Dear Colleagues,

As part of our effort to inform as many World Movement participants as possible about the information and resources available on the World Movement Web site (www.wmd.org), we have produced a small advertisement that we hope you might publish in your regular publications (newsletter, journal, etc.) or post on your own organizational Web site. Although we cannot provide payment to publish the advertisement, we hope it may be possible for you to find some spare space where it might be included without a loss of advertising revenue. The advertisement is attached to this letter.

It would also be very helpful if you could translate the advertisement into your local language. If you are willing to do, please contact us at world@ned.org.

If you have not visited the World Movement Web site recently, you may wish to do so; it includes links to various World Movement networking initiatives, an online searchable database of participants, and information about the activities of various democracy and human rights organizations around the world. Our hope is that by publishing the Web site advertisement your readers and colleagues will learn a bit more about the work of the World Movement and benefit from the information provided. Of course, you should not feel obligated for any reason to publish the advertisement.

If you will be able to include the advertisement in your publication(s) and/or Web site, please let us know so that we may extend our gratitude to you. Please also let us know if you need any assistance in opening or publishing the attached advertisement.

With best wishes and sincere thanks,

The World Movement Secretariat

Somali Tertiary Institutions Launch Online Distance Learning Initiative

Nairobi (30 November 2005) – Six Somali tertiary academic institutions today officially launched the Online Distance Learning Initiative that enables students to attain internationally accredited university qualifications through expanded access to global learning and knowledge through partnerships with institutions in other countries and builds their research capacities.

The six institutions being supported by UNDP under the World Bank Low Income Countries Under Stress (LICUS) Distance Learning and Connectivity Project are East Africa University (Bossaso), Puntland State University (Garowe), The Somali Institute of Management and Administration Development (SIMAD) (Mogadishu), Mogadishu University, University of Hargeisa and Amoud University (Boroma). They are also part of the African Virtual University (AVU) network with access to digital resources and online short courses; long courses in journalism and teacher education are underway.

“Tertiary education for our students provided within the country is critical for the rebuilding of our workforce and the development of our future leaders,” said Mr. Abdi Haybe Elmi, President of the University of Hargeisa. “This is definitely a positive investment in the future of both the population and the academic institutions.”

World Bank Country Director Colin Bruce said: “We are particularly interested in this investment in local capacities which we hope will be put to good use in reconstructing key administrative and service delivery structures.”

UNDP Country Director Elballa Hagona added: “This is positive example of how different organizations can collaborate on a crucial force for development. The undergraduate students and working professionals that successfully go through these courses do so at a fraction of what it would cost them to do so if they went abroad, and further, builds the capacity of the institutions providing the services.”

The AVU Rector Mr Kuzvinetsa Peter Dzvimbo said. “The gains made so far through the online courses have been critical in showcasing the relevance and flexibility of online distance learning. We intend to further support the Somalis with the online teacher training courses with the African Development Bank
which will strengthen the quality and delivery of education in a country where less than 20% of children are in school.”

The Distance Learning initiative aims at determining potential interventions for the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector with installation of Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs) technology. More generally, the World Bank, UNDP and the AVU are bridging the digital divide by increasing access and utilisation of relevant information technology for development in Somalia by providing IT support infrastructure to relevant ministries and institutions; building capacity of personnel to utilise information technology; training media professionals and other communication providers; supporting educational institutions, strengthening professional standards and monitoring use of resources provided.

For more information, please contact:
Sandra Macharia, Information Officer, UNDP/RC Somalia
Phone: +254 20 418 3640/2 Email: sandra.macharia@undp.org
Keziah Muthembwa, World Bank
Phone: +254 20 322 6484 Email: kmuthembwa@worldbank.org
Sahra Abdi-Shafi, Marketing Specialist, African Virtual University
Phone: +254 20 271 2056 Email: sshafi@avu.org

Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
November 29, 2005

The Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews-PiH, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

**********

ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:
1. “Women crucial in better East-West Relations” by Jason Erb and Noha Bakr
In this fourth article in a a series of views on "The Role of Women in US-Muslim Relations", Jason Erb and Noha Bakr, International Affairs Representatives for Quaker Service-AFSC in Amman, Jordan, consider the role of women in building cultures of peace. Noting that women bring different issues and dialogue strategies to the peace table - “putting communities and families back together, providing healing and recovery services and organising solidarity networks across ethnic, class and cultural chasms” - they underline their vital role in bringing “civilizations” together.
(Source: CGNews-PiH, November 29, 2005)

5. “What is the best way for Arab media to talk peace?” by Mohammad Gohar
Mohammad Gohar, CEO of Video Cairo Sat, argues that “[m]ass media in the Middle East, and the broadcast sector in particular, stand the greatest chance of helping bridge the gap of understanding and repair some of the damage caused by decades of agenda-laden, biased media platforms.” Looking at issues such as financing and political support for peace initiatives, Gohar introduces a number of steps that, if taken, may enable mass media to serve this bridging function.
(Source: CGNews, November 22, 2005)

**********

ARTICLE 1
Women crucial in better East-West Relations
Jason Erb and Noha Bakr

Amman - Samuel Huntington's 1993 "Clash of Civilisations" depicts a world in which fundamental cultural differences form the basis of conflict between Muslims and the West. Current events seem to bear out his warnings, as the US wages its Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism (a.k.a. the Global War on Terror or, less favourably among some, the War on Islam) and Muslim perceptions of the United States sink to new lows.

Despite headline-grabbing news of conflict between the West and the Muslim world, there are fundamentally positive cultural commonalities between these two imaginary realms, such as the inviolability of life, tolerance for differences and aversion to war. One of the most promising ways of tapping the commonalities is the movement called Culture of Peace. If Huntington has correctly diagnosed the problem - which many doubt - then supporters of Culture of Peace are working to advance a solution.

Culture of Peace is an international program that promotes education, democracy, socio-economic development, equality and human rights. Culture of Peace is "a set of values, attitudes, modes of behavior and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals, groups and nations." Culture of Peace does not deny that differences exist but offers ways to manage differences so they do not lead to violent conflict.

Women in many societies experiencing, or at risk from, conflict are at the forefront of efforts to rebuild the social fabric that allows for the coexistence of different ethnic, religious or social groups. Consciously or not, they are promoting cultures of peace. As Elisabeth Rehn and Ellen Sirleaf, authors of the United Nations Development Fund for Women's (UNIFEM’s) global study Women, War and Peace wrote: “Women were taking risks in every place we visited. They were putting communities and families back together, providing healing and recovery services and organising solidarity networks across ethnic, class and cultural chasms. Through women, we saw alternative ways of organising security and of building peace.”

While the majority of people killed in conflict are men, women are particularly vulnerable to the violence of war, and are often left to rebuild shattered families, communities and societies. They bear the brunt of male fighters' trauma through the increased domestic violence, alcohol abuse and psychological shock that often accompany demobilisation. But their efforts at promoting coexistence are often underestimated or ignored, especially when serious political negotiations begin. Despite strong UN resolutions supporting the role of women in peace-building, such as UN resolution 1325 on women and conflict, they still suffer discrimination in this field. An October 2005 report from the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue notes that "Of the senior conflict mediators involved in today’s peace processes, hardly any are women."

That is not to say that women are simply victims of conflict or passive recipients of policies. Women often also play a fundamental role in waging war, whether as supporters of policies that sustain conflict, in support of combat operations or even as fighters engaged in warfare. But the impact of conflict on women is generally disproportionate to that of men, and they often bring different issues and dialogue strategies to the peace table.

Women play an essential role in showing the human cost of conflict and in promoting better East-West relations. The international community can develop this underused resource by providing more funds in greater recognition of women involved in people-to-people diplomacy. This can be done through capacity-enhancement of women’s peace-building initiatives; commissioning better studies on the social impact of war-induced, post-traumatic stress disorder; and supporting exchanges of women who have lost the primary breadwinner in their families to conflicts involving some combination of the West and the Muslim world. Women make up an estimated 57.8% of the global primary school workforce, and governments and international bodies in the Western and Muslim worlds can do more to promote Culture of Peace materials in primary and secondary schools to help foster tolerance and conflict resolution skills among the young.

The under-representation of women in peace-building and conflict negotiations is a lost opportunity. To avoid making Huntington's “clash” scenario a self-fulfilling prophecy, the international community needs to put more resources and support behind women working towards a culture of peace both in the West and in the Muslim world. As Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, acting president of the Security Council when Resolution 1325 was unanimously passed, said, “Women are half of every community … Are they, therefore, not also half of every solution?”

###
*Jason Erb and Noha Bakr are International Affairs Representatives for Quaker Service-AFSC and are currently based in Amman, Jordan. Quaker Service-AFSC is an international peacebuilding and development organization that includes people of different faiths that seeks to promote reconciliation, sustainable development and non-violence.
Source: This article is part of a series of views on "The Role of Women in US-Muslim Relations", published in partnership with the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) and United Press International (UPI).
Visit the website at www.commongroundnews.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 2
Ways of Dialogue With the Other
Khaled Batarfi

Jeddah - Once I asked Abdullah, my young conservative friend, to join me in a “diwania” (weekly gathering). He was surprised to find people with diverse views among my friends. There were liberals and Islamists, those who belonged to the left or the right, and those, like myself, of the middle.

We talked and discussed. After heated discussions someone cracked a joke and we all laughed. On the dinner table we seemed to have forgotten our differences altogether. Abdullah couldn’t understand this. On our way back, he was thinking and pondering. Finally he asked: “How could you all be friends? How could you discuss divisive issues like curriculum change, roots of terrorism, minority and women rights, extremism, the attitude of youngsters, and joining the World Trade Organization and not get angry with each other? Early in the evening I thought you hated each other. One camp was almost shouting at the other. Then some of you came to an agreement. Others were whispering in the ears of the people they disagreed with earlier. And then you all joked and laughed like nothing happened. I might not understand, but please try explaining, anyway.”

I tried. I told him that in Islamic civilization, as in any other, people have not only the right but also the obligation to a free debate on all issues of concern to some or all. Since heated debates do cause fractions, dislike and anger, golden rules were set. They are almost alike everywhere. Basically, you express yourself as you wish, as long as you don’t insult the personal feelings of others. Talk about public issues as strongly as you like but never go personal with your opponents. Even if you disrespect his position, respect his person, and his/her right to speak his/her mind.

Abdullah thought for a while, and then looked hopelessly at me and said: “I need time to absorb all this. You see, I was raised in all-of-one-idea environment. We debate, yes, but within the same boundaries, under the umbrella of the same school of thought, representing different angles of the same issue. The other camps have always been alien to us. They represent the rival if not the enemy. You cannot be friends with others without their subscribing to your school of thought. Besides, these disagreements are too serious to be forgiven in a minute. It is not sports. You cannot just fight it out in the field or fan club, and then leave hand-in-hand. This goes against how I was raised. You may convince me intellectually that this is the true Islamic way, but I would need lots of time and effort to change my natural response and attitude.”

I wish Abdullah were a lone case. Unfortunately, he is typical of many young people raised by some teachers, scholars, trainers and fathers to be of one idea, one group, one way. They are not used to dialogue with the others. When they confront alternative stands and thoughts, they either avoid it or fight it. Whether the fight is mental or physical, they can’t help shielding their heads and hearts against the other’s message. They feel guilty for talking nicely to holders of contradicting thoughts.

Labeling is their best game. Instead of analyzing and attempting to understand the other’s point of view, they take the easy way out by judging people’s intentions and classifying them accordingly. So, I was called in different settings, by different people, or even the same ones, so many names. In a party, last Tuesday, I was labeled by the same person as Salafi (fundamentalist), Ikhwani (of the Muslim Brotherhood), liberal and American stooge. How can I wear all these hats and kofyas at once? Go figure! So, we do have a problem. Once we recognize it and decide to face it rather than ignore and deny it as we did for ages, it is not a hopeless case. Like Abdullah, many youngsters can be impressed. With comprehensive, well-planned and thought-out, enduring and relentless program we could change even the die-hards. At least we could teach them how to make a useful dialogue.

The idea is not necessarily to makeover people, but to teach them how to be civilized: Respectful, reasonable and sensible in dealing with the different other. They could insist on their beliefs if they so wish. They could preach and try to convince us to move over to their side of any argument. But they should do so following our Islamic rules of debate (Fegh alkhelaf), not by force, not with hate, disrespect and dissidence.

By the way, Abdullah became an active member of our “diwania.” He turned out to be a wonderful debater. Told you! It is not over, yet!

###
*Khaled Batarfi is a Saudi journalist.
Source: Arab News, November 13, 2005
Visit the website at www.arabnews.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 3
Bulliet on Islamo-Christian Civilization
Sonia Nettnin

Chicago – Dr. Richard W. Bulliet spoke about his recent book, The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization, to members of The Colombia University Club at Sofitel Chicago Water Tower.

Bulliet is a professor of history at Columbia University, where he has taught all periods of Middle Eastern history. For twelve years he served as director of the university‘s Middle East Institute. In addition to his academic work Bulliet wrote four novels that involve the modern Middle East -- where he has traveled often and widely.

After 09/11, several political leaders and academic scholars used the phrase, “clashes of civilization” in the media. Their endorsements established a dichotomy between America’s position and the Muslim world. Based on the factual events of history – from the Renaissance through the 20th century - Bulliet offers a dramatically different counterpoint.

“Whether you’re Muslim or American or Chinese or Indian the problem is if you recognize the ‘clash of civilizations,’ it gets you no where good and with no signposts,” Bulliet said. “What I hope and is absolutely necessary is we experience inclusion with Arabs and Muslims in America.”

Although America has pride in its moments of inclusion, one of the current struggles within American society is xenophobia: people who fear and/or hate other people they consider foreign. As long as Anglo-Americans’ prejudices regarding Arabs and Muslims exist their hostility debilitates American society. While U.S. leaders preach to the world about American values of equality and acceptance, the international community sees the hostility Arabs and Muslims endure in the U.S. and abroad. Whether people are acting upon these prejudices or they are on the receiving end of them, people are struggling with prejudices and against them.

Another example Bulliet gave is the use of the phrase “Judeo-Christian civilization.” Prior to World War II the phrase is hard to find, yet it became so widely used that it is an important moment in American history. The phrase’s connotation is that Judeo-Christian civilization is rooted in Western culture. “The popularization of the phrase is a response to the Holocaust,” Bulliet added.

Although historians cannot point to the person who penned the phrase (German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche may have used it connotatively), the point Bulliet emphasized is that the use and meaning of the phrase after WW II changed the master narrative. In history the master narrative is the record of past events, and only primary historians can change master narratives. Historians understand that history was written by people who lived certain experiences in their lives, and they had expectations of societal futures.

When it comes to the likenesses between Western European society, Mediterranean society and African society, Bulliet makes a powerful case of identifying centuries of borrowing between these societies thereby “monkeying with” the master narrative. “What I do in this book is try to create a new reading of what the past has been so we can have a new prospect of what the future will be.”

Some people may question why Bulliet did not use the phrase “Islamo-Christian-Judeo civilization.” Bulliet is not interested in a scriptural reading of history. His research focuses on shared interests between people because they borrow language, religion and culture within their respective societies. Although Bulliet pointed out that people of different faiths lived side-by-side “…it doesn’t mean they are apart at the profound level.” He added that there has been extensive writing on the Judeo-Islamic civilization and the Islamo-Byzantine (East Christian) civilization that illustrates the fruitful, long-lasting and dynamic history between these peoples.

