C L O S E R

nu.nl/columns | ONM HFTGR DN GTST

Posted on April 30th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

nu.nl/columns | ONM HFTGR DN GTST

Zo is er Imani, illegaal in Nederland en bedreigd met uitzetting. Een thema dat niet alleen politiek speelt, maar juist ook bij scholieren: zij krijgen er op scholen mee te maken. De verhaallijn geeft een beeld hoe zo’n uitzetting ingrijpt in iemands sociale omgeving. Uiteraard is dat beeld niet altijd even realistisch; het blijft natuurlijk wel soap.

Hoofddoekje

Een ander personage, Shirina, maakt het in dat opzicht erg bont. Zij laat zich eerst grotere borsten aanmeten, om zich vervolgens tot de islam te bekeren – met hoofddoekje en al. Stappen die logica ontberen, maar wel discussie uitlokken in het drukbezochte forum over ONM. En dat is toch een aardig effect als je maatschappelijke relevantie in een soap wilt gieten.

Maar het slimme aan de verhaallijnen in ONM is vooral dat de problemen van de jongeren zelden definitief worden opgelost. Als er iets herkenbaar en realistisch is, dan is dat het. Esmée weet zich bijvoorbeeld te ontworstelen aan loverboy Junior. Maar wanneer haar vriendin oprechte gevoelens voor hem ontwikkelt, krijgt ze het probleem via een omweg weer op haar bord.

Mooie column op Nu.nl!

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Protected: de Volkskrant – Binnenland – Eindhovense imam terecht ongewenst verklaard

Posted on April 28th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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Protected: VVD-blad: Alle haat en geweld uit Koran – telegraaf.nl [Binnenland]

Posted on April 5th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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Nederlands Dagblad – Moslims woedend op arabist Jansen (ofwel: pissen in de bron van Zem Zem)

Posted on March 28th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

De kop in het Nederlands Dagblad: Moslims woedend op arabist Jansen

Het artikel begint als volgt:

In moslimkringen is met verontwaardiging gereageerd op de oproep van de arabist Hans Jansen voor de oprichting van een aparte afdeling binnen de veiligheidsdienst AIVD die moslimradicalen in de gaten moet houden.

En wie zijn deze moslims? En uit welke kringen?

(more…)

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ISIM Research – New ISIM Fellowships

Posted on March 26th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

ISIM Research
New ISIM Fellowships available

The International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM) invites applications for ISIM Short-Term Fellowships. These are available to prospective ISIM PhD and Post-Doctoral Fellows, and are intended to develop research projects to be submitted to external funding agencies.

ISIM conducts and promotes interdisciplinary research on contemporary social, political, cultural, and intellectual trends and movements in Muslim societies and communities. ISIM promotes and hosts research projects that are informed by a social science perspective, fit in with the general research profile of ISIM, and preferably are related to the specific research programmes directed by the ISIM Chairs (see www.isim.nl). (more…)

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Special interest: Academic freedom in Italy – Stefano Allievi / 1

Posted on March 26th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Italian Professor of Sociology and expert in Islamic matters, Stefano Allievi, has been convicted to pay a monetary fine of 3,000 euros and to six months in prison (!) because of of aggravated libel.

Professor Allievi has been sentenced for the opinions he expresses about Adel Smith and his actions in his book Italian Islam, published by Einaudi. Adel Smith is a controversial Muslim, famous for his radical opinions and fiery gestures on various subjects (especially his polemic against the crucifix)
In many regards this is an extraordinary case. Allievi has written a lot about recent debates about Islam in Italy in which for example he engaged in a critical manner with  Oriana Fallaci’s discourses. According to Allievi he has been under police protection for a while because he invited Tariq Ramadan to speak in his university; something that according Allievi has led to serious threats and intimidation by the local extreme right. Allievi has taken a stand for the guarantee of freedom of speech and expression of Muslims themselves.
Allievi will appeal but this first sentence is important of course because it is an infringement of academic freedom and an important precedent for all scholars working on these and related issues.
In order to support Stefano Allievi and academic freedom you can sign the petition here.  You can read his Open Letter here.

Today Dominio Publico will publish Allievi’s book (in Italian) entirely on their site.

If there is more news, I will publish it in a new post.

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globeandmail.com: Muslims find their voice outside religion

Posted on March 24th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

globeandmail.com: Muslims find their voice outside religion

DOUG SAUNDERS

COLOGNE, Germany — Arzu Toker noticed recently that her identity had changed. When she arrived in this prosperous German city from Istanbul 30 years ago as a labourer she was known by everyone as a Turk, part of a growing minority in Germany. She struggled to become a German.But now, this 54-year-old woman has discovered she has a new identity, one that prevents her from being either a Turk or a German. She and all her Turkish, Arabic and Iranian friends are now identified by the government, by their own ethnic communities and by most of their neighbours simply as Muslims, a religious identity that she, like many European Turks, abandoned before she arrived.

