Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below the Common Ground News Bulletin for 18-24 March 2008.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
Common Ground News Service
Partners in Humanity for constructive & vibrant Muslim-Western relations
18 - 24 March 2008
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) Lebanon on the counterterrorism front by Bilal Y. Saab
Amidst prolonged sectarian conflicts and stalled decision-making processes in Lebanon, Bilal Saab, a senior assistant researcher at the Brookings Institute, considers the collective effort being made by Lebanese officials and organisations to curb radicalisation through developmental, educational and health projects.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 March 2008)
2) A smart Arab investment by Ghassan Michel Rubeiz
Ghassan Michel Rubeiz, a former member of the Early Childhood Development International Consultancy Group, examines how investing in pre-school education and early childhood programmes can be a powerful tool to eradicate poverty, limit social instability and bring about social change in the Arab world.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 March 2008)
3) A redistribution of power in Lebanon by Graeme Bannerman
Graeme Bannerman, a scholar at the Middle East Institute, describes under what conditions a redistribution of power in Lebanon could bring peace, prosperity and democracy.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 March 2008)
4) A veiled Muslim view of art by Bashir Goth
In the last article of a series on freedom of expression, Somali poet and journalist, Bashir Goth considers the purpose of art, in light of the recently reignited debate over the Danish cartoons portraying the Prophet Muhammad, and the larger issue of art and freedom of expression when it comes to Muslim-Western relations.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 March 2008)
5) ~Youth Views~ The hijab – from the university to the workplace by Nathalie Nahas
In light of the recent Turkish parliamentary decision to lift the ban on wearing headscarves in universities, Nathalie Nahas, a graduate student at the American University of Beirut, assesses the broader implications for Muslim women across the region as they prepare to leave university to enter the workplace.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 March 2008)
1) Lebanon on the counterterrorism front
Bilal Y. Saab
Washington, DC - In spite of its ongoing political crisis, an institutionally crippled Lebanon is performing well on a front it ironically has little experience in: counterterrorism.
Five months after the Lebanese army’s bloody though ultimately successful battle in the North against the al Qaeda-inspired group, Fatah al Islam, Lebanese are still concerned about a repeat of the scenario of Nahr al Bared in another Palestinian refugee camp. And they have every right to worry.
The militant Salafi current in Lebanon may have suffered a heavy blow in Nahr al Bared, but given its fluidity and the favourable circumstances it operates in – an acutely polarised political environment with heightened sectarian tensions – it is capable of regrouping and finding new leaders. Al Qaeda in Iraq still has its eyes on Lebanon and the Syrian-Lebanese borders are yet to be secured.
But there is stronger reason for optimism. The recent efforts and initiatives by Lebanese public officials, civil society groups, and official religious institutions aimed at curbing the radicalisation current in the North suggest that the country as a whole is starting to think strategically about the threat of Salafi militancy.
The healthy consensus inside the Lebanese military and security institutions on the limitations of the use of force as a means to neutralise the threat of militant radicalism suggests that the counterterrorism campaign is moving in the right direction. Most Lebanese public officials are becoming aware of the tenet that Lebanon’s most potent antidote to extremist and militant ideology involves a socio-economic vision that is rooted in policies of balanced development.
A few weeks ago, Parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri announced the launch of $52 million worth of major developmental, educational and health projects in Tripoli, Akkar and other regions in the North (initially, those projects were slated to be carried out by the Lebanese state, but funding was severely lacking due to the budget deficit).
Meanwhile, the newly-elected Lebanese Mufti of Tripoli and the North, Sheikh Malek Al Sha’ar (the highest ranking Sunni religious scholar), declared the promulgation of a new comprehensive program for Dar al Ifta’, the Sunni religious establishment in Lebanon, which aims at creating a directorate for religious education tasked with supervising Islamic schools, colleges and institutes, and an advisory board consisting of all Islamic parties and groups in the North. This directorate should be of great help in making sure Islamic groups’ activity in the North does not stray or flirt with extremism.
At the Lebanese internal security forces (ISF) directorate, Major General Ashraf Rifi met with a large delegation of Sunni preachers and religious scholars as well as directors and presidents of Salafist organisations and institutes in the North. The purpose was to start a dialogue and form a cooperative relationship with these individuals and bodies, whose access to Sunni Muslim constituencies and role in convincing extremist elements to snub extremism and militancy is critical.
