Protected: L1 – Radicalisering in Roermond?

Posted on November 9th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Jihadism | The brains behind the bombs | Economist.com

Posted on November 3rd, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements.

Jihadism | The brains behind the bombs | Economist.com

The most important contribution of Mr Lia’s book is the insight he offers into the personal and ideological rivalries in the jihadi world (though these may make hard going for a non-expert). It is plain that Mr al-Suri was not enamoured by his fellow militants. He disliked the “erratic actions” being taken by al-Qaeda, which he feared would undermine the Taliban experiment (he was right). He once accused Mr bin Laden of acting like a “pharaoh” and he had little regard for Saudi jihadists in general. Many, in his view, treated the jihadi training camps as an adventure playground or as a means of cleansing themselves after having “spent time with a whore in Bangkok”.

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Jihadism | The brains behind the bombs | Economist.com

Posted on November 3rd, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements.

Jihadism | The brains behind the bombs | Economist.com

The most important contribution of Mr Lia’s book is the insight he offers into the personal and ideological rivalries in the jihadi world (though these may make hard going for a non-expert). It is plain that Mr al-Suri was not enamoured by his fellow militants. He disliked the “erratic actions” being taken by al-Qaeda, which he feared would undermine the Taliban experiment (he was right). He once accused Mr bin Laden of acting like a “pharaoh” and he had little regard for Saudi jihadists in general. Many, in his view, treated the jihadi training camps as an adventure playground or as a means of cleansing themselves after having “spent time with a whore in Bangkok”.

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Protected: Trouw, hetNieuws| nederland – Training om radicalisme te voorkomen

Posted on October 18th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Protected: Trouw, hetNieuws| nederland – Training om radicalisme te voorkomen

Posted on October 18th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization.

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An Internet Jihad Aims at U.S. Viewers – New York Times

Posted on October 18th, 2007 by .
Categories: Blogosphere, ISIM/RU Research, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

The following article in the NYT is about Samir Khan, the writer of the weblog Inshallahshaheed that (among other things) features many videos and messages from Bin Laden and others and has gained some popularity and authority among Dutch audiences. One of the reasons for their interest is of course these political messages but also the fact that sometimes it is combined with ethical and spiritual issues, thereby covering a wide range of issues and showing the multi-layered and multiple modalities of so called ‘radical islam’. First blogging at WordPress (like me) he has now moved to Muslimpad. Samir Khan has announced that he will respond to the NYT article; a response that I will post on this blog as well in due course.[UPDATE: Done that, see below the article] (more…)

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Salafism growing, but preaches no violence – Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Independent thinking, independent voice – English

Posted on October 18th, 2007 by .
Categories: ISIM/RU Research, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements, Young Muslims.

The Dutch Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) has published a new report ‘Radical Dawah’. It signals the emergence of a professionally-organised campaign to promote Salafism, a stream of fundamentalism within the Sunni branch of Islam with strong roots in Saudi Arabia. The AIVD says it does not preach violence, but the Service is nevertheless concerned about the possible effects of Salafist “mission activities” in the Netherlands. The report doesn’t describe the actual level of threat, but analyses the developments, background and the influences from abroad.

I have some strong doubts about this report. Are we not going from counterterrorism to countering a particular ideology under the banner of ‘war against terror’? It seems that the salafist movements are closing the gap left behind by the Dutch state in cutting down the welfare state (including social and cultural activities for youth)? (more…)

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In defence of ‘radicalisation’ | Spiked Online – Dolan Cummings

Posted on October 17th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization.

In Spiked a review of the book by Ed Husain The Islamist: Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw Inside and Why I Left by Dolan Cummings. He is is a co-founder of the radical humanist campaign group the Manifesto Club, and editorial director at the Institute of Ideas. He is one of the organisers of the Battle of Ideas festival in London on 27-28 October.

In defence of ‘radicalisation’ | spiked

Critiques of Hizb ut-Tahrir focus less on its dodgy politics than on its intellectualism. But what’s wrong with a devotion to the debate of ideas? (more…)

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In defence of ‘radicalisation’ | Spiked Online – Dolan Cummings

Posted on October 17th, 2007 by .
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization.