When her friend Mitra Zainal landed here two years ago, she was a refugee who fled the Islamic regime of Iran with her children. She made an alarming discovery: “In Iran, I spent years trying to get out from the power of the Muslim authorities,” she said over glasses of tea in Ms. Toker’s kitchen. “Now that I’m in Germany, I don’t have to have religion, but it turns out that the people who speak for me are what? They are Muslim authorities.”

This month, the two women decided that they were part of a silent majority, and acted.
Related to this article
Mina Ahadi, co-founder of the Central Council of Former Muslims, addresses a press conference in Berlin to announce its creation. (AFP PHOTO/JOHN MACDOUGALL)

Mina Ahadi, co-founder of the Central Council of Former Muslims, addresses a press conference in Berlin to announce its creation. (JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP)
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“The government keeps saying that there are 3.5-million Muslims in this country, and they’re including me when they say that,” Ms. Toker said. “I don’t want to be on that list. But I have no way of saying no.”This week, they found a way.

(more…)

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Of Scholars and Zealots: Are Koran Schools Hotbeds of Terrorism? – International – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News

Posted on March 20th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Interesting article in Spiegel Online: Of Scholars and Zealots: Are Koran Schools Hotbeds  of Terrorism? by Bernhard Zand.

To most Western minds, madrasahs are breeding grounds for terrorists. But that’s only one side of the coin. The syllabus at many Koran schools is far removed from Islamist extremism. For millions of Muslims, these schools are the only hope of an education.

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Independent Online Edition > How Islamic inventors changed the world

Posted on March 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Independent Online Edition:   How Islamic inventors changed the world
From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the Muslim world has given us many innovations that we take for granted in daily life. As a new exhibition opens, Paul Vallely nominates 20 of the most influential- and identifies the men of genius behind them. A nice article to read but a little more discussion would be helpful. Not all of the inventors in the Muslim world were Muslim, some were Christian and Jews just as in the European world Muslim scientists played an important role. Furthermore it would be more interesting I think to explore the chain of inventions, show how for example inventions from the Chinese trickled down into the Muslim world, were reproduced and changed there and then went to other places (and maybe back again). Also if we call them Muslim inventors then there should be a link made with the Islamic traditions. This is probably not so difficult certainly during a particular time but back then and now the life of Muslims does not only depend on Islam. Also other matters such as politics, competition and so on matter. We can find much of these considerations on the weblog of the exhibition for example about windmills (yes I’m Dutch…) and toothbrushes (have to go to the dentist tomorrow). (more…)

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Independent Online Edition > How Islamic inventors changed the world

Posted on March 19th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Independent Online Edition:   How Islamic inventors changed the world
From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the Muslim world has given us many innovations that we take for granted in daily life. As a new exhibition opens, Paul Vallely nominates 20 of the most influential- and identifies the men of genius behind them. A nice article to read but a little more discussion would be helpful. Not all of the inventors in the Muslim world were Muslim, some were Christian and Jews just as in the European world Muslim scientists played an important role. Furthermore it would be more interesting I think to explore the chain of inventions, show how for example inventions from the Chinese trickled down into the Muslim world, were reproduced and changed there and then went to other places (and maybe back again). Also if we call them Muslim inventors then there should be a link made with the Islamic traditions. This is probably not so difficult certainly during a particular time but back then and now the life of Muslims does not only depend on Islam. Also other matters such as politics, competition and so on matter. We can find much of these considerations on the weblog of the exhibition for example about windmills (yes I’m Dutch…) and toothbrushes (have to go to the dentist tomorrow). (more…)

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Protected: Cabaret.nl: Amar & Ewout en Etienne – Statement van het vrije woord

Posted on March 15th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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‘Stille Kracht’ en de machtige illusie van de vrije wil

Posted on March 7th, 2007 by .
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Misc. News, Youth culture (as a practice).

Stille Kracht, een prachtige roman van Louis Couperus, waarin verteld wordt over een reeks mysterieuze gebeurtenissen op Java die door de plaatselijke inwoners worden toegeschreven aan ‘de stille kracht’; een Indisch mysterie dat tot uitdrukking komt in de natuur en de mens en dat het idee tart dat de mens zelfbeschikking heeft. Dit is thema van deze entry: vrije wil, opgelegde schoonheidsidealen en sluiering. (more…)

1 comment.

'Stille Kracht' en de machtige illusie van de vrije wil

Posted on March 7th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Misc. News, Youth culture (as a practice).

