C L O S E R

Coming soon…Fitna V Analysing political propaganda

Posted on March 29th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Public Islam, Some personal considerations.

UPDATE: On request, a shorter version in Dutch is also available now. Read it HERE.

Several Dutch and international blogs celebrate the release of Fitna as being an example of freedom of expression, or exposing the ‘truth’ of islam, exposing the horrors committed by Muslims, or just waiting for riots, or thinking it is actually accurate . We should however view Fitna for what it is, not a documentary revealing the truth about Islam, nor a film showing the view of Dutch people concerning Islam but an act of political propaganda made by a Dutch political leader trying to reduce the multidimensionality of the lives of Muslims and non-Muslims by using an adversarial ritual. It is a ritual that depict war against one another and people who have to face and overcome challenges.

There are some clear examples of this and I have made a selection of those. In Dutch you can see some at Verbal Jam about the Quran verses. I have included them as well but I will also go into the matter of the newspaper headlines Wilders use. (more…)

16 comments.

Coming soon…fitna IV And there it is…

Posted on March 28th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News, Public Islam.

Wilders has released his film Fitna. One comment on it: you will see a picture of Mohammed Bouyeri who killed Theo van Gogh. Only…it is not Bouyeri but Salah Edin a Moroccan-Dutch rapper.

I will give some more backgrounds the coming days but for now you can watch at LiveLeak if you want:

Dutch version

English version 

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Protected: AD.nl – Rotterdam Stad – Eens een allochtoon, altijd een allochtoon

Posted on March 27th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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Protected: AD.nl – Rotterdam Stad – Ongeloof over fraude 'strenge moslims'

Posted on March 27th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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Protected: AD.nl – Rotterdam Stad – Ongeloof over fraude ‘strenge moslims’

Posted on March 27th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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Historisch Nieuwsblad : De Geschiedenismonitor 2008

Posted on March 26th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

Historisch Nieuwsblad : De Geschiedenismonitor 2008

Uit de geschiedenismonitor blijkt verder dat een meerderheid van de Nederlanders vindt dat de nationale identiteit gevaar loopt door de komst van (islamitische) immigranten. Volgens 56 procent van de respondenten is de islam niet verenigbaar met de Joods-christelijke en humanistische traditie van Nederland. Deze mening leeft het sterkst bij ouderen (68 procent) en lager opgeleiden (64 procent). Van degenen die een wetenschappelijke opleiding hebben genoten, is slechts 39 procent het met de stelling eens.
Dezelfde verdeling treedt op als Nederlanders reageren op de stelling dat het toelaten van grote groepen immigranten in de jaren zeventig en tachtig de grootste vergissing is uit de naoorlogse periode. Gemiddeld is 57 procent het daarmee eens. Bij de 65-plussers is dat 70 procent, tegen de helft van de 16- tot 34-jarigen. Onder de respondenten met een mbo-opleiding onderschrijft 65 procent de stelling, tegen 38 procent van degenen die wetenschappelijk zijn gevormd. Overigens vindt ook 43 procent van de allochtone respondenten dat het Nederlandse toelatingsbeleid voor immigranten te soepel is geweest.
De respondenten is verder gevraagd of je hedendaagse populisten als Verdonk en Wilders mag vergelijken met populistische bewegingen in de jaren dertig. Oneens, antwoordt 67 procent. Veel respondenten verdedigen Wilders en Verdonk: ‘Ze zijn geen landverraders’, of: ‘We hebben vrijheid van meningsuiting.’ Eén respondent schrijft: ‘Het grote verschil is dat vroeger Nederland nog niet vol was en nu wel.’
Degenen die het met de stelling eens zijn, vinden dat Wilders en Verdonk ‘haat zaaien’ en ‘minderheden buitenspel zetten’, net zoals de NSB vroeger. Deze respondenten zijn het minst vertegenwoordigd in de leeftijdscategorie 65 jaar en ouder (29 procent). Opvallend is dat de 50- tot 65-jarigen, opgegroeid in de jaren zestig, het hardst protesteren tegen Wilders en Verdonk (36 procent).

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Vonnis terreurzaak overtreft eis – Binnenland – de Volkskrant

Posted on March 26th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues.

Vonnis terreurzaak overtreft eis – Binnenland – de Volkskrant
Vonnis terreurzaak overtreft eis

Van onze verslaggeefsters Janny Groen, Annieke Kranenberg
ROTTERDAM – De rechtbank in Rotterdam heeft het echtpaar Lahbib B. (30) en Hanan S. (26) dinsdag veroordeeld tot 3 jaar cel wegens deelname aan een terroristische organisatie en het voorbereiden van aanslagen op politici.

Het vonnis is opmerkelijk omdat eind 2006 vijf medeverdachten – onder wie Samir A. – op basis van dezelfde feiten in de zogenoemde Piranhazaak werden vrijgesproken van het vormen van een terreurorganisatie.

Het Openbaar Ministerie had tegen B. en S. niet meer dan een jaar cel geëist, waarvan onvoorwaardelijk een periode van de duur van hun voorarrest. De officier van justitie vroeg om deze korte straffen omdat zij een beperkte rol binnen de organisatie speelden en ‘opening van zaken’ gaven. De twee legden als kroongetuigen belastende verklaringen af tegen de andere Piranhaverdachten, over wapenvervoer naar België, schietoefeningen en een lijst namen van politici.

