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April 11, 2011
France & the Niqab ban
While I am 100% against the banning of the hidjab - partially out of my liberal social instincts and dislike of government intrusion in areas social, partially due to my understanding that there is a lot of different social territory covered by the hidjab, the French ban on "Full-Face Veils in Public" (NYTimes.com) I have some sympathy for.
Unlike the Hidjab, the Niqab is qualitatively another thing. Covering the face so that only two slits of eyes show has rather more fundamental implications than covering up the hair.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 10:35 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 09, 2011
Returning to the African connexion
Some notes highlighting the relevance of my earlier obs in re Libyan racism (although not unfounded in re paranoia re mercenaries) & worries.
BBC News - Protests across the Middle East and North Africa
1246: UNHCR says that a team at the Egypt border on Monday interviewed a group of Sudanese who arrived from eastern Libya who said that armed Libyans were going door to door, forcing sub-Saharan Africans to leave. In one instance a 12-year-old Sudanese girl was said to have been raped. They reported that many people had their documents confiscated or destroyed. The agency says it heard similar accounts from a group of Chadians who fled Benghazi, al-Bayda and Brega in the past few days.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:31 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 24, 2011
Chadian Mercenaries Report (Figaro, Fr)
Figaro cites a Chadian claim that Chad gov sent mercenaries to support The Guide. It also indicates that mercenaries were also sourced from Dar Fur, from the rebel Zaghawa.
Le Figaro - International : La garde tchadienne au secours du colonel Kadhafi
COMMENT HERE
N'Djamena aurait envoyé des troupes pour soutenir le «guide» libyen, qui recruterait également des groupes armés soudanais.
Le Tchad aurait envoyé des soldats au secours du colonel Kadhafi. C'est ce qu'affirme le site Tchadactuel, habituellement bien renseigné grâce à des sources proches du palais présidentiel de N'Djamena. Selon ce site, le président Idriss Déby lui-même aurait ordonné ce déploiement. Des habitants de Benghazi confirment l'arrivée de ces troupes.
D'après d'autres sources, des Tchadiens vivant sur place seraient également recrutés par les autorités de leur pays. Le chiffre de plus de mille militaires a été avancé, sans pouvoir être vérifié.Le Soudan, ajoute Tchadactuel, aurait également été sollicité mais aurait refusé. Le Tchad faciliterait en revanche le passage des Soudanais désireux d'aller se battre en Libye. Le JEM (Mouvement pour la justice et l'égalité), le plus armé des groupes rebelles du Darfour, fournirait aussi des hommes. La longue frontière entre le Tchad et la province rebelle de l'ouest du Soudan facilite les choses, tout comme la présence des deux côtés de cette frontière de membres de l'ethnie Zaghawa, celle du président tchadien.
Défection importante dans les forces spéciales
Comme toujours en Libye, l'argent du pétrole pourrait alimenter cette aide militaire. Avec le risque de déclencher des représailles contre les travailleurs tchadiens installés en Libye, et déjà mal vus par la population. Les militaires venus du Tchad pourraient être arrivés en Libye par le sud, franchissant une région montagneuse habitée de part et d'autre par l'ethnie Toubou, qui a dans les années 1990 mené une véritable guerre contre le gouvernement tchadien. Leur réaction est une inconnue.
Emphasis added.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 02:57 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 23, 2011
SubSah Afr Expats in Libya A useful point of reflexion
An item I believe is being potentially neglected in thinking about Gaddafi's reservoir of enforcers / sowers of civil war is the SSAf population in Libya, and the Black Libyans.
BBC News - Libya: Who is propping up Gaddafi?
Col Gaddafi has long fostered close relations with African countries, having turned his back on the Arab world some time ago, and there are an estimated 500,000 African expatriates in Libya out of a total population of six million.To put this in context, we need to think about the history of anti-Black progroms in Libya
The number of those serving as pro-Gaddafi mercenaries is thought to be quite small but their loyalty to his regime is said to be unquestioned and there are reports of extra flights being laid on to bring in more in recent days.
Continue reading "SubSah Afr Expats in Libya A useful point of reflexion"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 12:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 14, 2010
France & Niqabs: Show your face
Having mixed feelings about this, as I have no love for Saudi ninjette wear nor other things called 'burqa' (contra the head scarf, which is harmless, the Saudi inspired all-ninjette wear is a sign of problems). At the same time this takes a small minority and makes them martyrs to their mistaken (or misbegotten) cause. That is a mistake.
FT.com - French lawmakers approve ban on full veil
French lawmakers approve ban on full veilEmphasis added.
France’s National Assembly on Tuesday backed by a crushing majority a bill banning the wearing of the full face veil in public spaces, a garment which politicians across the political spectrum regard as a symbol of religious extremism.
The vote – by 335 to 1 – takes France a step closer to becoming the first democracy to ban women in the street from wearing the niqab or burka. The Belgian parliament is planning a similar clampdown while Spain is proposing to curb the full veil’s use in public buildings.
The bill will now pass to the Senate in September where it is likely to meet little resistance. However, even once enshrined in law it is almost certain to face an eventual legal challenge on the grounds that there is no constitutional basis for an outright ban in public spaces.
....
The vote is testament to the political consensus in France against the full veil even though it is a marginal phenomenon – only 2,000 women out of a Muslim population of some 5m are thought to wear it.
....
However, some Muslim community leaders suspect a ban may simply stigmatise all Muslims.
.... the differences between government and opposition on the issue of a “burka ban” are small: the socialists want a ban only in public buildings and services, rather than an outright ban, which they fear could prove unlawful.
France’s Conseil d’Etat, a body that advises on the constitutionality of laws, warned the government earlier this year that “no uncontestable legal basis can be found for an outright and generalised ban on the wearing of the full veil”.
The bill does not specifically ban the face veil but prohibits anyone from wearing an item of clothing to hide his or her face in open spaces, including streets, shops, parks or cafés as well as in public services such as town halls, schools and hospitals. Offenders face a fine of €150 ($191).
A number of items here. Last one first, this evidently is a law that can (and if it can, will) be used for purposes well beyond its original aim. Fines on say street anarchists (hmmm, well I'm almost in favour of that, but liberty is liberty), pretext for legal action against persons with legitimate desires to remain anonymous, etc.
Otherwise, why a law what amounts to a handful of persons? Prejudice in the end. French lawmakers spending time on this is sheer idiocy relative to France's more pressing problems. The only explanation is hysteria and bigotry (2k of say 2.5m women is a minute, infinitesimal percentage, it is literally absurd to be concerned about this to pass a national law).
Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:40 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 06, 2010
Class Demographics Explain Better MENA/Muslim Integration in USA?
The Washington Times, not normally a spurting fountain of Muslim-friendly coverage, praises the relatively successful integration of Muslim immigrants in America when compared to that of Europe. (The newsstory mostly concentrates on inter-faith dialogue, but the broader implication of better relative integration (e.g. “melting pot”) in America comes through loud and clear.) While I do enjoy a nice dose of American exceptionalism, and I do think it may apply here in some ways, let me nevertheless throw out a less nationalistic hypothesis on relative integration levels. I am too lazy and busy to find and crunch the appropriate numbers and surveys to confirm or refute it, but here it is: Could some of the relatively better Muslim/MENA integration in America be simply due to the fact that Muslim immigrants there have tended towards the educated professional and middle class, rather than being a large class of laborers as may be the case in lots of Europe?