Bulliet gave numerous examples of how present-day society is based on the Islamic world. During a typical morning a person takes a shower with a hard bar of soap. He drinks coffee with sugar in a glazed cup. While he reads the newspaper he has orange juice in a transparent glass. Later in the day he may eat pasta. If he works in a medical profession he may play chess, backgammon or cards (if he has time). The point is that all of these items – including the medical profession - derive from the Islamic world.

“When we look at our society we’re not that different from Muslim societies,” Bulliet said. “No one will ever talk about the massive borrowing in the Renaissance from the Muslim world.”

When there is discussion about European history in relation to the Muslim world, most people do not focus on the fact that the people of Europe and the Middle East lived in sibling societies that borrowed from each other’s models. Instead, people talk about the Crusades. However, most of the borrowing took place after 1500 because prior to the 12th century European history shows that the Christian religion was for the elite.

By the 12th century, in what is often referred to as the great days of Baghdad, virtually everyone in the Middle East converted to Islam. As the dominant structure of society it taught people to be humble and spiritual, and the primary agents of these teachings were the Sufi Brotherhoods.

During the 16th century Western Christendom had a rigid ecclesiastical structure. The Reformation created the Protestant Churches and changes within the Catholic Church, which involved a hierarchical structure. Regardless of the differences between the West and the Muslim world in societal structures, people in both societies saw the tendency for monarchs to rule despotically. In response to oppression societies put civil and religious mechanisms in place that could serve as counterbalances to the rulers.

“There is a parallel in the history of the West and in the Muslim world,” Bulliet said. “Tyranny is undesirable and should be curbed.”

He explained that in the West opposition to tyranny caused the growth of democracy, but in the Islamic world Muslim scholars and Islamic lawyers challenged tyranny of monarchies through Shariah law. However, governments in Egypt and Turkey recognized the success of tyrannies in Europe, such as the Emperor of France Napoleon Bonaparte, who ruled from 1804-1815. In the Middle East Islamist movements had political groups that advocated for elections and universal suffrage and from their point of view “…everyone should vote because this is how we curb tyranny,” Bulliet added.

Although Americans say they have a secular government, the rest of the world watches T.V. and sees that religion and politics are together in the U.S. With respect to the Arab world, “it is difficult for Americans coming from a Western background to see the idea that religion and politics can act in the same arena.”

Bulliet emphasized that there is no clash of civilizations and when talking about the future of the Middle East, “democracy is possible,” he said, “but you can’t get there without going through the front yard of Islamic politics.” Moreover, a divergence of views exists within the Arab world as to how Islam should relate to democracy because there is no agreed definition as to how Islam relates to power and politics. For quite some time there has been an election-based movement in the Arab world and how it would come to fruition with totalitarian regimes. At present there are numerous Muslim scholars and an enormous effervescence of Islamic thought.

When asked why the Arab world has not established democracy, Bulliet said: “They’ve been trying to install democratic regimes for decades and we have not been helpful because the structure of totalitarianism in the Muslim world is something rooted in the Cold War.” He added that the U.S. supported authoritarian rule as long as it closed out the Soviet Union and that our present-day policymakers are from the Cold War.

“We get attacked because we supported tyrannies,” he said.

Bulliet stressed that Americans should accept Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans “…in our society as a moment of inclusion, just like the Civil Rights Movement and it would be something we can be proud of.”

###
* Sonia Nettnin a US Journalist writes about social, political, economic, and cultural issues. Her focus is the Middle East.
Source: Amin.org, November 21, 2005
Visit the website at www.amin.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 4
Tolerance in Islam
Lily Zakiyah Munir

Jombang, Indonesia - In the last few years we have witnessed a series of terrorist acts perpetrated in the name of Islam.

It is hard to believe that Indonesian Islam, which was traditionally respected for its tolerance and respect for diversity and plurality, has now become tarnished with various acts of heinous violence and intolerance. Peaceful coexistence of diverse faiths and beliefs is being challenged by radicalism.

It seems easy now for some Muslims to condemn others, both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, as being sinful, deviant, unbelievers or damned, as if they were little gods who can look into people's hearts. This phenomenon is worth reflecting on, as are also the factors that may have triggered this radicalism.

In Islam, diversity and plurality are part of the divine intent and purpose of God's creation.

To the radicals, the above Koranic precepts do not seem to exist. They resort to different verses, quoting them textually in isolation, and paying no attention to the socio-historical context of their revelation. Neither do they relate them to the moral and ethical values of Islam, such as mercy, justice, peace, kindness and goodness.

Verses they often use to justify their intolerant conducts are like QS al-Baqarah/2:120, "Never will the Jews and the Christians be satisfied with you unless you follow their form of religion," or QS al-Ma'idah/5:51, "O you who believe, do not take the Jews and Christians as allies. They are allies of each other, and he among you who becomes their ally is one of them."

Another concept that needs clarification is jihad. Jihad simply means to strive hard or to struggle in pursuit of a just cause. The Prophet Muhammad said that the highest form of jihad is the struggle waged to cleanse oneself from the vices of the heart, selfish desires and ambitions.

From the Koranic point of view, jihad means a struggle on intellectual grounds against those who oppress people, treat them unjustly, subject them to torture and cruelty, and violate legitimate human rights. The purpose of this struggle is to bring about justice, peace and equality.

Apart from the ideological and spiritual meanings, struggle in the physical sense is also considered as jihad. However, this has to be carried out solely for defensive purposes. Jihad for acts of aggression against innocent people would be unjust and a great distortion of the true meaning of the term.

Jihad is often equated with "holy war." This notion, in Arabic al-harb al-muqaddasah, does not exist in the Koran. War is never holy; it is either justified or not. And if it is justified, those who get killed in the battle are considered martyrs.

The just and tolerant practices of the Prophet Muhammad towards "the People of the Book" (Christians and Jews) set a very good example to Muslims. The contract the Prophet made with the Christians of Najran secured peaceful religious coexistence. This is a manifestation of the Koranic injunction on religious tolerance, "Those who believe (in the Koran), and those who follow the Jewish, and the Christians and the Sabians, any who believe in Allah ... shall have their reward ... (QS al-Baqarah/2:62).

The Constitution of Madinah is the most important contract that secured justice and religious tolerance among Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and pagan communities. The Constitution ensured that everyone was free to adhere to any belief or religion or to make any political or philosophical choice.

Everyone was free to exercise his/her own justice system. But no protection would be given to anyone committing a crime. This contract, which was in force for 10 years, changed society from a tribal structure based on blood and kinship into a united social system comprising people of different cultural, ethnic and geographical backgrounds. The Constitution of Madinah secured absolute religious freedom.

In conclusion, it is necessary to stress the importance of a contextual approach in interpreting the Koran. Any text, including Koranic text, speaks through its readers. The meaning of the text is not fixed simply by the literal meaning of the words, but depends, too, on the moral construction given to it by the reader. To promote tolerance, the relevant texts should be approached with moral commitments; otherwise, they will produce nothing but discrete, legalistic and technical insights.

###
* The writer is Director of the Center for Pesantren and Democracy Studies (CEPDES), Jombang, East Java. She can be reached at lilyzm@hotmail.com.
Source: Jakarta Post, November 23 2005
Visit the website at www.jakartapost.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 5
What is the best way for Arab media to talk peace?
Mohammad Gohar

Cairo - Arab-American relations have reached a critical stage. Misconceptions, on both sides of the divide, threaten to undermine the desires of mainstream citizens for peace, stability and democratic progression. Mass media in the Middle East, and the broadcast sector in particular, stand the greatest chance of helping bridge the gap of understanding and repair some of the damage caused by decades of agenda-laden, biased media platforms.

The time has come for a new localized voice in media, committed to the production and support of sustained peace in the region.

Citizens in the Middle East are beginning to grow accustomed to concepts such as democratization, modernization, community development, and the war against terrorism. Great strides have been made toward opening the minds of Arabs to a future of greater political and economic potential. But at what point will regional media outlets link the very concept of "peace" to this new mindset? It has not happened so far, yet it must if we are ever to achieve peace.

Recent political trends in the region have given broadcasters an opportunity to introduce greater professionalism into their coverage. Governmental reform means more freedom for journalists to fulfill their obligations as providers of information, context and understanding. Journalists can now prepare stories faster, more accurately, and in greater depth than ever before. They can even inform the region of political developments once considered taboo by the establishment - progressive projects such as the Qualified Industrial Jones Agreement between Israel and Egypt, the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the Egypt-Israeli Tourism Agreement and others.

Given this new framework, how can we best promote peace itself as a fundamental right of all Arab citizens? Political parties have an obligation to support peace initiatives, both in their own communications departments, and by fostering a more open public discussion of its value and necessity. This should not only be done in the abstract; peace must also be incorporated into all categories of dialogue, from economic growth to foreign investment to development projects to public infrastructure. Confrontational posturing must be abandoned in exchange for building a psychological linkage between peace and prosperity.

Before this can happen, an accurate study of popular opinion, with specific respect to the peace process, must be conducted, providing a clear picture of audience viewpoints. This should be done from the street, and must result in a thorough categorization based upon age, gender, income brackets, social background and geography. One cannot begin to persuade an audience without first knowing the audience. Based on this gathered data, a team can formulate a new mechanism for approaching mass media outlets and framing messages towards specific, target demographics. Without the ability to target people with accuracy, words of peace will continue to fall on deaf ears. Likewise, content must be crafted towards specific platforms - satellite broadcasting, as an example, is a far different animal than terrestrial radio, and simple re-versioning of material does not get the message through. Different venues call for different approaches.

In bringing this message to media outlets, we must ask some crucial questions: Are the current public-relations apparatuses sufficient? Are we satisfied with the level of public response we've seen to the peace process? If not, perhaps the time has come for a new, dedicated mechanism and vantage point from which to build support. However, any new approach must take into full account the diversity of media platforms facing Arab consumers now and in the immediate future: satellite broadcasting, terrestrial television, radio broadcasts, print journals, Internet hubs including blogs and news servers, mobile phone media platforms, and street advertisements. Only a cross-media approach has a chance of achieving the kind of audience penetration necessary for sustained peace building.

We cannot discuss a fresh approach to media without raising the issue of finance. It is a well-reported fact that terrorists and fundamentalist factions have invested far more in mass media than their "moderate" counterparts have. As media become increasingly privatized, the door is opened for investment from any source with desire and capital. But without a counterbalancing influx of investment from the right sources, viewpoints expressed throughout pan-Arab media will continue to skew towards counterproductive ideologies. Audiences in the Middle East today are treated more for their capacities as consumers than as human beings, and so are spoken to in a language that speaks to their quickest impulses, and not their intellectual potential. This trend can only be reversed by private investment stemming from responsible sources having a vested interest in peace. Today, mainstream media often operate as an obstacle, inhibiting an open discussion of the peace process by promoting an oppositional mindset predicated on illusion.

To create an influx of private, responsible media investment in the region, we must consider two phases. Firstly, private media entrepreneurs will depend on startup assistance from U.S. development agencies, European foundations and Japanese aid - mainly through diplomatic support and partnership. Private firms committed to peace-building must be given the backup they need to succeed.

Secondly, and more critical towards creating a sustainable business model, a new mechanism of advertising revenue must be introduced to private media. The largest sources of industrial advertising in the Middle East, among which are many U.S.-based multinational corporations, must be able to purchase direct market access, and they must be able to do this independently of the current, dominant regional advertising firms. In this way, responsible private media will be rewarded with sustained capital from advertising revenue, and regional ad-brokers (whose imperative it is to stifle the creation of progressive media - will be bypassed. The result of this new mechanism can be a Qualified Media Zone, a protected umbrella beneath which private media can operate under the best professional ideals and, through privatized practices, foster a democratic future in the Middle East.

###
* Mohammad Gohar is the CEO of Video Cairo Sat.
Source: CGNews, November 22, 2005
Visit the website at www.commongroundnews.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity, brought to you by Search for Common Ground, seeks to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. This service is one outcome of a set of working meetings held in partnership with His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal in June 2003.

Every week, CGNews-PiH will distribute 5 news articles, op-eds, features, and analyses that aid in developing and analyzing the current and future relationship of the West and Arab/Muslim world. Articles will be chosen based on accuracy, balance, and their ability to improve understanding and communication across borders and regions. They will also reflect the need for constructive dialogue around issues of global importance. Selections will be authored by local and international experts and leaders who will analyze and discuss a broad range of relevant issues. We invite you to submit any articles you feel are compatible with the goals of this news service.

Partners in Humanity 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 through its Youth Views column. Student journalists and writers under the age of 27 are encouraged to write cbinkley@sfcg.org for more information on contributing.

We look forward to hearing from you, and welcome any questions, concerns, or comments you may have about this service. Please forward this message to colleagues and friends who may also wish to subscribe to the service. To subscribe, send an email to subscribe-cgnewspih@sfcg.org with subscribe in the subject line.

If you are a member of the media, please join us in promoting constructive dialogue to improve understanding and perceptions. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If you choose to republish any of the articles, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews-PiH, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org

The views expressed in these articles are those of the authors, not of CGNews or its affiliates.

Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity
1601 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite #200
Washington, DC 20009 USA
Ph: +1(202) 777-2207
Fax: +1(202) 232-6718

Rue Belliard 205 bte 13
B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
Ph: +32 (02) 736-7262
Fax: +32(02) 732-3033
E-mail: cgnewspih@sfcg.org
Website: http://www.commongroundnews.org

Editors:
Emad Khalil
Amman Editor

Juliette Schmidt
Beirut Editor

Elyte Baykun & Leena El-Ali
Washington Editors

Chris Binkley
Youth Views Editor

**********

This is a not-for-profit list serve.

Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you think would like to see these articles.

To subscribe, send an email to subscribe-cgnewspih@sfcg.org with subscribe in the subject line.

Uforenelige kulturforskjeller?
Publisert 29. november 2005, Human Rights Service ©

Av norske "Marie" (av sikkerhetsgrunner er hun anonym)

Etter å ha besøkt nettsiden til Human Rights Service og lest blant annet artikkelen "Where next" av Zacary Shore, følte jeg et behov for å fortelle noe om det jeg opplever nå og mine tanker om forskjeller i forhold til kultur og religion.

Jeg opplever nå noe av det verste man kan oppleve, nemlig drapstrusler mot meg selv og trusler om kidnapping av mitt barn.

Jeg er en kvinne på 30 år som har et barn med en mann, og tidligere kjæreste, fra et muslimsk land. Jeg har hele tiden betraktet dette landet som et moderat muslimsk land og folkeslaget som tilpassningsdyktige i forhold til å tilegne seg de verdier, holdninger og levemåte som gjelder når man bosetter seg i et vestlig land. Min filosofi har vært, og er, at setter man mennesker i bås er man fanget i sin egen uvitenhet og en kan la fordommer komme i veien for positive opplevelser med andre mennesker. Dette har selvfølgelig også vært mitt syn når det gjelder mennesker med en annen opprinnelse enn meg selv.