In Spiked a review of the book by Ed Husain The Islamist: Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw Inside and Why I Left by Dolan Cummings. He is is a co-founder of the radical humanist campaign group the Manifesto Club, and editorial director at the Institute of Ideas. He is one of the organisers of the Battle of Ideas festival in London on 27-28 October.

In defence of ‘radicalisation’ | spiked

Critiques of Hizb ut-Tahrir focus less on its dodgy politics than on its intellectualism. But what’s wrong with a devotion to the debate of ideas? (more…)

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BBC NEWS | Europe | Belgian Iraq terror trial begins

Posted on October 15th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, ISIM Research II, Religious and Political Radicalization.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Belgian Iraq terror trial begins

Degauque is thought to have been Iraq’s first female European bomber
The trial has begun in Brussels of six men accused of being part of an Islamic militant group that recruited a Belgian woman for a suicide bombing in Iraq.

Muriel Degauque, a 38-year-old convert to Islam from Charleroi, blew herself up near a US patrol on 9 November 2005. No-one else was killed by the blast.

Officials say it was the first suicide attack by a European woman in Iraq.

The six men, most of them Belgians of North African descent, are also charged with forgery and selling stolen goods.

The trial is taking place amid fears that militant groups are using Belgium as a base for launching attacks in other countries.

In February 2006, a Belgian court found three men guilty of being leaders of a Belgian cell of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, which was linked to the March 2004 train bombings in Madrid and the attacks in Casablanca in May 2003. (more…)

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BBC NEWS | Europe | Belgian Iraq terror trial begins

Posted on October 15th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, ISIM Research II, Religious and Political Radicalization.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Belgian Iraq terror trial begins

Degauque is thought to have been Iraq’s first female European bomber
The trial has begun in Brussels of six men accused of being part of an Islamic militant group that recruited a Belgian woman for a suicide bombing in Iraq.

Muriel Degauque, a 38-year-old convert to Islam from Charleroi, blew herself up near a US patrol on 9 November 2005. No-one else was killed by the blast.

Officials say it was the first suicide attack by a European woman in Iraq.

The six men, most of them Belgians of North African descent, are also charged with forgery and selling stolen goods.

The trial is taking place amid fears that militant groups are using Belgium as a base for launching attacks in other countries.

In February 2006, a Belgian court found three men guilty of being leaders of a Belgian cell of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, which was linked to the March 2004 train bombings in Madrid and the attacks in Casablanca in May 2003. (more…)

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NRC / Bob de Graaff – De AIVD werpt zijn netten te ver uit

Posted on October 15th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, ISIM/RU Research, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements, Young Muslims.

Vorige week kwam de AIVD met het rapport ‘Radicale dawa in verandering, de opkomst van islamitisch neoradicalisme in Nederland‘ Het laat de opkomst zien van zogenaamd neo-radicalisme optreedt waarbij er een scheiding der geesten is opgetreden tussen de jihad en radicaal salafisme, met steeds minder buitenlandse beïnvloeding en steeds pragmatischer optreden. Ik vraag me af of het echt nieuw is; het lijkt er vooral op dat degene die de gewelddadige jihad steunden aan terrein hebben verloren en dat de anderen zijn doorgegaan waar ze al mee bezig waren; het opbouwen van een professionele sociale beweging. Een beweging dus die zich tegen geweld (in Europa althans) keert en waarbij een gedeelte een actieve bemoeienis met de Nederlandse samenleving voorstaat. Dat mag men op punten onwenselijk vinden, maar de vraag is of de AIVD zich daarmee moet bemoeien. De AIVD beschouwt sommige elementen van de salafistische doctrines als strijdig met de democratische rechtstaat en potentieel (op termijn) ontwrichtend voor de rechtstaat. Dat heeft deels te maken met de definitie van radicalisering dat in de ogen van de AIVD eigenlijk de antithese is van alles wat met democratie te maken heeft. Radicalisering is daarmee per definitie een gevaar volgens die opvatting, maar de vraag is wel of dat terecht is.