Continue reading "Class Demographics Explain Better MENA/Muslim Integration in USA?"
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 12:20 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
January 21, 2010
Religious Misunderstanding Causes Flight Diversion, With a Twist (or several)
But for once, a Muslim wasn't the cause; this time, a paranoid and/or ignorant passenger mistook an Orthodox Jewish ritual object for a bomb, with hilariously idiotic results.
(My grandfather was right, darnit - he always avoided tefillin like the plague, to the extent that he would ditch Hebrew school, but wrap a rope tightly around his forearm in proper tefilln style, so his parents would see the welts on his arm and wouldn't figure out that he hadn't gone.)
Seriously, where will the stupidity and/or madness end?
Posted by evaluna at 07:50 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 05, 2009
Swiss ban on minarets, comment worth reading
The Moor Next Door has a typically long comment worth reading on this subject, although perhaps this opening is slightly unfair.
One should register no surprise that the continent which produced the Inquisition, anti-Semitism, the Crusades and the Holocaust would give rise to a sentiment that would lead 57% of Swiss voters to ban the construction of minarets.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 12:06 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 04, 2009
Black Iraqis - and awkward americanisms
An interesting if sadly superficial article Basra Journal - In Iraq’s African Enclave, Color Is Plainly Seen - NYTimes.com
But on the packed dirt streets of Zubayr, Iraq’s scaled-down version of Harlem, African-Iraqis talk of discrimination so steeped in Iraqi culture that they are commonly referred to as “abd” — slave in Arabic — prohibited from interracial marriage and denied even menial jobs.
Historians say that most African-Iraqis arrived as slaves from East Africa as part of the Arab slave trade starting about 1,400 years ago. They worked in southern Iraq’s salt marshes and sugar cane fields.
But why, oh why the ugly Americanism "African-Iraqis"?
Posted by The Lounsbury at 07:17 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 29, 2009
Sad note for Europe, Swiss Minarets banned
Remarkably petty and bigoted measure, Swiss Vote to Ban New Minarets (NYTimes):
Of 150 mosques or prayer rooms in Switzerland, only 4 have minarets and only 2 more minarets are planned. None conduct the call to prayer.
Close to 90 percent of Muslims in Switzerland are from Kosovo and Turkey and do not adhere to the codes of dress and conduct associated with conservative Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, said Manon Schick, a spokeswoman for Amnesty International in Switzerland.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:54 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
November 23, 2009
The Color of Monkey: Egyptians Draw A Bead On Haifa
Guardian (UK) angel Nesrine Malik tells of lyrics by an Egyptian writer, sung by sultry songstress Haifa Wehbe, that refer to a child pining for his "Nubian monkey". The term, supposedly referring to a toy, is apparently tied in with long-standing negative color-race attitudes among lighter-skinned Egyptians and other Arabs towards the swath of swarthy Nubians in Egypt's south, and blacks in general. Nubia's bias guardians have requested some sort of legal sanction against the song. The issue brings to rare local public airing the color biases of much of Middle Eastern society, or in Ms Malik's words, the "endemic culture of racial stereotyping in the region ". It apparently also extends to a standard of beauty that elevates a "light-skinned, catty-eyed and slim-nosed" Lebanese look, though the description of the Haifa Wehbe song as "a mindless children's tune sung by an equally vacant performer" does suggest that the term "catty" is not restricted solely to the field of ocular esthetics. (PS -- Just love those commenters below the article at the Guardian. Sheesh.)
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 07:53 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 12, 2009
Onion on Ft Hood
Nice little entry on Ft. Hood massacre reaction by the indefatigable (whatever that means) Onion.
FORT HOOD, TX—Following Army psychologist Nidal Malik Hasan's shooting rampage on the Fort Hood military base . . . fellow Muslims across the nation sent him a message today, saying "thanks a fucking bunch, asshole," to the 39-year-old killer. "Hey, great, eight years of progress right down the shitter" . . . .
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 11:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 06, 2009
Obama Talking to Just Arabs/Iran/MENA?
So says the Jakarta Post. That's in Indonesia. Jakarta, that is, not the Post. Well, the Post too but there are Posts everywhere.
At least three - democracy promotion, religious freedom and women's rights - of his seven points are more relevant to a region who's [sic] governments are bastions of despotism than [to] the average Indonesian,. . . . for the majority of Indonesians - Muslim or otherwise - these three issues are fundamental ways of life already held dear. . . Not surprisingly Indonesia's most eminent Muslim thinkers were products of Western scholarship, not Al-Azhar or Arab Universities . . ..But in Cairo he put an Arabic frame on a cultural dialog which most Muslims may not relate to.
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 09:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 01, 2009
Happy May Day! New Month Post
Happy Real Labor Day, everyone!
Well, I suppose Site News is the most appropriate category for this little announcement...Tom and I are getting hitched, most probably at the beginning of September. I blame Aqoul - it's all about increasing contact and improving communication between people of various faith backgrounds, right?
So what have you all been up to?
Posted by evaluna at 12:01 AM | Comments (21) | TrackBack
April 12, 2009
Reading Race in MENA: Black Imam of Mecca and American reads
While not a terrible article, the New York Times coverage of the new 'black' Imam in Mecca is subtly irritating for its facile American centric lens. A Black Imam Breaks Ground in Mecca - Biography - NYTimes.com
It's easy to be rather too nitpickily peevish about such things, but nevertheless a bit better context should have been easy to achieve here:
Officially, it was his skill at reciting the Koran that won him the position, which he carries out — like the Grand Mosque’s eight other prayer leaders — only during the holy month of Ramadan. But the racial significance of the king’s gesture was unmistakable.Sheik Adil, like most Saudis, is quick to caution that any racism here is not the fault of Islam, which preaches egalitarianism. The Prophet Muhammad himself, who founded the religion here 1,400 years ago, had black companions. [Lounsbury: Ahem such as a certain Bilal...]
“Our Islamic history has so many famous black people,” said the imam, as he sat leaning his arm on a cushion in the reception room of his home. “It is not like the West.”
It is also true that Saudi Arabia is far more ethnically diverse than most Westerners realize. Saudis with Malaysian or African features are a common sight along the kingdom’s west coast, the descendants of pilgrims who came here over the centuries and ended up staying. Many have prospered and even attained high positions through links to the royal family. Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi ambassador to the United States, is the son of Prince Sultan and a dark-skinned concubine from southern Saudi Arabia.
But slavery was practiced here too, and was abolished only in 1962. Many traditional Arabs from Nejd, the central Saudi heartland, used to refer to all outsiders as “tarsh al bahr” — vomit from the sea. People of African descent still face some discrimination, as do most immigrants, even from other Arab countries. Many Saudis complain that the kingdom is still far too dominated by Nejd, the homeland of the royal family. There are nonracial forms of discrimination too, and many Shiite Muslims, a substantial minority, say they are not treated fairly.
Emphasis added.
While I would be the last to deny colour prejudice is present in the region - MENA, the Gulf, Mashriq, Maghrib - the highlighted part really is myopically American, tying explicitly colour and slavery into an automatic association. That certainly was not the case for most of Islamic history, and seeing the Nejdi prejudices as primarily or even essentially racial strikes me as rather misunderstanding Saudi society (or Gulfie society) via the eyes of American cultural norms.
