslim texts, the Koran and its commentators.

An Internet surfer from California, identified as Marmour, suggests that Arabs unite to support the Palestinian cause and read sacred texts rather than the “drivel” that surrounds the boy wizard.

Razi, another readers’ forum participant, chimes in: “If our parents had accustomed us to reading when we were young, we would already have read a major portion of modern literature from all parts of the world, as well as works by acclaimed writers like the author of ‘Harry Potter,’ who would enrich imaginations.”

Razi continues: “I intend to encourage my children to read and hope that everyone does that. Together, we will change the world.”

Images are from AR-HP.com

Medisch Contact – Hoofdcommentaar

Posted on July 26th, 2007 by .
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

Hoofdcommentaar Medisch Contact:

Stop discriminatie artsen
Publicatie: Nr. 29/30 – 20 juli 2007
Rubriek: Hoofdredactioneel
Auteur: Ben V.M. Crul
Pagina: 1243

Twee maanden geleden werd – midden in de nacht – een islamitische vrouw in partu een Nederlands ziekenhuis binnengebracht. Toen de mannelijke gynaecoloog haar wilde onderzoeken, werd hem door de echtgenoot van de vrouw de toegang tot de verloskamer ontzegd. Alleen een vrouwelijke gynaecoloog zou de bevalling bij zijn vrouw mogen leiden. De discussie werd door de man dreigend gesloten. Alleen doordat uw geïntimideerde collega ijlings (duur) vervoer per ambulance naar een nabijgelegen ziekenhuis regelde, waar wél een vrouwelijke gynaecoloog beschikbaar was, kwam daar ternauwernood een gezond kind te wereld. De inspectie, gevraagd om haar mening, gaf het veilige antwoord dat de beroepsgroep eerst maar eens zelf met een standpunt moet komen.

Een uitzondering? Helaas niet. Navraag onder ziekenhuisdirecteuren leert dat dergelijke taferelen zich steeds meer en in vele variaties in hun ziekenhuizen afspelen. Floris Sanders geeft in zijn column Veldwerk op blz. 1269 ook een staaltje van ‘weigeren vanwege geslacht’ weg. Met hem vind ik dat ontoelaatbaar. Een arts en ander personeel in de gezondheidszorg moet iedereen gelijk behandelen. Patiënten kunnen echter op basis van geloof – ook in acute situaties – eisen dat de hulpverlener beslist geen man, neger, homo, oudere of jood mag zijn. En wij artsen geven daar, vanwege de vrije artsenkeuze of intimidatie, nog aan toe ook.

Massaal wakker worden, collega’s, en vlug één lijn trekken voordat het te laat is. Stop met het toelaten van de discriminatie en seksuele insinuatie op uw professionele gedrag, zou ik zeggen. We leven hier wel in Nederland anno 2007 en niet meer in de middeleeuwen. Los van het principiële is het ook ondoenlijk om bij het samenstellen van diensten ook steeds ten minste een vrouw te moeten inroosteren.

Nu de inspectie zich op de vlakte houdt, zal de KNMG als vertegenwoordiger van de totale beroepsgroep inderdaad met een standpunt moeten komen.
De mening van Floris Sanders en mij is duidelijk: laat iedereen stoppen met het toegeven aan de druk om vanwege geloof of cultuur altijd een vrouwelijke hulpverlener te kunnen eisen. U kunt de KNMG alvast helpen bij haar standpuntbepaling: vul de poll in op www.medischcontact.nl en geef aan of u Floris en mij steunt of niet.

Ben V.M. Crul

In hoeverre mag een cliënt van een ziekenhuis zijn/haar voorkeur uitspreken voor een arts en in hoeverre moet een ziekenhuis daar gehoor aan geven?

On Suicide Bombing, by Talal Asad

Posted on July 23rd, 2007 by .
Categories: Important Publications, International Terrorism.

A new book has been published: On Suicide Bombing, by Talal Asad.

An excerpt: (more…)

Interesting blogs

Posted on July 23rd, 2007 by .
Categories: Blogosphere.

I have discovered two interesting anthropology blogs, I would like to recommend:

Losing My Jihadism – washingtonpost.com

Posted on July 23rd, 2007 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Losing My Jihadism – washingtonpost.com

I felt as though I was hearing this verse for the first time. God is light, it says, the universe is illuminated by His light. I felt the verse was speaking directly to me, sending me a message. This God of light, I thought, how could He be against any human? The God of light would not be happy to see people suffer, even if they had sinned and made mistakes along the way.

