Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below the Common Ground News Bulletin: 18-24 December 2007.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity
for constructive & vibrant Muslim-Western relations
18 - 24 December 2007
The Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) aims to promote constructive perspectives and dialogue about Muslim–Western relations. CGNews-PiH is available in Arabic, English, French, Indonesian and Urdu.
For an archive of past CGNews articles and other information, please visit our website at www.commongroundnews.org .
Unless otherwise noted, copyright permission has been obtained and articles may be reprinted by any news outlet or publication. Please acknowledge both the original source and the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
Inside this edition
1) Be the moderate you’re looking for by Kareem Elbayar
Responding to Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s latest New York Times op-ed, Kareem Elbayar, vice-chair of Muslims for Progressive Values, describes who the moderate Muslims are, what they want and what they are doing to achieve these ends.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 December 2007)
2) Reality, better than fiction by Deborah Jones
“What happens when an Atlanta radio talk-show therapist called Spirit meets a television talk-show host from Cairo named Bothaina? Or when Mike, an Alabama cowboy trades places with Mahmoud, an Egyptian horse trainer?” Tune in to The Bridge to find out.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 December 2007)
3) Funnelling the power of individual blogs by Yasser Khalil
Yassir Khalil, an Egyptian researcher and journalist, considers how the power of blogs can be multiplied if bloggers pool their resources online. Working together, argues Khalil, these blogs have the capacity to facilitate change in both governments and civil society.
(Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 December 2007)
4) Americans glimpse the “real” Iran by Qamar-ul Huda, Mohammed Abu-Nimer and Ayse Kadayifci
Academicians Qamar-ul Huda, Mohammed Abu-Nimer and Ayse Kadayifci recount their recent journey to Iran as part of an American Muslim delegation, comparing western images of Iran, and Iranians, with their experiences visiting the country’s places and people.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 December 2007)
5) Talking about honour killings by Naima El Moussaoui
Naima El Moussaoui, a writer for Qantara.de, interviews Anja Wehler-Schöck, a gender, family, and youth politics consultant at a political foundation in Berlin, on what constitutes an honour killing, where they are occurring, and what they have to do with Islam.
(Source: Qantara.de, 7 December 2007)
1)Be the moderate you’re looking for
Kareem Elbayar
“O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, though it may be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be against rich or poor: for God can best protect both. Follow not the lusts of your hearts, lest ye swerve, and if ye distort justice or decline to do justice, verily God is well-acquainted with all that ye do.” (Qur’an 4:135)
Washington, DC - In a 7 December op-ed in The New York Times, Ayaan Hirsi Ali asked where the moderate Muslims were, and concluded that the very notion of a moderate Muslim majority was “wishful thinking”. Ali’s claims are echoed by many prominent commentators on the American right, and judging by the comments left on The New York Times website, by many average Americans as well. But the popular idea that mainstream Muslims either do nothing to condemn (or worse, secretly applaud) the outrages perpetrated in the name of our religion is not only reductive and misinformed – it is dangerously wrong as well.
The vast majority of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims are indeed moderate, peace-loving people who reject violent extremism and terror. Moderate Muslims are all around us, from the attorney and husband of the rape victim from Saudi Arabia, both of whom expressed revulsion and shame at the decision made by Saudi Arabian courts; to the delegation of British Muslims who travelled to Sudan and worked with Sudanese MP Ghazi Suleiman to secure the “teddy bear” teacher’s release (and prove that the entire controversy was more about distracting international attention from Darfur than it was about Islam); to the literally hundreds of thousands of Muslim individuals and organisations in the United States and around the world that expressed shock and disgust at the events which Ali cites.
Ali conveniently omits these facts from her narrative – just as she plucks a single verse from the Qur’an, devoid of any context – in order to create a black-and-white fantasy world of Muslim radicals versus civilised Westerners. Yes Ms. Ali, verse 24:2 of the Qur’an sets out a harsh punishment for adultery – but verse 24:4 requires four eyewitnesses (an almost impossible standard to meet) and, more importantly, verse 24:5 states that the punishment should not be applied to those who sincerely repent. (So much for your argument that the Qur’an orders believers to show no compassion).
Ali may make headlines by writing polemics condemning Islam as a “backward religion” and “the new fascism”, but in the meantime Muslim organisations like the one I am a member of, Muslims for Progressive Values, will continue to quietly but effectively do what we can to counteract the hateful nonsense that regretfully is being taught as Islam in far too many places. Moderate and even progressive Muslim organisations can be found all over the world, but we are too busy working within our communities to promote a message of reform and tolerance to do as Ali asks and “rise up in horror” every time some lunatic commits a crime in the name of our faith. Nor should we be expected to do so. It seems that Ali would like me and my co-religionists to go about our lives constantly marching around the streets apologizing for the acts of zealots – but I will not do so, for I bear no more responsibility for these acts than she does.