The colour prejudice is there, but given slavery was except its last decades perhaps, never colour exclusive (although one should not forget that towards the end, the low-end slavery was more or less exclusively African), it is hardly the sole driver, and the profound prejudices against outsiders, including pale Lebs for example, is much more that of a parochial tribal society than the implied counterpart to American or even old European colour prejudice as such.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:52 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 30, 2009
A Chechen in Every Potshot? Dubai Assassination
Stretching out our Dubai trilogy to 4, Chechen on-again off-again military leader, Sulim Yamadayev, who was apparently against the Russians before he was recently for them, was just shot to death while staying in the UAE. (There appears to be a pattern of exiled adversaries of current pro-Russian Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov dying in a veritable Fodor's list of the world's more glamorous cities.) It appears Dubai's gendarmes have made an arrest. In all the unhappy news about Dubai, let's not hope for "free fire zone" to replace a currently economically bumpy "free trade zone." Importing Russian affairs has typically hitherto had only a recreationally carnal implication.
In the end, though, this is probably more a Chechnya-Russia story here than a Gulf one.
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 10:58 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 23, 2009
Sullivan & Overheated Blithering on about Dubai (Dhimmitude to ban nakedness.... really)
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (March 23, 2009) - Dhimmitude In Dubai
Dhimmitude In DubaiThe joys of theocracy, even in an international city-state whose population is 80 percent foreign:
Reading Andrew Sullivan's blog in between tracking financial sector meltdown and scheming to keep my little empire going, I ran across this absurdly overheated characterisation of the new rules for Dubai's vast commercial waste lands.
As I wrote in an email to him, this is absurd bollocks as an over-reaction.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 07:12 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
November 19, 2008
House Niggers: Obama, Race & MENA
First, for regular 'Aqoul readers and contributors, my apologies for the ongoing absence. Think of it as a recharge period. Frankly there has not been much interesting for me to say (that I can say, given most of the most interesting things I would comment on have been rather too 'sensitive' for me).
Second, today's Al Qaeda media event - Ayman az-Zaouahiri's fine little exposition of unconscious (or perhaps not so unconscious) Egyptian and Arab racism in describing Obama as a Abid el Beit, a house slave, using a word (Abd/Abid) that in the East has somewhat nasty overtones in dialectal (versus classical/formal) usage.
I refrained from writing anything on Obama during the election as I rather thought that there was nothing much to add. I suppose this is a moment to add that the reaction across the board to Obama's election was ecstatic, including among the Arab financial professionals I have the most contact with. I should perhaps put up some more personal observations if that seems interesting on the Lounsbury pages, but none of this is terribly surprising (and unfortunately professional obligations prevent me from sharing the best and most revealing reactions, although I should say that I was stunned to discover that the illiterate grandmother of my cousins not only following the
US elections but asking her children for updates on US elections eve and day).
However, the Zaouahiri demarche is interesting to comment on and discuss. The use of a fairly racially charged phrase I found rather interesting.
Continue reading "House Niggers: Obama, Race & MENA"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 02:39 PM | Comments (17) | TrackBack
November 09, 2008
Now Hear the Nerds of the Lord: Monks Battle in J'lem
Not since the pocket-protectors flew maniacally in my high-school Chess Team intramural conflict between Star Trek and Star Wars clubs have I seen such a significant Battle of the Nerds (I was Trek). In Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre, alleged tomb of Christ, Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks have been busted after exchanging hard blows (no relation to child sex scandals, btw).
The monk, who gave his name as Serafim, said he sustained the wound when an Armenian punched him from behind and broke his glasses.No word on his Rubik's cube, but the monastic mayhem is all part of the long-runnning turf wars of Christian sects over a site that even the big JC walked out of after only three days (theologians debate still what happened to the 30-day deposit). This conflict is dwarfed by the larger mostly Muslim Arab versus mostly Jewish Israeli contentions over the whole city, but could conceivably outsize it in being even stupider. On the other hand, such intra-Xtian things did give us the Crimean War which produced Tennyson's great Charge of the LIght Brigade.
Continue reading "Now Hear the Nerds of the Lord: Monks Battle in J'lem"
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 03:02 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
October 10, 2008
He's an Arab
You certainly have all heard about that retard old woman making her “he’s an Arab” comment to McCain. For those of you living under a rock:
“I don't trust Obama, I have read [sic] about him. He’s not… He’s not… Errr… He's an Arab.”
McCain interrupts her and replies: “No, ma'am. No, ma'am. He's a decent, family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with…”
What is interesting is the little comment there is about how screwed up McCain's reply is.
Ditto about Obama being accused of being a Muslim.
Posted by Shaheen at 10:31 PM | Comments (23) | TrackBack
July 12, 2008
France, Islam & Integration
As brought up in the open thread, a strange court case coming out Fransa: France rejects Muslim woman over radical practice of Islam, worthy of a moment of reflexion.
The headliner is
France has denied citizenship to a Moroccan woman who wears a burqa on the grounds that her "radical" practice of Islam is incompatible with basic French values such as equality of the sexes.although deeper in the article one may be able to pull out something more fundamental (or perhaps better put, reasonable, than her choice of clothing as the basis of the citizenship denial, notably lack of integration and mastery of French society.
Of no great surprise, the woman did not wear the Saudi style ninja costume in her native Morocco; apparently imposed by her husband in France. Without having further information, one would suspect a family arranged marriage of a country girl to a cousin or contact in France who's gone reactionary in France.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:21 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
July 05, 2008
Dar Fur - Arabs & 'Ethnic Africans' Encore
There is something about the ongoing nonsense coverage of Dar Fur.
It is thus with some satisfaction I share the above "Arab" tribal leaders from this servicable if uneven arty in The Washington Post
The easily best quote is this (if we ignore the confusion of the Fur language speaking group with the idea of Tribe while Arab tribes are cited away (The "ethnically African" nonsense is just plain idiocy, non-Arabic speaking, fine.)):
"The problem is between Darfurians and the government -- this is not between Arabs and Africans," said Abdel Majid Ibrahim Mohamed, a prominent leader of the ethnically African Fur tribe, among the most heavily targeted by the government. "It's the government that is cooking these things up. I don't believe in this Arab and non-Arab description. There are Fur married to Arabs, so there's a social interlocking between them.""This is not a tribal conflict or ethnic conflict," the nazir concurred. "It's a conflict of interests. And we've been living together for 400 years."
Of course desertification and population explosion are non-trivial added factors.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 12:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 02, 2008
French Court Screws Up Non Virgin Muslim
A case currently making some noise in France is about a court annuling a marriage between a recent Muslim convert and his Muslim born wife, on the basis that she lied about not having had a previous boyfriend.
Most politicians, and many in the media make it sound like it was annuled because the girl was not a virgin and the decision was based on religious considerations (why, Islam of course):
The Conservative UMP party - which is calling on the Justice Minister to overturn the ruling - said the decision was totally unacceptable and was incompatible with France's secular principles.
This is obviously yet another opportunity to capitalize on the Muslim minority's poor image (part of which is self-inflicted like in this case).