In de Piranhazaak beoordeelden de rechters – eveneens van de Rotterdamse rechtbank – deze getuigenissen deels als ongeloofwaardig. Mede door dat vonnis moest het OM de kroongetuigen, die nog altijd in een getuigenbeschermingsprogramma zitten, wel vervolgen. De groep met Samir A. kreeg celstraffen van 3 tot 8 jaar voor het beramen van aanslagen, maar vrijspraak volgde voor deelname aan een terreurorganisatie, omdat de contacten onderling ‘te weinig, te divers en te sterk wisselend van intentie’ waren.

Vijftien maanden later oordelen andere rechters uit Rotterdam heel anders. De twee worden wel geloofwaardig bevonden en volgens de rechters hadden zij een faciliterende rol in de organisatie. ‘De wijze waarop een aantal mededaders hun terroristische idealen wilden vormgeven, getuigt van haat tegen de Nederlandse democratie en andersdenkenden, wier leven voor hen kennelijk geen waarde heeft.’ Dat B. en S. zo’n gedachtegoed naar eigen zeggen niet aanhingen, maakt niet uit. Voldoende is volgens de rechtbank dat ze er ‘weet’ van hadden.

B. en S. hebben altijd verklaard dat ze meededen uit angst dat Samir A. en Nouredine el F. hen zouden verketteren als afvalligen en zouden doden. In de strafmaat heeft de rechtbank hiermee rekening gehouden, alsmede met de ‘coöperatieve houding’ en de ‘ongetwijfeld zeer ingrijpende gevolgen’ van het beschermingsprogramma. Anders hadden B. en S. tussen de 8 en 10 jaar cel gekregen, aldus de rechtbank.

B. en S. hebben onmiddellijk hoger beroep ingesteld. Zij hoeven niet naar de gevangenis zolang er geen onherroepelijke uitspraak is. B. moet op 15 april getuigen in de Piranhazaak, waarvan momenteel het hoger beroep dient.

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Coming soon… Fitna IV A small update

Posted on March 26th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News, Public Islam.

A small update on the film that still is not there.

1. Most Dutch broadcasting companies will not air the film, since they are not allowed to view the film before airing it. Contrary to all other broadcasting companies the NMO (Dutch Muslim Channel) has offered, although not officially, to Wilders to broadcast the film. Wilders has rejected the offer because the NMO also had the condition of viewing it beforehand.
2. Network Solutions has suspended the account of fitnathemovie.com. Although their final decision is still pending there are already actions against the company on the internet for example by Macsmind. In most cases the decision is seen as giving to islamic radicals or muslims in general and a form of pre-censorship and therefore negative for the freedom of speech. It is not proven by the way who issued the complaints.
3. The Dutch Radio Netherlands Worldwide has released a short film trying to provide an alternative view about the Netherlands in this case. According to them:
   

   About Fitna, the Netherlands and WildersVery rarely has a film sparked off as much pre-release controversy as ‘Fitna, the movie’, by Dutch MP Geert Wilders. Even before anyone has seen it, ‘Fitna’ has the world asking questions. Questions about the man who made it and his motives. Questions about the country he lives in, and its government – which issues warnings about the film but does nothing to stop it. And questions about the position of Muslims in The Netherlands. The central character in this film is also struggling with these questions, and decides to travel to The Netherlands in search of answers.

   Watch ‘About Fitna’ HERE. The film is a little bit too easy, a-historical and does not zoom in on the motives of people supporting Wilders or his right to release the film (which is not the same!). RNW has received a lot of criticism also for their movie. By some because of giving more attention to Wilders and his film and by others who see it as yet another example of ‘a leftist strategy’ and/or a waste of the tax payers money. If they talk about it at all…

4. A lot of attention for the 5000 Afghans who demonstrated against the movie and against the Danish cartoons. In this demonstration a dummy representing Wilders and the Dutch and Danish flags were burned. In general however is my impression that is reasonable calm and quiet, and that people (if the are aware of it) are not really impressed or just regard it as another test for ones belief. The same goes for the salafist circles in the Netherlands. One of the salafi imams stated that he saw the film as part of attempt to release anti-Muslim laws in the Netherlands, which I think is highly questionable. Most pleas I have heard so far (publicly and closed) stress the importance of remaing calm and some even regard Wilders statements and plans as ‘un-dutch’.
5. One of the new campaigns is the I am sorry – campaign by Mediamatic who earlier on organized the El Hema (A fictional Arabic version of a ‘typical’ Dutch store). According to the organizers:
   

   Well we can’t stop Wilders. He has a right to freedom of expression and he is smart enough to stay within the boundaries of Dutch law. Actually, we do not want to stop his movie because we cherish our freedom of expression. Even stupid populist politicians have fundamental rights. Especially they!We can compete for attention however. And we can produce disinformation. So we are going to make Movies called “Fitna” in which we apologise for Geert Wilders embarrassing behaviour. We will make so many of them that it will be hard to find the movie by Wilders without finding lots of movies apologising for it.

   Just to let the world (and ourselves) know that allowing confused people to speak does not mean that we agree with what they say. Sorry.