Jeg er "utvisket"

Jeg hørte en gang noen si at Gud alltid hvisker først, og velger man å overse dette kan det gå galt. I ettertid forstår jeg at Gud hvisket, men jeg valgte å overse dette. Jeg har nå tatt alle forhåndsregler som er mulig i mitt tilfelle; truslene er anmeldt, advokat er skaffet, barnefaren har besøkforbud, ingen samvær med barnet, UDI er varslet i forhold til videre opphold i landet, politiet er varslet i forhold til faren for passutstedelse til barnet, jeg har hemmelige telefonnumre, jeg har flyttet og lever under fiktive navn og husalarm er installert. Mitt egentlige jeg er altså "utvisket".

Da jeg ble sammen med han, manglet det ikke på advarsler fra folk som står meg nær, og disse ble ikke færre da det ble kjent at vi skulle ha barn. Men jeg tenkte "han er jo ikke slik, han er jo ikke som disse mennene man leser og hører om!"

Kulturforskjellene ble imidlertid tydelige etter vi hadde fått barn og, ikke minst, etter at forholdet mellom oss tok slutt. Hans ære var skadet; han fikk ikke det som for han var den vanlige familien: mor, far og barn. Han opplevde seg overflødig og "umanndiggjort", han fikk ikke være beskytter og forsørger. Rollene var byttet om, og det er ikke slik en kvinne i følge hans kultur og tenkemåte skal oppføre seg. Han var likevel hos meg flere ganger i uken for å tilbringe tid med barnet, men han viste aldri interesse og gjorde ingen forsøk på å nærme seg eller bli kjent med barnet. Etter hvert forsto jeg at det i stor grad dreide seg om å tilbringe tid med meg og ha en form for kontroll over meg. Jeg opplevde situasjonen som svært vanskelig og stressende, og da jeg gjorde det klart at hvis han skulle komme så var det ikke for å tilbringe tid med meg, ble alt snudd på hodet. Han reagerte med et voldsomt sinne - og så kom truslene.

Les hele artikkel på http://www.rights.no/hrs_skrib_gen/siste/hrs_65.30_050405_101.htm

Publisert som "Uforenelige kulturforskjeller? ", 29. november 2005, Human Rights Service ©

Sist oppdatert: november 29, 2005

AMARC Asia Pacific founded at Jakarta conference

Jakarta, November 28, 2005. Community broadcasters and media activists
from 19 Asia-Pacific countries gathered in Jakarta 24-27 November 2005
at the first Asia Pacific Conference of Community Radio Broadcasters,
have founded a Regional Section of the World Association of Community
Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) and elected a Regional Board of AMARC
Asia-Pacific to lead the new body.

Ashish Sen, Director of Voices (India) and newly elected President of
AMARC Asia-Pacific, said, on behalf of the AMARC Asia-Pacific Board:

"Legislation for community broadcasting, sustainability of the sector
and the protection of journalists, are priority areas for the
region. Cooperation within the region will be greatly strengthened by
this new network so that we can all share and learn from each other’s
experience. We are especially grateful to the Indonesian community
radio movement for hosting this conference and founding assembly. The
growth and vibrancy of the community radio movement in Indonesia is an
inspiration to us throughout the region."

Steve Buckley, President of AMARC International, said:

"The International Board of AMARC welcomes the establishment of AMARC
Asia-Pacific as a major step forward in the development of community
broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific region and a boost for defenders of
the right to freedom of expression. This week’s conference and
founding assembly have demonstrated the dynamism of the emerging
community broadcasting movement in Asia and the Pacific."

Participants at the conference unanimously agreed the "Jakarta
Declaration" calling on governments to put in place a conducive
legislative environment and regulatory mechanisms to enable community
radio to flourish in all parts of the region.

The Jakarta Declaration confirmed the need to uphold human rights and
freedom of expression and to promote these rights by all available
means. It also called upon governments, multilateral and bilateral
institutions to recognise community radio as a powerful medium that
can play a key role in the achievement of millennium development
goals.

Participants at the conference noted the particular role of community
radio in supporting women’s rights and gender equality and launched a
radio campaign, on 25 November, to mark the beginning of 16 days of
activism against violence against women.

The Board of AMARC Asia-Pacific is drawn from throughout the region and consists of:

* Ashish Sen, Voices - India (President)

* Sonia Randhawa, Centre for Independent Journalism - Malaysia (Deputy President)

* Shane Elson, Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (Treasurer)

* Bianca Miglioretto, Isis International - Philippines (Women’s Network Representative)

* Raghu Mainali, Community Radio Association of Nepal (Vice President South Asia)

* Gwendolyne Longid, Sagada Community Radio - Philippines (Vice President South East Asia)

* Matsuura Tetsuo, Kyoto Community Broadcasting - Japan (Vice President East Asia)

* Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls, FemLINK Pacific - Fiji Islands (Vice President Pacific)

-ends-

Notes:

The Jakarta Declaration is available at http://asiapacific.amarc.org

The first Asia Pacific conference of community radio broadcasters
included delegations from Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Burma,
Cambodia, East Timor, Fiji Islands, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan,
Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri
Lanka and Thailand. The conference was also attended by international
speakers and observers from Canada, Kenya, Peru, United Kingdom and
the USA.

The Local Organising Committee for the conference included Community
Radio Association of Indonesia, Leskkud, Combine Resources Initiative
and TIFA Foundation. The conference was also supported by UNESCO,
Canadian International Development Agency, Ford Foundation, EED, Novib
and SDC.

AMARC is an international non-governmental organization serving the
community radio movement in over 110 countries, and advocating for the
right to communicate at the international, national, local and
neighborhood levels. AMARC has an International Secretariat in
Montreal. It also has regional sections in Africa and Latin America
and offices in Johannesburg and Buenos Aires. The regional office for
Asia and the Pacific is located in Kathmandu.

For more information, please go to http://asiapacific.amarc.org or
write to amarc@amarc.org

Marcelo Solervicens
Sec. Gen. AMARC
705 rue Bourget, bureau 100
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Tel. (1-514) 982-0351

AfricAvenir News are kindly sent out by Eric Van Grasdorff:

Liebe Freunde,

nach einer fast vollständig ausverkauften Filmvorführung von ‚Manga Bell – Verdammte Deutsche!’ gestern am 1. Advent 2005 freuen wir uns, Sie auch in dieser Woche zu zwei Veranstaltungen der „African Perspectives“ einzuladen - Donnerstag, 01.Dezember 2005, 19.30 Uhr: Vortrag Prof. Wim van Binsbergen; Sonntag, 04.Dezember 2005, 17.15 Uhr: Filmpräsentation ‚Abouna – Der Vater’.

Dialogforum:
Wie bereits im vorherigen Newsletter angekündigt, wird am Donnerstag, den 01. Dezember 2005 um 19.30 Uhr im Mosaik (Oranienstraße 35) Professor Wim van Binsbergen einen Vortrag zu ‚Possibilities and Contradictions of the African Renaissance’ halten. Wim van Binsbergen doziert an der Philosophischen Fakultät der Erasmus Universität Rotterdam zu Grundlagen interkultureller Philosophie. Außerdem arbeitet er als Senior Researcher am African Studies Centre in Leiden (NL) und ist Herausgeber von Quest – An African Journal of Philosophy. Der Vortrag erfolgt auf Englisch, die anschließende Diskussion wird in Deutsch und Englisch geführt. Wir bedanken uns für die freundliche Unterstützung der LEZ (Landesstelle für Entwicklungszusammenarbeit bei der Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Frauen). Eintritt frei.

Film:
Gemeinsam mit der Initiative Südliches Africa und dem South Africa Club Berlin lädt AfricAvenir International e.V. am Sonntag, den 04. Dezember um 17.15 Uhr zur Premiere von ‚Abouna – Der Vater’ in das Filmtheater Hackesche Höfe ein. Tahir und sein jüngerer Bruder Amin leben in Ndjamena, der Hauptstadt des Tschad. Als ihr Vater auf geheimnisvolle Weise verschwindet, machen sich die beiden Schüler auf die Suche nach ihm. Bei einem Kinobesuch glauben sie, sein Gesicht auf der Leinwand wieder zu erkennen, doch ihr Versuch, die Filmrolle aus dem Kino zu stehlen, scheitert und sie werden der Polizei übergeben. Ihre überforderte Mutter schickt sie daraufhin in eine strenge Koranschule, wo ihnen wieder Ordnung beigebracht werden soll. Der Regisseur Mahamat-Saleh Haroun hat mit ‚Abouna – der Vater’ den ersten international bekannt gewordenen Spielfilm des Tschad realisiert. Auf Einladung des Evangelischen Zentrums für Entwicklung sbezogene Filmarbeit (EZEF) und der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung/bpb in Deutschland startet Mahamat-Saleh Haroun am 04. Dezember mit seinem Film eine Tournee durch mehrere deutsche Städte und wir freuen uns daher ganz besonders, Ihnen im Anschluss an den Film die Diskussion mit ihm zu ermöglichen.

Abouna – Der Vater
R: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Tschad/Frankreich 2002, 84 min. O.m.dt.U.

Am: Sonntag, den 04. Dezember 2005, 17.15 Uhr

Ort: Filmtheater Hackesche Höfe (Rosenthaler Str. 40/41, 10178 Berlin)
Vorbestellung unter: 030 - 2 83 46 03 (MO-SA ab 14.30 Uhr/SO ab 10.30 Uhr)

Eintrittspreis: 5 Euro

www.AfricAvenir.org
Wollen Sie Fördermitglied von AfricAvenir International e.V. werden?
Kontaktieren Sie Ann Kathrin Helfrich, Fon: 030-80906789, a.helfrich@africavenir.org

Redaktion des Newsletters: Eric Van Grasdorff, e.vangrasdorff@africavenir.org
AfricAvenir International e.V. ist nicht für die Inhalte externer Webseiten verantwortlich.

Educating for a Culture of Peace: A European Perspective

A free three-part colloquia series sponsored by the Peace Education Center featuring distinguished visiting Professor Dr. Werner Wintersteiner.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005, 3 – 5pm
Peace Education Teacher Training
The Experience of EURED
Room 539 Grace Dodge - Teachers College Columbia University

Teacher training, both pre training and in-service training, is the core question for sustainable peace education. While peace education is in no European country an obligatory component of the formation of teachers there is a rich tradition of in-service training provided by NGOs but also by teacher training institutions.

This colloquium develops a rationale for peace education teacher training and focuses on the on-going EURED experience. The EURED/UNESCO course “Human Rights and Peace Education in Europe” is a two-year in service training university course for educators from all over Europe. (Pilot course 2004 – 2006). Including a short movie and basic material for understanding EURED.

For more information on the past two sessions (Peace Education in Europe: Achievements and Perspectives History, Contents, New Developments …; Bertha von Suttner: Lessons for Peace Educators Today 1905 – 2005: Centenary of the first female Nobel Peace Prize Winner) please visit
www.tc.edu/PeaceEd/pe-europe.htm

Prof. Werner Wintersteiner, Klagenfurt University, Austria

Prof. Dr. Werner Wintersteiner, is a teacher trainer at the Department for German at Klagenfurt University and is the founding director of the Klagenfurt University “Centre for Peace Research and Peace Education.” He is a member of the Global Campaign for Peace Education and of the editorial board of the “Journal of Peace Education.”

His writings include many articles and several books on intercultural and peace education in different languages. His English publications include: Wintersteiner, Werner / Vedrana Spajić-Vrkaš / Rüdiger Teutsch (eds.). 2003. “Peace Education in Europe: Visions and experiences.” Münster: Waxmann (European Studies in Education, 19).

Sponsored by the Peace Education Center, Teachers College Columbia University
www.tc.edu/PeaceEd

The 6th annual election to determine "America 's Top 50 Corporations providing Multicultural Business Opportunities"

Southport, CT November 19, 2005/ DiversityBusiness / The 6th annual election to determine "America 's Top 50 Corporations providing Multicultural Business Opportunities" will take place from November 21, 2005 through December 2, 2005. Fortune 500 companies and Government agencies will be selected for the awards based on the business opportunities they have provided Women and Multicultural owned businesses. The election will be conducted on the Internet at the www.DiversityBusiness.info/vote2005

Last year over 350,000 women and multicultural owned businesses had the opportunity to participate in the election. This year over 500,000 diversity business owners are expected to take part in the online election. The winners, collectively known as the Div50 will be recognized for their diversity efforts at an awards ceremony on March 29 - 31, 2006 at MGM Mirage in Las Vegas.

To participate, businesses must register and cast their vote at:
http://www.DiversityBusiness.info/vote2005

The election results will be officially announced on Tuesday, December 5, 2005 at 12:00 on Website. The results will be published by Forbes, Fortune and numerous magazines and media outlets reaching over 10 million readers. The list is also distributed to over 200 organizations for distribution to its members and was seen by more then 15 million website visitors last year. The "Top 50 List " is recognized as America's leading award for Fortune 500 corporations for diversity achievements. The Div50 list is a widely used "Consumer Guide" for the Women and Ethnic marketplace.

About DiversityBusiness
Launched in 1999, DiversityBusiness with over 30,000 members is the largest organization of diversity-owned businesses throughout the United States that provide goods and services to Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies and colleges and universities. The site has gained national recognition and has won numerous awards for its content and design. It is a membership-based exchange platform that facilitates contacts and communication, streamlines business processes and provides vital business news and information. DiversityBusiness is produced by Computer Consulting Associates International Inc. (CCAii) of Southport, CT. CCAii was founded in 1980.

THE SOMALI DOCUMENTARY PROJECT GOES TO DADAAB
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE at http://www.hiiraan.com/news/eng/2005/nov/somali_news24.htm
November 23, 2005

After two years photographing the Somali Community in Columbus, Ohio, the Somali Documentary Project—a group intent on documenting the Somali Diaspora—will embark on a critical part of its mission as its members visit and record life in Dadaab refugee camp in north eastern Kenya from November 27th to December 5th.

Two years ago, documentary photographer Abdi Roble set about documenting the surviving traditions of the first generation of Somali immigrants in Columbus, Ohio as people adjust to new language and customs, while simultaneously trying to maintain their own. The ensuing series of photographs were the first in what has become an ongoing, expansive initiative, the Somali Documentary Project. The mission of this project is to create an archival record of the Somali Community before it assimilates into the host culture, to educate the host culture about this new community in its midst and to draw international attention to the condition of Somalia and the plight of the Somali people. Abdi is joined in the Somali Documentary Project by writer, Doug Rutledge, photography editor, Stanley Kayne, and project manager, Tariq Mohamed.

With the support of Arts Midwest and the Ohio Arts Council, a series of Roble’s photographs of the Somali Community in Columbus were exhibited this past spring and summer in Columbus at the Ohio Arts Council’s Verne Riffe Center. With the help of Arts Midwest, the show moved to Mapps Coffee and Tea in Minneapolis for the summer and is now touring throughout the Midwest.

The Somali Documentary Project and Arts Midwest are now partnering to enrich and extend the project. Next year, the Somali Documentary Project will photograph the Somali community in Minneapolis and conduct intensive residency work with the help of Arts Midwest and other partners. One such partner is the International Education Center. The International Education Center, the sponsor of the trip, is sponsoring the trip both to further the Somali Documentary Project, as well as to create a professional development program to educate teachers of East African students to better serve refugee families and children. As part of his residency work this coming year Roble, will teach an intensive documentary photography class to students at Ubah Medical Academy, the high school of the International Education Center—integrating the work from the trip to Dadaab.

While in Dadaab, the Somali Documentary Project plans to connect with a family who is about to move to the United States, with the intention being to document a day in the family’s life in Dadaab and later document its adjustment to to the host culture in America.