The international community’s efforts in helping Lebanon recover from the Nahr al Bared fiasco should not be discounted either. The most important actor is UNRWA, which has been working with some 20 non-governmental organisations to implement preventive measures for the children of Nahr al Bared, such as psychological and recreational activities. UNRWA has also trained about 200 teachers to identify the signs of trauma and refer students for help.
A donor conference is expected to be held in the second half of April to raise money for the reconstruction of Nahr al Bared. Foreign governments such as Saudi Arabia and Norway, and Lebanese political parties, including Hariri’s Future Movement, have also provided substantial financial and logistical assistance to Nahr al Bared’s reconstruction process.
Shocked by the eye-opening experience of Nahr al Bared, Lebanese society seems determined to erase the memory of last summer and make sure that scenario never happens again. While some praiseworthy preventive measures have been devised since then by an amalgam of local and foreign actors, they remain largely outside the boundaries of the Lebanese state.
To tap its full potential, the counter-terrorism campaign must be owned by the Lebanese state. Such a campaign should be viewed by all Lebanese (and the international community) as a collective, as opposed to a particularistic effort. Only the state and the large resources it can offer in terms of employment, education, social security and general welfare can neutralise and ultimately eliminate the threat of militant religious extremism in Lebanon. Hence the critical need to break the current political stalemate and immediately reactivate all Lebanese state institutions.
If the Iraqi experience is of any lesson, al Qaeda thrives on political vacuums and looks to exploit societal fault lines. Lebanon should know better.
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* Bilal Y. Saab is a senior research assistant at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 March 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.
2) A smart Arab investment
Ghassan Michel Rubeiz
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida - The hope for social and industrial awakening in the Middle East and North Africa may start in unexpected ways. The most potent indicator of social change is women’s education.
Nine years of schooling for every woman would wipe out a large segment of poverty. It would also significantly reduce children’s school dropout rates and immeasurably enhance the economic well-being of society. Moreover, if every young Arab child has two to four years of pre-schooling, overall educational achievement will jump considerably.
Is this too much to dream of?
Early childhood development (ECD) programmes are a well-kept secret in the Arab world and are making their way toward effective change. ECD is a psycho-social programme of early care and stimulation for children, which is integrated with training activities of empowerment for mothers whose young children are also enrolled.
I was “educated” about the magic quality of ECD in the West Bank and Gaza. I learned that women who were shy, overburdened, submissive and lacking in skills, could, with the help of ECD programmes, read and write, prepare for jobs and look their husbands in the eye with pride. In short, they learned to become active citizens.
The focus in ECD is more on emotional and social learning than on schooling. The agency running ECD is oftentimes not a school but a community-based social organisation that works closely with the family in poor rural or urban neighbourhoods.
Forty-six percent of Arab women do not read or write. Jordan has almost 100 percent literacy, while Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, Gaza and Morocco have the highest levels of illiteracy. In as many as seven Arab countries, more than 20 percent of children under the age of five are stunted due to malnutrition. These findings make a strong case for introducing aggressive remedial programmes to empower Arab women and to stimulate the development of their children.
Literacy programmes are slowly spreading in many countries of the region. But it will take 40 years to conquer illiteracy at the current rate of intervention. Early childhood programmes that serve mothers and their young children make a corrective impact on illiteracy.
Typically, an Arab child starts school at the age of six. Young children born to families living in under-served communities are exposed to health and developmental problems that affect their future in big ways. Developmental delays in emotional, physical, social or intellectual growth are often irreversible when they occur in early childhood.
Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian territories have had some experience with ECD programmes. Jordan has invested in nationwide activities over the last few years in creative pre-school programmes. Quality ECD programmes involve mothers, have trained teachers and are community based. The results have been rewarding in enhancing school performance in later years showing that early education saves spending on programmes for disability.
Lebanon has probably the longest record of pre-school programmes in the region. Thousands of Arab women leaders who have graduated from the Lebanese American University (LAU) over many generations were empowered through ECD education. LAU (earlier known as Beirut College for Women) trained pre-school teachers for several decades. In the Arab world as a whole, however, the degree of commitment to ECD as a programme of social intervention that emphasises work with mothers unfortunately remains weak.