Bob de Graaff, hoogleraar terrorisme en contraterrorisme aan de Campus Den Haag van de Universiteit Leiden, schreef vorige week in een reactie op het rapport dat gepubliceerd is in NRC van vrijdag 12 oktober. Een reactie waar ik me goed in kan vinden. (more…)

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Zoekende moslimjongere kiest voor salafisme – Wereldomroep

Posted on October 1st, 2007 by .
Categories: ISIM/RU Research, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements.

Zoekende moslimjongere kiest voor salafisme – Wereldomroep
Door Michel Hoebink

01-10-2007

Het salafisme, de fundamentalistisch islamitische stroming, verspreidt zich via het internet in razend tempo over de wereld. Het oefent met zijn eenduidige boodschap grote aantrekkingskracht uit op zoekende moslimjongeren in zowel de islamitische wereld als in het Westen. In Nijmegen vond dit weekend een conferentie plaats over salafisme.

Salafi
Jonge Salafi

Ook in Nederland zie je ze steeds vaker: De vrouwen in hun alles verhullende niqaabs, de mannen met hun lange zwarte baarden en korte broekspijpen. Het salafisme, dat gebaseerd is op het puriteinse wahabisme uit Saudi Arabië, is de stroming waartoe ook Osama Bin Laden en de leden van de Hofstadgroep behoren. Maar gewelddadige ‘jihadi’ salafisten vormen slechts een minderheid binnen een veel grotere beweging, die zich in een groeiende populariteit mag verheugen onder islamitische jongeren.

Houvast
De stroming manifesteert zich op zoveel verschillende plaatsen in de wereld dat sommige onderzoekers zich afvragen of je nog wel kan spreken van één beweging. Bernard Haykel van de universiteit van Princeton vindt van wel. “Het salafisme heeft een duidelijke theologische visie. Salafi’s willen terug naar de levenswijze van de eerste generaties moslims. Ze geloven in een letterlijke, eenduidige interpretatie van de Koran. Het is een heel krachtig verhaal dat geworteld is in een oude traditie en dat grote aantrekkingskracht heeft op islamitische jongeren wereldwijd.” De Noorse onderzoeker Thomas Hegghammer valt hem bij: “In een tijd van grote veranderingen en het ontbreken van ideologische alternatieven, biedt het salafisme met zijn eenvoudige zekerheden een enorm houvast aan zoekende jongeren.”

Geheime diensten
Volgens Roel Meijer van de Radboud Universiteit in Nijmegen is het salafisme een van de snelst groeiende religieuze bewegingen in de wereld. “De salafi’s communiceren vooral via het internet. Met de opkomst van dat medium heeft de beweging zich in hoog tempo over de wereld verspreid.” Sinds de terroristische aanslagen in New York in 2001 wordt het salafisme ijverig bestudeerd door geheime diensten. De academische studie van het fenomeen is echter maar langzaam op gang gekomen. Roel Meijer vindt dat verbazingwekkend, temeer omdat het materiaal over deze beweging op internet voor het opscheppen ligt. Afgelopen weekend organiseerde hij in samenwerking met het Leidse Instituut voor de Studie van de Islam in de Moderne Wereld (ISIM) een conferentie waar de belangrijkste internationale onderzoekers van het salafisme met elkaar van gedachten wisselden.

Verschillende onderzoekers benadrukken dat het salafisme een vitale en dynamische religieuze beweging is die de komende decennia waarschijnlijk nog verder zal groeien. Maar het salafisme heeft ook zijn zwakheden. Juist door de nadruk op eenduidigheid kan het weinig tolerantie opbrengen voor afwijkende interpretaties.

(more…)

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Counterterrorism Blog: Operation Niche: The Conviction of Mohammed Atif Siddique

Posted on September 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements.