Stille Kracht, een prachtige roman van Louis Couperus, waarin verteld wordt over een reeks mysterieuze gebeurtenissen op Java die door de plaatselijke inwoners worden toegeschreven aan ‘de stille kracht’; een Indisch mysterie dat tot uitdrukking komt in de natuur en de mens en dat het idee tart dat de mens zelfbeschikking heeft. Dit is thema van deze entry: vrije wil, opgelegde schoonheidsidealen en sluiering. (more…)

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Protected: Trouw, deVerdieping| religie_filosofie – islam in duitsland / ’Geloofsafval is vrij maar bloedlink’

Posted on March 7th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, Misc. News.

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Protected: Trouw, deVerdieping| religie_filosofie – islam in duitsland / ’Geloofsafval is vrij maar bloedlink’

Posted on March 7th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, Misc. News.

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Ongewenste nationaliteiten /5: raciale nationaliteiten?

Posted on March 7th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News, Some personal considerations.

In de vorige entry gaat het onder andere om de achtergelaten vrouwen in Marokko. De positie van achtergelaten vrouwen zou vooral versterkt kunnen worden wanneer zij makkelijker toelating tot Nederland krijgen en minder lang een afhankelijke verblijfsstatus krijgen. Dit is nu drie jaar en gedurende die tijd zijn zij afhankelijk van hun man voor hun verblijfstitel. Dit lijkt me een zeer ongezonde situatie voor de emancipatie van vrouwen hier. Dit betekent dat we dus ook naar de Nederlandse situatie moeten kijken. Dit geldt ook voor dubbele nationaliteiten. Al eerder heb ik gesteld dat kinderen van Marokkaanse ouders automatisch als Marokkaans geregistreerd staan. Dit geldt ook voor kinderen van gemengde ouders. Hier is geen protest tegen mogelijk en deze praktijk is natuurlijk bizar. Hiermee wordt nationaliteit namelijk zo goed als gelijkgesteld aan ras zoals we dat kenden uit de rassenwetten in de VS met de zogenaamde ‘one-drop rule‘:

‘Waarbij een Nederlandse moeder wel een Marokkaans kind kan hebben, maar een Marokkaanse moeder geen Nederlands kind.’

Met andere woorden, ook Nederland mag de hand eigen boezem steken. Inderdaad, ouders moeten zelf mogen beslissen.

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Protected: Elsevier.nl – Cultuur & Televisie – Schrijfster El Bezaz opnieuw bedreigd

Posted on March 2nd, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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Rania, Queen of Jordan, at work: Development, gender and extremism

Posted on February 27th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

H/T: Myrtus

Jordan queen, Rania, has delivered a speech at the eighth Jeddah Economic Forum. In this speech she emphasized the importance of building a developed future for Muslims and Middle Eastern generations, correcting the false images of them in the West through reforms in the region for example with regard to genderissues.

She called upon moderate Muslims to stand up and reject extremism and highlighted the relationship between free choice and Islam by stating that Islam does not force upon women to wear the veil. She criticized the US role in the Middle East and the prejudices of Westerners towards Arab people but also stated that Arabs themselves contributed to these prejudices. She questioned the lack of progress and pleaded for reform based upon Arab traditions, Islamic tradition and non-Muslim rolemodels:

She invoked the golden age of Islam when Arab civilization was more open to the wisdom of others. “The Arab ancestors welcomed new ideas from foreign lands and combined them with their own experiences to push boundaries of knowledge farther,” she said.

The queen referred to two important non-Muslim moral leaders of the 20th Century — Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., who revolutionized methods of nonviolent protest and boycotts through mass participation and personal sacrifice.

These “leaders of humanity”, as she called them, managed to create profound change in their societies by meeting the violence of the state with nonviolent popular uprising. She quoted King’s famous line: “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor popular, but because conscience tells him it is right.”

“And let us not forget the great words of our own religion,” she added. “God said in the Holy Qur’an ‘God will not change a nation until they change themselves,’” the queen said. “Today we must ask ourselves, where is that spirit?”

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Thoughts on Religion, Identity and the Middle East – Mughrabi Gate: Archeology and Identity Politics

Posted on February 27th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Middle East scholar David Hulme has an interesting blog on the question of how identity, ideology and other moral issues in society fuel the Middle East conflict. Particularly interesting, in the light of recent events, are his thoughts on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians over the Israeli reconstruction of a ramp leading to the Mughrabi Gate, adjacent to the Jewish holy site, the Western Wall in Arab-Israeli Conflict over the Mughrabi Gate and When Archeology is Made Political

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De stad, de sultan en de wetenschap