Continue reading "French Court Screws Up Non Virgin Muslim"
Posted by Shaheen at 07:57 AM | Comments (41) | TrackBack
May 28, 2008
Keffiyeh & Donuts: Ad Cancelled Because of Scarf Threat
Can it get dumber than this? Probably, but you'd have to work at it. The disturbing part is not the initiation of an attack on an ad because of a scarf that looks like a keffiyeh, it's that the anything-but-small-time ad sponsor would roll over so quickly, with no counterreaction against them for doing so. (Bonus related question: What is it about nationalism and, in other contexts than this, feminism, that makes such issues out of headgear?)
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 10:56 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
May 25, 2008
Why Jihadis Heart Mauritania (Bled l-Moops)
As longtime fan of `Aqoul, I feel it's about time I gave some back. Eerie has kindly accepted a guest post, so, here goes: an expanded version of a recent post from my own North Africa blog. Hope you enjoy.
Side introduction: While I personally don't share Alle's politics on Western Sahara (largely due to my analysis that another little shitty Mauretania is hardly a good thing), he is a smart observer of the area. Enjoy. -- Collounsbury.
PS: the Moops titling is mine, couldn't resist
Time for an update on Mauritania -- my special, dysfunctional little darling among the Maghreb countries -- and on why I think this complex but fascinating desert backwater may yet become of interest to Messrs. bin Ladin and Bush alike.
First the basics: Mauritania, squeezed in between Senegal, Mali, Algeria and Western (or: Moroccan) Sahara, is at the western extreme of the Arab world, and little known even to most of its neighbours. The population is small (under 3,5m.), the area huge (over 1m. km2) , and as the square-cut borders suggest, it is an entirely colonial creation. Back in the days, France needed to fill the space between Senegal, rowdy Touareg tribes, and Spanish Sahara with something, and in 1960 that something proclaimed itself the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. Straddling the Sahel, it joins two very different worlds: rocky desert flats suitable only for nomadism dominate the northern two thirds, while the Senegal valley to the south has lush farmlands. Ethnic groups and living-styles are spread accordingly, and as could be expected, north/south relations have been acrimonious.
Continue reading "Why Jihadis Heart Mauritania (Bled l-Moops)"
Posted by alle at 07:08 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
May 02, 2008
Funny, She Doesn't Look Bahraini
Bahrain's possible new ambassador to the US has interesting demographics. Not all that amazing if one is familiar with the region outside of stereotypes and post-1948 tensions. Still the background of the former legislator(-tress?), if legislating is what the Shura Council does, might cause some to be unduly surprised.
MANAMA, Bahrain - The only Jewish woman lawmaker in Bahrain is a candidate to become this Persian Gulf kingdom's ambassador to Washington. . . . Huda Nono, a legislator in the Shura Council, said she was among people being considered for the post and referred further queries to the foreign ministry. . . .If Nono was appointed, Bahrain would be the first Arab country to send a high-level Jewish diplomat to Washington. . . . Nono is the first Jewish woman in the Shura Council, a 40-seat body appointed by the king that also has a Christian among its 11 female legislators. . . . Nono replaced her cousin Ibrahim Nono, who held the Shura Council seat for four years.
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 05:33 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 23, 2008
Another Good Conspiracy Theory Down the Drain
Al Qaeda says an Israeli conspiracy didn't do 9/11. And, it adds, Iran started the Israel conspiracy rumor. Is that itself a conspiracy rumor?
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 02:43 AM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
March 08, 2008
MENA & Race
Worthy of discussion and comment, a comment by Nisreen Malik in Comment is Free (The Guardian) on Race & the Arab world, from a Sudanese perspective. The comments sadly are fairly unenlightening, but certainly the issue of "race" and colour in the Arab World (or perhaps the Arab & Islamic Worlds, etc) is worthy of some reflexion. Of course nothing there is "new" in a sense, but it is good to return to such tihngs now and again.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:19 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
December 25, 2007
Fishmonger Attitude and French Arab Illiteracy in Public Relations
I’ve just had this exchange on Ibn Kafka’s blog with a French Muslim blogger who nicknames herself La Voilée (The Veiled). Disillusioned by the French Republic’s liberticidal radical secularism and discrimination, she decided to start a blog communicating about her life as a veiled woman there. Though my distaste for the veil is not a secret for anyone here, it's important to remind that it remains a matter of individual choice. The whole French debate about it was completely displaced and misrepresented as proponents versus detractors of the veil, when it should have been about, God forbid, liberties and minority issues.
I applauded La Voilée’s initiative as it has the potential to provide a much needed alternative view about those issues. But when I read some of her comments in an entry comparing 19th century bearded women to today’s veiled women, I had this perception that their tone was the all too common knee-jerk aggressive-defensive “tough guy” one prevailing among French Arabs when they’re feeling judged.
Continue reading "Fishmonger Attitude and French Arab Illiteracy in Public Relations"
Posted by Shaheen at 06:11 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 11, 2007
Releasing Built-Up Labor Tension
The floodgates have opened. It is the beginning of the end for serious labor repression in the UAE, and the rest of the Gulf is likely to follow. Dubai's employers have been forced to negotiate with (illegally) organized labor and come out second-best.
Organized labor has never had it good in the Gulf. The armies of foreign construction workers - there are 700,000 in the UAE alone - live in overcrowded and unhygienic quarters, work in unsafe conditions, have no political rights, and are banned from collective bargaining. They can't even switch jobs when their employers fail to pay them, as happens all too often. Over the past couple of years, a depreciation in the value of local currencies pegged to the dollar has meant they have been able to send less money home than ever before, rendering many unable to support families they were forced to leave behind, even as high inflation has eaten into their purchasing power in the Gulf. Meanwhile, demand for workers has surged with a building boom brought about by high oil prices.
Continue reading "Releasing Built-Up Labor Tension"
Posted by Top Secret Anonymous Guy at 11:17 AM | Comments (18) | TrackBack
November 10, 2007
Infidel Review: Packaged Phobias
Yes, in in breaking news, the long-awaited mysterious review of Hirsi Magan/Ali has been sighted.
It is perhaps not off to share as well, The Financial Times very able critical review of a related genre of Islamophobic literature, that of the statistically illiterate "Eurabia" genre to which in many ways Hirsi Magan/Ali belongs.
Continue reading "Infidel Review: Packaged Phobias"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:45 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
October 21, 2007
Real Fascism Awareness Week: DC-area Holocaust Commemoration
Sunday October 28 from 6 to 8 pm in Sterling, Virginia, near Washington DC, a rather nice event for those interested and local. The All Dulles Area Muslim Society is organizing a presentation featuring a Holocaust survivor, called, perhaps unsurprisingly: Reflections on The Holocaust: A Story of a Holocaust Survivor, and designed for "all of Humanity to Remember and Learn the Lessons of the Holocaust." More info below.