The Somali Documentary Project believes in capturing the lives of the Somali people with dignity. The project in Columbus has aimed to capture the success story of the Somali people being able to maintain their culture while living out the American dream of opening businesses and controlling their lives. In Kenya, the Project will maintain its goal of documenting the lives of Somalis with dignity. Its goal is to demonstrate how Somali people maintain their culture, beliefs, and positive attitudes in the midst of struggle and hardship.

In fact, some of the children from the Twin City Elementary School spent much of their lives in Dadaab before coming to America. The school is sponsoring the trip, because the children want their stories told. And the Somali Documentary Project has promised to tell that story of courage and endurance in a way that will move the people who see the show and will make the children proud.

We look forward to seeing the show when it appears in Minneapolis next year.

Abdi Roble, Photographer; Abdi was born in Mogadishu, Somalia on February 2, 1964. He has been a freelance photographer for the Columbus Dispatch and the Columbus Post. His photographs have also appeared in the prestigious Leica View magazine. He has started two photography groups: the “African American Photographers of North America” and the “Focus Group.” His exhibitions include “One Month in Europe with Leica,” “Leica Portrait of Cuba” and “Japan, A Leica Perspective” and most recently at the Riffe Gallery, his show “Cuba Oriente” was very well received. His show, “the Somali Diaspora,” was at the Riffe Gallery in Columbus and at Mapps Coffee Shop in Minneapolis and is now touring the Midwest.

Doug Rutledge, Writer, has a Ph. D. in English from the University of Chicago. He has taught English Language and Literature on the college level for about 20 years. His book, Ceremony and Text in the Renaissance, was published by the University of Delaware press. He has had three plays produced, including, “Run, Run from the Setting of the Sun,” which was performed both in Columbus and New York. He has also published numerous poems and essays. Currently, he is the writer for the Somali Documentary Project.

Arts Midwest connects people throughout the Midwest and the world to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and understanding across boundaries. One of six nonprofit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest is dedicated to identifying and examining the Midwest’s distinct cultural visions and styles, and informing audiences of the value of creative express.

In the visual arts, Arts Midwest collaborates with museums and arts centers throughout our region to share resources and expertise. Since 1997, Arts Midwest has co-produced six exhibitions that have traveled to 26 cities in the United States, Europe, and South America.

The Twin Cities International Elementary School (grades k-4) and the Minnesota International Middle School (grades 5-7) opened their doors in the fall of 2001. Founded by educational leaders in the East African community, the schools strive to provide a quality academic program, in a culturally sensitive setting, for immigrant and refugee children. The school's program features best-practice English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction.

Two co-directors, Abdirashid Warsame and Helen Fisk, are the chief administrators at the school. This shared leadership model allows the school to offer the best possible American academic program in a setting that respects and values community input.

To learn more go to www.somaliproject.org

Contact: Susannah Bielak
612-341-0755
susannah@artsmidwest.org
www.artsmidwest.org

To learn more about the past and present traveling exhibitions please go to:

Riffe Gallery Columbus, Ohio
http://oac.ohio.gov/riffe/exhibitions/2005/Somali/somali.asp?intArticleId=164

Pulse Minneapolis Paper:

http://www.pulsetc.com/article.php?sid=1947

Southsidepride Minneapolis paper:

http://www.southsidepride.com/2005/07/articles/somali.html

EINLADUNG

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen,

das Zentrum für Friedensforschung und Friedenspädagogik lädt Sie sehr herzlich ein zur Ausstellungseröffnung 1000 PeaceWomen Across the Globe
Zeit: Donnerstag, 1. Dezember 2005, 17.30 Uhr
Ort: Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt/Celovec,
Foyer-Galerie (im Haupteingangsbereich)

Inhalt/Programm:
Die Ausstellung »1000 PeaceWomen Across the Globe« entstand im Rahmen
der Initiative ›1000 Frauen für den Friedensnobelpreis 2005‹, mit der die
Arbeit von Frauen gegen Ungerechtigkeit, Diskriminierung, Unterdrückung
und Gewalt stellvertretend anhand der Geschichten von 1000 Frauen aus
über 150 Ländern sichtbar gemacht wird. Den heurigen Friedensnobelpreis
hat dieses außerordentlich wichtige Projekt nicht bekommen, es wird
jedoch als Initiative »1000 PeaceWomen Across the Globe« weiter geführt
und bleibt auf der Liste der möglichen zukünftigen PreisträgerInnen.

Podium:
Dr. Bettina Gruber (Universität Klagenfurt), Begrüßung u. Moderation
Eva Mezger, Vorständin des Vereins »1000 Frauen für den Friedensnobelpreis« (Schweiz)
Ute Bock, eine der nominierten 1000 Frauen aus Österreich (Flüchtlingsprojekt »Ute Bock«,Wien; Trägerin des UNHCR Flüchtlingspreises
2000, Bruno Kreiskypreises 2002, Dr. Karl Rennerpreises 2003)
a.o. Univ. Prof. Brigitte Hipfl und Univ.-Prof. Dr Christina Schachtner
(Universität Klagenfurt), Präsentation der Begleitforschung

Anfragen:
bettina.gruber@uni-klu.ac.at
Telefon ++43(0)463/2700-8650, Mobil ++43(0)676/3305449

Centre for Peace Research and Peace Education
Center za mirovne raziskave in mirovno vzgojo
Centro per la ricerca e l’educazione alla pace
Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt
Fakultät für Kulturwissenschaften
Universitätsstraße 65–67
A-9020 Klagenfurt,
www.uni-klu.ac.at/frieden

RESPECT!
By Jeanette, Human Rights Service. Translated by Knut Anfindsen.
8. november 2005, Human Rights Service ©
Please see http://www.rights.no/hrs_skrib_gen/arkiv/hrs_65.60_051108_116.htm

”Three Brothers who are not Brothers” presents a funny skit conveying the point that in a country with low gross national product (GNP), that country’s capital asset is “respect”. I myself come from a country with a low GNP, Pakistan, but at this time I have the good luck to live in a country having one of the world’s highest GNPs. Seen from that point of view the “respect-capital” should be a historic novelty only. However, when our comedian Harald Eia dressed up as a Pakistani cries out his demand for RESPECT, I get stomach pains. Just simply because Eia is correct and to the point: Respect in the West and “respect” in a country like Pakistan is not the same thing.

Respect is complicated
We all want to be respected. Most of us work hard and determined to achieve and be respected. We also know that respect goes both ways: we will not be respected if we don’t respect others. Therefore, we try to make ourselves worthy of respect. Then, in turn, when we sense that we are being respected, that produces a very good feeling. Maybe it is fair to say that we are dependent of both receiving and offering respect in order to be in harmony with ourself as well as with others.

But respect is not all that simple.

Different attitudes towards respect
I have often wondered what Norwegians mean with the word “respect”. And it has gradually dawned on me that “respect” is by no means synonymous for Norwegians and us Pakistanis.

For Pakistanis, also those living in Norway, respect is considered among the most important things in life. Even so, it is in the Pakistani culture here that I have experienced the most severe lack of respect. Already as a child one will hear that “you will not get anywhere without respect”, and upbringing is based on “respect”: Respect for parents, the elderly, authorities, males…. But that respect is classified, organized and layered; the higher status or rank, the more respect you may demand. Respect is something you can demand if the right conditions are there. If these in turn are lacking, you can wave good-bye to all hope of being respected.

Given my own experience with lack of respect in the Pakistani environment, I approached different people, immigrants as well as ethnic Norwegians: “How do you define the word “respect”, and what does it mean to you?”, I asked. The answers given surprised me. I had certainly expected to find Pakistanis and ethnic Norwegians to have different perceptions of the word, but I had not expected to find such profound differences.

Immigrants versus ethnic Norwegians
Immigrants that I talked to, each and every one, underlined that showing respect is very important. They explained the meaning as “being obedient, considerate and humble”. They all said that respect is something to be shown all older and more experienced than oneself. Further, women shall respect men: One’s father, one’s brothers, and one’s husband (and in case of a husband’s death, the widow must show the same respect towards her older son). This kind of “respect” implies that orders from one older than oneself, one’s parents or one’s husband shall never be questioned. If one does not display obedience, consideration and humbleness, one does not show respect. A child that does not show respect towards parents represents a threat towards the family and the family’s honour. If the family honour suffers, then the parents cannot cater to the interests of their offspring. If, on the other hand, parents are shown respect, then the parents will make decisions that are in the best interest of their offspring. If there is any imbalance in the family, as with a child being disobedient or obstinate, then the parents and the rest of the family can use threats and force in order to get the child on the right track. That’s the way to “learn” respect.

Ethnic Norwegians had an entirely different perception and attitude. They all used the individual as a reference point; that respect is about having own opinions, free thought, the right to form own opinions independent of others. Tolerance and equality were the words most commonly used; respect understood as appreciating others without sacrificing own self-esteem. One should respect without condemnation, demand, or abuse. To refute the rights of others or imply that “I/we know best” is lack of respect. Further, ethnic Norwegians made the point that respect cannot be a one-way thing. In order to be respected, you have to respect others. In other words, you don’t receive more respect than you communicate to others. If we have respect for each other, than we have a good basis for harmony, calm, and peace of mind. In addition to respect for parents, family, and friends, one should have respect for law, common standards, and nature. In case of a lack of respect, i.e. that one does not respect someone like one aught to, the “punishment” is on the individual level: one looses one’s own honour and cannot be expect to be respected.

Explanation of failed integration
I believe that the significant differences between immigrants’ and ethnic Norwegians’ understanding of the concept of ”respect” are part of the explanation of why integration has been such a failure. Just look at what is happening in France these days: riots and devastation, mostly by immigrant youth. Is it just rebellious youth? May be! The explanation is not primarily the fact that these are mostly Muslim youths; i.e. that the riots have it’s origin in religion. But in my opinion these riots demonstrate a complete lack of respect – both for the society in which they live, for the existing rule of law, and for people in general. This in relation to “respect” as understood in the West.

In 1999 our TV 2 ran a program showing a policeman in the major city of Lahore, Pakistan. Being interviewed, he was questioned about how to deal with a daughter refusing to marry according to the wish of her parents. He answered something like: “If a daughter refuses to marry the one her parents have chosen, then the parents must first try to convince her in a mild and loving tone. If she continues to refuse, the parents must threaten and scare her. If this fails, they must force her. If this, too, fails, then………” He illustrated the rest of the sentence by simulating his cutting off her throat. This is the opinion of the “upholder of the law” in Pakistan, publicly expressed.

Many immigrants have their origin in a country where respect is something being demanded, claimed on basis of gender, status, role, or level in a hierarchy. It all boils down to power and control. It revolves around “me” (as a man) and “mine”, not about “us” or “our”. Burned out cars in France; burned women in Pakistan; we are shaken when we hear about it. But we shut up in frustration when we are presented with the explanation that the things happening here in the West are caused by “racism”. We must respect other cultures! Respect???? What is the meaning?

“Honour Robbery”
Do we in the West want to include in our society cultures constructed so as to enable some to maintain tight control of others’ lives; parents to have control over who will marry their offspring; parents to control education and choice of profession for their children; because the young have to obey their parents? The man is entitled to make all decisions for his wife. She has to “respect”. The violation of human rights is grotesque. The female sexuality is incorporated in this culture in a horrible way. The word for “rape” translates to “honour robbery” in Urdu. In the Norwegian society I lose my honour if I lie, steel, or cheat etc. But in Pakistan both my family and myself will lose honour if I am raped. There are, however, some exceptions: If my husband who has been chosen by my parents is raping me, it is no longer “honour robbery”. Because both my honour and my sexuality is his property, and he is only availing himself of what is rightly his. And since this is valid for all homes, not only one or a few, but the complete society, it is impossible to break out of this cultural construction and lifestyle. This power position automatically bestowed upon the male is an “honour position”, and it is being lost if the male loose control. If the male fails in his position as ruler, his honour is lost and it has to be resurrected at any cost. The alternative is being seen as the loser.

What is happening in France might one day happen in Norway. May be not at this time, but possibly in another few years. We are getting ever more numerous, we form larger groups, and internal control within the various groups is on the increase. Our politicians can keep on talking sweetly about integration, jobs, and education. I believe we need to take a strong look at the fact that there is a world of difference between our basic values. Learning to truly respect each other should be compulsory education, not Islam or religion-studies. We need to have common understanding of respect, and arriving at a common understanding should be a joint effort.

Sist oppdatert: november 23, 2005

Peace Writer for the WPM Program
(Made possible by a grant from the Fred J. Hansen Foundation)

Applications for Fall 2006 will open on April 1, 2006.

Peace Writers will work closely with the Woman PeaceMakers to document their stories for publication, and assist with the other activities of the Women PeaceMakers Program. In addition to writing, Peace Writers will help Women PeaceMakers create presentations and prepare for talks and forums. Peace Writers will become exceptionally familiar with the conflict and peacemaking efforts of the Woman PeaceMakers that s/he will be working with and with others in this and related fields who will be part of the program. At the same time, Peace Writers will have the opportunity to learn how a non-profit, non-governmental, educational institution works. Peace Writers will also play a key role in helping the Women PeaceMakers become acclimated to the surrounding community, and help facilitate activities such as banking, shopping, and sight-seeing. Peace Writers will be called upon to assist with administrative functions of the program.

Peace Writers will be given a small, monthly stipend for their work. Housing accommodations will not be provided to Peace Writers; however, Program staff will provide chosen Peace Writers with rental listings in the area (campus housing is not an option). Peace Writers must plan to devote a minimum of 35 hours per week to the program. Past writers have noted this position demands a full time commitment. Peace Writers will be given a reading list upon acceptance to the program. Peace Writers must participate in an intensive training and orientation the week prior to the arrival of the Women PeaceMakers (September 20 – 23). Peace Writers will generally be required to participate in all Women PeaceMaker activities, events, and field-trips. The Peace Writers will remain at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice (IPJ) for approximately two weeks beyond the departure of the PeaceMakers to finalize their written narrative (September 20 – December 6, 2004).

Read more about our 2005 Peace Writers.

About the Women PeaceMakers Program
This program is made possible through a generous grant from the Fred J. Hansen Foundation. The IPJ's Women PeaceMakers Program invites four women from conflict-affected countires around the world who have been involved in human rights and peacemaking efforts and who are seeking ways to have greater impact in peacemaking efforts in their society to participate in a multi-week residency at the IPJ. Women on the frontlines of efforts to end violence and secure a just peace seldom record their experiences, activities, and insights as generally there is no time, or, perhaps, no formal education that would help women record their stories. This program will also create a network of Women PeaceMakers who may become resources to be called on to serve in peacemaking and post-conflict planning processes internationally.

The residency program will require the selected Women PeaceMakers to give presentations at the IPJ and in the San Diego community, and to participate in documenting their stories through writing and videotaping their reflections. Women PeaceMakers will participate in workshops to exchange ideas and approaches to peacemaking and justice, increasing their capacity to further prepare them to participate in conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts and in post-conflict decisions-making. The program will provide each Women PeaceMaker with a Peace Writer to document her story; each peacemaker will receive a stipend to help cover expenses while in San Diego.

Qualifications for Peace Writers
Peace Writer applicants should be currently enrolled in a graduate or post-graduate program, working on their thesis or dissertation, or have recently graduated from a graduate or post-graduate program related to, peace studies, narrative writing, conflict resolution, human rights, gender studies, international relations, communications or have a portfolio of published work.