Counterterrorism Blog: Operation Niche: The Conviction of Mohammed Atif Siddique

In fact, the material collected by Siddique was a virtual encyclopedia of terrorist knowledge acquired over time by Al-Qaida and its associates. It was also a remarkable who’s-who lineup of some of the most high profile figures in the “homegrown terrorism” market hailing from Al-Qaida’s military leadership. Though Western academics have tended to focus on the much-vaunted role of Abu Musab al-Suri (a.k.a. Mustafa Setmariam Nasar) in this respect, actual case studies are consistently demonstrating that the teachings of other competing strategists have been far more influential in Al-Qaida circles, arguably none more so than those published by the late Saudi Al-Qaida commander Shaykh Youssef al-Ayyiri. Known to his supporters as “the Swift Sword,” al-Ayyiri (a.k.a. “Al-Battar”) reportedly first joined the Arab mujahideen fighting in Afghanistan at age 18.

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NRC Handelsblad – Wie de westerse cultuur wil verdedigen, matigt zijn toon. Niet uit angst, maar uit fatsoen

Posted on September 10th, 2007 by .
Categories: Islam in the Netherlands, Multiculti Issues, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

Sjoerd de Jong Redacteur NRC Handelsblad

Wat heeft zes jaar debat over de gevaren van de islam in Nederland opgeleverd?

En is de columnistentwist over de ‘toon’ ervan een bijzaak, of wezenlijk? Draag de waarden van de westerse cultuur ook uit in woorden. Hetzes aanjagen uit naam van het vrije woord degradeert de kwaliteit van het debat.

Wat is er hier, zes jaar na de traumatische schok van ‘11 september’, mis met de toon van het ‘debat’ over de islam?

(more…)

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Protected: Trouw, hetNieuws| europa – Duitsland verijdelt aanslagen

Posted on September 7th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Protected: Trouw, hetNieuws| europa – Duitsland verijdelt aanslagen

Posted on September 7th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Salafistische activisten

Posted on September 5th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, ISIM/RU Research, My Research, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements, Young Muslims.

Volgens minister Ter Horst zijn naar schatting tussen de 20.000 en 30.000 mensen mogelijk te beïnvloeden door de ideeën van het salafi bewegingen, ultraorthodoxe sociale bewegingen die geinspireerd zijn door salafistische tradities in de islam. Er zijn ongeveer 2500 “potentiële activisten”.  Ze weigerde echter, ondanks aandringen van enkele volksvertegenwoordigers, te zeggen hoeveel salafistische predikers er zijn. Dat is volgens de bewindsvrouw operationele informatie, die ze niet in het openbaar wil delen.

Met activisme dienen we niet direct te denken aan geweld. Onder activisme kunnen ook zendingsactiviteiten en bekeringsactiviteiten worden verstaan evenals een maatschappij-kritische houding ten opzichte van de samenleving en de nationale en internationale politiek.

In de afgelopen twintig jaar zijn in vele steden in de islamitische wereld en het Westen kantoren gevestigd die  vaak met Saoedisch geld – het salafisme propageren. Salafisten hebben een omstreden reputatie door hun trikte houding jegens niet-moslims en andere moslims, en door politiek en soms geweldadig activisme. Tegelijkertijd lijken sommige groepen radicalisering van jongeren te voorkomen: zij sterken jongeren zodat ze hun problemen van discriminatie en uitsluiting het hoofd kunnen bieden. De bewegingen dienen dan ook zeker niet op één hoop gegooid worden.

In het kader van het ISIM /RU onderzoek naar salafisme, wordt eind september de conferentie ‘Salafisme als Transnationale beweging’ georganiseerd. Toonaangevende wetenschappers komen daarvoor naar Nederland: Bernard Haykel van Princeton University (VS) zal zich richten op het salafisme in Jemen; Madawi Rasheed, King’s College (VK) op Saoedi Arabië; Khaled Hroub, Cambridge University Arab Media
Project (VK) op Hamas; en Reuven Paz op salafisme op het internet. Samen met 16 collega’s zullen ze ingaan op randende vragen als: wat houdt salafisme in? Wat zijn de overeenkomsten en verschillen tussen de puristische, de politieke en de jihadi stromingen binnen het islamisme? Waarop richt zich de strijd met gematigde en
traditionele islamitische stromingen? Behalve op ideologische aspecten, zal de conferentie zich ook afvragen hoe het universele karakter van salafisme zich verhoudt tot zijn lokale versies; en hoe salafisten lokale moslimbevolkingen mobiliseren.