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Posted by Matthew Hogan at 08:56 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 26, 2007
Abu Aardvark on The Surge & The Sunni Leadership
A personal favorite political magazine's blog presents a personal favorite political institute's video of an Aqoul favorite blogger Marc Lynch, aka Abu Aardvark, speaking at a conference at the CATO Institute on THE SURGE. The professorial Father of Aardvarks opines about the recent Iraq Sunni insurgent-US military cooperation, but bases his insights on Arabic language media and internet communications of Sunni community leaders. The conclusions he arrives at are basically that the Sunni leaders are stating to their very anti-US constituency that cooperation with the USA is merely tactical and the result of insurgent victories which forced the US to assist them in certain common aims of fighting al-Qaeda and fighting some Shiite militias. They view the government and al-Sadr as "Iranian" and they eventually want the entire US occupation out. In addition, the conditions are such that further sectarian fragmentation is underway and no matter how long the US stays, it appears the conditions will remain ripe for sectarian war. Informed readers, have at it.
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 08:48 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 09, 2007
Quick Roundup of News on Roundups
{Sarcasm} Here's a headline you'd never expect to see. I'm shocked, shocked. . . . {/sarcasm} (Iraq)
Now here's a headline you'd really never expect to see. (Israel)
Here's an interesting roundup about al-Qaeda leader roundups. For a variety of reasons, this Abu al-Yazid guy seems the most interesting and dangerous , specifically as he reminds me in terms of his alleged internal likeability, technical profession (accountancy/fundraising), energy, and tactical sense of a rather successful violent insurgent of the past. Insurgencies can use good accountants and fundraisers.
And, just for yucks, bad news for anyone planning to have online virtual sex with Osama bin-Laden.
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 06:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 07, 2007
F**kin' Alif, Dude! Arabic School Opens in Brooklyn
The Khalil Gibran International Academy school has opened in New York, part of the public education system. Being a wacko libertarian, I have my reservations even about public schooling as a general concept, but allowing it to be a virtue and necessity, still what advantage is it to have a specialized school devoted to Arabic culture and language for kids in Brooklyn USA? Folks, there does exist a private education option for establishing such things, if felt needed. This has a Euro feel of separateness to it, combined with the related US cult of the Great God Diversity. But I thought we yanks had passed on the "separate but equal" thing in public schools. Naturally, of course, the Daniel Pipes squadrons of haters-of-all-things-even-appearing-Muslimish-and-socially-acceptable made an unbelievably laughably weird xenophobic stink over it (Pipes: "learning Arabic in-and-of-itself promotes an Islamic outlook"). They even got the first chosen principal fired for correctly explaining that intifada in Arabic means a shaking-off, thereby apparently establishing that a school that teaches the Arabic language should most definitely not teach it accurately.
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 12:47 AM | Comments (15) | TrackBack
September 03, 2007
Dar Fur: Not So Simple as Arabs attacking "Blacks"
As longer-term readers of Aqoul know, I have rather long been beating away at a point re Dar Fur: that the nice little story packaged up for college activists and Islamo / Arabophobes re Dar Fur fundamentally mis-characterises tribal resource war as genocide and that the real story is desertification and excessive population pressure on an environment that can't support the combination of population lifestyles and numbers. And that the simplistic narrative of Black Africans versus Arabs (imagined to be people looking rather like Saudis, rather than the said Arab elders in the photo... who are rather obviously Arabised locals of a most "Black" genotype....)
The New York Times in a generally decent article, Chaos in Darfur on Rise as Arabs Fight With Arab makes me point, if belatedly. Of course, it contains certain idiocies, such as referring to Arab tribes in the plural but the Fur as a single tribe - they are of course a linguistic group about as much a single tribe as "the Arabs." Which is to say, they are tribes, plural. The article is very much worth a read and promotion. As I am an optimist by nature, perhaps it can help correct some of the delirious whanking on about Arab genocide on the Blacks, and maybe refocus on the real tragedy of an ecological and economic catastrophe and a spiral of destruction as clan and tribal warfare becomes bloodbaths via guns (not that history of the Maori should be forgotten in reminding one and all this is hardly a new phenomena).
Posted by The Lounsbury at 01:50 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
July 14, 2007
Muslim Integration in American Political Life
I'd just like to draw attention to a recent report on the subject, which draws some conclusions I'd hope would be common sense to anyone paying attention. A few that particularly struck me:
Continue reading "Muslim Integration in American Political Life"
Posted by evaluna at 05:16 PM | Comments (15) | TrackBack
July 03, 2007
UK Muslims & Reaction: A voice of reason and not whinging victimhood
Very briefly given limited time, I draw attention to a very good arty by Asim Siddiqui in The Guardian that very properly takes on the mealy mouthed response and whinging victimhood whining of rather too much of the UK Muslim community (and professional Muslim activists - of course I am generally contemptuous of activists as a general matter). [Added: I would also recommend this: My plea to fellow Muslims: you must renounce terror]
Some particular highlights that I think key:
The events of the last few days have been sobering for us all. The response from some UK Muslim groups (influenced by Islamist thinking) is still largely to blame foreign policy (undoubtedly an exacerbating influence but not the cause), rather than marching "not in my name" in revulsion against terrorist acts committed in Islam's name. By blaming foreign policy they try to divert pressure off themselves from the real need to tackle extremism being peddled within. Diverting attention away from the problems within Muslim communities and blaming others - especially the west - is always more popular than the difficult task of self-scrutiny. ... so long as the world is presented as one where the west is forever at war with Islam and Muslims there is nothing we can do to appease the terrorists and those who share their world view. Instead it is this extremist world view that must change.
Continue reading "UK Muslims & Reaction: A voice of reason and not whinging victimhood"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:34 PM | Comments (88) | TrackBack
June 16, 2007
Gaza Stripped: Two Demi-Quasi-States, One People
It appears the folks who rather justly complain of having no country, now appear to have two. Well, three, if you count the old Likudnik view of Jordan. Or in the negative numbers, if reality functions as a point of reference.
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 10:59 PM | Comments (22) | TrackBack
May 23, 2007
Keep your Sunni side up: Lebanon conspiracy theory #637
Seymour Hersh propounds this conspiracy theory of sorts regarding the rise of Fatah al-Islam in Lebanon. I don't buy it offhand, but there's plausibility in a Saudi role in promoting Sunni anti-Shiite counterweights, with US winks and nods. Any takers?
What I was writing about was sort of a private agreement that was made between the White House, we're talking about Richard -- Dick -- Cheney and Elliott Abrams, one of the key aides in the White House, with Bandar. And the idea was to get support, covert support from the Saudis, to support various hard-line jihadists, Sunni groups, particularly in Lebanon, who would be seen in case of an actual confrontation with Hezbollah -- the Shia group in the southern Lebanon -- would be seen as an asset, as simple as that....There is a supreme overwhelming fear of Hezbollah and we do not want Hezbollah to play an active role in the government in Lebanon and that's been our policy, basically....
Posted by Matthew Hogan at 10:23 PM | Comments (42) | TrackBack
April 28, 2007
France reflections: elections, Beurs, MENA, economy
As per The Lounsbury's suggestion, and following Ibn Kafka's extensive coverage of French elections, here are my two cents about them, Beurs, France and the MENA region and related economic bits.
Sunday's [May 6th] second round will most probably bring Sarkozy to French presidency. I have to say I'm very mixed up about this election. This round's vote is a matter of either gambling on Sarkozy, and risking what happened with Arab Americans, who happen to have voted George Bush in 2000, or choosing an economically destructive but marginally more risk averse community-wise choice with Segolene.
