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Protected: AD.nl – Gouda – Islam-Gouda gekrenkt door fotoserie

Posted on December 14th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture, Multiculti Issues.

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What does it mean to be Muslim in Morocco ? | sur Jeunes Du Maroc, Portail des Jeunes

Posted on December 14th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: ISIM/RU Research, Morocco, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

What does it mean to be Muslim in Morocco ? | sur Jeunes Du Maroc, Portail des Jeunes

The Moroccan constitution updated in 1996 states that people who are born in Morocco are by tradition Muslims- 85% to 90% are Sunnis

(Lamchichi, 1995, p.239). It implies that Moroccan citizens are not religiously free and have no choice in term of religion direction while it represents a public affair, yet it should private. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary, “religion is one of the systems of faith that are based on the belief in the existence of a particular god or gods”. In reality, Moroccans do not follow Islam’s precepts and rules because of the educational system, the western influence, and the cult’s freedom. In fact, for example, in the Islamic religion as it is written is the Koran, the sacred book for Muslims, it is prohibited to have premarital relations for both men and women and it is forbidden to drink wine. However, Moroccans do it without paying attention to Islam and society. Also, politically, some Moroccans believe that the increasing of the Islamic party, PJD, is going to be a disaster since they strongly believe that they will live in the same context that people lived in Iran during 1979. All these ideas give no homogenous religious identity – in accordance with Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary “who or what somebody or something is”- to Moroccans. Indeed, what does it mean to be Muslim in Morocco ? I will try to propose a possible answer to this question in six parts : first, Moroccans’ points of view through a survey, second the conception of Islam by Moroccan intellectuals, third the ideas of famous figures in Muslim World, fourth foreign authors’ point of view, fifth the feedback of a seminar organized by a scholar group HEM (High Studies of Management), and finally position of Moroccan government about Moroccan citizens’ religious identity.

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What does it mean to be Muslim in Morocco ? | sur Jeunes Du Maroc, Portail des Jeunes

Posted on December 14th, 2007 by .
Categories: ISIM/RU Research, Morocco, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

What does it mean to be Muslim in Morocco ? | sur Jeunes Du Maroc, Portail des Jeunes

The Moroccan constitution updated in 1996 states that people who are born in Morocco are by tradition Muslims- 85% to 90% are Sunnis

(Lamchichi, 1995, p.239). It implies that Moroccan citizens are not religiously free and have no choice in term of religion direction while it represents a public affair, yet it should private. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary, “religion is one of the systems of faith that are based on the belief in the existence of a particular god or gods”. In reality, Moroccans do not follow Islam’s precepts and rules because of the educational system, the western influence, and the cult’s freedom. In fact, for example, in the Islamic religion as it is written is the Koran, the sacred book for Muslims, it is prohibited to have premarital relations for both men and women and it is forbidden to drink wine. However, Moroccans do it without paying attention to Islam and society. Also, politically, some Moroccans believe that the increasing of the Islamic party, PJD, is going to be a disaster since they strongly believe that they will live in the same context that people lived in Iran during 1979. All these ideas give no homogenous religious identity – in accordance with Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary “who or what somebody or something is”- to Moroccans. Indeed, what does it mean to be Muslim in Morocco ? I will try to propose a possible answer to this question in six parts : first, Moroccans’ points of view through a survey, second the conception of Islam by Moroccan intellectuals, third the ideas of famous figures in Muslim World, fourth foreign authors’ point of view, fifth the feedback of a seminar organized by a scholar group HEM (High Studies of Management), and finally position of Moroccan government about Moroccan citizens’ religious identity.

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Middle East Report 245: Imagined Youths by Ted Swedenburg

Posted on December 14th, 2007 by .
Categories: ISIM/RU Research, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

Middle East Report 245: Imagined Youths by Ted Swedenburg

Youth in the Middle East are burdened with authoritarian states, corruption and nepotism that circumscribe their life chances, as well as structural socio-economic crisis stemming from the failures of state-led development and the systemic inequalities of global capitalism. Not the least of their burdens, however, are the expectations and imprecations generated by the “youth” of the elite imagination. In the manner of youth everywhere, young Middle Easterners can be expected to heed the paternalism of their governments and the projections of outsiders unevenly at best, as they strive to fulfill their own aspirations, whether they are emancipatory, mundane or somewhere in between.