I had found my Islam. And I believe that others can find it, too.

Symposium over visuele Arabische cultuur en El Hema tentoonstelling

Posted on July 20th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture.

Amsterdam 10 juli 2007 â€” De Amsterdamse culturele instelling Mediamatic organiseert, samen met de Khatt foundation, op 24 augustus 2007 ‘khatt, kufi & kaffiya‘, een symposium over hedendaagse Arabische visuele cultuur. Het symposium is gericht op onderzoekers en geÃ¯nteresseerden in het Midden Oosten en vindt van 10.00 tot 21.00 uur plaats in de theaterzaal van de nieuwe Openbare Bibliotheek op de Oosterdokskade in Amsterdam. Op 24 augustus worden tevens vijf nieuwe Arabische lettertypen, een boek en een internationale on-line design community gepresenteerd. In de avond opent de El Hema tentoonstelling bij Mediamatic in het naastgelegen Post CS gebouw.

Het symposium brengt de positieve rol van (grafisch) ontwerpen en typografie voor de Arabische jeugdcultuur voor het voetlicht. Tijdens het symposium worden vijf nieuwe Arabische lettertypen gepresenteerd. Hoe kunnen deze lettertypen en de ontwerpers en typografen bijdragen aan positieve beeldvorming? En wat kan de rol zijn van samenwerkingsprojecten in het slaan van culturele bruggen tussen Oosterse en Westerse culturen?

Tijdens het symposium presenteren ontwerpers en onderzoekers uit het Midden Oosten, de Verenigde Staten en Europa hun visies op nieuwe vormen van visuele expressie in het Midden Oosten. Zo zijn er presentaties over de geschiedenis van het drukken van Arabische boeken, de relatie tussen typografie en dans, expressieve kalligrafie, politiek en visuele communicatie in het Midden Oosten en case studies over inter-culturele projecten met Nederlandse en Arabische ontwerpteams. Het symposium biedt ook een update van hedendaagse kunst, (grafisch) ontwerp, nieuwe media en typografie in de Arabische wereld. Sprekers zijn o.a. Dr. Goeffrey Roper (Index Islamicus, London), J.R. Osborn (San Diego), Nadine Touma (Beirut), Fawzi Rahal (Dubai), Brody Neuenschwander,Jelle van der Toorn Vrijthoff, Tarek Atrissi en Pascal Zoghbi.

De kosten van het symposium bedragen 45 euro p.p. (20 euro voor studenten), inclusief een kopie van het boek Typographic Matchmaking (winkelprijs 30 euro), een lunch en afsluitende receptie. Meer informatie op de website van de Khatt Foundation: www.khtt.net

Vijf nieuwe Arabische lettertypen
Aanleiding voor het symposium en de El Hema tentoonstelling zijn vijf nieuwe digitale Arabische lettertypen gemaakt door de bekende Nederlandse typografen Gerard Unger, Fred Smeijers, Peter Bilak, Martin Majoor en Lucas Groot samen met vijf jonge Arabische ontwerpers. Het boek â€œTypographic Matchmakingâ€ (BIS Publishers 2007) van initiatiefnemer Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarÃ¨s van de Khatt Foundation beschrijft het ontwerp-proces. Op een bonus CD staan de vijf nieuwe Arabische lettertypen.

El Hema van 24 augustus tot 26 oktober
De El Hema is een tijdelijk warenhuis waarin Arabische versies van typische Hema producten te zien en te koop zijn. De nieuwe Arabische lettertypen zijn gebruikt in de styling van de tentoonstelling en in de producten, zoals gordijnen en handdoeken bedrukt met Arabische poÃ«zie, gegraveerd glaswerk, Arabische kaftpapier en met tekst bedrukte Arabische mode. De El Hema is gratis toegankelijk van 24 augustus tot en met 26 oktober 2007. Meer informatie op El Hema.

UPDATE:

De Hema is niet blij met het El Hema initiatief: brief, reactie Mediamatic

A Young Saudi's Online Gambit – washingtonpost.com

Posted on July 20th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture.