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Posted by Shaheen at 04:21 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
March 20, 2007
Egalité in time of elections
Another damning study in France, which shows that discrimination isn't improving in the Terre d'Asile, Land of Equality. If you're an Arab or African French, your chances of receiving equal treatment are statistically an 11% of employers. The president will be elected next month and France is well into its electoral campaign. Segolene and Sarkozy have done pathetic attempts at fishing Arab votes by visiting Arab countries, but so far, this internal issue that hinders the development of at least 10% of the French population isn't on any candidate's radar. Even Sarkozy's affirmative action, a fuzzy social - not ethnic - based concept, is unlikely to ever concretize given how controversial the idea is in Jacobin France.
Not that affirmative action is a good idea anyway, since it would only serve in reinforcing stereotypes, devaluate real merit and maintain the nanny government tradition that reduces incentives to perform.
Continue reading "Egalité in time of elections"
Posted by Shaheen at 01:19 PM | Comments (18) | TrackBack
February 10, 2007
Independent Jewish Voices
As many have heard and read, on 5 February a number of UK newspapers carried a declaration by a newly founded Jewish group that seeks to challenge the current Jewish establishment in Great Britain.
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Posted by MSK at 11:04 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
February 07, 2007
Little Town Hall on the Tundra
In this dull Aqoul moment, I thought this piece of very provincial news would be worth a small entry. Canada, by any standard, is a very tolerant society, welcoming to its immigrants and respectful of its minorities.
But it also has its stupid hicks, like any other society. Separatist French Catholics from the godforsaken Quebec backwoods don't lack such examples. The last pearl comes from the mayor of the remote village of Herouxville, 1300 inhabitants. Trying to educate those international bumpkins of Muslim background who'd chose to settle as his next door neighbor instead of heading to metropolitan areas, he emitted a tailor made code of conduct for them. Among the rules, women should not be lapidated or burnt, and they should have the right to drive or write checks...
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Posted by Shaheen at 05:36 PM | Comments (22) | TrackBack
January 05, 2007
Cheap Outrage and Pretend Concern
Reading over the liberal (libertarian) blog, Hit & Run at Reason.com I was disappointed, although not particularly surprised to find a rather badly distorted reaction to Brian Whitaker's generally excellent work on gayness/homosexuality in MENA, Unspeakable Love, which Aqoul had the pleasure and privilege to review before publication.
Comments in particular showed much cheap outrage (one rather doubts any commentator had even read an accurate summary of Whitaker, given the content of comments) and faux concern for gays in the Islamic/Arab world.
Continue reading "Cheap Outrage and Pretend Concern"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:22 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
December 30, 2006
In Iraq, how can one tell Sunnis from Shi'ites by their names?
A few days ago, our colleague Jim Henley wrote the following post:
Iraqi Onomastics BlegYou know what would be great? A handy internet reference that identifies common Iraqi given names as “Sunni,” “Shiite” or “Ambiguous.” We know that death squads shoot people for having the wrong name. And we know that anyone quoted in a media story is going to be situated in Iraq’s ethnic/sectarian conflict, whether he or she wants to be or not. It would be useful to be able to see a name and know the speaker’s religious identity.
Indeed, it would be neat for many in the West to have lists of Sunni and Shi'ite names handy. Alas, reality isn't so kind.
Continue reading "In Iraq, how can one tell Sunnis from Shi'ites by their names?"
Posted by MSK at 05:25 PM | Comments (24) | TrackBack
December 22, 2006
The Last Umayyad
On December 24th 1568, Don Fernando de Válor was crowned King of Cordoba and Granada. A little-known event in the history of European Islam, the revolt of the Moriscos - or the Alpujarra War - was one of the darkest episodes in a series of events leading to the destruction and disappearance of native Muslims from Western Europe up to the 20th century.
The revolt was set amongst a rare confluence of motives and interests: those of the Inquisition and part of the Castilian nobility eager to take over the Moriscos' lands, and those of a Spanish crown fearing the presence of a potential fifth column while fighting the Ottoman Empire for dominance in the Mediterranean.
Continue reading "The Last Umayyad"
Posted by Shaheen at 02:52 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
December 03, 2006
We interrupt this pogrom: radio test of anti-Muslim hatred
Playing provocateur, radio talk show host Jerry Klein in the Washington DC area decided the time was right to call for Muslims in America to be required to wear crescent tattoos or armbands, which drew a few outraged phone calls. But then the more interesting ones came in: "What good is identifying them?...You have to set up encampments like during World War Two with the Japanese and Germans." And: "Not only do you tattoo them in the middle of their forehead but you ship them out of this country...they are here to kill us." After an hour of tossing out this littlegreen, I mean red, meat, the host annouced that he wasn't serious and then added some comments of his own.
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Posted by Matthew Hogan at 07:50 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 22, 2006
Memo from Dubai
It seems worthwhile to draw attention to an interesting article in NYT on Dubai and culture clashes, one which I think despite some superficialities is actually quite interesting. Stemming from a recent local Expat paper's admonishment to respect local culture a bit, it appears to have set off some reaction. I frankly agree with the admonition.
I also found the illustrating image amusing as the inappropriate couple behind the Emirati clique is so very clearly Leb.
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Posted by The Lounsbury at 11:14 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
October 07, 2006
Mr Straw & The Niqab
It appears that Foreign Secretary Straw's comments on the Niqab, the face veil, have set off a bit of a storm. From The Financial Times to The Times coverage of his original comments regarding prefering women not wear the face veil as divisive through to coverage of The Poodle's craven and inconsistent pandering (the sooner he is gone the better, I await with impatience) and The New York Times (but "British Official", come on, how about [former] British Foreign Secretary? [mea culpa, I entirely forgot about Beckett's very existence]).
I am not sure if that is good or bad, but it bears some commenting on. First, when I first saw the comments I wasn't sure if he meant the hijab, which would have been annoyingly tedious, or the niqab, which I agree with. I am pleased to see it is about the covering of the face. There is a vast and important difference between the ninja get-ups that are so very Saudi Wahhabite neo-Islamic rot, and a woman covering her hair with a scarf.
Continue reading "Mr Straw & The Niqab"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 12:58 AM | Comments (17) | TrackBack
September 20, 2006
Racism? What racism?
Allow me to bring your attention to a particularly poorly written piece of UAE agitprop. The UAE is quite heavily segregated socially - people of different national and ethnic origins tend not to mix together except for business. This has been exacerbated greatly by some rather flagrant racism.
I am not sure what legal sanctions exist regarding discrimination, but it is clear that if these exist, they aren't ever enforced. Housing ads can thus ask for Keralite Muslim bachelors, and job ads for Tagalog-speaking candidates only to apply for positions where these language skills are unnecessary, while nightclubs often turn away non-white people at the door on flimsy grounds. Pay scales differ wildly depending on one's skin color, as does how one is treated by all sorts of people one encounters, ranging from shopkeepers to immigration staff.
There has lately been some very slight movement towards recognizing this and doing something about it. Until now, that is.
Continue reading "Racism? What racism?"
Posted by dubaiwalla at 11:11 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
August 23, 2006
Do-It-Yourself Profiling and Islamophobia
Following up on Matthew's barbuphobia entry, I would like to draw attention to some relatively minor yet rather disturbing events. Mere blips, but indicative of a growing acceptance of Islamophobia as an appropriate response to the current situation in MENA and the West.