   So if you want to join in; just make your own Fitna movie and put it on line. Put on a blonde wig, look cross eyed and say you’re sorry. Film it with you telephone or camera. Then, publish it on line as many times as you can, Youtube, Hyves, Myspace any place. Call it Fitna by Geert Wilders. Add any statement that you like to. Link to your movie and to other movies you like from your blogs and websites. Sorry!

   Let’s smother this Wilders in our apologies. If we work hard enough, no one will be able to find his crap among all the noise we produce. And the world knows how we feel about Wilders and his opportunism.

   See the results on Fitna…sorry HERE

One questions that pops up is if every attempt to criticize the film, or to hinder the release of the film is seen as infringing the freedom of speech, is the conclusion then that the film must be released? And if a film must be released, what does that say about the freedom of speech?

1 comment.

Islam is het probleem, niet de moslims – Binnenland – de Volkskrant

Posted on March 22nd, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News, Public Islam.

Islam is het probleem, niet de moslims – Binnenland – de Volkskrant
De islam is een politieke ideologie die streeft naar wereldheerschappij en die het Westen bedreigt, betogen Geert Wilders en Martin Bosma.

SP-sympathisant Harry de Winter verdiende miljoenen met het tv-spelletje Lingo. De lingo die hij maandag op de voorpagina van de Volkskrant deponeerde, is ronduit verwerpelijk. Eigenlijk adverteerde hij vooral zijn eigen onnozelheid.

Het zou niet belangrijk zijn daarop te reageren, ware het niet dat zijn redeneertrant kenmerkend is voor de progressieve elite. Wat De Winter schrijft vertolkt de mening van de linkse grachtengordel, het mediapark in Hilversum en de biotoop aan het Binnenhof in Den Haag.

Althans, hun mening in het openbaar. Wij zijn ervan overtuigd dat de bovenonsgestelden wel degelijk aanvoelen dat er iets fundamenteel mis is met de islam. Dat deze zogenaamde godsdienst een bedreiging is. Maar politiek-correcte groepsdwang of ontkenning van de werkelijkheid verhindert hen het beestje bij de naam te noemen.

Om aan die innerlijke verwarring een einde te maken, komen de Geert Maks, Clairy Polakken en Doekle Terpstra’s met vergelijkingen die het probleem moeten weg-veralgemeniseren. ‘Er is in elke godsdienst wel iets mis’, of ‘vroeger droegen vrouwen in Nederland ook hoofddoekjes’ of ‘de kruistochten waren ook heel erg’ of ‘Staphorst!’.

Allemaal drogredeneringen die ons afhouden van de realiteit: de islam is uniek. Onvergelijkbaar en zeker niet te vatten in westerse begrippen. Als we dat niet begrijpen, wacht ons een donkere toekomst. (more…)

1 comment.

Finding Freedom in Cyberspace – IslamOnline.net – Muslim Affairs

Posted on March 22nd, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Blogosphere.

Finding Freedom in Cyberspace – IslamOnline.net – Muslim Affairs
“I am writing to let you know that in less than 2 hours the last turbine of the Gaza Strip’s only power plant will stop working. The fuel for the power plant … will run out in 2 hours,” blogs Mona El-Farra, a mother from Gaza.

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The Anthropology of Islam « Islam, Muslims, and an Anthropologist

Posted on March 22nd, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Blogosphere, My Research.

The second book of Gabriel Marranci, The Anthropology of Islam, will be available at the end of this month. As a prelude he provides with a short excerpt from the introduction: an elenchos which is question–answer dialogue that aims to clarify a topic through deconstructing other arguments; in this case, how‘Islam’ may be understood within the field of anthropology:

ELENCHOS

STUDENT: What is Islam?

To find the anthropological answer to that question read his website:

The Anthropology of Islam « Islam, Muslims, and an Anthropologist

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Mzine Online – Mzine op boek bij imaam Fawaz in Den Haag

Posted on March 20th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Mzine Online

Mzine op bezoek bij Imaam Fawaz in Den HaagMzine is onlangs op bezoek gegaan bij Imaam Fawaz. In Nederland bekend als 1 van de meest radicale Imaams van Nederland. Wij gingen erheen om zijn mening te vragen over de film van Wilders. Voor Imaam Fawaz voor het eerst een uitgebreide en ontspannende interview met de media.

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CBS – Daling werkloosheid niet-westerse allochtonen versnelt – Persbericht

Posted on March 20th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

CBS – Daling werkloosheid niet-westerse allochtonen versnelt – Persbericht
Daling werkloosheid niet-westerse allochtonen versnelt

De daling van de werkloosheid onder niet-westerse allochtonen, die vanaf 2005 is ingezet, heeft zich in 2007 versneld voortgezet. Vooral onder de niet-westerse allochtonen tot 45 jaar is de werkloosheid relatief snel gedaald in 2007. Dit blijkt uit de nieuwste cijfers van het CBS.