In the Arab world, ECD is not only suitable for the poor. Early childhood programmes can also benefit affluent Arab countries. The young children of oil-rich Arab countries do not suffer from hunger and disease, but they encounter different challenges: rapid social change and over-dependence on expatriate labour in childcare. In such countries, parents can be pre-occupied by business or passive leisure. Parents tend to leave childcare to expatriate nannies and caregivers. Children who are raised by low-paid, uneducated – and often labour rights-deprived guest workers – are not likely to bond with their natural parents and may suffer developmental delays.
In several Gulf countries the native population is a demographic minority and expatriates constitute the majority. In such a unique demographic setting, ECD may be a good programme for children who are destined to face increasing challenges of social change in adult life.
Graduates of early childhood programmes do better in school and are better adjusted in society, more likely to be employed and less likely to go to jail. Moreover, a World Bank report on Jordan shows that ECD programmes have contributed significantly to the national economy. There is consistent evidence that public spending for programmes of early childhood development is smart social investment. For every dollar a government spends on early childhood development, society receives plenty in return.
It is hoped that in the active search for ways to eradicate poverty and limit social instability, Arab social planners will soon consider ECD one tool among others that can make a difference for the future.
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* Ghassan Michel Rubeiz is the former secretary of the World Council of Churches for the Middle East, former director of the Washington office of the Christian Children’s Fund and a former member of the ECD International Consultancy Group. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 March 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.
3) A redistribution of power in Lebanon
Graeme Bannerman
Washington, DC - American objectives in Lebanon are clear, reasonable and honourable. The United States wants an independent, democratic Lebanon free from foreign interference, particularly from Syria and Iran. It also wants a prosperous Lebanon at peace with its neighbours, including Israel.
The question is why have these goals been so difficult to attain? There is no single answer, but what is clear is that the United States does not understand the long-term political changes taking place in Lebanon and how they interfere with American objectives. Most important among these changes is the increasing influence of the Lebanese Shi’a community, which necessitates a redistribution of power within the Lebanese government. Until such redistribution takes place, the dominance of Hizbullah within the Lebanese Shi’a community is likely to continue.
The diversity of the Lebanese population has been unique in the Arab world since the time of the nation’s founding. The large Christian population made Lebanon the only Arab state in which the preponderance of power rested with Christians, though Muslims still had sufficient levers of power to prevent the government from going against their interests.
By the mid-1970s, demographic shifts and changing regional politics created a rift between the actual division of power, and the original political compact no longer represented the interests of all. After 15 years of civil war, the 1989 Taif Agreement created equality between Muslims and Christians, marking a redistribution of power that was painful to the dominant Christian community, but essential for peace.
Since Taif, a new rift has been created. The crucial imbalance of power this time, however, is not between Muslim and Christian, but between Sunni and Shi’a. The Sunnis have always dominated Muslim politics, just as the Christians dominated national politics before Taif. Over time, the demographic and political balance has shifted in favour of the Shi’a, but no corresponding shift in the distribution of power within the government has occurred. If peace and normalcy are to return to Lebanon, Shi’a interests must be protected.
Each community – Christian, Sunni, and Shi’a – must be assured that the government cannot make decisions against its vital interests. Currently, Christians and Sunnis have the power to block any government action, but the Shi’a have no such protection. Christians control the presidency and command the army while the Sunnis appoint the prime minister and command the internal security forces. Both groups have a blocking vote in Parliament and the Cabinet. In contrast, the Shi’a have no controlling position in the Lebanese executive branch and must rely on the Speaker of the Parliament and militia to protect their interests.
The current crisis began in late 2006 when all Shi’a Cabinet members resigned their posts, thus terminating the ruling consensus. They thought this would force the government to reconstitute itself and address their concerns. However, the decision was made to continue governing without them, which highlighted the Shi’a inability to protect their own interests within the executive branch. With limited government powers, many Shi’a turned to their primary source of strength outside the government – Hizbullah – for leadership and protection.
The strength of Hizbullah is likely to continue as long as the Shi’a feel this lack of political power. A lasting solution to the current crisis is not likely until the Shi’a are afforded the same protection from government mistreatment that the Christians and Sunnis enjoy. In the short term, affording them a blocking third – 11 of 30 members – in the Cabinet would appear to be the only way to achieve this.
Many argue that the Shi’a community should not be given veto power over government policies out of fear of increasing the influence of Hizbullah. In fact, the opposite is likely to be true. Empowerment of the Shi’a community would allow a wider diversity of views and over time would diminish the influence of Hizbullah.