Peace Writers should have a GPA of 3.4 or higher, and outstanding writing and analytic skills.
Peace Writers should have some experience in cross-cultural projects and be familiar with narrative writing styles.
Peace Writers must be able to work in a multicultural setting, and be able to work closely with people for whom English is a second language.
Peace Writers must be willing to share a large communal office with three other Peace Writers.
Peace Writers must be able to meet regular deadlines for story segments and produce a complete narrative in an 11 week time frame. Writers must be willing to meet with Program staff periodically throughout the duration of the project to review narrative drafts.
Peace Writers must be able to work independently as well as collaboratively with fellow writers, women peacemakers, and Program staff.
Peace Writers must be willing to work flexible hours, and attend all program related events on evenings, mornings and some weekends.
Peace Writers will receive a small stipend ($325 per week) to off-set living expenses in San Diego; however, Writers will not receive benefits or health insurance.

Peace Writers must have reliable transportation to the IPJ.

Peace Writers must find their own housing in the San Diego area.

How to Apply
2005 applications are closed and applications for Fall 2006 will open on April 1, 2006.

Mail completed application to:

Shelley Lyford
Women PeaceMakers Program
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice
University of San Diego
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110
USA
Fax: 1.619.260.7570
E-mail: slyford@sandiego.edu
* If sending the application via email to slyford@sandiego.edu please fax a copy of the completed and signed Self-Assessment Health Form and the 2005 Application Form.*

IMPORTANT: Your application will not be considered “complete” or reviewed until the signed health forms and cover application forms are received.

Please keep a photocopy of your completed application for your records.

We will not be able to send back any of the materials we receive.

Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
November 22, 2005

The Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

**********

ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

5. “A poet on the run in Fortress Europe” by Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk, a prominent British journalist and Middle East correspondent for The Independent, considers the plea of an asylum seeker in Holland in the aftermath of Van Gogh’s murder, the bombs in London, and the rioting in France. He worries that the European “moral compass” has changed as he fields questions like "Why should we help Afghans or Iraqis or other Muslims when their own governments treat them like crap?" and "Why should we have to save them from their own people?". Pointing to the long history of European and American interference in the Middle East, Fisk tries to explain why the West should “treat Muslims any better than they treat each other".
(Source: The Independent, November 5, 2005)

**********

ARTICLE 1
Muslim-American Relations: Women’s Crucial Role
Cyra McFadden

San Francisco - When Turkish-born filmmaker Binnur Karaevli described her latest project on the website www.LightMillennium.org, her article provoked a bristling response from a young Muslim woman living in the US. The documentary “Women Who Dare” examines “the complex issues that are faced by educated Muslim women” and features three women who “have created their own identities by defying the roles of their society . . . in a culture where many women are still weighted down by the demands of tradition”. The letter writer accused Karaevli of misrepresenting and denigrating Islam.

President Bush’s advisor and undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, Karen Hughes, came in for similar criticism last month after her trip to Turkey and Saudi Arabia on a mission to improve the US’s image in the Middle East. The English language daily Arab News reported that when Hughes met with a group of Saudi women, one of them told her, “The general image of the Arab woman is that she isn’t happy. We are all pretty happy”. The hall resounded with applause. Ms. Hughes didn’t get a much warmer reception in Turkey, where the women she met with ignored her attempt to speak to them woman to woman by telling them, “I’m a mom and I love children”. Rather, they used the occasion to criticize American foreign policy in the Middle East.

We have here what’s known as a communications breakdown, and people who’ve been trying to improve US-Muslim relations for years are not surprised. One of them, Dr. Charles Gibbs, says that while the tensions and the unwillingness to credit the other faction with good intentions are nothing new, attitudes have hardened since September 11, especially for American Muslims; “The trust factor now is pretty low”. Most recently, after the London bombings, they feel “misunderstood and beleaguered”.

Gibbs is Executive Director of the United Religious Initiative, an organization that works to end religiously motivated violence through dialogue and cooperation between different faiths. To this end, it seeks to include people whose voices may not often be heard in their own societies, such as indigenous people, the young, and women. Women have been crucial to its successes from the start.

URI creates “exercises” all over the world in furtherance of peace processes. The idea isn’t to negotiate peace between nations -- only governments can do that -- but “to create an infrastructure that will help build and sustain a peace when the politicians finally get around to declaring it”. Women are key players in this endeavor. Gibbs says, “One thing we identified immediately everywhere in the world where the exercises worked was the increasing role of women in leadership roles in all sectors of society”.

In some Middle Eastern countries male attitudes preclude women’s participation in public life. But URI presses on, and may find its work easier as more Muslim feminists demand a role in the affairs of their countries and the overturning of laws that affect them adversely.

At the end of October, organizers of “The First International Congress on Islamic Feminism,” held in Barcelona, called for a “gender jihad” to refute what attendees believe are misogynistic distortions of the teachings of the Koran. They also want to counter the notion that women’s equality is impossible in Muslim societies. Three hundred or so women attended the conference, a tiny number in the larger scheme of things, but a start.

Another attempt to promote mutual respect is made by the San Francisco-based Global Fund for Women, which raises money for women’s human rights organizations around the world. In 2002-2003, it awarded 24 grants totaling $234,748 in support of “Rights Within Religious and Cultural Traditions.” One grant went to Middle Eastern women’s groups to help them oppose “personal status codes”, which legalize practices such as polygamy and easy divorce procedures for husbands.

While, on the face of it, it seems both presumptuous and unrealistic to assign women a larger role than men in bringing about a peaceful world, which means assigning them more responsibility as well, history suggests that they’re up to the task. In l981, 36 people, most of them women, began an anti-nuclear protest on an American airbase at Greenham Common in England, where missiles were stored. The protest became women only and ended l8 years later. That’s when the Americans packed up their missiles and went home.

###
* Cyra McFadden is a Bay Area novelist and journalist. She is also former columnist for the San Francisco Examiner. Her fiction and non-fiction have appeared in a wide range of publications including The New York Times Magazine, The Los Angeles Times Book Review, The Boston Globe, and Newsweek.
Source: This article is part of a series of views on "The Role of Women in US-Muslim Relations", published in partnership with the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) and United Press International (UPI).
Visit the website at www.commongroundnews.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 2
Arab Christians and relations with the West
Jonathan Kuttab

Jerusalem - Arab Christians have always been an integral part of Arab society. Yet in the confrontations between the Arab world and the nominally Christian West, Arab Christians have been uniquely situated to play a vital role. Ever since the West became intimately involved in the affairs of the Arab World, starting from the Napoleonic campaign, through the period of colonialism, and independence, the Zionist enterprise and the State of Israel, and continuing through the current "war on terrorism" they continue to hold a unique position.

Arab Christians do have a greater understanding of the West, its languages, culture, politics, and methods. Through certain shared knowledge, important connections, as well as the education of their children in the West, or in Western Christian missionary institutions, Arab Christians have been better able to understand, appreciate, and ultimately resist the political influence of the West and its attempts to dominate their homeland.

Those who expected (or accused) Arab Christians of siding with the "Christian" West, and of being a "fifth column" or Trojan Horse for the outsiders, were consistently proven mistaken. To the contrary, the unique position of Arab Christians, with their knowledge and understanding of the West have always been used to promote the interests of the Arab world and press for its positions at every turn of the road. Even Christian institutions that were created by missionary funds and efforts (such as the American University of Beirut) turned out to be hotbeds of Arab nationalism and think tanks for creatively promoting the interests of the Arab World in confronting the "Christian" West. Arab Christian institutions, such as schools, hospitals, and NGOs, which are often funded by Christian churches in the West, continue in the same tradition to promote the interests of their people, especially in the face of invasion, occupation, or aggression by the West.

Part of the reason for this, of course, is that there was nothing religious, or Christian about the onslaught of the West. Arab Christians were cognizant from the beginning that they were facing colonial and imperial interests which threatened their societies and that wanted to dominate its resources and populations for purely secular gain. Therefore, they saw no more contradiction in fighting off these forces than the original Christian Arabs saw in the need to fight the European Crusaders, who, incidentally, wreaked havoc with Arab churches and subjugated local Christians no less than their Moslem co-nationalists.

This history is well worth remembering in the current context when again the confrontation between the Arab World and the West utilizes religious terms and is presented as a struggle between Western Christianity and Islam. To be sure, much of the political effort of Arab Christians found expression in secular nationalism, for which they were early pioneers and zealous advocates. From George Antonious (the Arab Awakening), Albert Hourani, Michele Aflaq, and George Habash to Edward Said, Arab Christians have been prominent leaders and thinkers and activists in the Arab Nationalist movement. One of the tenets of that movement has always been setting aside religion as a matter of personal choice, and insisting on equal responsibility of Christians and Moslem in the national enterprise. The slogan was "Religion belongs to God, but the homeland belongs to all". While Arab nationalism was not anti-religious in its secularism, it was always emphatic in acknowledging the equality of Christians and Moslems, and the need to leave religion to the spiritual sphere.

Arab Christians recognized that their societies were culturally and socially Moslem and participated in that culture, dreaming with their fellow countrymen of a revival of a modern, relevant, vibrant, tolerant form of Islam.

As secular Arab nationalism suffered great defeats in its struggle against the West and Israel, and as Arab regimes professing to champion that ideology turned into ineffective and corrupt dictatorships, political Islam became increasingly a significant force, and presented itself as an alternative. Of course Arab Christians could not partake of this new movement, and viewed it with deep distrust, but they remained loyal to their nationalism and to their societies.

Their efforts are now needed more than ever, both by their own communities and the West. It is needed by the West to counter those who wish (for their private reasons) to turn the current "war on terrorism" into a religious war between the Christian or the Judeo-/Christian world, and Islam and the Moslems. Their efforts are needed to utilize whatever knowledge or connections they have to explain the Arab point of view to the West in terms the latter can understand and appreciate ( human rights, international law, etc.). They are also needed to explain to their own communities what they know about the West, its values, and its institutions.

There are enough negative stereotypes and ignorance in both communities about “the other”, and in the current poisonous atmosphere, such ignorance, stereotypes, and negative perceptions are extremely destructive. Arab Christians are able to play that very important role today, precisely because of the authenticity of their loyalty and organic belonging to their society- an identification and identity that is centuries old, and which has proven itself under much more trying circumstances in the past.

###
* Jonathan Kuttab is a Jerusalem-based Palestinian human rights lawyer and peace activist.
Source: Common Ground News, November 7, 2005
Visit the website at www.commongroundnews.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 3
Arab opinion is not monolithic when it comes to religion
Rami G. Khouri

Beirut - The role of religion in public, personal and political life in the Arab world has become a common issue of discussion at gatherings looking at regional trends. Unfortunately, the subject is usually discussed with such intense passion and ideological bias that useful analysis is hard to achieve.

That is why the discussion on religion in business, education and politics in the region that took place a few days ago at the annual meeting of the Arab Business Council in Bahrain was useful and important. Instead of heated argument, a tempered, probing discussion took place, based on empirical data from a new poll of six Arab countries by the leading pollsters Zogby International. The poll, based on face-to-face interviews in Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) during October, asked citizens and residents for their views on education, business and the importance of Sharia (Islamic) law.

Three important overall results struck me (and many others) as significant, suggesting that the issue of religion in public life is more nuanced and less frightening than it is often made out to be by many people both in the Middle East and beyond. The three are that, first, Arabs and Muslims in the Middle East hold a very wide range of views on religion's role in their lives and do not share monolithic perspectives; second, religion is an important part of people's identities and therefore should apply to business and governance in a manner that raises the quality of life; and third, people should continue to interpret religious law and its everyday applications.

The first point has always been clear to citizens and residents in the Middle East, but has been heavily obfuscated or ignored by a growing Western tendency to paint Arabs, Islam and Muslims in a single color. The poll confirmed yet again that Arabs hold a very wide range of views on the role of religion in their public lives, reflecting, for example, the same sort of lively debates on abortion, evolution or prayer in public school that defines American culture. There is no such thing as "an Arab view" on Islamic governance or applying Sharia law. There are many different and often conflicting views, within countries as well as across the region.

The second point is that Arabs tend to be very comfortable with religion's playing a public role in their societies, but they want the impact to produce positive results, in terms of good government, honest business practices and quality education that improves their children's life prospects.

A majority of respondents, except in Lebanon and Jordan, want to apply Islamic Sharia law to business operations (82 percent in Saudi Arabia, 69 percent in the U.A.E., 58 percent in Morocco and 50 percent in Egypt). In Jordan, just 39 percent favor this, and in Lebanon majorities of both the Muslim and Christian populations soundly reject applying Sharia.

The third and perhaps most significant point is that while a majority of citizens polled said Sharia law should be applied to businesses, they also believe that further interpretation is needed to allow businesses in the Muslim world to integrate into the global economy. In other words, most Muslims see Islam and the laws derived from it as living, evolving phenomena that are inspired or dictated by the divine, but that also require constant human reinterpretation to best serve temporal needs like education, business and governance.

Majorities or pluralities in every nation said that further interpretation of Islamic law is needed (78 percent in the U.A.E., 60 percent in Morocco, small majorities in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, and just two-fifths of the populations in Egypt and Jordan).

One important issue that keeps many analysts and politicians busy in the region these days is the prospect of Islamist movements - Hamas, Hizbullah, the Muslim Brotherhood - winning democratic elections and coming to power peacefully. The citizens polled across the Arab world "differed substantially on whether they would trust a popularly elected Islamic government to abide by the rules of a democracy," the survey analysts concluded.

Asked whether they would trust an elected Islamic government to follow democratic rules, 72 percent of Saudis and 70 percent of U.A.E. residents said yes, while just 36 percent in Lebanon agreed. Skepticism was highest among Christians in Lebanon - just one in five believes an Islamic government would abide by the laws of democracy. People in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan were more lukewarm to this idea, which is supported by pluralities ranging from 39 percent to 46 percent.

The survey also documented "a striking split between various Arab states on the quality of their education systems." Just 15 percent of Egyptians believe their system prepared young people for successful careers in today's global economy, while 56 percent of Saudis and U.A.E. residents held this view.

The Arabs polled also had very different outlooks on the influence of religion on education in their states. Majorities in Egypt and Lebanon believed religion held too little sway on education and preparing youth for the future (although in Lebanon, this was a majority viewpoint only among Christians). A 54 percent majority in the U.A.E. believed religion was too powerful an influence, though in all other polled countries just 30 percent or less shared this view. In Saudi Arabia, 45 percent believed religion's influence on education was about right and 24 percent thought it too little.

There is much food for thought in these poll results for those who would like to analyze the reality of an Arab-Islamic region that is both differentiated and nuanced in its views on religion and public life. The results certainly show the region is not that imagined Arab world where all people are believed to think the same.

###
* Rami G. Khouri is senior writer for the Daily Star.
Source: Daily Star, November 16, 2005
Visit the website at www.dailystar.com.lb
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 4
~ YOUTH VIEWS~
Sarkozy must apologize or resign
Ludovic Blecher, Jacky Durand, Karl Laske, and Gilles Wallon

Paris - As the Prime Minister received youth from the affected areas on Friday evening, new violent incidents were beginning. But others – masked demonstrators, grandes-frères [literally, big brothers, older, more mature youth in the suburbs who sometimes work as government mediators and look out for younger children], or neighbors are speaking out. After a week of violent confrontations in Ile-de-France, they’re turning back to discussing the reasons for their anger.