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Middle East Report 245: Young Brothers in Cyberspace by Marc Lynch

Posted on December 14th, 2007 by .
Categories: Blogosphere, ISIM/RU Research, Religious Movements.

Middle East Report 245: Young Brothers in Cyberspace by Marc Lynch

An older Muslim Brother blogger, Ahmad ‘Abd al-‘Ati, came out in favor of the fourth generation’s openness: “The blogs represent a sign of success despite the fears of others that they have crossed the line…. Exchanging ideas is not a divide between generations and differences of opinion are not divisions.”[28] This is an opinion from which young bloggers like Rashwan take heart. Yet Deputy Guide Muhammad Habib seems bent on squelching talk of “generations” or “trends” out of concern that it could be used to weaken the Brothers.[29]

Some skeptics dismiss the blogs as a public relations stratagem. That may have been partly true at the outset, particularly as regards the blogging campaigns in support of the al-Azhar students and to secure the release of the Brotherhood’s imprisoned leaders. But their emergence as an independent force among the Brothers is something altogether different. The bloggers of the Muslim Brothers represent a growing intellectual and political force within the movement that could, over time, help tip it in a reformist direction. But they face considerable challenges: a leadership wary of change, a regime increasingly prone to arresting troublesome Internet activists and a salafi counter-trend that could well take the Muslim Brothers in another direction entirely. How much impact the blogging Brothers can really have remains to be seen, but at the least they represent a new dynamic in the world of Islamism and Arab politics, and offer a striking new window upon the internal life of the Muslim Brotherhood.

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Associated Press of Pakistan – Darul Uloom issues fatwa denouncing terrorism

Posted on December 14th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Associated Press of Pakistan – Darul Uloom issues fatwa denouncing terrorism
NEW DELHI, Dec. 13 APP: Darul Uloom Deoband, a leading Islamic centre in India issued fatwa denouncing terrorism and said it was against Islamic principles. Media reports quoted Mufti-e-Azam Maulana Fazlurehman Hilal Usmani, a scholar of Darul Uloom as saying in Saharanpur “Jehad signifies a fight against evil while terrorism is aimed at killing of innocent people. The two are opposite each other.”

Terrorism is a henious crime against humanity and it should not be equated with jehad, he added.

According to Islamic principles, “killing of an innocent is equal to killing of the entire humanity. Some fanatics are bringing a bad name not only to Muslims but also to Islam on the pretext of waging jehad”, the scholar said.

“Jehad is the ultimate destination. There is no greed in jehad; the man sacrifices his life for a noble cause. Islam provides that even during war, places of worship, innocent people, hospitals and educational institutions should not be targeted,” Mufti-e-Azam said.

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MEMRI: Major Jihadi Cleric and Author of Al-Qaeda's Shari'a Guide to Jihad: 9/11Was a Sin; A Shari'a Court Should Be Set Up to Hold Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri Accountable; There Are Only Two Kinds of People in Al-Qaeda – The Ignorant and Those Who Seek Worldly Gain

Posted on December 14th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

MEMRI: Major Jihadi Cleric and Author of Al-Qaeda’s Shari’a Guide to Jihad: 9/11Was a Sin; A Shari’a Court Should Be Set Up to Hold Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri Accountable; There Are Only Two Kinds of People in Al-Qaeda – The Ignorant and Those Who Seek Worldly Gain

Over the last few weeks, Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, one of the least public yet most important figures in the global jihad movement, has published a long-awaited new work, Wathiqat Tarshid Al-‘Aml Al-Jihadi fi Misr w’Al-‘Alam (“Document of Right Guidance for Jihad Activity in Egypt and the World”), in which he calls for a stop to jihad activities in the West and also to those against the ruling regimes in Muslim countries. The new book, which Imam wrote while serving a life sentence in Egypt, was published in serial form in two Arab dailies, the Kuwaiti Al-Jarida and the Egyptian Al-Masri Al-Yawm, and has been the subject of extensive discussion and polemic among Islamists and observers of Islamist movements. The document is at once a book and a formal initiative, and the majority of leaders and members of the Jihad organization in the Egyptian prisons have signed the document and promised to stop armed activities. This entire process was facilitated by the Egyptian authorities, and the document was reviewed by a commission of Al-Azhar scholars. [1]

The book has generated such interest due to its author’s standing and importance among radical Islamists. In addition to his given name, Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, he is also known as “Dr. Fadl” and “‘Abd Al-Qader Bin ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz.” His 1988 book on the laws of jihad, Al-‘Umda fi I’dad Al-‘Udda (“The Essentials of Making Ready [for Jihad]”),was used as a jihad manual in Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. [2] In addition, Sayyed Imam is one of Ayman Al-Zawahiri’s oldest associates.