Werkloosheid niet-westerse allochtonen neemt fors af

Gedurende het afgelopen jaar is de werkloosheid onder niet-westerse allochtonen gedaald. In het vierde kwartaal van 2007 was de werkloosheid onder niet-westerse allochtonen 9,1 procent. In het vierde kwartaal van 2006 was dat nog 12,4 procent. Onder autochtonen daalde de werkloosheid ook in dezelfde periode. In het vierde kwartaal van 2007 was nog 3,3 procent van de autochtonen werkloos tegen 4,0 procent in het vierde kwartaal van 2006. De werkloosheid onder niet-westerse allochtonen is hiermee in een jaar tijd met bijna 30 procent gereduceerd. Onder autochtonen was dat nog geen 20 procent.
De autochtone beroepsbevolking is in omvang bijna 9 maal zo groot is als de niet-westerse beroepsbevolking. Van de totale beroepsbevolking was in 2007 gemiddeld 4,5 procent werkloos.

Niet-westerse allochtonen tot 45 maken inhaalslag

Bij de niet-westerse allochtonen is vooral de werkloosheid flink gedaald onder de 15 tot 45 jarigen. Onder de jonge allochtonen van 15 tot 25 jaar liep de werkloosheid terug van 22 procent in 2006 tot 15 procent in 2007. Bij de 25 tot 45-jarige niet-westerse allochtonen was de relatieve afname van de werkloosheid in dezelfde periode even groot en kwam daarmee uit op 9,1 procent in 2007.

Ter vergelijking: de werkloosheid onder autochtone jongeren daalde in dezelfde periode van 8,7 naar 8,1 procent. Met deze grotere afname van de werkloosheid onder de niet-westerse allochtone jeugd is de mate waarin zij vaker werkloos zijn dan autochtone jongeren flink teruggedrongen. In 2006 was de jeugdwerkloosheid onder niet-westerse allochtonen nog tweeënhalf maal zo hoog als onder autochtone jongeren. In 2007 waren zij nog bijna twee keer zo vaak werkloos vergeleken met de autochtone jeugd.
Gelijke mate van daling werkloosheid bij niet-westerse groepen

Van de onderscheiden niet-westerse allochtone groepen zijn Marokkanen door de jaren heen degenen met de hoogste werkloosheid. In 2007 was 11 procent van deze groep werkloos. Daarmee waren zij anderhalf maal zo vaak werkloos als Surinamers, de groep niet-westerse allochtonen met de laagste werkloosheid. De afname van de werkloosheid bij de verschillende groepen lag daarmee in dezelfde orde van grootte.

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BBC NEWS | Europe | New Bin Laden tape threatens EU

Posted on March 20th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

BBC NEWS | Europe | New Bin Laden tape threatens EU
New Bin Laden tape threatens EU

In a new audio message purportedly from Osama Bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader threatens the EU over the re-printing of a cartoon offensive to Muslims.

The voice on it says the cartoon, re-published recently in all major Danish newspapers, was part of a crusade involving Pope Benedict XVI.

The drawing, first published in 2005, depicts the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban.

The voice on the audio has not yet been verified as belonging to Bin Laden.

The message comes on the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

But the BBCs Jonathan Beale in Washington says that the message was probably released to not to mark that anniversary, but rather the anniversary of the birth of Prophet Muhammad, which Sunni Muslims mark on Thursday.

It appeared on a Islamist website that has carried al-Qaeda messages in the past.

Over the audio is a graphic with a still image of Bin Laden holding an AK-47 and bearing the logo of al-Sahab, the media wing of al-Qaeda. There is a written translation of the message in English.

Crowd pleaser

John Pike, director of the defence think tank GlobalSecurity.org, said bin Laden had chosen to talk about the cartoon in an effort to remain relevant and provide direction to followers.

“His judgement is that its a consistent crowd-pleaser, and that if he has any hope of getting people stirred up, this is probably a good way to try to do it.”

Last month, Denmarks leading newspapers reprinted one of 12 cartoons that first angered many Muslims when they were originally published in September 2005.

Anger in the Muslim world peaked in 2006 as newspapers in other countries published the cartoons.

If there is no check on the freedom of your words, then let your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions
Words attributed to Osama bin Laden

What the cartoons show

Some of the protests turned violent and led to the torching of Danish diplomatic offices in Damascus and Beirut and dozens of deaths in Nigeria, Libya and Pakistan.

The Danish newspapers decided to republish the most controversial drawing after Danish intelligence said it had uncovered a plot to kill the cartoonist.

The re-printed drawing shows the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban. Islamic law forbids any representation of the Prophet.

The message attributed to bin Laden says the attacks of Europeans on women and children “paled [in comparison] when you went overboard in your unbelief and… went to the extent of publishing these insulting drawings.

“This is the greatest misfortune and the most dangerous,” the voice says.

“If there is no check on the freedom of your words, then let your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions”.

It is not clear when the message was recorded. The last audio message attributed to Bin Laden appeared in November but he has not been seen on video since October 2004.

He is believed to be in hiding on the rugged border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

You can read a transcript (not mine) of the message: (more…)

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BBC NEWS | Europe | New Bin Laden tape threatens EU

Posted on March 20th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

BBC NEWS | Europe | New Bin Laden tape threatens EU
New Bin Laden tape threatens EU

In a new audio message purportedly from Osama Bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader threatens the EU over the re-printing of a cartoon offensive to Muslims.

The voice on it says the cartoon, re-published recently in all major Danish newspapers, was part of a crusade involving Pope Benedict XVI.