It has become an obsession. Nearly every one of them mentions “Sarko,” and angrily condemn his recent remarks. With just as much intensity: his lack of “respect.”

Christophe, 22, is a student from Hauts-de-Seine. “When I think about what’s happening right now, I always return to one image: when Sarkozy was in Argenteuil, he raised his head up and said, “Madam, I’m going to clean all that up [with a high pressure water hose].” The result? By trying to play the superhero, and a super megalomaniac, Sarko pushed us too far. He showed his disrespect for everyone.”

Ludwel, 19, and Warren, 18, both studying for a post-high school vocational degree in Aulnay-sous-Bois, criticize the minister for not differentiating between good and bad youth. “Sarko chose his words poorly. Even in the housing projects, even the ones with a reputation for being very dangerous or violent, everyone’s not the same. There is a tendency to make us all out to be ‘rabble’ even though there are good, hardworking people there, people without problems.”

Rachid is younger. He comes from Clichy-sous-Bois. He has no doubts about the origin of the surge of anger: Sarkozy’s remarks, and the tear-gas grenade in the mosque. “They touched a religious place by attacking the Bilal mosque, we will never forgive that. And no one said anything! We’re the ones no one cares about. All we ask is that they apologize.” Youssef, 20, who works with youth in the Bondy suburbs, says much the same. “The youth here are not all practicing Muslims, but they are all believers.” Mounir and Patrice are grandes-frères from Sevran, and think politics might be involved. “Sarkozy’s provocation was no accident. He wants to make sure public safety is one of the big issues for the 2007 elections.”

If such was the case, the objective has been met. Everything is out of control. There are some who watch, the younger ones who act, and some who try to limit the destruction. “The ones starting the fires? They’re between 14 and 22. They’re smashing everything in their path,” states Mourad, 28. “We don’t really know who they are because those who are doing it don’t talk about it. They cover their faces and don’t come back and brag about it the next day.”

Mourad sides with them only to a point: “Instead of wrecking everything here, it’d be better if they demonstrated or went to break stuff in Paris. Every evening I have to drive the car around to keep it safe.”

According to a group of teenagers, even the inhabitants of a housing block in Aulnay have become targets. “When they really get going, they don’t care about anything. One evening, a kid from around here tried to protect his car, so they hit him, then flipped the car upside down and burned it.”

Criticism remains half-hearted. At night, most of them feel solidarity with the rioters. “Did I participate in it? That’s classified information,” states a 13 year old boy sarcastically. “We’re going to clean Sarkozy out, that [phrase] was the mistake of his career.” Sarkozy, always Sarkozy. Another young boy, barely 16, wearing his cap low on his head and sporting a childlike smile: “Sarko needs to shut up, apologize or resign instead of coming to stir up crap in the suburbs like Bush in Iraq.” He accuses the media of doing Sarkozy’s bidding. “From the beginning, the media has been Sarkozy’s accomplice. They’ve followed him everywhere, it’s not like when Villepin was Interior Minister. They mix everything together – young people equals housing blocks equals hoods equals Islamists. When they film teenagers, they always end up producing the same caricature: yelling and screaming kids, you can’t even understand what they’re saying.”

Eric, 34, has spent 24 of those years in Montfermeil. He tries to get a little distance on things. “The teenagers, as they throw Molotov cocktails, aren’t paying attention to the fact that youngest kids are watching them, not comprehending what’s going on. Now there’s some kind of solidarity. We have a minister who said: ‘You’re all alike.’ I say ‘no’ to that; we all say ‘no’ to that. But they keep saying ‘you’re all the same.’ Well, that gives us something in common. And now, there is even more violence in some spots because people want to get attention. They say to themselves: ‘If we can create a panic, they won’t forget us, they will know this is a sensitive slum.’”

Because there are other factors - the difficulty of life in the poorly designed housing blocks, the frequent identify checks by the police, and the omnipresent unemployment. Ali, 20 years old, failed to graduate from high school. “When you’ve had enough, things explode, no question. It started over there where the largest number of buildings are, where all the buildings are very close together. In Aulnay-sous-Bois, there must be forty buildings all stuck together. The kids are just there all day long with nothing to do. There’s never any work. Bac +2 [a high school diploma and two years of university], bac + 2, I’m sick of hearing it. I’m looking for a job, and if I can’t find one in a couple of months, I’ll start doing ‘business,’ selling mobiles or hashish; it’s easy. Seriously, I don’t know what the youngest ones are going to turn into. I saw a kid about 14 or 15 who was smoking pot and drinking at three in the morning. In any case their parents can’t be right behind them all the time, they can’t do anything.”

Samir, from Clichy-sous-Bois, says the systematic identity checks are close to getting out of hand. “The police even provoke the mediators. They stopped me because I was running. I was running to get out of the way of the tear gas, and when I said I was a mediator from the mayor’s office, their response was ‘Shut up, we don’t need your opinion.’ They threw me on the ground. They searched me. They never asked for my identification.” Mohammed strikes the same tone: “The cops are always trying to show you who has the power. They call us ‘sand-niggers’ (bougnoules), and say ‘screw your race.’ The police around here are a new generation. Every day, even during identity checks, they insult you. I was checked out in the train station because I had my feet on a bench. Fine, you shouldn’t put your feet on benches. They called in reinforcements just for that. Three cars were waiting for me at the Raincy station. The cops said to me: ‘Why don’t you stay in your garbage dump?’”

So what’s next? Julien, 22 years of age, who sells goods at the market in Hauts-de-Seine, is worried. “The youth here aren’t doing our image any good. The fires, the riots, it’s all going to justify more police, and more mistreatment in the suburbs. The kids feel like they’re on a crusade. I’m not totally in agreement with that, but, at the same time, if I was in a social situation as difficult as theirs, I’d snap too. When you don’t have a job, when you’re crammed into the corner of some building, you think less, you don’t have much perspective on your life. And even if you go to school to get yourself out, there’s always some friend of yours making money by doing stupid things. In the suburbs, there are a lot of bad choices available.”

###
* Ludovic Blecher, Jacky Durand, Karl Laske, and Gilles Wallon are journalists for the Libération.
Source: Libération, November 5, 2005
Visit the website www.liberation.fr
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright is held by Libération. Please contact their copyright team for reprint permission.

**********

ARTICLE 5
A poet on the run in Fortress Europe
Robert Fisk

London - Mohamed sits on the chair beside me in Amsterdam and opens his little book of poetry. His verse slopes down the page in delicate Persian script, the Dari language of his native Afghanistan. "God, why in the name of Islam is there all this killing, why all this anti-people killing ... the only chairs left in my country are chairs for the government, those who want to destroy Afghanistan." He reads his words of anger slowly, gently interrupted by an old chiming Dutch clock. Outside, the Herengracht canal slides gently beneath the rain. It would be difficult to find anywhere that least resembles Kabul.

"The donkeys came to Afghanistan, Massoud, Rahbani and the rest," Mohamed reads on. "All the people were waiting for the donkeys. Gulbudin said these donkeys have no tails - ’only I have a tail, so I shall have a ministry,’ he said. The donkeys are now in the government." Donkeys may be nice, friendly beasts to us, but to call anyone in the Muslim world a khar - a donkey - is as insulting as you can get. Mohamed was talking about the "mujahedin" guerrilla fighters who moved into Kabul after the Russian withdrawal in 1990, an arrival that presaged years of civil war atrocities which left at least 65,000 Afghans dead. This was the conflict which so sickened the anti-Soviet fighter Osama bin Laden that he left Afghanistan for Sudan.

Mohamed looks at me - a small energetic man with dark, sharp eyes. "I wanted future generations to know what we went through, to understand our pain," he says to me. I couldn’t stop myself writing this poetry." This was his mistake. Betrayed to the "mujahedin", he was thrown into a foul prison in Kabul, rescued only by the intercession of his father. The Taliban came next and Mohamed could not prevent his pen from betraying him again. "I kept my poetry ’under the table’, as we say, but someone at my office found a poem I had written called Out of Work and told the boss who was a mullah." When he knew that he had been discovered, Mohamed ran in terror from his office to his father’s home.

Mohamed seems to spend his life on the run. He and his wife and three children live in the north of Holland, desperate to stay in the land to which they fled six years ago, but the courts - in the new spirit of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim Europe - have rejected their pleas to stay. Mohamed’s papers have expired. Now he waited in fear for the policeman who would demand: "Your papers please." A family friend, Hoji Abdul-Rahman, originally arranged for Mohamed and his family to flee Kabul for Jalalabad and then across the Afghan border to Pakistan where "Hoji" - an honorific title bestowed on those who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca - obtained fake visas and passports that enabled them to fly to Holland. "I went straight to the police to tell them we were here," Mohamed said. "They were very good to us. They told us to register at Zevenaar as asylum-seekers, which we did."

He was housed in a small Dutch village where the local people treated the Afghan family with great kindness. "They always came to see us in our flat and gave us food and invited us to their homes," Mohamed said, producing a sad poem entitled Thank You for Everything in tribute to the Dutch people. But fate struck Mohamed again. Had the last of four court hearings into his case have dated his refugee status from the day he arrived in Holland rather than that of his first visit to Zevenaar in 2000 - which was delayed because the Dutch authorities were enjoying the week-long millennium celebrations - he would probably have qualified for permanent refugee status.

"But the court dated my arrival from the delayed registration at Zevenaar and told me my family had to leave Holland. They said that the Taliban had been defeated and that Afghanistan was now a ’democracy’. But they wouldn’t accept that Karzai’s government includes many of the ’mujahedin’ warlords who locked me up in prison. They will do the same again." Which is probably true. But now Mohamed, his wife and three children - one of them born in Holland - wait for the police to take them to Schipol airport for the long journey back to their dangerous homeland.

The ferocious murder of film-maker Theo van Gogh and the callous behaviour of his Muslim murderer - who announced in court that he felt no compassion for van Gogh’s family - has hardened Dutch government hearts just as the rioting in Clichy-sous-Bois has hardened those of Messrs Sarkozy and Chirac. So what am I to say to Mohamed as he sits hunched in the deep, soft armchair of my hotel room, clutching his poetry book and his sack of expired refugee papers, a mechanical engineer with a foreign language degree from a Ukrainian university who must now clear garbage from Dutch apartment blocks to earn money? I can’t help you, I say quietly. I will write about you. I will try to pump some compassion out of the authorities. But the days of such humanity - if they ever existed in Britain - have run out.

Next day, I am giving a lecture in the Belgian city of Antwerp when a man in the audience starts to berate me. "Why should we help Afghans or Iraqis or other Muslims when their own governments treat them like crap?" he asked. "Why should we have to save them from their own people. Why do we have to treat them better?" I explain that it was us - we, the West - who armed the "mujahedin" to fight the Russians and then ignored Afghanistan when it collapsed into civil war, that we nurtured the Taliban via Saudi Arabia and Pakistan when we thought we could negotiate with them for a gas pipeline across Afghanistan, that the current US ambassador in Iraq - that other blood-drenched democratic success story - was once involved with the company Unocal, which negotiated with the Taliban over the pipeline route, that Karzai had also been working for Unocal. To no avail.

Our new moral compass, it seems, is no longer "Saddam was worse than us" but "why should we treat Muslims any better than they treat each other?". And now we know that the CIA is holding other Muslims in bunkers deep beneath the earth of democratic Romania and brave old democratic Poland for a little torture, what hope is there for Mohamed? For him - and for us in Britain soon if Lord Blair of Kut al-Amara gets his way - it will be a familiar story from Europe’s dark past. Vos papiers, Monseiur. Arbeitspapiere, bitte schön. Your papers, please.

###
* Robert Fisk is a prominent British journalist, currently Middle East correspondent for the British newspaper The Independent.
Source: The Independent, November 5, 2005
Visit the website at www.independent.co.uk
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
First published in The Independent. ©Independent News & Media.
Please contact syndication@inuk.co.uk for reprint permission.

**********

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity, brought to you by Search for Common Ground, seeks to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. This service is one outcome of a set of working meetings held in partnership with His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal in June 2003.

Every week, CGNews-PiH will distribute 5 news articles, op-eds, features, and analyses that aid in developing and analyzing the current and future relationship of the West and Arab/Muslim world. Articles will be chosen based on accuracy, balance, and their ability to improve understanding and communication across borders and regions. They will also reflect the need for constructive dialogue around issues of global importance. Selections will be authored by local and international experts and leaders who will analyze and discuss a broad range of relevant issues. We invite you to submit any articles you feel are compatible with the goals of this news service.

Partners in Humanity 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 through its Youth Views column. Student journalists and writers under the age of 27 are encouraged to write cbinkley@sfcg.org for more information on contributing.

We look forward to hearing from you, and welcome any questions, concerns, or comments you may have about this service. Please forward this message to colleagues and friends who may also wish to subscribe to the service. To subscribe, send an email to subscribe-cgnewspih@sfcg.org with subscribe in the subject line.

If you are a member of the media, please join us in promoting constructive dialogue to improve understanding and perceptions. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If you choose to republish any of the articles, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org

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) 777-2207
Fax: +1(202) 232-6718

Rue Belliard 205 bte 13
B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
Ph: +32 (02) 736-7262
Fax: +32(02) 732-3033
E-mail: cgnewspih@sfcg.org
Website: http://www.commongroundnews.org

Editors:
Emad Khalil
Amman Editor

Juliette Schmidt
Beirut Editor

Elyte Baykun & Leena El-Ali
Washington Editors

Michael Shipler & Chris Binkley
Youth Views Editors

**********

This is a not-for-profit list serve.

Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you think would like to see these articles.

To subscribe, send an email to subscribe-cgnewspih@sfcg.org with subscribe in the subject line.

Der neue Überblick ist da!

Abwanderung von Medizinern - Ursachen und Folgen
Gut ausgebildete Krankenschwestern und Ärzte sind in Entwicklungsländern
rar. Aber die wenigen qualifizierten werden oft noch von Industrieländern
abgeworben, die bei der Ausbildung ihrer eigenen Mediziner sparen.
Nichtregierungsorganisationen der Industrieländer schicken dann wieder
Ärzte in die Dritte Welt, um die Abgewanderten zu ersetzen.

Diese und andere interessante Themen - etwa, warum Christen in Nahost
Despoten lieben - finden Sie in der neuen Ausgabe von "der überblick"
(Euro 5,50 + Versandkosten).
www.der-ueberblick.de (herausgegeben i.A. vom Evangelischen
Entwicklungsdienst und von Brot für die Welt).

Vergangene Schwerpunkte: AIDS und Gesellschaft, Pfingstkirchen,
Entwicklungspolitik, Fisch und Welternährung, Afrika, Umgang mit Tod und
Trauer weltweit, Bildung, Migration, Tansania, Sklaverei heute, Energie,
NGOs, Exil, Vorsorge, Grenzen, Mexiko, Aids, Gefaengnisse, Maghreb.

Mit freundlicher Empfehlung
die Redaktion

16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER VIOLENCE
November 25 - December 10, 2005

For the Health of Women, For the Health of the World:
NO MORE VIOLENCE

Violence against women is traumatic to the body, mind, and spirit and can prevent women from being fully active participants at home and in the world. This year’s 16 Days campaign theme, as a continuation from 2004, emphasizes the connections between women’s human rights, violence against women and women’s health, and the detrimental consequences violence against women has on the well-being of the world as a whole.