Deze conferentie is semi-publiek. De aftrap vindt plaats op 27 september door middel van een publiek debat. Informatie daarover volgt nog.

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New Islamist websites seek to recruit women (Magharebia.com)

Posted on September 3rd, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

New Islamist websites seek to recruit women (Magharebia.com)
30/08/2007

Despite efforts to monitor and counter internet sites designed to recruit and train terrorists, sites continue to appear on the web, including those targeting female jihadists.

By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 30/08/2007

In a study published in Tunisia’s Le Temps last week, religious scholar Dr. Iqbal Gharbi said the number of websites devoted to female Jihad has increased, along with their forms and amount of content.

Gharbi, professor of religious anthropology at the Zitouna Institute, identified four general functions the sites aim to achieve: distance learning, dissemination of the Salafist call, mobilisation and terrorism on the Internet.

Gharbi, who has been tracking 20 websites directed towards Muslim women, said, “Islamists have accelerated the use of the Internet, which is the symbol of Western technology, and more precisely of US technology, which they continuously criticize. However, the pragmatic approach which allowed for the use of this Western means has proved its validity and has had a lot of benefits.” According to Gharbi, one of the most important benefits to Islamist groups is that they no longer require geographical space for their activities, using the Internet instead for training and co-ordination. (more…)

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Protected: de Volkskrant – Binnenland – OM eist 6 jaar tegen Samir A. in oude zaak

Posted on September 3rd, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

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de Volkskrant – Altijd een antwoord, op elk vraagstuk

Posted on September 3rd, 2007 by .
Categories: ISIM/RU Research, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements.

de Volkskrant – Altijd een antwoord, op elk vraagstuk
Altijd een antwoord, op elk vraagstuk

de Volkskrant, Binnenland, 7 augustus 2007 (pagina 02)
Janny Groen Annieke Kranenberg

Vader en zoon Salam uit Tilburg belichamen de meest orthodoxe variant van de islam. Hun invloed strekt zich uit tot het buitenland. Door Janny Groen en Annieke Kranenberg

De Salams zouden hun ‘eerste vrouwen’ hebben achtergelaten in Syrië

‘Een moeras ontstaan uit uitwerpselen’ Ahmad en Suhayb Salam hebben hun medewerking aan dit profiel geweigerd. Evenmin hebben zij inhoudelijk gereageerd op dit artikel, wat de Volkskrant hun had toegezonden met het aanbod feitelijke onjuistheden recht te zetten en te reageren op aantijgingen. Deze publicatie toont in hun ogen aan dat er ‘zaken bestaan die verwerpelijker en lager zijn’ dan ‘een moeras (…) dat is ontstaan uit uitwerpselen en uitscheidingen van allerlei soorten wezens’, antwoordt Suhayb Salam per e-mail. Dit soort artikelen, en ook de journalisten, zullen volgens hem door ‘een lichte windvlaag uit de geschiedenis worden geblazen’. Ook laat hij weten de journalisten te willen aanklagen wegens smaad en laster.

(more…)

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Protected: Amnesty International Nederland – Wordt Vervolgd – Interview Nooitgedagt, advocaat Hofstadgroep

Posted on September 3rd, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Multiculti Issues, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Protected: nrc.nl – Binnenland – Actieplan tegen radicalisering

Posted on August 27th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

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Newsvine – Ave, Muhammad: a plea for reason in the debate about Islam

Posted on August 18th, 2007 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, Islam in the Netherlands, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

This essay, written by Timor & Ramy El-Dardiry, was published on the front page of NRC Handelsblad, a Dutch national newspaper, under the title “‘We invented our own Islam'” [“‘We verzonnen onze eigen islam'”]. The full article in Dutch can be found here and here. They translated it and submitted it to Newsvine: Ave, Muhammad: a plea for reason in the debate about Islam.

Everybody loses in a discussion monopolised by fundamentalists and critics, who all cite exclusively from the Quran to prove that they are right. The average Dutch person perceives a frightening black-and-white version of Islam. Moderate and liberal Muslims become estranged, and retreat from the discussions. Only the terrorist is happy, because he is taken at face value when he claims that he is only carrying out the will of Allah as stipulated in the Quran. Nonetheless, he also freely interprets the Quran: after all, we live in a modern society. If we continue to treat Islam as a colorless monolith, we are giving terrorists free reign.