If the American goal of a democratic, peaceful and prosperous Lebanon and a diminished role for Hizbullah is to be achieved, then as a prerequisite, the Lebanese Shi’a community needs a guarantee that the government of Lebanon cannot act without Shi’a concurrence. A failure to provide equal protection to the Shi’a is likely to lead to greater instability and the strengthening of Hizbullah.
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* Graeme Bannerman is an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC. He runs his own international consulting firm and is a former staff director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 March 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.
4) A veiled Muslim view of art
Bashir Goth
Dubai - The reappearance in the media of the Danish cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad, following the arrest of three Muslims accused of planning to kill one of the cartoonists, has re-opened the debate on art and freedom of expression between the West and the Muslim world.
It is unfortunate that violent demonstrations in different parts of the Muslim world in response to such types of artistic expression have often overshadowed the opinion of the silent majority of Muslims who do not adhere to such a limited perception of Islam.
Danish newspapers described their publication of the cartoons as a sign of protest against the attempt by Muslims to gag their freedom of expression through fear tactics. Many people in the Muslim world, however, viewed the cartoons as an affront to their religious beliefs and expressed their anger through emotional outbursts and mob demonstrations.
This is not the first time that the West and Muslims have clashed on the issue of freedom of expression and religion. The works of writers and artists such as Salman Rushdie, Taslima Nasreen, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, Naguib Mahfouz and others have caused a furore in the Muslim world.
It is sad, therefore, that the response to the Danish cartoons by Muslims who follow narrow interpretations of Islam reflects the gruesome bloodbaths that are committed daily by persons bearing the name Muhammad, in the streets of Karachi, Kandahar, Baghdad and elsewhere in the heart of the Muslim world.
Such Muslims, in my opinion, need to do a massive amount of soul searching and house cleaning before they lecture to others about values and morals.
To this end, it is helpful to revisit art in the Muslim world through the prism of history. How some Muslims perceive art in general, and representational art in particular, may have a lot to do with the way Islam began. Unlike most world religions, where signs, symbols, sculptures, arts and statutes play a pivotal role in conveying the spiritual message, Islam was founded on the notion of eradicating idol worship.
This may explain, for example, why some Muslims remain relatively indifferent to the Taliban’s destruction of the Buddha statues in the Bamiyan province of Afghanistan.
One also has to remember that, historically, different kinds of art flourished in many parts of the Muslim world – such as Iran, the Ottoman Empire, Al Andalus and others. Even today art thrives in most of the Muslim world, although the degree of freedom of expression in what should be and should not be portrayed may vary according to the different religious schools practiced in the Muslim world.
Many argue that while in the West, the writer and the artist can indulge in their vocations with an individualistic approach, the Muslim writer and artist have often been bound to adhere to social conformity as prescribed by prevailing religious values.
However, this conformity has not always been the status quo, as many artists throughout history have explored their creative abilities through poetry and drawing, even painting pictures depicting Muhammad.
The problem may not, therefore, lie with art or freedom of speech per se, but more so with the interpretation of art through education, beliefs, culture and history.
What may be seen as distant history to the West still plays a role in defining the present in the Muslim world. Crusades, colonialism and many years of western cultural domination have left their marks on the psyche of the Muslim nation. And the regrettable situations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and elsewhere have served to re-open these old injuries.
It is unfortunately through this kaleidoscopic prism that some Muslims view every action that comes from the West as an affront to their religion, a threat to their identity and an insult to their pride. And with Islam as a centrifugal force of many Muslim nations, it is through religion that many view their world and measure all things, believing that art and other intellectual endeavours should succumb to its rules.
It is time that Muslims accept however that it is unwise and indeed unbecoming of a guest to impose his or her own rules on their host, in this case Denmark. We do not see Americans or Europeans rioting and burning embassies when conservative Muslim newspapers lampoon, and extremist Muslim clerics chastise, the West and call it names.
Borrowing the Polish sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz’s words, “Art does not solve problems but makes us aware of their existence. It opens our eyes to see and our brain to imagine.”
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* Bashir Goth is a Somali poet, veteran journalist and author of numerous cultural, religious and political articles. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 March 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.