A Young Saudi’s Online Gambit – washingtonpost.com

Comedy Writer Launches Site for 20-Something Arabs Starved for Entertainment

By Faiza Saleh Ambah
Washington Post Foreign Service
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia A desire to bring to life his favorite heroes in Islamic history initially spurred Thamer al-Sikhan toward storytelling, and he wrote for hours every day: first historic series, then drama and comedy shows, and finally, when he was in college, a screenplay.

But in a country without much of an entertainment culture, with no movie industry, no performing arts schools, where cinemas are banned and television production is in its infancy, Sikhan knocked on many doors but could not find a way to bring his stories to the screen.

Then one evening, while watching an American Internet-based series, the animated “Happy Tree Friends,” it was as if “a light bulb switched on” in his head, he said. “I thought: This is what I’m going to do. I don’t need anyone else. I’ll produce the shows myself, on the Web.”

A Young Saudi’s Online Gambit – washingtonpost.com

Posted on July 20th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture.

A Young Saudi’s Online Gambit – washingtonpost.com

Comedy Writer Launches Site for 20-Something Arabs Starved for Entertainment

By Faiza Saleh Ambah
Washington Post Foreign Service
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia A desire to bring to life his favorite heroes in Islamic history initially spurred Thamer al-Sikhan toward storytelling, and he wrote for hours every day: first historic series, then drama and comedy shows, and finally, when he was in college, a screenplay.

But in a country without much of an entertainment culture, with no movie industry, no performing arts schools, where cinemas are banned and television production is in its infancy, Sikhan knocked on many doors but could not find a way to bring his stories to the screen.

Then one evening, while watching an American Internet-based series, the animated “Happy Tree Friends,” it was as if “a light bulb switched on” in his head, he said. “I thought: This is what I’m going to do. I don’t need anyone else. I’ll produce the shows myself, on the Web.”

Trial Yassin Nassari & Bouchra el Hor

Posted on July 19th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

Earlier on I posted several messages about the trial against Yassin Nassari and his Moroccan-Dutch wife Bouchra el Hor. The last one was about the Dutch newsprogram Netwerk in which I had small role trying to give some insight in particular Bouchra’s motivations and trying to deconstruct the all to easy portrayal of her as ‘terror-burqa’ in some of the Dutch press, but at the same trying to make clear how easy it is (not only in the UK, but perhaps even more in the Netherlands) for people to be charged with allegations of (supporting) terrorism.

During my holiday the verdict was out and Yassin was found guilty of the second and lesser of the two accounts with which he was charged. It carries a maximum sentance of 10 years. His wife was found not guilty of aiding and abbetting him and was set free. According to the judge and prosecutors Yassin, using the name, “Mock Turtle,” shared extremist videos with Tariq Al-Daour (Abu Dujanah), who provided information over the internet on suicide vests, car bombs, booby traps and poisons. He had also signed a book of support for Omar Rehman who studied at the same college and pleaded guilty earlier this year to plotting a bombing campaign using stretch limousines packed with propane gas canisters. One might question these acts of course and even object to them, it sounds, at least a little bit, as guilt by association.

There was more against him and his wife, probably more serious. Police discovered a mass of jihadi material on a laptop and removable hard drive including blueprints for an Al Qassam 1.5 rocket used by the Palestinian terror group Hamas.

The files showed detailed measurements and information about the missile components, how to make the propellant and explosive charge and the assembly of the completed rocket.

They recommended using the driveshafts from a Peugeot 504 “found in breakers’ yards” for the fuselage, if good quality stainless steel was not available.

Also hidden in the files were articles entitled ‘Virtues of martyrdom in the path of Allah,’ ‘Islamic Ruling on the Permissibility of Self-Sacrifical Operation – Suicide or Martyrdom?’ ‘Taking care of the family left behind by the fighter’ and ‘Providing for the families of the martyrs.’

Nassari had footage of executions and beheadings downloaded from the internet and a letter, in a mixture of Arabic and English, written by El-Hor, in which she encouraged her husband to become a martyr. El-Hor is the first Dutch woman standing trail in a terror case outside the Netherlands. She is not the first one with ties to the Netherlands though. Earlier on Omar Altimimi, an Iraqi with a Dutch passport who came to the UK in 2004, was sentenced to jail in a terrorism case.

According to the prosecution El Hor wrote, among other things:

“The moment has come where you and I have to separate for the cause of Allah,” she wrote. “I am so proud, my husband, and I am happy for you that Allah had granted you this chance to be a Mujihad [holy warrior] in the cause of God.