The drawing, first published in 2005, depicts the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban.

The voice on the audio has not yet been verified as belonging to Bin Laden.

The message comes on the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

But the BBCs Jonathan Beale in Washington says that the message was probably released to not to mark that anniversary, but rather the anniversary of the birth of Prophet Muhammad, which Sunni Muslims mark on Thursday.

It appeared on a Islamist website that has carried al-Qaeda messages in the past.

Over the audio is a graphic with a still image of Bin Laden holding an AK-47 and bearing the logo of al-Sahab, the media wing of al-Qaeda. There is a written translation of the message in English.

Crowd pleaser

John Pike, director of the defence think tank GlobalSecurity.org, said bin Laden had chosen to talk about the cartoon in an effort to remain relevant and provide direction to followers.

“His judgement is that its a consistent crowd-pleaser, and that if he has any hope of getting people stirred up, this is probably a good way to try to do it.”

Last month, Denmarks leading newspapers reprinted one of 12 cartoons that first angered many Muslims when they were originally published in September 2005.

Anger in the Muslim world peaked in 2006 as newspapers in other countries published the cartoons.

If there is no check on the freedom of your words, then let your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions
Words attributed to Osama bin Laden

What the cartoons show

Some of the protests turned violent and led to the torching of Danish diplomatic offices in Damascus and Beirut and dozens of deaths in Nigeria, Libya and Pakistan.

The Danish newspapers decided to republish the most controversial drawing after Danish intelligence said it had uncovered a plot to kill the cartoonist.

The re-printed drawing shows the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban. Islamic law forbids any representation of the Prophet.

The message attributed to bin Laden says the attacks of Europeans on women and children “paled [in comparison] when you went overboard in your unbelief and… went to the extent of publishing these insulting drawings.

“This is the greatest misfortune and the most dangerous,” the voice says.

“If there is no check on the freedom of your words, then let your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions”.

It is not clear when the message was recorded. The last audio message attributed to Bin Laden appeared in November but he has not been seen on video since October 2004.

He is believed to be in hiding on the rugged border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

You can read a transcript (not mine) of the message: (more…)

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Protected: AD.nl – Groene Hart – Moslim weigert baan bij slachter

Posted on March 19th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Gouda Issues.

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An Open Letter to All Feminists

Posted on March 19th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

An Open Letter to All Feminists: Statement of Solidarity with Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Women Facing War and Occupation

by Piya Chatterjee, University of California-Riverside
and Sunaina Maira, University of California-Davis
Campaign of Solidarity with Women Resisting U.S. Wars and Occupation
South Asians for the Liberation of Falastin

As feminists and people of conscience, we call for solidarity with Palestinian women in Gaza suffering due to the escalating military attacks that Israel turned into an open war on civilians. This war has targeted women and children, and all those who live under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, and are also denied the right to freedom of movement, health, and education.

We stand in solidarity with Iraqi women whose daughters, sisters, brothers, or sons have been abused, tortured, and raped in U.S. prisons such as Abu Ghraib. Women in Iraq continue to live under a U.S. occupation that has devastated families and homes, and are experiencing a rise in religious extremism and restrictions on their freedom that were unheard of before the U.S. invasion, “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” in 2003.

At this moment in Afghanistan, women are living with the return of the Taliban and other misogynistic groups such as the Northern Alliance, a U.S. ally, and with the violence of continuing U.S. and NATO attacks on civilians, despite the U.S. war to “liberate” Afghan women in 2001.

As of March 6, 2008, over 120 Palestinians, including 39 children and 6 women (more than a third of the victims), in Gaza were killed by Israeli air strikes and escalated attacks on civilians over a period of five days, according to human rights groups. Hospitals have been struggling to treat 370 injured children, as reported by medical officials. Homes have been destroyed as well as civilian facilities including the headquarters of the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions. On February 29, 2008, Israel ‘s Deputy Defense Minister, Matan Valnai, threatened Palestinians in Gaza with a “bigger Shoah,” the Hebrew word usually used only for the Holocaust. What does it mean that the international community is standing by while this is happening?

Valnai’s threat of a Holocaust against Palestinians was not just a slip of the tongue, for the war on Gaza is a continuation of genocidal activities against the indigenous population. Israel has controlled the land and sea borders and airspace of Gaza for more than a year and a half, confining 1.5 million Palestinians to a giant prison. Supported by the U.S., Israel has imposed a near total blockade on Gaza since June 2007 which has led to a breakdown in basic services, including water and sanitation, lack of electricity, fuel, and medical supplies. As a result of these sanctions, 30% of children under 5 years suffer from stunted growth and malnutrition. Over 80% of the population cannot afford a balanced meal.

Is this humanitarian crisis going to approach a situation similar to that of the sanctions against Iraq from 1991-2003, when an estimated 500,000 Iraqi children died due to lack of nutrition and medical supplies, and the woman who was then Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, proclaimed that the death of a half million Iraqi children was worth the price of U.S. national security?

As feminists and anti-imperialist people of conscience, we oppose direct and indirect policies of ethnic cleansing and decimation of native populations by all nation-states.