Thousands of activists globally commemorated the 14th annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign last year. The 2004 16 Days International Calendar of Activities bears testimony to the depth and breadth of their work underscoring violence against women as a pervasive human rights violation, a public health crisis, and an obstacle to equality, development, security, and peace. In 2005, the movement to end violence against women has seen further victories. At Beijing +10 in March, the Beijing Platform for Action was unequivocally reaffirmed and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan emphasized the critical importance of combating violence against girls and women to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. In addition, activists worldwide have been working to ensure that gender concerns, including violence against women, are featured prominently in the outcome document of the 2005 World Summit this September.

There remain many opportunities in the coming year to continue this momentum, particularly with regard to the link between violence and women’s physical, sexual, reproductive, psychological and social health. Research soon to be released, including a World Health Organization multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence and a UN Secretary General’s worldwide study on violence against women called for by the UN General Assembly, will provide activists with new advocacy tools. Several events through 2006, including the release of the Secretary General’s study at the GA next September, will place the spotlight squarely on governments to uphold commitments made to work toward eliminating violence against women. NGOs are also exploring these links. For instance, the Women Human Rights Defenders Campaign will host a consultation in December 2005 focusing on violations against women human rights defenders, many of whom face violence because of the work they do to promote women’s rights, especially sexual and reproductive rights.

Addressing the connections between violence against women and the HIV/AIDS pandemic remains imperative. Violence limits women’s ability to protect against infection and can compromise access to a range of critical health information and services, including testing and treatment. This year, the theme of the UNAIDS World AIDS Campaign is “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.” The campaign demands governments keep their policy commitments related to HIV/AIDS. World AIDS Day (1 December) falls during the 16 Days campaign, which provides an ideal opportunity to remind governments that in order to keep their promises on HIV/AIDS they need to fulfill commitments on violence against women as well. Other international venues in the coming year, such as the five-year review of the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS in mid-2006 and in August, the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada can be targets for focused advocacy on violence against women and HIV/AIDS. 16 Days activities in 2005 can link to and build on vibrant women’s leadership in these fields such as that offered by many NGO networks and organizations, as well as the UNAIDS Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, to call for increased public awareness, more comprehensive healthcare services, stronger national policies and greater government accountability to end violence against women and fight HIV/AIDS.

For the health of women: physically, psychologically, emotionally, socially, at home, at school, at work, at worship, in their communities and in their nations. For the health of the world: its peoples, its cultures, its environments, in protecting human rights, in fostering sustainable development and creating peace: NO MORE VIOLENCE.

Look for more resources in the 2005 Take Action Kit, available in September!

Contact the Center for Women’s Global Leadership for a 2005 Take Action Kit:
160 Ryders Lane, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8555 USA; Phone (1-732) 932-8782; Fax: (1-732) 932-1180;
E-mail: cwgl@igc.org; Or to access the kit online, go to: http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu/16days/home.html

16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER VIOLENCE
November 25 - December 10, 2005

Join the 16 Days movement!
Become part of an already existing student, community, national or international activity for the 16 Days or take action on your own. Use past International Calendars of Activities (available online) or contact the Center for Women’s Global Leadership if you would like more information about activities in your area. Submit your planned activity to us for posting to the 2005 International Calendar of Activities and become part of the growing global 16 Days movement.

Request a Take Action Kit!
Contact the Center for Women’s Global Leadership to receive a free copy of the Take Action Kit for the 16 Days campaign. The Take Action Kit will be available in September and includes:

• a current campaign announcement
• a campaign profile and a description of dates
• a list of participating organizations and countries
• a bibliography and resource list
• a list of suggested actions
• supplemental information relevant to this year’s theme

The entire contents of the Take Action Kit will also be posted online.

Join the 16 Days electronic discussion!
We invite you to join the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence electronic discussion taking place in the form of a listserve. The discussion allows activists to collaboratively develop themes and strategies for the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign. In addition, it can be used to discuss how groups are raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels, to uncover and learn from the ways in which activists have strengthened local work around violence against women, to continually resurface the link between local and international work to end violence against women, to share and develop new and effective strategies, to show the solidarity of women around the world organizing against violence against women, and to help develop further tools to pressure governments to implement promises made to eliminate violence against women. If you are interested in joining the discussion or if you have any questions, please contact the Center for Women’s Global Leadership at the address below.

Get Involved - On-line!
The Center will post information about the Campaign online at http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu/16days/home.html.

Submit your materials!
Participants in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign have been instrumental in bringing issues of violence against women to the forefront in local, national, regional and global arenas. The strategies employed by groups and the activities organized during the 16 Days Campaign period continue to be unique and innovative. The Center for Women’s Global Leadership asks that all participants of the 16 Days Campaign - past as well as present - send documentation of their events, i.e. posters, pictures, t-shirts, video footage, poems, songs, statements, reports, etc., to the Global Center for the campaign archives. If you have photographs, documents, or other examples of your work that you can send in an electronic version, please do so and we will post it on the website. Your submissions will also enable the Center to refer other individuals and organizations that are interested in your activities to you. Please send your description of planned activities for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence to the address below.

Center for Women’s Global Leadership
160 Ryders Lane, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8555, USA
Phone (1-732) 932-8782 Fax: (1-732) 932-1180
E-mail: cwgl@igc.org

Dear fiends of Intervention,

The editorial staff of Intervention has made a few plans for the future, for which we ask your support.

Ex-combatants

In November 2006 we hope to publish a special issue on the theme: "ex-combatants: reintegration into society". Theoretical contributions, research articles, field reports and reviews of inspiring books are all welcome. If you would like to contribute, or if you know somebody else who could, please contact us.

How can we prove that our projects are effective?

Our second plan is to publish a series of articles on the qualitative, as well as quantitative, measurement of the effectiveness of psychosocial projects and psychosocial interventions. What kind of instruments and procedures can we use to prove that our projects are effective? If you know people who are developing ways of systematically evaluating the impact of psychosocial interventions, please bring them into contact with us.

Feedback from the local staff

In many psychosocial projects in areas of armed conflict, local staff is cooperating with ex-pat staff from western countries. We would like to offer opportunity for local staff members to express their critical thoughts on the role, the activities or the ideas of ex-pats. A contribution can be published anonymously or under pseudonym, as long as the name of the author is known to the editorial staff. If you are acquainted with local staff members who are willing to share their experiences, please let us know. If you write in French or Spanish we are able to translate.

International distribution

Our Journal is increasingly read in non western countries. But we still want to reach a much larger auditorium in these regions. If you know of people or organizations in your region that might be interested, show them our journal or give us their postal address and we send them a free copy.

Dr Guus van der Veer, mental health consultant

Secretary General of the Scientific Advisory Board of War Trauma Foundation

Editor in Chief of Intervention, the International Journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial Work and Counselling in Areas of Armed Conflict

Visit our website www.interventionjournal.com

Notre Dame 2006 Annual Peace Conference: Call for Papers

Dear Friends,

The University of Notre Dame's annual Student Peace Conference will take
place on March 31 and April 1, 2006. The conference is officially
sponsored by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and is
planned and directed entirely by undergraduate peace studies students of
the University.

Entitled "Voices of Today, Changes for Tomorrow", the conference highlights
student activism, youth leadership, and the role of youth in the
peace-building process. The conference will also explore the consequences
of war and conflict on youth and society.

The two-day conference will feature seminars, lectures, artistic
performances and exhibits, and a keynote speaker. We welcome undergraduate
and graduate peace visionaries of all majors to submit proposals regarding
potential presentations. We encourage presentations of peace from all
disciplines and perspectives.

The Peace Conference Committee invites papers, panel proposals,
performances, audio-visual presentation, interactive sessions or workshops
and other programs broadly exploring the role of youth in conflict and in
the peace-building process. Presentations on additional aspects of
peace-building are also encouraged. The presentations may be completed
research, research in-progress or case studies, especially those reflecting
innovative practice. You will have 10 minutes for presentation and 10
minutes for discussion.

The submission can be on any issue that contributes to the conference theme.
Sub-themes could focus on, but are not limited to:

Changing nature of warfare
Ethnic Conflict / Resolution
Women, Children, and Peace
The Impact of Globalization on Peace
Transnationalism and peace
Religion and Peace-building
Peace in a post 9/11 society
International Law
International, cross-cultural, or inter-religious dialogue
International organizations and non-governmental organizations
War and the politics of memory
Changing scholarly and popular conceptions of war and peace
Strengths and weaknesses of existing peace movements
Role of the media in war-making and peacekeeping
Peace in contemporary literature
The role of the mediator
Effects of propaganda
Economics of peace

Submissions and/or questions may be made via email to
peacecon@nd.edu. Submissions will be acknowledged within 3
days. Notifications of acceptance of proposals will be sent as soon as the
reviewing process is completed, not later than February 24, 2006.

The deadline for proposals is Friday, February 17, 2006.

In peace,
Kevin Walsh
2006 ND Peace Conference Chairman

Psychology International Announcements, News and Articles

To subscribe, write to international@apa.org with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

AfricAvenir News are kindly sent out by Eric Van Grasdorff:

Liebe/Liebe Freunde,

nach einer kurzen Verschnaufpause möchten wir sie erneut auf einige Veranstaltungen im Rahmen von 'African Perspectives' aufmerksam machen.

Film: Manga Bell - Verdammte Deutsche!
Am Sonntag, den 27. November um 17.15 Uhr lädt AfricAvenir International e.V. herzlich ein zur Filmvorführung von Manga Bell - Verdammte Deutsche! von Peter Heller und Sylvie Banuls. Im Jahre 1884 wird Afrika unter den Europäern aufgeteilt, in Folge dessen der deutsche Reichskommissar mit dem König der Douala einen "Schutzvertrag" abschließt. Als sein Enkel Rudolf Manga Bell zum Studium nach Deutschland geht, wird er dort zwar mit der deutschen Denkweise vertraut, doch aufgrund seines Widerstandes gegen den deutschen Kaiser später von den Kolonialherren erhängt. In Kamerun wird König Manga Bell heute für seinen Kampf gegen die rassistische Kolonialpolitik der Zwangsenteignungen und Vertreibungen als Nationalheld verehrt. Erzählt wird der Film aus der Perspektive Jean-Pierre Félix Eyoums - Großneffe Manga Bells - der, als Lehrer in Bayern tätig, sich auf Spurensuche seiner Familiengeschichte begeben hat und den wir im Anschluss an den Fi lm zur Diskussion mit dem Publikum herzlich begrüßen dürfen.
Die Vorführung ist eine Kooperationsveranstaltung mit dem South African Club Berlin e.V., der Initiative Südliches Afrika e.V. und dem Filmtheater Hackesche Höfe. Sie findet statt mit freundlicher Unterstützung von InWent, der South African Airways und der LEZ (Landesstelle für Entwicklungszusammenarbeit bei der Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Frauen).

Manga Bell – Verdammte Deutsche!
R: Peter Heller / Sylvie Banuls, D 1997, 58 Min., DF

Am: Sonntag, den 27. November 2005, 17.15 Uhr

Ort: Filmtheater Hackesche Höfe (Rosenthaler Str. 40/41, 10178 Berlin)
Vorbestellung unter: 030 - 2 83 46 03 (MO-SA ab 14.30 Uhr/SO ab 10.30 Uhr)

Eintrittspreis: 5 Euro

Dialogforum: Possibilities and Contradictions of the African Renaissance
Des weiteren lädt AfricAvenir International e.V. herzlich ein zum vierten Dialogforum der Veranstaltungsreihe 'African Perspectives'. Wir freuen uns, Ihnen am Donnerstag, den 01. Dezember um 19.30 Uhr im Mosaik (Oranienstraße 35) einen Vortrag von Professor Wim van Binsbergen zu Possibilities and Contradictions of the African Renaissance präsentieren zu dürfen. Wim van Binsbergen doziert an der Philosophischen Fakultät der Erasmus Universität Rotterdam zu Grundlagen interkultureller Philosophie. Er arbeitet außerdem als Senior Researcher am African Studies Centre in Leiden (NL) und ist Herausgeber von Quest – An African Journal of Philosophy. Der Vortrag wird in Englisch gehalten, die anschließende Diskussion erfolgt auf Deutsch und Englisch. Die Veranstaltung findet statt mit freundlicher Unterstützung der LEZ (Landesstelle für Entwicklungszusammenarbeit bei der Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Frauen). Eintritt frei .

www.AfricAvenir.org
Wollen Sie Fördermitglied von AfricAvenir International e.V. werden?
Kontaktieren Sie Ann Kathrin Helfrich, Fon: 030-80906789, a.helfrich@africavenir.org

Redaktion des Newsletters: Eric Van Grasdorff, e.vangrasdorff@africavenir.org
AfricAvenir International e.V. ist nicht für die Inhalte externer Webseiten verantwortlich.

How to Use Short Stories to Teach English in a Humanizing, Dignifying, and Meaningful Way: A Checklist

by George Bradford Patterson, borgeslover@hotmail.com

Short stories may be utilized as a very helpful and inspiring literary device to teach English language skills in a humanizing, dignifying, and meaningful way in the EFL/ESL class and promote human rights, justice, dignity, and intercultural understanding. The use of this device has become more obvious and important in light of the increasing interest in peace through the interest group TESOLers for Social Responsibility (TSR) and the human-improving role of applied linguists:

There is an increasing stress and tendency for TESOL professionals to participate in applications of peace linguistics. Peace linguistics may be defined by a pioneering entry on that emerging area by David Crystal (1999):

An approach which emerged during the 1990s among many linguists and language teachers in which linguistic principles, methods, findings and applications were seen as a means of promoting peace and human rights at a global level. It emphasizes the linguistic value of diversity and multilingualism. (254)

Along the same lines, short stories can be utilized as an innovative device by humanistic teachers for dignifying and edifying learning experiences. Following is a checklist (partially adapted from Francisco Gomes de Matos's (2004) checklist "Are You a Humanizer?") for EFL/ESL teachers to utilize short stories as an innovative device to teach English language skills in a humanizing and meaningful way:

1. Make use of short stories that emphasize such values as human rights, justice, peace, dignity, courage, reconciliation, forgiveness, compassion, mercy, and repentance. Have the students look for symbols, themes, imagery, moods, tones, epiphanies, character development, plots, subplots, ironies, foreshadowing/suspense, and aftershadowing to illustrate these values.

2. Then have them write short stories to illustrate values. They can do this as an individual class exercise and also at home. Have them identify symbols, themes, imagery, moods, tones, settings, epiphanies, foreshadowing, and aftershadowing. Have them read passages in their short stories that illustrate these literary devices. Then have them do this as a small-group exercise.

3. Have them discuss how the short story enables them to grow personally, socially, intraculturally, and interculturally on a group and individual level. Have volunteers provide examples to the class. As a follow-up exercise, have them write summaries or essays explaining these points of growth. They can do this as a group and individual exercise. Then they can do this as a homework exercise. They can also do it in a second language learning context.

4. Encourage the students to apply human communicative rights in the classroom short-story exercise by asserting their right to hear (what is being said by other members of the classroom community) and their right to be heard and to make certain that the students fulfill their corresponding communicative responsibilities.