Moderate and progressive Muslims are everywhere, but we are ignored and marginalised by the media and by commentators like Ali. It seems that in our modern age of sound bites and one-liners, strident if uninformed criticism will always outperform calm and reasoned debate. If Ali is serious about supporting tolerance among Muslims, perhaps she should spend less time penning distracting and misleading screeds against Islam and more time reaching out to groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Muslims for Progressive Values, Al-Fatiha, and Sisters in Islam. The only way to prevent the “clash of civilisations” from becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy is to build bridges between our communities. Promoting a black-and-white caricature of reality serves no one – least of all the tolerant Muslims Ali can’t seem to find anywhere she looks.
###
* Kareem Elbayar is the vice-chair of Muslims for Progressive Values. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 December 2007, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
2)Reality, better than fiction
Deborah Jones
Washington, DC - What happens when an Atlanta radio talk-show therapist called Spirit meets a television talk-show host from Cairo named Bothaina? Or when Mike, an Alabama cowboy trades places with Mahmoud, an Egyptian horse trainer? The Bridge is a one-hour reality show that documents the relationship between two Americans and two Egyptians who have never visited one another’s countries as they share their cultures and their lives.
The show blends elements of documentary style filmmaking with “reality TV”. Viewers watch as the participants visit each others’ countries for the first time, crossing the real and imagined boundaries that exist between the United States and Egypt.
Through the interactions of Spirit, Bothaina, Mike and Mahmoud, stereotypes about “the other” are dispelled as the audience watches to see whether their similarities will trump their cultural, political and religious differences. In one of many exchanges in which the four characters discuss similarities and differences, Mahmoud calls in to Spirit’s talk-show from Mike’s car in Alabama and voices his traditional attitude toward women. Bothaina – in Spirit’s studio in Atlanta – is quick to point out: “I disagree! Who told him we needed protection? We might both be Egyptians, but we are very different!”
Discussions such as these chip away at the myths that surround the two cultures and viewers join the different characters in considering whether friendships between Arabs and Americans are not only possible, but may also be enlightening in many ways.
The Bridge is a co-production of the Egypt-based Video Cairo SAT, Common Ground Productions in Washington DC, Baraka Productions and Downtown Community Television, the last two of New York City. It is directed by Tami Alpert and Shannon Sorenstein of DCTV, which was co-founded by Emmy-Award winning Jon Alpert (Bagdad ER). This behind-the-scenes cooperation of multiple production companies in the United States and Egypt is not only key to the success of the show, but is as important to the creation of the show as the on-screen relationships.
The collaboration was made possible by the visionary partnership between John Marks, founder and president of Search for Common Ground and Mohammed Gohar, president and founder of Video Cairo SAT. Gohar and Marks are friends as well as business partners. When asked how the relationship came about, Marks said, “I’m a social entrepreneur and Gohar is a social entrepreneur. We share an interest in making television that moves beyond stereotyping of ‘the other’, television programming that demonstrates our common humanity.”
Television as a tool for conflict transformation and social change is the mandate of Common Ground Productions, the media arm of Search for Common Ground. The producers consider this the pilot episode of what they hope will become an ongoing series. If that happens, audiences worldwide can look forward to seeing similar exchanges between Americans and Middle Easterners.
On Sunday, the 30th of December, Faith and Values Media will present The Bridge: Egyptian-American Exchange during its 11:00 AM (EST/PST) timeslot on The Hallmark Channel. Faith and Values Media is the nation’s largest coalition of Abrahamic faith groups dedicated to media production, distribution and promotion.
###
* Deborah Jones is co-executive producer of The Bridge and director of Acquisitions and Development for Common Ground Productions. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 December 2007, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
3)Funnelling the power of individual blogs
Yasser Khalil
Cairo - In a very short time period, Arab bloggers have proven their ability to influence political life in Arab countries, especially those that have taken steps towards reform, development and freedom of the press.
These political activists have established their blogs as a complement to conventional journalism, providing information and perspectives that are often absent in the traditional media of their countries.
Despite their evident success at capturing the attention of both politicians and the media, and their ability to attract large numbers of readers and comments, blogs remain largely isolated from one another, like disconnected islands.