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MEMRI: Major Jihadi Cleric and Author of Al-Qaeda’s Shari’a Guide to Jihad: 9/11Was a Sin; A Shari’a Court Should Be Set Up to Hold Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri Accountable; There Are Only Two Kinds of People in Al-Qaeda – The Ignorant and Those Who Seek Worldly Gain

Posted on December 14th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

MEMRI: Major Jihadi Cleric and Author of Al-Qaeda’s Shari’a Guide to Jihad: 9/11Was a Sin; A Shari’a Court Should Be Set Up to Hold Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri Accountable; There Are Only Two Kinds of People in Al-Qaeda – The Ignorant and Those Who Seek Worldly Gain

Over the last few weeks, Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, one of the least public yet most important figures in the global jihad movement, has published a long-awaited new work, Wathiqat Tarshid Al-‘Aml Al-Jihadi fi Misr w’Al-‘Alam (“Document of Right Guidance for Jihad Activity in Egypt and the World”), in which he calls for a stop to jihad activities in the West and also to those against the ruling regimes in Muslim countries. The new book, which Imam wrote while serving a life sentence in Egypt, was published in serial form in two Arab dailies, the Kuwaiti Al-Jarida and the Egyptian Al-Masri Al-Yawm, and has been the subject of extensive discussion and polemic among Islamists and observers of Islamist movements. The document is at once a book and a formal initiative, and the majority of leaders and members of the Jihad organization in the Egyptian prisons have signed the document and promised to stop armed activities. This entire process was facilitated by the Egyptian authorities, and the document was reviewed by a commission of Al-Azhar scholars. [1]

The book has generated such interest due to its author’s standing and importance among radical Islamists. In addition to his given name, Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, he is also known as “Dr. Fadl” and “‘Abd Al-Qader Bin ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz.” His 1988 book on the laws of jihad, Al-‘Umda fi I’dad Al-‘Udda (“The Essentials of Making Ready [for Jihad]”),was used as a jihad manual in Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. [2] In addition, Sayyed Imam is one of Ayman Al-Zawahiri’s oldest associates.

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C l o s e r – Dames in de hijood

Posted on December 14th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Multiculti Issues.

We hebben de monokini, de bikini, de microkini, de tankini en nu ook de burkini of boerkini. Boerkini, een neologisme, is een badpak van waterafstotende speedostof die het gehele lichaam van top tot teen bedekt. De term is een samentrekking van boerka of burqa en bikini, maar heeft eigenlijk niet zoveel uit te staan met boerka aangezien het gezicht onbedekt blijft. Om de vrouwelijke vormen te verhullen heeft het pak rondom de borsten een extra stuk verhullende stof. Waar veel van de Westerse badmode onder druk van het schoonheidsideaal (van spierwit blijven tot lekker bruin worden) steeds bloter is geworden (en daarmee het schoonheidsideaal en de druk ervan sterk in stand houdend want als je je lichaam in het publiek toont, moet het niet teveel van afwijken van dat ideaal – vandaar ook de druk onder vrouwen om af te vallen voordat het bikini-seizoen weer aanbreekt) gaat de boerkini juist tegen die trend in.

En waar de bikini destijds nogal wat controverse opriep vanwege de vermeende immoraliteit ervan, roept nu ook de boerkini van alles op. In een tijd waarin we dachten de ketenen van religie te hebben afgeworpen en vrijheid de belangrijkste heilige norm geworden is, lijkt het moeilijk voorstelbaar dat mensen zich wel terughoudend en (in hun ogen) kuis willen gedragen.

De boerkini heet eigenlijk ‘hijood’ wat weer een samentrekking is van hijab (hoofddoek) en hood (hoofdbedekking). Het is een uitvinding van Aheda Zanetti, een Australisch-Libanese vrouw, die zich om ‘culturele en religieuze redenen’ beperkt voelde in haar mogelijkheden om met de gangbare badmode te gaan zwemmen. (more…)

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