Posted on February 17th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

De Amsterdamse Nieuwe Kerk paste catalogusteksten aan en schrapte een artikel over de Armeense genocide. Dit blijkt uit een artikel in het recente nummer van ZemZem, het tijdschrift over het Midden-Oosten, Noord-Afrika en islam dat verbonden is met onder andere de Nederlandse Vereniging voor de Studie van het Midden-Oosten en de Islam (MOI).
Het gaat daarbij onder meer om en artikel van turkoloog Jan Schmidt.Volgens Schmidt werd hem tevens verzocht passages te verwijderen over de aanwezigheid van Koerden in Istanbul, en over homoseksualiteit onder Osmanen. Een artikel over de genocide op de Armeniërs is geheel teruggetrokken, omdat de auteur niet wenste in te stemmen met de voorgestelde wijzigingen.Volgens woordvoerder Frans van der Avert van De Nieuwe Kerk is het artikel geschrapt, omdat de auteurs en de Turkse overheid niet tot elkaar waren te brengen. ‘Soms moet je na wederzijds overleg concluderen dat je er samen niet uitkomt. En we wilden, uit respect voor de auteurs en de Turkse overheid, niet tot een compromis komen.’ De catalogus is volgens hem verschenen ‘met respect voor elkaars opvattingen’.

Het bewuste artikel van Schmidt staat overigens in het recente nummer van ZemZem (in verkorte en gewijzigde vorm).

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Children of the world: Unite! (and come to the Netherlands all of you)

Posted on February 16th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

It may come as a surprise to some of my readers but I really do believe the Netherlands is a great country. You can talk about a lot of things, most people are rich, social services are quite well and fair and balanced and the nature is very nice. I like it so much that I would like to invite everyone; dealing with all of joy on my own is selfish don’t you think so? And now it seems that in particular children have to come here because according to the Unesco Dutch children are the most happiest children in the whole world. Isn’t that great!

Now we can analyze why this is the case but I will leave that to others. Besides the questions asked by Ingrid Robeyns at Crooked Timber, I will leave it at how do you measure happiness and does it mean the same everywhere?

5 comments.

Protected: Dagblad De Pers – Wat Drijft Geert Wilders?

Posted on February 14th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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Islam and fashion research

Posted on February 9th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Norface subsidy for research on Islam and fashion – News and Agenda – Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA)
Norface subsidy for research on Islam and fashion

In a European competition Norface, a network funded by the Sixth Framework Programme of the EU, has awarded Prof. Annelies Moors, professor at the UvA (ISIM/ASSR) of Social scientific research of contemporary muslim societies, a subsidy of 500,000 euros. Prof. Moors receives the subsidy for international research on Islam and fashion as part of a larger programme on the (renewed) rise in Europe of religion as a social force.

The research focuses on the rise and dispersal of ‘Islamic fashion’ in Europe and the importance of both transnational and local contexts for this development. Core questions in this respect are: how do consumers and products deal with possible tensions between religion and fashion, beliefs and consumption, and ethical standards and aesthetic shapes, and what is the role of the new youth culture for the presence of religion in public space? The research will be carried out from 2007 till 2009 in collaboration with four European partners.

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Protected: Nieuws-update

Posted on February 8th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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Independent Online Edition > The Jewish school where half the pupils are Muslim

Posted on February 4th, 2007 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Independent Online Edition:  The Jewish school where half the pupils are Muslim

The Muslim parents, mostly devout and many of the women wearing the hijab, say they love the ethos of the school, and even the kosher school lunches, which are suitable because halal and kosher dietary rules are virtually identical. The school is also respectful to Islam, setting aside a prayer room for the children and supplying Muslim teachers during Ramadan. At Eid, the Muslim children are wished Eid Mubarak in assembly, and all year round, if they wish, can wear a kufi (hat). Amazingly, dozens of the Muslim children choose instead to wear the Jewish kipah.

At the prize morning Carol Cooper, the RE teacher, says: “Boker tov,” (Ivrit for “Good morning”).

“Good morning Mrs Cooper,” the children chant in reply. The entire school, Muslims, Jews, plus the handful of Christians and Sikhs then say the Shema, the holiest Jewish prayer, all together.

Times being as they are, King David doesn’t advertise its presence in a city where its pioneering multiculturalism could raise all kinds of unwelcome attention. There’s a discreet signboard outside that reveals little about the school’s unique nature. There are watchful video cameras high up on the walls, plus two electronic gates to pass through. Sadly, it is, to a significant extent, says Laurence Sharman, the (Christian) chairman of the PTA, “an undercover school”.

The Muslim parents, however, are only too keen to talk in the playground about what might be seen by some in their communities as a controversial schooling decision.

“We actually bought a flat in the catchment area for the children to come here,” says Nahid Shafiq, the mother of Zainah, four, and Hamza, nine, and wife of Mohammed, a taxi driver. “We were attracted by the high moral values of the school, and that’s what we wanted our kids to have. None of us has any problem with it being a Jewish school. Why on earth should we? Our similarities as religions and cultures are far greater and more important than our differences. It’s not even an issue.

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