But what if these bloggers communicated, pooled their resources and exchanged ideas and experiences? If individual Arab bloggers have managed to attract attention, influencing their surroundings and stirring stagnant waters, what might they achieve together?
This idea has prompted me to establish the first electronic network of bloggers in the Middle East, called the Kbret Network (www.kbret.net).
When creating Kbret, I had multiple goals in mind. Since bloggers are already exhibiting great creativity as independent actors, Kbret will continue to guarantee their independence. And since excellence and uniqueness emerge from their freedom of independent expression, that freedom must be protected so that their voices continue to be broadcast without restriction or censorship. In addition, there will be room for open and democratic comments on each entry. Although there are people out there who follow blogs but do not engage in online writing themselves, many others want to interact and comment and should be given the opportunity to participate as members of an online community.
To facilitate interaction among its members in an attractive and lively manner, Kbret’s website provides a variety of interesting features, such as gifts, comments and links to members’ most recent posts, news, videos, favourite sites, and/or photo galleries. This makes the site a place for people with common interests to connect and to develop and share useful resources with other members, as well as casual website visitors.
The presence of a select group of bloggers with varying interests, intellectual approaches and professional specialisations can help in the development of solutions and suggestions for a number of complicated problems that exist in Arab countries and perhaps even beyond. This may even contribute to developing an effective vision for an improved relationship between the Muslim world and the West.
Yet, there is a critical issue that affects this fledgling experience: how will political leaders in Arab countries view such an initiative? Will they see it as a challenge? Will they remain neutral? Or will they consider it a constructive venture that they should encourage and endorse?
There are two possible scenarios where the state could influence this initiative: in the first, government officials would view this networked blog-space as a challenge to the regime. In this case, the government would likely scrutinize – and possibly threaten or detain – participants in this electronic society, particularly those they may consider political opponents. Unfortunately, this has been one reaction to the growing number of blogs by many states in the region already.
However, terrorism emerged from the womb of such oppression, injustice, lack of awareness and political disenfranchisement. Subjugating this type of online activity may encourage these frustrated writers and readers to go underground and find other means of making of their thoughts known.
In the second scenario, the respective governments would see this mode of communication as an opportunity. They could employ specialists to follow up on blog activity, monitoring the different ideas and discussion in order to identify and build upon solutions to issues that fall within their spheres of interest or political mandates. Such activity would provide an alternate method of understanding and channelling public opinion so that it can inform the work of political decision-makers.
Various private companies and public institutions could be invited to provide funding to explore these latent channels through which civil society is making its voice heard. In return, these companies might receive online space for advertising goods and services, which could in turn be reviewed by members of the network, providing valuable market research information.
Both the public and private sectors would become more attuned to the concerns of the “man on the street” rather than depending on traditional lobbying groups, the political and business elite, or conventional marketing methods. In time, networked blogs like Kbret may become a viable tool for decision-makers and interested media consumers, and evolve into more sophisticated tools people can use to communicate with governmental and commercial entities in which they have a vested interest.
Should governments decide to foster this space, rather than crush it, this interactive collaboration and brainstorming has the potential to bring individuals and groups together to develop solutions to current political, economic and societal challenges, and to share constructive outcomes with policymakers and kindred thinkers around the world.
###
* Yasser Khalil is an Egyptian researcher and journalist. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 December 2007, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
4)Americans glimpse the “real” Iran
Qamar-ul Huda, Mohammed Abu-Nimer and Ayse Kadayifci
Washington, DC - In October 2007, we were part of a Muslim American delegation of peace and conflict resolution experts who went on a one-week trip to Iran to discuss ways in which various Iranian groups approach conflict prevention, resolution and dialogue. Our delegation met with peace-practitioners, lawyers, human rights experts, NGOs, scholars, religious leaders and students.
There is a tremendous amount of internal debate among these groups in Iran. The western image of a closed society of mullahs dictating every Iranian’s thoughts and movements is far from the reality. We learned through discussions with the ayatollahs that there is vibrant expression of self-criticism and debate surrounding current issues, including voices opposing some of Iran’s foreign policies.
In the holy city of Qom, we met with three Grand Ayatollahs who had been selected by Ayatollah Khomeini to govern the Council of the Judiciary, the main supreme judiciary in Iran. They expressed their commitment to peace, improved relations with all nations, and the urgency of a dialogue among civilisations – especially immediate dialogue to diffuse the current tensions between the United States and Iran. These Grand Ayatollahs made it explicit that they considered religious violence and terrorism reprehensible and antithetical to Islamic values.