In the current climate of U.S.-initiated or U.S.-backed assaults on women in Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan, we are deeply troubled by one kind of hypocritical Western feminist discourse that continues to be preoccupied with particular kinds of violence against Muslim or Middle Eastern women, while choosing to remain silent on the lethal violence inflicted on women and families by military occupation, F-16s, Apache helicopters, and missiles paid for by U.S. tax payers. This is a moment when U.S. imperialism brazenly uses direct colonial occupation, masked in a civilizational discourse of bringing Western “freedom” and “democracy.” Such acts echo the language of Manifest Destiny that was used to justify U.S. colonization of the Philippines and Pacific territories in the 19th century, not to mention the genocide of Native Americans. U.S. covert, and not so covert, interventions in Central, South America, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean have devastated the lives of countless indigenous peoples, and other civilians, in this region throughout the 20th century. The U.S., as well its proxy militias or client regimes, has inflicted violence on women and girls from Vietnam, Okinawa, and Pakistan to Chile, El Salvador, and Somalia and has avenged the deaths of its soldiers by its own “honor killings” that lay siege to entire towns, such as Fallujah in Iraq.

It is appalling that in these catastrophic times, many U.S. liberal feminists are focused only on misogynistic practices associated with particular local cultures, as if these exist in capsules, far from the arena of imperial occupation. Indeed, imperial violence has given fuel to some of these patriarchal practices of misogyny and sexism. They should also know that such a narrow vision furthers a much older tradition of feminist mobilizing in the service of colonialism — “saving brown, or black women, from brown men,” as observed by Gayatri Spivak.

While we too oppose abuses including domestic violence, “honor killings,” forced marriage, and brutal punishment, we are disturbed that some U.S. feminists — as well as Muslim or Middle Eastern women who claim to be “authorities” on Islam and are employed by right-wing think tanks — are participating in a selective discourse of universal women’s rights that ignores U.S. war crimes and abuses of human rights.

While some progressive U.S. feminists claim to oppose the hijacking of women’s rights to justify U.S. invasions, they simultaneously evade any mention about the plight of women in Palestine, Iraq, or Afghanistan. Their statements continue to focus only on female genital mutilation or dowry deaths under the guise of breaking the “politically correct” silence on abuses of women in the “Muslim world” that the Right disingenuously laments.

Some progressives may support such statements with good intentions, but these critiques ignore the fact that Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim feminists have been working on these issues for generations, focusing on the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, class, and nationalism. Their work is ignored by North American feminists who claim to advocate for a “global sisterhood” but are disillusioned to discover that women in the U.S. military participated in the acts of torture at Abu Ghraib.

We are concerned about these silences and selective condemnations given that the U.S. mainstream media bolsters this imperialist feminism by using an (often liberal) Orientalist approach to covering the Middle East or South Asia. For example, on March 5, 2008, as the death toll due to Israeli attacks in Gaza was mounting, the New York Times chose to publish an article just below its report on the Israeli military incursions that focused on the sentencing of a Palestinian man in Israel for an honor killing; the report was deemed worthy of international coverage because the Palestinian women had broken “the code of silence” by resorting to Israeli courts.

The implications of this juxtaposition of two unrelated events are that Palestinians belong to a backward, patriarchal culture that, rightly or wrongly, is under attack by a modern, “democratic” state with a legal apparatus that supports women’s rights. Others have shown that the New York Times gave disproportionate attention to the Human Rights Watch report in 2006 on domestic violence against Palestinian women relative to its scant mention of the 76 reports of Israeli abuses of Palestinian rights by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Israeli organization, B’Tselem.

Similar coverage exists of women from other countries outside the U.S. that are portrayed as victims only of their own cultural traditions, rather than also of the ravages of Western imperialism and predatory global capitalism. No attention is paid in the mainstream U.S. media to reports such as that in Haaretz documenting that Palestinian women citizens of Israel are the most exploited group in the Israeli workforce, making only 47% of the wages earned by their Jewish counterparts in Israel, and with double the rate of unemployment of Jewish women. Little is known in the U.S. about what the lives of Iraqi women are really like now that they are pressured to cover themselves in public or not work outside the house, nor of Afghani women whose homes are still being bombed in a war that was supposed to have liberated them many years ago.

We stand in solidarity with feminist and liberatory movements that are opposing U.S. imperialism, U.S.-backed occupation, militarism, and economic exploitation as well as resisting religious and secular fundamentalisms.

We also support the struggles of those within the U.S. opposing the War on Terror and racist practices of detention, deportation, surveillance, and torture linked to the military-industrial-prison complex that selectively targets immigrants, minorities, and youth of color. We are grateful for the courageous scholarship of academics who are at risk of not getting tenure or employment because they do research related to settler colonialism or taboo topics such as Palestinian rights and expose controversial aspects of U.S. policies here and abroad.

At a moment when U.S. military interventions have made “democracy” a dirty word in much of the world, we strive for true democracy and for freedom and justice for all our sisters and brothers.

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Hernieuwde vraag om ‘Eigen taal en cultuur'. Moslims uit Vlaanderen en Brussel

Posted on March 18th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: (Upcoming) Events.