“I am writing you this letter to let you know you have my support and to remind you to be strong and not let Satan influence you, to remind you that Jihad [holy war] is now compulsory and you are obliged to protect the well-being of Islam and help your brothers and sisters and fight the Kuffar [non-believers].

“I really wish I could go with you because I too feel obliged to do all this and look to participate in any way I can.

“But everything happens by the will of Allah, may he be praised, only maybe, God willing I can follow you and if I could I will send your son to you so he can follow his father’s footsteps.

“I will pray to Allah he will release you from (this world) by granting you martyrdom and pray to Allah to reunite us in heaven, as your wife, together with your son in heaven.

“God willing I will do anything in my power to raise our son the best way I can so he can be a righteous Muslim. I will also tell him all about his father so he can be proud of him and follow in his footsteps.”

The information about the letter and the booklets on Nassari’s computer is obtained from an article in the Daily Telegraph. An interesting account of the trial can be found at the website of Abdur-Raheem Green: Islam’s Green. According to his story, he was one of the witnesses and he gives some interesting observations of the trial and also of the time he was waiting in the court. In another entry he refers to Yassin Nassari’s brother Marwan telling him that Yassin Nassari will be free in January. As I have understood Nassari receives a sentence of three and a half years of which he already spend more then one year.

A very incomplete overview of sites referring to the case (not mentioned above); some satirical, some in favour others against Nassari and El Hor, some criticizing the jury for acquitting El Hor, others questioning the fact that one of the main accusations (that held) were related to documents that are likely used by terrorists or to support terrorism. Although I do not agree with all the views expressed on those sites (and in some there are obvious mistakes), it gives a good impression of the usual debates over court cases and allegations like this. Under the reference you can find some text, it’s not mine but copied form the websites mentioned:

Trial Yassin Nassari & Bouchra el Hor

Posted on July 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

Earlier on I posted several messages about the trial against Yassin Nassari and his Moroccan-Dutch wife Bouchra el Hor. The last one was about the Dutch newsprogram Netwerk in which I had small role trying to give some insight in particular Bouchra’s motivations and trying to deconstruct the all to easy portrayal of her as ‘terror-burqa’ in some of the Dutch press, but at the same trying to make clear how easy it is (not only in the UK, but perhaps even more in the Netherlands) for people to be charged with allegations of (supporting) terrorism.

During my holiday the verdict was out and Yassin was found guilty of the second and lesser of the two accounts with which he was charged. It carries a maximum sentance of 10 years. His wife was found not guilty of aiding and abbetting him and was set free. According to the judge and prosecutors Yassin, using the name, “Mock Turtle,” shared extremist videos with Tariq Al-Daour (Abu Dujanah), who provided information over the internet on suicide vests, car bombs, booby traps and poisons. He had also signed a book of support for Omar Rehman who studied at the same college and pleaded guilty earlier this year to plotting a bombing campaign using stretch limousines packed with propane gas canisters. One might question these acts of course and even object to them, it sounds, at least a little bit, as guilt by association.

There was more against him and his wife, probably more serious. Police discovered a mass of jihadi material on a laptop and removable hard drive including blueprints for an Al Qassam 1.5 rocket used by the Palestinian terror group Hamas.

The files showed detailed measurements and information about the missile components, how to make the propellant and explosive charge and the assembly of the completed rocket.

They recommended using the driveshafts from a Peugeot 504 “found in breakers’ yards” for the fuselage, if good quality stainless steel was not available.

Also hidden in the files were articles entitled ‘Virtues of martyrdom in the path of Allah,’ ‘Islamic Ruling on the Permissibility of Self-Sacrifical Operation – Suicide or Martyrdom?’ ‘Taking care of the family left behind by the fighter’ and ‘Providing for the families of the martyrs.’

Nassari had footage of executions and beheadings downloaded from the internet and a letter, in a mixture of Arabic and English, written by El-Hor, in which she encouraged her husband to become a martyr. El-Hor is the first Dutch woman standing trail in a terror case outside the Netherlands. She is not the first one with ties to the Netherlands though. Earlier on Omar Altimimi, an Iraqi with a Dutch passport who came to the UK in 2004, was sentenced to jail in a terrorism case.