Over the course of our stay, the Iranians we met showed great curiosity about our work in conflict resolution and how it was for us – as Muslims - to live in the United States. Human rights scholars and lawyers were eager to learn about the current debate in the United States over civil rights, capital punishment, gender rights, ethnic profiling and cultural assimilation. The majority of our conversations focused on the best ways to promote pluralism and democratic values in an Islamic context. Many believed that the Iranian experience can offer valuable lessons to other Muslim countries, while others insisted on greater measures that separate state affairs from religious doctrine.
Our delegation met with members of the Islamic Commission on Human Rights in Tehran, who taught us about the ongoing activities in Iran that protect the rights of the country’s citizens, especially those of children, women and labourers. Although since the 1979 revolution the public space open to human rights experts in Iran has shrunk, we nevertheless learned that organisations like the Commission for Human Rights, for instance, exist despite Iran’s negative human rights record and serve as an important instrument to monitor, document and disseminate information on human rights abuses.
There is an exceptional amount of debate on and off campuses on finding practical ways to reform the political culture. The majority of the scholars and students we met expressed eagerness to engage and share their views and work with American counterparts. It was common to hear Iranian professors speak authoritatively on modern French, English and German scholarship, much of which had been translated into Farsi. Iranian students may have not had much opportunity to meet Americans in Iran over the past 28 years, but this did not prevent them from reading and analysing American political philosophy and society.
In a meeting with 13 of the most recognised intellectuals in Tehran hosted by the Academy of Science, the premier intellectual professional society in Tehran, scholars agreed that if Americans and Iranians cannot reach agreement on ideological and faith issues, they should at least aim for mutual understanding and acceptance.
At another event, hosted by the University and Bar Association of Isfahan, 400 students and community members attended our public lecture on “Islamic Dialogues on Peace” and many expressed their desire to know more about American culture, Muslims in America, and ways to diffuse the current crisis between the two nations.
Having spent time in Tehran, Qom and Isfahan, we can testify to the need to reduce the mutual Iranian-American ignorance of each other’s cultures, societies and needs. Aside from witnessing the beauty of Iran itself, the trip exposed us to the diverse voices of Iranians.
In the mind of many Americans, Iran is a stagnant society, closed off to progress and modernity. This trip forced us to question our basic views of each other and specific means to improve US-Iranian relations. Only in the past ten years has the portrayal of Iran begun to include images of reformers as important actors paving the road to progress. Iranian society is far more complex than even this image suggests. With a literacy rate of 92 percent, Iran has a vibrant civil society and intellectual life.
Unfortunately, the delegation returned to the United States only to find the debate over military strategies for ending Iran’s nuclear enrichment program still continuing. Even since the release of the National Intelligence Estimate (NEI), a combined report by sixteen U.S. intelligence agencies on 3 December, 2007, stating that Iran’s nuclear program ceased in 2003, we still find a continued push toward confrontation by some. This adversarial approach is not only dangerous, but it is also indicative of the degree to which American policymakers can be removed from the reality in Iran. Not only does this talk of war overshadow opportunities for improving bilateral relations, but it also underestimates the complexities of a society that has its own rich, internal dialogue.
On several occasions in Iran, we were reminded of a saying by the revered Imam Ali: “Ignorance is the enemy of human wisdom”.
Let us learn from these exchanges so that we might prevent ignorance. And let us open the channels of communication between these two nations so that we might become wiser.
###
* Dr. Qamar-ul Huda, Dr. Mohamed Abu-Nimer, and Dr. Ayse Kadayifci were part of an American Muslim conflict resolution delegation that went to Iran. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 December 2007, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
5)Talking about honour killings
Naima El Moussaoui
Berlin - Brazil, Ecuador, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Morocco are just a few countries where honour killings occur. Anja Wehler-Schöck has studied the phenomenon of honour killings using the example of Jordanian society. Naima El Moussaoui, a writer at Qantara.de, talked with the political scientist.
What actually is honour killing?
Anja Wehler-Schöck: An honour killing is when a woman is murdered by a member of her family in order to re-establish the family’s honour. The violation of honour ensues from an actual or alleged act of moral misconduct by the woman. This misconduct is typically sexual in nature, but it can assume many different forms, from general disobedience to contact with a man or an extramarital affair. It can even be the misfortune of having been a victim of an often incestuous rape.
How widespread is the practice of honour killing?