Op 17 april zal prof. dr. Eugeen Roosens, emeritus hoogleraar culturele antropologie van de Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, een lezing verzorgen:Hernieuwde vraag om ‘Eigen taal en cultuur’. Moslims uit Vlaanderen en Brussel

Tijdstip: 11.00 uur (inloop met koffie vanaf 10.30 uur)

Plaats: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Buitenveldertselaan 3 (Metropolitan gebouw, naast de halte Boelelaan van tramlijn 5 en Metro lijn 51), zaal Z 009

Prof. dr. Eugeen Roosens is emeritus hoogleraar in de antropologie aan de Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Hij was gasthoogleraar in de Verenigde Staten, Canada en Japan. Hij heeft talrijke publicaties op zijn naam staan, onder meer over de multiculturele samenlevingen van Canada en België, identiteit en interetnische verhoudingen.

Voor deze lezing kunt u zich aanmelden door een email te sturen naar het secretariaat van de Afdeling Sociale en Culturele Antropologie van de Vrije Universiteit:

sca.secretariaat@fsw.vu.nl

Geef duidelijk uw naam, adres, telefoonnummer en emailadres aan in deze e-mail. Reservering verloopt op volgorde van binnenkomst van uw inschrijving. U ontvangt een bevestiging per e-mail.

Deze lezing vindt plaats ter gelegenheid van de openbare verdediging van het proefschrift van Martijn de Koning getiteld:

Zoeken naar een ‘zuivere’ islam. Geloofsbeleving en identiteitsvorming van jonge Marokkaans-Nederlandse moslims

De verdediging vindt plaats om 13.45 uur in de Aula van de Vrije Universiteit (hoofdgebouw), De Boelelaan 1105, te Amsterdam. Voor de openbare verdediging is geen reservering nodig.

1 comment.

Hernieuwde vraag om ‘Eigen taal en cultuur’. Moslims uit Vlaanderen en Brussel

Posted on March 18th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: (Upcoming) Events.

Op 17 april zal prof. dr. Eugeen Roosens, emeritus hoogleraar culturele antropologie van de Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, een lezing verzorgen:Hernieuwde vraag om ‘Eigen taal en cultuur’. Moslims uit Vlaanderen en Brussel

Tijdstip: 11.00 uur (inloop met koffie vanaf 10.30 uur)

Plaats: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Buitenveldertselaan 3 (Metropolitan gebouw, naast de halte Boelelaan van tramlijn 5 en Metro lijn 51), zaal Z 009

Prof. dr. Eugeen Roosens is emeritus hoogleraar in de antropologie aan de Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Hij was gasthoogleraar in de Verenigde Staten, Canada en Japan. Hij heeft talrijke publicaties op zijn naam staan, onder meer over de multiculturele samenlevingen van Canada en België, identiteit en interetnische verhoudingen.

Voor deze lezing kunt u zich aanmelden door een email te sturen naar het secretariaat van de Afdeling Sociale en Culturele Antropologie van de Vrije Universiteit:

sca.secretariaat@fsw.vu.nl

Geef duidelijk uw naam, adres, telefoonnummer en emailadres aan in deze e-mail. Reservering verloopt op volgorde van binnenkomst van uw inschrijving. U ontvangt een bevestiging per e-mail.

Deze lezing vindt plaats ter gelegenheid van de openbare verdediging van het proefschrift van Martijn de Koning getiteld:

Zoeken naar een ‘zuivere’ islam. Geloofsbeleving en identiteitsvorming van jonge Marokkaans-Nederlandse moslims

De verdediging vindt plaats om 13.45 uur in de Aula van de Vrije Universiteit (hoofdgebouw), De Boelelaan 1105, te Amsterdam. Voor de openbare verdediging is geen reservering nodig.

1 comment.

Protected: AD.nl – Gouda – Moskee open voor vragen

Posted on March 14th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Gouda Issues, Public Islam.

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Islamtop krijgt Nederlandse feiten – Binnenland – de Volkskrant

Posted on March 14th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands.

Islamtop krijgt Nederlandse feiten – Binnenland – de Volkskrant
Islamtop krijgt Nederlandse feiten

Van onze verslaggeefsters Janny Groen, Annieke Kranenberg
AMSTERDAM – Multicultureel instituut Forum heeft met spoed een Factbook met feiten over de situatie van moslims in Nederland verstuurd naar de top van de Organisatie van de Islamitische Conferentie (OIC) in Senegal. Secretaris-generaal Ihsanoglu van de OIC is verzocht het feitenboek te verspreiden op de top, die zich onder meer buigt over groeiende islamofobie in het Westen.

Dit initiatief is bedoeld om ‘de scheve beeldvorming’ in de islamitische wereld over Nederland te corrigeren, licht Forum-directeur Sadik Harchaoui toe. De anti-Koranfilm van PVV-leider Wilders leidt in het Midden-Oosten tot heftige debatten. ‘Die zijn niet gebaseerd op feiten’, stelt Harchaoui in zijn voorwoord. ‘De verspreiding van actuele objectieve cijfers is broodnodig’, zegt hij. Ook om tegenwicht te bieden aan de islamofobie-monitor van de OIC, waarin Nederland veel negatieve aandacht krijgt.