According to the prosecution El Hor wrote, among other things:

“The moment has come where you and I have to separate for the cause of Allah,” she wrote. “I am so proud, my husband, and I am happy for you that Allah had granted you this chance to be a Mujihad [holy warrior] in the cause of God.

“I am writing you this letter to let you know you have my support and to remind you to be strong and not let Satan influence you, to remind you that Jihad [holy war] is now compulsory and you are obliged to protect the well-being of Islam and help your brothers and sisters and fight the Kuffar [non-believers].

“I really wish I could go with you because I too feel obliged to do all this and look to participate in any way I can.

“But everything happens by the will of Allah, may he be praised, only maybe, God willing I can follow you and if I could I will send your son to you so he can follow his father’s footsteps.

“I will pray to Allah he will release you from (this world) by granting you martyrdom and pray to Allah to reunite us in heaven, as your wife, together with your son in heaven.

“God willing I will do anything in my power to raise our son the best way I can so he can be a righteous Muslim. I will also tell him all about his father so he can be proud of him and follow in his footsteps.”

The information about the letter and the booklets on Nassari’s computer is obtained from an article in the Daily Telegraph. An interesting account of the trial can be found at the website of Abdur-Raheem Green: Islam’s Green. According to his story, he was one of the witnesses and he gives some interesting observations of the trial and also of the time he was waiting in the court. In another entry he refers to Yassin Nassari’s brother Marwan telling him that Yassin Nassari will be free in January. As I have understood Nassari receives a sentence of three and a half years of which he already spend more then one year.

A very incomplete overview of sites referring to the case (not mentioned above); some satirical, some in favour others against Nassari and El Hor, some criticizing the jury for acquitting El Hor, others questioning the fact that one of the main accusations (that held) were related to documents that are likely used by terrorists or to support terrorism. Although I do not agree with all the views expressed on those sites (and in some there are obvious mistakes), it gives a good impression of the usual debates over court cases and allegations like this. Under the reference you can find some text, it’s not mine but copied form the websites mentioned:

Cover story: 'My brother the bomber' by Shiv Malik | Prospect Magazine

Posted on July 19th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: [Online] Publications, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

Cover story: ‘My brother the bomber’ by Shiv Malik | Prospect Magazine June 2007 issue 135

Recently this article appeared in the Dutch daily NRC. It is presented as a a detailed account of the life and motivations of Mohammad Sidique Khan, the ringleader of the 7/7 bombings in London 2005.

What turned Mohammad Sidique Khan, a softly spoken youth worker, into the mastermind of 7/7? I spent months in a Leeds suburb getting to know Khan’s brother. A complex and disturbing story of the bomber’s radicalisation emerged

An interesting article, you can discuss it here but of course also here at the Prospect Magazine’s blog.Â I suggest you read also Yahya Birt’s insightfullÂ comments on the article here.

Cover story: ‘My brother the bomber’ by Shiv Malik | Prospect Magazine

Posted on July 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: [Online] Publications, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

Cover story: ‘My brother the bomber’ by Shiv Malik | Prospect Magazine June 2007 issue 135

Recently this article appeared in the Dutch daily NRC. It is presented as a a detailed account of the life and motivations of Mohammad Sidique Khan, the ringleader of the 7/7 bombings in London 2005.

What turned Mohammad Sidique Khan, a softly spoken youth worker, into the mastermind of 7/7? I spent months in a Leeds suburb getting to know Khan’s brother. A complex and disturbing story of the bomber’s radicalisation emerged

An interesting article, you can discuss it here but of course also here at the Prospect Magazine’s blog.Â I suggest you read also Yahya Birt’s insightfullÂ comments on the article here.

Muslims In Western Europe After 9/11: Why the term Islamophobia is more a predicament than an explanation – CHALLENGE | Liberty & Security

Posted on July 19th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: [Online] Publications, Important Publications, Multiculti Issues.