Wehler-Schöck: According to the estimates of the United Nations Population Fund, approximately 5,000 women and girls around the world are assassinated every year in honour killings. Pakistan, with around 500 cases a year, is considered to be one of the countries in which the highest number of honour killings occur. But it is difficult to work with precise numbers, as the number of unrecorded cases is very high. In many cases, honour killings are not registered as such by the police – either because there is no awareness of it or because the murders were cleverly disguised as accidents or suicides.
Pakistan is a Muslim country. This confirms the predominant assumption that honour killings are the expression of Muslim culture.
Wehler-Schöck: Because the majority of honour killings are committed in Muslim countries, it is assumed that this practice is connected with Islam.
However, neither the honour complex nor the practice of honour killings is rooted in Islam. The idea of transferring dishonour from one person to another or to a collective is foreign to Islam, for example. Moreover, the Qur’an contains a fundamental ban on murder. Individuals are also prohibited from taking the law into their own hands.
The honour complex I describe can be found wherever the societal structure is shaped by familialism, paternalism, and a strong religious influence. The practice of honour killings is found not only in Muslim and Arab countries, but also in some Latin American countries, such as Brazil and Ecuador.
You studied honour killings in Jordan and not, for instance, in Ecuador, which would have contradicted existing prejudices. Why?
Wehler-Schöck: : I felt it was important to study a Muslim, Arab country especially in order to pursue your previous question, that is, whether honour killing has roots in Islam, in Arab culture, or in tribal law. For me, Jordan represented a particularly interesting case because the country has received an unusual amount of public attention in the recent years in the international discussion over honour killings.
Moreover, compared to other countries in which honour killings occur, Jordan stands out with several progressive measures directed toward violence against women. And not least of all, it should be kept in mind that the political climate also plays a certain role for such research. Unlike in Iran, for instance, or in Pakistan, liberalisation has made a public debate over the problem of honour killing possible in Jordan.
What are the legal consequences of honour killings according to Jordanian law?
Wehler-Schöck: The crime “honour killing” does not exist in Jordanian law. Thus, the designation would most likely be second-degree homicide (prison sentence up to 15 years) or first-degree murder (death penalty). But these maximum penalties are seldom imposed. As a rule, the offenders in honour killing cases walk away with very mild sentences.
Does the ongoing political situation play a role in the problem of honour killing?
Wehler-Schöck: It is conceivable that the climate of sustained conflict in neighbouring countries has led to a brutalisation of Jordanian society. According to an analysis by Amnesty International, a higher incidence of honour killings can be observed in many societies whose everyday life is marked by violent conflicts.
###
* Naima El Moussaoui is a writer for Qantara.de. Anja Wehler-Schöck is a political scientist (Free University Berlin/ Institut d’Etudes Politique Paris) and works as a gender, family, and youth politics consultant for a political foundation in Berlin. This abridged article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org . For the full text of this article, please visit qantara.de.
Source: Qantara.de, 7 December 2007, www.qantara.de
Copyright permission is granted for publication.
Youth Views
CGNews-PiH also regularly publishes the work of student leaders and journalists whose articles strengthen intercultural understanding and promote constructive perspectives and dialogue in their own communities. Student journalists and writers under the age of 27 are encouraged to write to Chris Binkley ( cbinkley@sfcg.org ) for more information on contributing.
About CGNews-PiH
The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) provides news, op-eds, features and analysis by local and international experts on a broad range of issues affecting Muslim-Western relations. CGNews-PiH syndicates articles that are constructive, offer hope and promote dialogue and mutual understanding, to news outlets worldwide. With support from the British, Norwegian, Swedish and US Governments, the United States Institute of Peace, the National Endowment for Democracy and private donors, the service is a non-profit initiative of Search for Common Ground, an international NGO working in the fields of conflict transformation and media production.
This news service is one outcome of a set of working meetings held in partnership with His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan in June 2003.
The Common Ground News Service also commissions and distributes solution-oriented articles by local and international experts to promote constructive perspectives and encourage dialogue about current Middle East issues. This service, Common Ground News Service - Middle East (CGNews-ME), is available in Arabic, English, and Hebrew. To subscribe, click here.
The views expressed in these articles are those of the authors, not of CGNews or its affiliates.
Common Ground News Service
1601 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite #200
Washington, DC 20009 USA
Ph: +1(202) 265-4300
Fax: +1(202) 232-6718
Rue Belliard 205 Bte 13 B-1040
Brussels, Belgium
Ph: +32(02) 736-7262
Fax: +32(02) 732-3033
Email : cgnewspih@sfcg.org
Website : www.commongroundnews.org