In een brief aan Ihsanoglu stelt Harchaoui in bedekte termen dat de Wilders-kwestie niet moet worden misbruikt voor politieke doeleinden. En dat Nederlandse moslims niet zitten te springen om buitenlandse interventies. Zij ‘willen de boodschap overbrengen dat zij het goed doen in de Nederlandse samenleving, ondanks alle zorgen’, aldus Harchaoui in de brief. Hij maakt ook duidelijk dat moslims ‘binnen de context van de Nederlandse maatschappij, zelf goed in staat zijn een positie in te nemen in het debat’.

Forum wil met het Factbook een zo groot mogelijk islamitisch publiek bereiken. De OIC-top is daarvoor een goede start. In de Senegalese hoofdstad Dakar zijn zo’n veertig staatshoofden bijeen. Ihsanoglu haalde daar gisteren fel uit naar het Westen. ‘Moslims zijn doelwit van een lastercampagne, van vernedering, stereotypering, intolerantie en discriminatie’, zei hij. Ihsanoglu kondigde aan westerse islamofobie actief te zullen bestrijden.

Onmiddellijk na de top zal Forum Engelse en Arabische versies van het feitenboek verspreiden onder Arabische ambassades in Nederland en belangrijke kranten en televisiestations in Europa en het Midden-Oosten. Forum wordt, vooral de laatste maanden, bestookt met vragen van Arabische journalisten. Harchaoui: ‘Dan wil een journalist van de Iraanse televisie weten wat er aan de hand is in Nederland. Of een ploeg van Al Jazeera wil filmen in Slotervaart en zoekt vertwijfeld naar een achterstandswijk.’

In het feitenboek zijn de meest recente statistieken en ontwikkelingen over Nederlandse moslims bijeengebracht. ‘Artikel 6 van de Nederlandse grondwet geeft alle Nederlandse burgers het recht hun geloof te praktiseren. Moslims hebben datzelfde recht. In 2003 zijn in Nederland 453 moskeeën geregistreerd’, valt te lezen. En verder dat Nederland veertig islamitische basisscholen en twee middelbare scholen telt.

Negatieve statistieken over allochtonen in de criminaliteit en de autochtone perceptie van moslims ontbreken niet. Ook wordt gesteld dat 12 procent van de Turken en 14 procent van de Marokkanen zich onderdeel voelen van de Nederlandse maatschappij, tegen 39 procent van de Surinamers en 33 procent van de Antillianen.

Positieve statistieken zijn er over de groei van het etnisch ondernemerschap. Over het geluksgevoel bij jongeren (71 procent van de jonge Marokkanen en 67 procent van de Turken is gelukkig). En over politieke participatie. ‘Dan vallen ze om van verbazing’, zegt Harchaoui. Bij de gemeenteraadsverkiezingen van 2006 stemde 69,7 procent van de niet-westerse kiezers, tegen 58,2 van de autochtonen.

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Protected: Regio – Breda – Vermoedelijke terrorist aangehouden in Breda | bndestem

Posted on March 14th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism.

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Protected: Regio – Breda – Vermoedelijke terrorist aangehouden in Breda | bndestem

Posted on March 14th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism.

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Jordan releases Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi | Reuters

Posted on March 14th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: ISIM/RU Research, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements.

Jordan releases leading al Qaeda mentor | Reuters
Jordan releases leading al Qaeda mentor
Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:34am EDT

AMMAN (Reuters) – Jordanian authorities on Wednesday released Jordanian Sheikh Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi, a leading al-Qaeda mentor, after several years imprisonment without trial, security sources said.They said Maqdisi, who was regarded as the spiritual mentor of slain al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had been in solitary confinement since he was rearrested in July 2005 following his acquittal at a trial of al Qaeda sympathizers.

“He was released,” said one security source without elaborating on the circumstances of the release of Maqdisi.

The militant Jihadi shared a cell block with Zarqawi for four years between 1995 and 1999. Both were freed in an amnesty. Zarqawi later went to Afghanistan then Iraq.

U.S. intelligence officials say Maqdisi is a major Jihadi mentor who wields more influence over Islamist ideology than leading militants such as Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri.

A study by a private think tank of the U.S. military academy West Point in 2006 described Maqdisi, a self-taught religious intellectual, as the most influential living Islamist mentor. (Writing by Suleiman al-Khalidi; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)

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Jordan releases Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi | Reuters

Posted on March 14th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: ISIM/RU Research, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements.

Jordan releases leading al Qaeda mentor | Reuters
Jordan releases leading al Qaeda mentor
Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:34am EDT

AMMAN (Reuters) – Jordanian authorities on Wednesday released Jordanian Sheikh Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi, a leading al-Qaeda mentor, after several years imprisonment without trial, security sources said.They said Maqdisi, who was regarded as the spiritual mentor of slain al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had been in solitary confinement since he was rearrested in July 2005 following his acquittal at a trial of al Qaeda sympathizers.

“He was released,” said one security source without elaborating on the circumstances of the release of Maqdisi.

The militant Jihadi shared a cell block with Zarqawi for four years between 1995 and 1999. Both were freed in an amnesty. Zarqawi later went to Afghanistan then Iraq.

U.S. intelligence officials say Maqdisi is a major Jihadi mentor who wields more influence over Islamist ideology than leading militants such as Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri.

A study by a private think tank of the U.S. military academy West Point in 2006 described Maqdisi, a self-taught religious intellectual, as the most influential living Islamist mentor. (Writing by Suleiman al-Khalidi; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)

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