5) ~Youth Views~ The hijab – from the university to the workplace
Nathalie Nahas
Beirut - On 9 February 2008, 411 out of 550 members of parliament voted in support of the reform for a constitutional reform that would relax the ban on wearing headscarves – or hijab – in Turkish universities, and to amend the constitution. The amendment states “that the state will treat everyone equally when it provides services such as university courses and that no one can be barred from education for reasons not clearly laid down by law”.
This recent event created controversy over whether wearing the headscarf should be a state decision or a personal one. Yet, what is rarely debated in the media, but is perhaps equally important to young Muslim women, is the effect the hijab has on ambitious university graduates who are eager to find their place in the working world.
Muslim women across the Middle East face two struggles: reserving the right to choose whether to wear hijab or not, and whatever their choice, facing the judgment of others.
When I entered one of my classes last Tuesday at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon, I looked around for my friend, Nadine. I didn’t spot her pink headscarf, so I thought that she hadn’t arrived yet and took my seat. A minute later, I was surprised to hear her calling my name. I was stunned to see that she had removed her headscarf.
“Hey, you removed it”, I said, gesturing towards my hair. She chuckled nervously and said, “Yes, I’m trying to become a social scientist and wearing the hijab carries too many implications.”
It is true that nowadays, the headscarf has become a symbol charged with religious, political and social connotations. Yet, the reasons women choose to wear it, or not to wear it, are often diverse.
The image of a woman wearing a headscarf as oppressed and dominated by the patriarchal Arab society in which she lives is no longer assumed, for in Lebanon at least, most young women are actively involved in deciding whether to wear a headscarf.
People usually perceive AUB as a place where extremes meet: some young women dress conservatively while others reveal a lot of skin. Consequently, some young women wear the headscarf as a way to socially distance themselves from a very liberal extreme.
Anthropologists like Robert Murphy have analysed the veil’s role in social interactions. In Social Distance and the Veil, he writes, “Interaction is threatening by definition, and reserve, here seen as an aspect of distance, serves to provide partial and temporary protection to the self.”
So, in a society where physical appearance is given so much attention, and where sexual identities are somewhat in an ambiguous transitional phase, the headscarf is often referred to as a means of protection – and even affirmation – of one’s own identity.
Some young women choose not to wear the headscarf because they could be categorised in ways that may limit their job opportunities. One student ironically asked me, “Have you ever seen sales representatives who are not tall and beautiful with perfect hair? With my marketing skills I could sell just as much as those other girls” she said shrugging, “but if I wear a hijab, my skills will just vanish into thin air.”
This, I think, is the most unfair aspect. The real motivation leading Nadine to remove her headscarf had been pressure and fear of being rejected or perceived differently, not as a religious person, but as a professional.
“Imagine if one day I have to conduct a survey on the causes of divorce rates and conduct in-depth interviews with ‘modern’ women” she said. “Somehow I doubt that they would not have a pre-conceived notion about me when they see that I wear a headscarf.”
Nadine thinks interviewees would assume that she was too much of a traditionalist to accept something different. As a social scientist she will be exposed to many situations in which she will want to be evaluated on the basis of her competence; and somehow feels that her headscarf would interfere with that judgment.
Although there is no law in Lebanon that prohibits wearing the headscarf, some women recognise that the headscarf may hinder them from pursuing certain job opportunities or prevent them from progressing in certain professions.
When a woman feels that her skills and competencies are judged according to the value that a headscarf conveys, then that becomes a form of discrimination in the workplace, just like any other.
Some women wear the headscarf as a visible sign of their Muslim identity or because they believe it to be a religious obligation, and some women wear it because they feel it gives them an air of respectability. Nevertheless, it has nothing to do with their professional abilities and to assume otherwise would indeed be unjust.
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* Nathalie Nahas is a graduate student at the American University of Beirut (AUB) majoring in anthropology. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 March 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
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 Nancy Batakji ( nancybatakji@gmail.com ) 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.
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Editors
Leena El-Ali (Washington)
Juliette Schmidt (Canada)
Diya Agha (Washington)
Emmanuelle Hazan (Geneva)
Nuruddin Asyhadie (Jakarta)
Andrew Kessinger (Washington)
Mahmoud Zawawi (Amman)
Rashad Bukhari (Islamabad)
Translators
Françoise Globa (Geneva)
Rio Rinaldo (Jakarta)
Azmi Tubbeh (Washington)
Amer Khan (Islamabad)
HRH Baku: Members of parliament criticize the Azeri ombudsperson