Via Progressive Islam, the media has reported two separate incidents where passenger hysteria led to the ejection of Muslims from a plane. On a Malaga-Manchester flight, passengers overheard two Asian men speaking "Arabic" and refused to fly until they were removed. Similarly, a Canadian doctor returning home from a conference in Denver was escorted off a plane because one of the passengers found his behaviour suspicious and reported it to the flight crew. He was reciting evening prayers.
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Posted by eerie at 04:46 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
August 06, 2006
Sarkozy, Lebanon & French Arabs
[Editor's Note: Our occasional contributor Shaheen sent us this interesting note on Euro-Arab developments re Lebanon and French policy]
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy's recent remarks about Lebanon (for those who don't understand French, he's basically siding with Israel) infuriated quite a few French Arabs (once more). Yet, the ascending interior minister and probable next president is the story of a big failure from French Arabs' part, first and foremost.
Continue reading "Sarkozy, Lebanon & French Arabs"
Posted by Shaheen at 12:04 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
July 11, 2006
French Immigration Policy: Proactive vs. Endured
Editor's Intro: While the subject matter of our commentator, Shaheen, may seem far afield from our Middle East-North Africa concerns, in fact the problems of French immigration laws, French labour laws and the like are really 'domestic' to North Africa. French models are slavishly copied by the North African states, and the environment in France especially has large echoes back in the Maghreb where hundreds of thousands of French residents return like lemmings every year. Both directly then, and indirectly, this has a large social, political and legal echo in the Maghreb, and especially in connexion with the lack of economic opportunity and cancerous growth of ghettos - in France, in Europe and yes, in the Maghreb itself. Certainly this editor deeply believes that 'social exclusion' tied to ethnicity is a key driver of extremism. Eerie, our benevolent Editor in Chief and myself are grateful to Shaheen for taking the time to comment with an insider's view of the situ. - The Lounsbury
Continue reading "French Immigration Policy: Proactive vs. Endured"
Posted by Shaheen at 07:17 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
June 25, 2006
Muslim Europe - Silent or Not?
A quick note to draw attention to what struck me as a well written article on Muslims in Europe and silence (or not) with respect to recent radicals terror attacks in Europe: Muslims address silence on Europe attacks.
The core commentary may be summarised as "these Terrorists aren't our folks and we're busy with our lives" with an undercurrent of "speaking out gets one shunned as taking sides."
Overall, I think the arty captures the various streams of reaction in the European Muslim communities (at least those I am familiar with). The seperate question is, are the reactions reasonable. I'd say on some level yes, although there is certainly a weakness in not admitting the "circle the wagons" reaction is not good enough.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 10:20 AM | Comments (17) | TrackBack
June 21, 2006
Anger as Analysis: Part III
[Editor's Note: A warm welcome to Shaheen, our newest contributor]
I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I thought it would be interesting to have a French/Maghrebi take on our series of articles about media-savvy Muslim women hailed as reformers by Western media. France's Muslim reformist hero is Fadela Amara, a French feminist of North African descent.
Continue reading "Anger as Analysis: Part III"
Posted by Shaheen at 08:59 PM | Comments (22) | TrackBack
June 02, 2006
'Strategic Victimhood' in Darfur: Opportunities Lost and Lessons Learned
'Strategic victimhood', not a term one often hears in relation to Darfur, any remotely realistic and undramatic approach to the issue has been met with accusations of cynicism and apathy towards a 'genocidal' campaign rivalled only by Rwanda and Burundi. Thankfully, some voices of reason have recently managed to dodge the simplistic black or white perspective and treat the issue as something other than a good vs. evil classic morality tale.
Continue reading "'Strategic Victimhood' in Darfur: Opportunities Lost and Lessons Learned"
Posted by Meph at 06:44 AM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
May 24, 2006
You Say You Want A Revolution? Chechen Sufism vs. Islamist Terrorism
In a hilariously ironic turn of events, it seems that the Russian Federation central government is now encouraging Chechens to return to observance of their indigenous flavor of Sufism , after 200 years of official anti-Islam policy ranging from denial that observant Muslims even existed to active persecution of believers. Well, I suppose that if you think your alternative is acceptance of a line of thought held by the charming folks who held a theater full of innocent civilians hostage, anything must seem like an improvement.
Continue reading "You Say You Want A Revolution? Chechen Sufism vs. Islamist Terrorism"
Posted by evaluna at 09:59 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
May 16, 2006
Census and Sensitivities: UAE & Its Minorities
Towards the end of last year, the UAE carried out its first census in 10 years. Given both the rapid demographic changes here and the promises to share the (usually classified) general data collected with the public, things sounded promising- the information gathered would be invaluable to any number of people. As my colleague SecretDubai has documented, things didn't turn out exactly as planned, not least because those being counted feared the enumerators might report them for any number of offenses ranging from cohabitation to various kinds of illegal occupancy, despite government promises to the contrary.
Continue reading "Census and Sensitivities: UAE & Its Minorities"
Posted by dubaiwalla at 12:46 PM | Comments (24) | TrackBack
Odd - Ayaan Hirsi Ali
A very queer bit of reporting on Somali-Dutch MP and possible immigration services deceiver Ayaan Hirsi Ali aka Ayaan Hirsi Magan, who appears to have not been quite in the situ she claimed re forced marriage when she won Dutch citizenship. The article is perhaps a lesson in the madness that is immigration laws and debates at present across the Developed-Developing world divide. It may, if the facts are right, also be a somewhat sad lesson in media hype as well.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 12:53 AM | Comments (55) | TrackBack
April 27, 2006
Dar Fur
I thought that since the discussion has gotten longish, that a link to my comment on a recent quality Emily Wax Op Ed on Dar Fur and the muddled thinking on the same is in order.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 02:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 26, 2006
Sinai: the Bombing Fad, Egypt and the decline of good solid craftmanship
Well, it appears as if a whole fad for the youngsters has broken out in the Egyptian Sinai, bombing the neighbors.
While I am sure it is all good clean fun the Egyptian state wil take a dim view of what it claims is the Sinai Bedouine's new hobby.
Continue reading "Sinai: the Bombing Fad, Egypt and the decline of good solid craftmanship"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 03:47 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
February 12, 2006
French Sensibilités musulmanes
A brief object lesson on the ostentatious and willful blindness of the French elite
Combien Le Monde compte-t-il de lecteurs musulmans ? Je l'ignore, et, Dieu merci, la croyance religieuse — ou l'incroyance — ne figure dans aucune enquête statistique. "How many Muslim readers does Le Mond have. I have no idea, Thank God religious belief, or unbelief, isn't subject to any statistical inquiry." Yes, ignorance, willfull ignorance is a virtue in and of itself. Why then you can congratulate yourself on "repulican values" while simultaneously engaging in hypocritical discrimination.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 07:02 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 09, 2006
Open Discussion: MENA, Muslim Minorities & Moderation [Updated II]
Where Moderation? Which Moderation? What kind?
A short post, less of The Lounsbury banging on, and more some initial reflexions on the challenge of buillding moderation. Something I touched on in my little missive: Cartoon Outrage: Salafist Entrepreneurial Behaviour, Manufacturing Incidents & the Problem of Moderation, as have my colleagues.