Both Muslims and concerned Western intellectuals should start to de-sacralize the role of texts in the debate, so that we can arrive at a truly constructive dialogue. It is about time that we recognize and encourage different colors in religion. This also requires a less forced attitude towards religion in public spaces.

Muslims should guard against their religion becoming the victim of a uniforming type of globalization. It is already depressing that we can now eat the same tasteless hamburgers around the world. To sacrifice religion in the same fashion to a fundamentalist movement financed by petrodollars is not only sad, but also dangerous. Muslims, cherish the diversity in your religion! Critics in their turn should point out the differences within Islam to radicals, instead of always stressing the so-called “unbridgeable” differences between Islam and the West.

If God exists, He is probably not waiting for people to criticize or obey Him exclusively on the basis of His very own texts. He created people with a slightly more creative spirit, after all. The texts will always have a different meaning for each individual. That is why we could market our Roman-Islamic faith so successfully. Our religious beliefs may have been curious, but they were just as authentic as those of Muslims in Jakarta, Washington or Amsterdam. They were just as genuine as those of radical, orthodox or liberal Muslims. Not a single text has meaning in a vacuum. If Muslims only experience and defend their religion through its text, they atr lost; if critics only attack religions based on their texts, nothing will change.

Timor El-Dardiry (1983) studied International Economics and International Relations in Maastricht and in Washington, DC respectively. He lives and works in the Dutch city of Maastricht.

Ramy El-Dardiry (1985) is a master student in Applied Physics at the University of Twente, the Netherlands. He completed several months at the Jaringan Liberal Islam in Jakarta as part of his study. He is completing his graduate work in Amsterdam.

As I wrote in the Dutch reaction on this artile, their essay smells like a ‘copy-paste islam’ but one that is neither inherently radical or the result of a-historical bricolage. It’s about the struggle over the definition of what Islam is and should be; a struggle in which people have to negotiate with others, Muslims and non-Muslims, and themselves. The essay clarifies how the social network and developments on a local, national and global level influence those negotiations. Nothing new here, but what makes Islam special is that more then any other religion, it’s a topic of heated public debates. The writers point to an interesting Dutch paradox. While in the Netherlands from the 1990s onwards religion is increasingly seen as a private matter, at the same time Islam has become the topic of public debate, thereby preventing that Islam indeed does become a private issue.

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Secularism Confronts Islam – Olivier Roy

Posted on August 15th, 2007 by .
Categories: Important Publications, Islam in the Netherlands, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements, Research International, Young Muslims.

Roy’s new book: Secularism Confronts Islam

The denunciation of fundamentalism in France, embodied in the law against the veil and the deportation of imams, has shifted into a systematic attack on all Muslims and Islam. This hostility is rooted in the belief that Islam cannot be integrated into French—and, consequently, secular and liberal-society. However, as Olivier Roy makes clear in this book, Muslim intellectuals have made it possible for Muslims to live concretely in a secularized world while maintaining the identity of a “true believer.” They have formulated a language that recognizes two spaces: that of religion and that of secular society.

Western society is unable to recognize this process, Roy argues, because of a cultural bias that assumes religious practice is embedded within a specific, traditional culture that must be either erased entirely or forced to coexist in a neutral, multicultural space. Instead, Roy shows that new forms of religiosity, such as Islamic fundamentalism and Christian evangelicalism, have come to thrive in post-traditional, secular contexts precisely because they remain detached from any cultural background.

In recognizing this, Roy recasts the debate concerning Islam and democracy. Analyzing the French case in particular, in which the tension between Islam and the conception of Western secularism is exacerbated, Roy makes important distinctions between Arab and non-Arab Muslims, hegemony and tolerance, and the role of the umma and the sharia in Muslim religious life. He pits Muslim religious revivalism against similar movements in the West, such as evangelical Protestantism and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and refutes the myth of a single “Muslim community” by detailing different groups and their inability to overcome their differences.

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