Muslims In Western Europe After 9/11: Why the term Islamophobia is more a predicament than an explanation – CHALLENGE | Liberty & Security
by Cesari Jocelyne

Although the first occurrence of the term Islamophobia appeared in an essay by the Orientalist Etienne Dinet in Lâ€™Orient vu de lâ€™Occident (1922), it is only in the 1990s that the term became common parlance in defining the discrimination faced by Muslims in Western Europe. Negative perceptions of Islam can be traced back through multiple confrontations between the Muslim world and Europe from the Crusades to colonialism [1]. However, Islamophobia is a modern and secular anti-Islamic discourse and practice appearing in the public sphere with the integration of Muslim immigrant communities and intensifying after 9/11. The term has been used increasingly amongst political circles and the media, and even Muslim organizations, especially since the 1997 Runnymede Report (Islamophobia: A Challenge for All). However, academics are still debating the legitimacy of the term (Werbner 2005, Modood 2002, Vertovec 2002, Halliday 1999) [2] and questioning how it differs from other terms such as racism, anti- Islamism, anti-Muslimness, and anti-Semitism.The term Islamophobia is contested because it is often imprecisely applied to very diverse phenomena, ranging from xenophobia to anti-terrorism. As Marcel Maussen points out in his chapter below, â€˜the term Â«IslamophobiaÂ» groups together all kinds of different forms of discourse, speech and acts, by suggesting that they all emanate from an identical ideological core, which is an Â«irrational fearÂ» (a phobia) of Islam.â€™ However, the term is used with increasing frequency in the media and political arenas, and sometimes in academic circles.

[In the field of research on islamophobia their are] two separate trends: CRS analyses different state policies concerning the integration of Muslim populations, while the EUMC records levels of discrimination encountered by European Muslims. None of the above reports combine these approaches (analysis of state policies and analysis of discrimination) to develop a comprehensive framework for understanding post-9/11 Muslim populations.

In a unique effort to understand the status of Muslims in Europe, our report will amalgamate both methods of analysis. We will examine policies undertaken since 9/11 in fields such as immigration, security, and religion, and we will simultaneously assess the influence of these policies on Muslims. We will also address the structural causes of discrimination, such as the socio-economic status of Muslim populations or the legal status of racial and ethnic minorities. In doing so, we differentiate our approach from the dominant view, which defines Islamophobia solely in terms of acts or speeches explicitly targeting Muslims.

The principal aim of this report is to highlight the multi-layered levels of discrimination encountered by Muslims. This phenomenon cannot simply be subsumed into the term Islamophobia. Indeed, the term can be misleading, as it presupposes the pre-eminence of religious discrimination when other forms of discrimination (such as racial or class) may be more relevant. We therefore intend to use the term Islamophobia as a starting point for analyzing the different dimensions that define the political situation of Muslim minorities in Europe. We will not to take the term for granted by assigning it only one meaning, such as anti-Islamic discourse.

In Part One, we will present the principal characteristics of the European Muslim population, in order to understand their particular status as religious or ethnic minorities. In Part Two, we will review the key components of discrimination that may affect Muslims in Europe.

A chapter on the Dutch situation, written by Marcel Maussen, can be found in the report.

Muslims In Western Europe After 9/11: Why the term Islamophobia is more a predicament than an explanation – CHALLENGE | Liberty & Security

Posted on July 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: [Online] Publications, Important Publications, Multiculti Issues.

Muslims In Western Europe After 9/11: Why the term Islamophobia is more a predicament than an explanation – CHALLENGE | Liberty & Security
by Cesari Jocelyne

Although the first occurrence of the term Islamophobia appeared in an essay by the Orientalist Etienne Dinet in Lâ€™Orient vu de lâ€™Occident (1922), it is only in the 1990s that the term became common parlance in defining the discrimination faced by Muslims in Western Europe. Negative perceptions of Islam can be traced back through multiple confrontations between the Muslim world and Europe from the Crusades to colonialism [1]. However, Islamophobia is a modern and secular anti-Islamic discourse and practice appearing in the public sphere with the integration of Muslim immigrant communities and intensifying after 9/11. The term has been used increasingly amongst political circles and the media, and even Muslim organizations, especially since the 1997 Runnymede Report (Islamophobia: A Challenge for All). However, academics are still debating the legitimacy of the term (Werbner 2005, Modood 2002, Vertovec 2002, Halliday 1999) [2] and questioning how it differs from other terms such as racism, anti- Islamism, anti-Muslimness, and anti-Semitism.The term Islamophobia is contested because it is often imprecisely applied to very diverse phenomena, ranging from xenophobia to anti-terrorism. As Marcel Maussen points out in his chapter below, â€˜the term Â«IslamophobiaÂ» groups together all kinds of different forms of discourse, speech and acts, by suggesting that they all emanate from an identical ideological core, which is an Â«irrational fearÂ» (a phobia) of Islam.â€™ However, the term is used with increasing frequency in the media and political arenas, and sometimes in academic circles.