The core problem is building moderate consensus, in the West - with or within a Muslim minority - and in the MENA region and Islamic world at large. There is much hand-waving out there (in the West especially) about "Moderate Islam" and the like by persons who seem to define moderation as being "just like us" - that is, being up to date the latest (newly acquired) socio-political fads in secular West with respect to religion, society and perhaps even economics (i.e. the cutting-edge values of the highly secularised commentariat of the West).
[Update: The New York Times features an interesting article of some relevance to reflecting on the subject of moderation and the cartoon controversy: At Mecca Meeting, Cartoon Outrage Crystallized. Have added to comment below]
[Further interesting commentary at our friend The Father of Aardvarks (I am inclined to agree with the Father of Aardvarks in re the media's poor performance as well as my lack of enthusiasm for the 'clash of civilisations' talk) pointing to this Egyptian blog post reproducing images from al Fagr that managed not to provoke great protest when first published in October 2005.]
[Further linking:our second favourite Frenchman, Olivier Roy, has a fine article very much in line with the 'Aqoul analysis, in grosso modo this again via Abu Aardvark, who also links to a somewhat boring Mona Eltahawy editorial that for me illustrates why liberal Muslims don't get a hearing. Moderation is boring. Lounsbury, 10 Feb 2006]
Continue reading "Open Discussion: MENA, Muslim Minorities & Moderation [Updated II]"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 07:53 AM | Comments (14) | TrackBack
February 06, 2006
Cartoon Outrage: Salafist Entrepreneurial Behaviour, Manufacturing Incidents & the Problem of Moderation [Updated]
There seems hardly any reason to provide links to this ever-escalating cycle of utter contemptible idiocy, so let me make this more or less purely opinion and my own personal analysis. I would be remiss, however, if I did not pimp our very own summary page on the Danish – Mohammed Cartoon Controversy.
I also would like to point to a fine round up of online commentary as well as highlight our dear Raf Bey’s contribution: “Why do the Syrians burn embassies but the Iranians don't?” In addition, to return a citational favour well-deserved, I point to Clive Davis’ blog commentary, and in particularly this most recent summary of rational commentary on the riots. One has to agree with his observation that the commentary he cites is “more helpful than one of Christopher Hitchens' thunderbolts on "the case for mocking religion".” Juvenile exercise of expression, but then we should be used to Hitchens being a cretin with regards to the MENA region.
Onward, then.
The Lounsbury Discussion on the Issue
[Update: reading Wikipedia I found an online link - no longer working - to the/an Arabic dossier on the cartoons written by the Denmark group of Imams. Having given it a speed read, it appeared to me that while the dossier was written post-facto to their official meetings, its Arabic text did clearly indicate the incendiary 'extra cartoons' were not published, but were ones received by certain unidentified protest leaders, post their public protests in Denmark. That makes the provence of the cartoons less doubtful to me. The dossier was not inherently unreasonable in tone, although certainly disputable, and clearly reflected an agenda, one which I continue to think reflects the Salafist extremist fringe]
[Update II: A very interesting note thanks to Clive's comment, Danish paper rejected Jesus cartoons; they were apparently offensive and unfunny. Ahem. Well. In other notes re the same article, someone desperately needs to give Muslim activists a lesson in marketing: the European Committee for Prophet Honouring just sounds... silly.]
Posted by The Lounsbury at 12:04 AM | Comments (17) | TrackBack
February 02, 2006
Cartoons, Manufactured Outrage, Tolerance & Dissent
Well, reading the papers sadly the entire overblown cartoons of the Prophet controversy continues. Our dear Meph pointed me to this amibiguous but largely unfortunate French editor fired over cartoons news, and interestingly via trackbacks, I also ran across this article and a comment which I think needs blasting .
Now the, some further thoughts on this entire fiasco:
Continue reading "Cartoons, Manufactured Outrage, Tolerance & Dissent"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 11:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 01, 2006
Foreign Workers and Labour Rights in the Gulf
Last year I attended a Sunni-Shia wedding for an old friend of mine (this is an entry on its own, but for another time). It was a truly international affair with guests from North America, Europe, the Mideast, Africa and Asia. One of bride’s relatives flew in from the UAE with her husband, two young children and two nannies in tow. One nanny for each child of course: a young south Indian man for the boy and a Filipino woman for the girl. Both children were absolutely insufferable and threw tantrums constantly, only to be whisked out of sight or amused in a desperate fashion by their respective nannies until they settled down. After a time I began to suspect the boy was developmentally delayed (this is not simply because he was supremely irritating, there were clearly speech issues), but it seemed as though neither parent had noticed. His nanny, barely literate and sweet-natured, was tasked mainly with keeping the child happy, clean and well-fed. He clearly did not have the authority to discipline, a fact that the boy realized and used to his advantage. The girl was somewhat quieter, but the dynamic with her nanny was largely the same. Both nannies were subjected to verbal and physical abuse by their tiny and tyrannical charges, but they bore it gamely, if at times wearily. The parents, while not overtly classist/racist, were still very condescending when interacting with "the help". Naturally, their children noticed and imitated this behaviour.
Continue reading "Foreign Workers and Labour Rights in the Gulf"
Posted by eerie at 09:35 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
January 30, 2006
Complete utter nonsense: "Offended by Cartoons" Muslim Pinheads Boycott the Danes
It is hard to know how to categorise this idiocy, however this arty at least gives some fuel Protests Grow Over Danish Cartoon of Muhammad, sadly for those who like to portray Muslims as fanatic cretins, as in fact there are a fine bunch of fanatic cretins to make the case.
The essential start point is a cretinous Danish paper ran months and months ago a rather idiotic competition to portray the Prophet Mohammed, and as I recall, a goodly percentage of entries were offensive nasty little Arab / Istlamic stereotypes. Frankly one got the sense of an undercurrent of bigotry in the entries.
But whatever, cartoons in a stupid Danish paper. Nothing to get one's underwear in a real not over. Danish Muslims protested and that should have been the end of it. But no, the International Ever Seeking Offence to Blow Up Issues for Exploitation Islamist Cretins Faction has gotten hold of this.
Continue reading "Complete utter nonsense: "Offended by Cartoons" Muslim Pinheads Boycott the Danes"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:46 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
January 29, 2006
France, Islam & Discrimination: Further to the idiocy of the "European Intifada"
Further to my ongoing comments of the situation in France, the riots that some ill-informed, bigotted or just plain stupid commentators blew up into a "Muslim intifada" in Europe, an interesting article on current French efforts on addressing rampant discrimination in France.
(A side set of reading by the way from 2003, note the prescient commentary, intifada my ass, I note there is a clear connexion with MENA directly, besides the issue of Muslim minorities in Europe and the potential echoes within the Islamic word, the parallels in terms of illiberal economies with severe labour rigidities leading to high unemployment and difficulties in findings jobs)
A few comments, then.
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Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:38 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
January 25, 2006
The Strange Case of Berber Language Instruction
Apparently Morocco is finally introducing instruction in Berber, the language spoken by the majority of the population, into the public school system. (For that matter, can you think of any other country where the absolute population majority doesn't have its language taught in schools? Not a discrete geographic region, or even an autonomous region, but a whole country? I can’t.)
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Posted by evaluna at 10:49 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