[In the field of research on islamophobia their are] two separate trends: CRS analyses different state policies concerning the integration of Muslim populations, while the EUMC records levels of discrimination encountered by European Muslims. None of the above reports combine these approaches (analysis of state policies and analysis of discrimination) to develop a comprehensive framework for understanding post-9/11 Muslim populations.

In a unique effort to understand the status of Muslims in Europe, our report will amalgamate both methods of analysis. We will examine policies undertaken since 9/11 in fields such as immigration, security, and religion, and we will simultaneously assess the influence of these policies on Muslims. We will also address the structural causes of discrimination, such as the socio-economic status of Muslim populations or the legal status of racial and ethnic minorities. In doing so, we differentiate our approach from the dominant view, which defines Islamophobia solely in terms of acts or speeches explicitly targeting Muslims.

The principal aim of this report is to highlight the multi-layered levels of discrimination encountered by Muslims. This phenomenon cannot simply be subsumed into the term Islamophobia. Indeed, the term can be misleading, as it presupposes the pre-eminence of religious discrimination when other forms of discrimination (such as racial or class) may be more relevant. We therefore intend to use the term Islamophobia as a starting point for analyzing the different dimensions that define the political situation of Muslim minorities in Europe. We will not to take the term for granted by assigning it only one meaning, such as anti-Islamic discourse.

In Part One, we will present the principal characteristics of the European Muslim population, in order to understand their particular status as religious or ethnic minorities. In Part Two, we will review the key components of discrimination that may affect Muslims in Europe.

A chapter on the Dutch situation, written by Marcel Maussen, can be found in the report.

UNESCO / Peter J. Burgess – Promoting human security in Western Europe

Posted on July 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: [Online] Publications, Multiculti Issues, My Research.

UNESCO Documents and Publications – UNESDOC/UNESBIB
Burgess, J. Peter
Promoting human security: ethical, normative and educational frameworks in Western Europe:

A new kind of precariousness is touching Europe. The robust structures of social support that had become a commonplace in the post-war European welfare state are being increasingly challenged in almost invisible ways. The societybased guarantees of industrial late modernity are gradually giving over to more economic, political, social, cultural and even moral vulnerability. Although Europeans still hold fast to the basic ideas of security in terms of classical principles of economic and social welfare, these principles map less and less on to the globalized reality that shapes European lives.

The purpose of this report is to chart the basic contours of this new vulnerability in terms of human security. The inspiration and genealogy of human security are by now well known. Human
security is an influential diagnostic concept that emerged from the remnants of the Cold War ideological battlefield. As the attention of the world was released from the logic of bipolar geopolitics, a vast world of development challenges revealed itself. Human security emerged not as a new empirical object, but as a new epistemology. In other words, human security is not so much a new discovery as a new kind of knowledge, a new way of organizing the constellation of facts, values, priorities, views and ideologies.

In this report one chapter is about the Netherlands (by Bartels, De Koning, Knibbe and Salemink):

Given the rapid and rather extreme transition of a public discourse of cultural relativism and tolerance to a discourse emphasizing integration and assimilation and the closing of state borders for migration, the Dutch case exemplifies tendencies towards insecurity present in several countries in Western Europe. This is illustrated by the 2005 riots in the French suburbs as well as the 2006 German discussion about the security of teachers and children in multi-ethnic public schools. These trans-European concerns for cultural security are not only comparable, but also mutually influencing through transnational networks, as events and developments in one country may affects the situation in other countries as well. The recent transnational and international controversy over cartoons published in Denmark is a case in point. Finally, the threat of terror attacks (Madrid, London, political murders in the Netherlands) and the corresponding public and political responses make clear that the present insecurity over identity issues have a deep impact on peopleâ€™s sense of physical security, thus violating the â€˜freedom from fearâ€™ dimension of human security. In other words, the way that people define their cultural identity is part and parcel of their subjective sense of human security â€“ first and foremost in terms of cultural security, but eventually in terms of their physical safety.

Protected: Op de terreurlijst, maar waarom? – zaterdag 28 juli 2007 – DePers.nl

Posted on July 11th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism.

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