5. Adapt/change portions of short stories so that they contribute to personal or group humanization, including having them write epiphanies. Epiphanies (Hills, 1977, 17) are both a kind of experience and also a literary genre-both a way of seeing or hearing and a way of demonstrating and writing. Some epiphanies may be an artistic creation-in fact, a sort of poetic-prose statement-whereas others appear to be transcriptions of actual life, albeit recorded, of course, with extreme care. In such a case, the crucial questions would be: What has to be changed in the short story(s) in such and such a lesson so that language learning can become a profoundly humanizing and meaningful experience. How can that be actualized? This exercise can be done as a group, individual, whole-class, or homework exercise.

6. As the students discuss and write these short stories, encourage them to adopt and sustain a positive view of the language and culture of that short story. In addition, make use of English translations by Nobel literary laureates such as Miguel Angel Asturias and Gabriel Garcia Marquez and other great writers such as Isabel Allende and Jorge Luis Borges, the greatest short-story writer in the history of Latin America.

7. Also, use classroom short-story exercises to facilitate the creation of humanizing, peace-building, peace-enhancing, and peace-promoting activities so that learners improve their competence as caring and compassionate language learners/users. Have the students explore how these short stories can contribute to humanizing, dignifying, and meaningful activities that can serve as a bridge for peace, justice, human rights, and intercultural understanding in regional conflicts such as in Mindanao in the Philippines, Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Congo, Ivory Coast, Palestine-Israel, Lebanon, Chechnya, and Northern Ireland.

8. Employ the short-story exercises to help the students probe language resources, especially vocabulary, in small groups and pairs. Through investing in vocabulary, students can reap the fruits of humanizing dividends on a short-term and long-term basis. The corresponding vital question would be How can the learning of vocabulary from short stories contribute to reinforcing learners' sense of self-respect, self-esteem, mutual respect, and dignity?

9. Have the students use the Internet in a humanizing way by searching for meaningful, dignifying, and humanizing short stories by Nobel laureates such as William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and Isabel Allende. Then have the students communicate with each other by e-mail in discussing the short stories of these writers. Have them compare and contrast the short stories of these writers.

The use of short stories as an innovative device to teach English language skills to EFL/ESL students and second language skills of other second languages to second language learners can reinforce the teaching of these language skills in a humanizing, meaningful, and dignifying way by:

• Challenging students to cultivate and sustain an awareness of their responsibility as peace patriots through their employment of English and of their first language and other languages in which they are fluent.
• Sensitizing learners to the awareness of language used not only for interacting but also for expressing the feeling of loving one's linguistic neighbor.
• Challenging student to create peace-promoting mini-glossaries for employment in different professions, such as tourism and management, law, medicine, journalism, and engineering.
• Challenging students to exchange peace-enhancing sustaining statements, proverbs, allegories, vignettes, and quotations with learners both intraculturally and cross-culturally.
• Challenging students to identify insensitive uses of English in the media (press/television/movies) and in fictional works and to replace such objectionable expressions with humanizingly rendered language. (Gomes de Matos, 2002)

Therefore, the short story is definitely a superb innovative device to teach English language skills to EFL/ESL students and also language skills of other second languages to second language learners in a humanizing, dignifying, and meaningful way.

References

Crystal, D. (1999). The penguin dictionary of language (2nd ed.). London: Penguin Books.
Gomes de Matos, F. (2002). Applied peace linguistics: A new frontier for TESOLers. FIPLV World News, 56, 4-6.
Gomes de Matos, F. (2004). Are you a humanizer?: A checklist. TESOLers for Social Responsibility Newsletter, 4.
Hills, R. (1977). Writing in general and the short story in particular. New
York: Houghton Mifflin.

The author
George Bradford Patterson is a North American originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is currently residing in the Philippines finishing his Ph. D dissertation in "TURN-TAKING IN ENGLISH CONMVERSATION IN SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS at the University of the Philippines, Diliman in the College of Education in the Language Area. He has a Masters Degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey from the Graduate School of Education , Dept. Language and Learning in New Brunswick in May, 1982. He also did his BA in January, 1974 at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Later, he did a post graduate major in Spanish. He has taught EFL/ESL in Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Honduras, China, and Korea in universities, language institutes, binational centers, and international school. He is also a bilingual poet, having published two books of poetry in Spanish in Santiago, Chile through the Editorial Fertil Provincia and one book of bilinguial book of poetry in English and Spanish in the Philippines. He is also a short writer and essayist and has traveled, worked, and studied in the Philippines, China, Thailand, Singapore, India, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Peru.

Brand New Routes © 2005 - DISAL
Todos os Direitos Reservados, All Rights Reserved

Dear Friends!

http://www.peacejusticestudies.org/links.php

Francisco Gomes de Matos forwards us this message:

The Difference Between Anti-War and Peace
by Deepak Chopra
Issue 13 - November, 2005
PeaceJournalism.com - The Peace Media Research Center's e-magazine

Mon Nov 7, 3:55 PM ET

Polls show that more than half of Americans are against the Iraqi war, but a shift in public sentiment hasn't brought us any closer to achieving peace. Nor would we be any closer if all our troops came home tomorrow. The threat of terrorism still calls for a response, and we haven't found one. The American public accepted a "war on terror" as the justified response to 9/11. Our motivation was a mixture of revenge, fear, national pride, and the time-honored habit of meeting violence with violence.


So where are we now? Still afraid, still unsafe, still without revenge, still losing pride every day in the eyes of other nations, and still inflicting violence without purpose. Terrorism in Northern Ireland wasn't ended by the use of British military force. It was ended by a combination of negotiation, public fatigue, international pressure, and moral force. Certainly it was necessary to forcefully counter IRA terrorist acts and to imprison those who committed acts of terror. But without a peace movement, success is impossible in these situations.

Sadly, a peace movement has barely gotten started since 9/11. The Bush administration set down the argument as pro-war versus anti-war. No thought was given by either faction to achieving peace with the sizable portion of the planet who sees us as a militaristic bully. Among Democrats and independents, I don't detect any willingness to take seriously the truth that peace is our only alternative to a ruinous future devoted to more hatred from the Islamic world and endless skirmishes against insurgents and guerillas as they crop up anywhere.

The war on terror has no "exit plan" built into it, to use a favorite phrase of anti-war critics. Pres. Bush warned us that this conflict would basically last forever, as it must if one's goal is to wipe out every terrorist group on earth. But however heinous terrorism is, violence won't end it. Until the public realizes this--and they can only realize it if the opinion elite begins to talk peace--America has no hope of truly leading the world except by force and intimidation.

Click: www.intentblog.com
Copyright © 2005 HuffingtonPost.com

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to inform you that the call for candidates to the Linguapax awards 2006 is open. Kindly send your nominees to the secretariat of the Linguapax Institute (info@linguapax.org) before January 15 along with their short biographical note if possible.

As in previous occasions, the name of the prize-winner will be made public on February 21, coinciding with the International Mother Language Day. The Linguapax Awardee will be granted the amount of 3,000 €. For more information about the awards, please visit:

Català http://www.linguapax.org/ct/premisLPX.html
Español http://www.linguapax.org/es/premisLPXcas.html
English http://www.linguapax.org/en/premisLPXang.html
Français http://www.linguapax.org/fr/premisLPXfr.html

Best regards,
Josep Cru
Linguapax-UNESCOCAT
C/Mallorca, 285
Barcelona 08037
Spain
tlf +34 93 458 95 95
fax +34 93 457 58 51
http://www.linguapax.org
info@linguapax.org

The WMD's DemocracyNews
Electronic Newsletter of the World Movement for Democracy - www.wmd.org

CALL FOR ITEMS

POSTING NEWS:
We welcome items to include in DemocracyNews. Please send an email message to world@ned.org with the item you would like to post in the body of the message.

******************************************************************

Dear World Movement Participants:

The next issue of DemocracyNews will go out on December 7, 2005. In order to make DemocracyNews as useful as possible, we ask you to send us any items related to democracy work that you think would be of interest to others.

The next deadline for submitting items is ** November 28** Please send items to: world@ned.org.

You are encouraged to submit items under any area of democracy work. We welcome items announcing publications, upcoming events, reports on research, new Web sites, and other information, and we are most interested in posting requests for partnerships between organizations on collaborative projects, brief descriptions of collaborative projects already underway or completed, and ideas for new initiatives in which others may be interested. We hope DemocracyNews will be a source not only for information about participants' activities, but also for new ideas about strategies to advance democracy.

Please share this message with your colleagues.

******************************************************************

To subscribe send an email to subscribe-democracynews@lyris.ned.org.

If you do not have access to the Web and would like to access the materials mentioned above, please contact us by e-mail (world@ned.org) or fax (202-293-0755).

DemocracyNews is an electronic mailing list moderated by the National Endowment for Democracy as the Secretariat of the World Movement for Democracy. The material presented in DemocracyNews is intended for information purposes only.

Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
November 15, 2005

The Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

**********

ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

5. “What's on during Ramadan? Antiterror TV” by Charles Levinson
Charles Levinson, a correspondent with the Christian Science Monitor, writes about the new television shows that appear in the Middle East during Ramadan, similar to the November television-sweeps in the United States. This year’s shows include lesbianism, Arabs in post 9/11 America and challenges to the Islamic justification for terrorism, and take place against such backdrops as Iraq, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. Yet, despite the controversial nature of these themes they are receiving largely uncensored and unprecedented broadcasting across the Middle East.
(Source: Christian Science Monitor, November 3, 2005)

**********

ARTICLE 1
American and Muslim Women Working Together
Hiam Nawas

Washington, DC - American women activists and women's organisations have long been lobbying the Bush administration to press issues concerning women’s rights when dealing with Muslim countries. Recently, for instance, women’s organisations in the United States and in Iraq voiced their concerns over the status of women under the new Iraqi constitution. Many questioned whether the blood of US-service men and women was being shed to support a rollback of women’s rights in Iraq, a country where women have enjoyed equal rights in the past. In fact, many women served in high-level government positions when Saddam Hussein was in power.

US administrations, including the present one, have often been hesitant to address the question of the status of women in the Muslim world. One reason is that the US does not want to be perceived as “interfering” in the internal affairs of Muslim countries. This attitude, however, seems to be changing.

During her visit to the Middle East in September, Karen Hughes, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, raised the issue of women in almost every Muslim country that she visited. This effort was not well received in some circles. Many Muslims, including Muslim women, apparently felt that Ms. Hughes was there to lecture them on how to treat women the “American way”. They accused Ms. Hughes of not understanding the Muslim world and the values that its people espouse.

It is quite true that there are universal values that Muslim and American women share, but one needs to remember that the Muslim world is not homogeneous.

Firstly, not all Arabs are Muslims and not all Muslims are Arab. Secondly, Muslims are heterogeneous, so finding common ground between women in the US and women in the Muslim world will vary depending on the Muslim nation in question. For example, areas of common ground are more likely to exist between American and Turkish women than between American women and their Saudi or Pakistani counterparts. In Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, women do not have even basic rights such as the right to leave the house without male approval, whereas in Turkey the constitution guarantees such basic rights.

Thirdly, one of the most common problems that Muslim women face is their marginalisation, not only in social life, but also with respect to the political and business arenas. For example, Saudi women are not allowed to drive or participate in matters of state. Yet in Indonesia, the most populous of Muslim countries, a woman was elected president.

Finally, Muslim political groups, especially in Egypt and Jordan, fear that adopting Western values may drive their women away from Islam.

The majority of these groups believe that the “gender” concept means encouraging women to abandon the values and laws of Islamic culture. These groups depict modernism as Westernism and describe secular values as directly opposed to religion. As a result, some Muslim women reject Western values because they perceive them as “un-Islamic”.

What is the solution?

We need to recognise that the social structure in the Muslim world is very different from America's. American women need to understand that what is best for them is not necessarily what is best for Muslim women. Advocacy of women’s rights in the Muslim world must show sensitivity to local political realities.

It would also be useful if American women activists coordinated more with their counterparts in the Muslim world on issues of concern in each particular country. American organisations would then be more effective when lobbying the US administration on the behalf of Muslim women. A focus on abstract equality of the genders, for example, runs into religious roadblocks. A focus on practical rights such as the right to education, health, and equal pay for equal work faces less resistance and allows local women activists more manoeuvering room.

Additionally, American women’s organisations can pressure the US to raise the issue of “honour killings” whenever the US enters into a treaty with a Muslim country. (Honour killing is against the true teaching of Islam. To his credit, the mufti of the republic of Syria, Dr. Baderaddin Hassoun, recently issued a fatwa declaring honour killing a crime and that the killers should be tried for first-degree murder.) In keeping with its desire to be seen as a defender of democracy, the US should also insist that women be given the right to vote and to run for public office as a precondition to doing business with the US.

Moreover, while Muslim Americans do not always agree with US foreign policy, they are virtually unanimous in their high regard for American values. It would therefore behoove American women’s organisations to involve more Muslim American women in their efforts.

Finally, the message must be clear that there can be no real democracy in the Muslim world without the full participation of women in society.

###
* Hiam Nawas is a Jordanian-American expert on political Islam, and a political analyst with the Rothkopf Group.
Source: This article is part of a series of views on "The Role of Women in US-Muslim Relations", published in partnership with the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) and United Press International (UPI).
Visit the CGNews-PiH website at http://www.commongroundnews.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 2
Falling in the Mud of Madness
Khaled Duzdar

Jerusalem - The recent targeted suicide attacks on innocent civilians in Amman have shocked us all. It is unclear what message the suicide bombers were conveying and there is no logical cause for such insane acts. What could be the aim of these attacks and what were these mad executioners aiming to achieve? At the beginning, they were claiming that they are the defenders and fighters of Islam and the Muslim world, yet Islam is absolved from these people and their acts and ideologies - if we believe that these people are carrying any ideology at all. They promote nothing more than killing and they are only aiming to bring the region to a state of lawlessness by disturbing its stability.

The targets are no longer just the western world, western ideologies and foreign cultures; no longer only imperialism and American global domination. The target is now Muslims themselves, Arabs and Palestinians. These actions are baseless killing for the sake of killing and destruction for the sake of destruction.

When actions target innocent civilians, regular people celebrating the wedding of their children and friends, where are the aims and targets of these suicide actions? Who is targeted and why are they targeted? What are they aiming to achieve in killing innocent civilians?

Who benefits from theses actions? Who has an interest in disturbing the stability of regional countries? It is now more obvious than ever that whoever is responsible for the tragic incidents in Beirut and Sharm El-Sheikh is the same party responsible for the attacks in Amman. All these attacks serve only one purpose: to convulse security and stability in the region.

Muslims, Islamic countries and Arab countries now face a crucial challenge. There should be no excuse now for neglecting and denying the dangerous, wide spread of the carriers of this new mad disease. For that, serious actions and plans should be taken to eliminate and exterminate this wide spreading disease from our society and from Islam. Muslims and Arabs should not only have condemned the global terrorist acts carried out everywhere around the world, but also should move to isolate these destructive, invented beliefs promoted by a group of insane people and carried out in the name of defending Islam and freedom fighting.

Now and not later, is the time for us Muslims and Arabs to take over this responsibility. All Muslim and Arabs should unify in one mission, which is to fight the mad ideologies presented by mad secessionists from what Islam really brought to the world and what Islam really wants to promote. Their acts only cause severe damage to Islam and Muslims around the world. The false messages they are presenting in the name of Islam have resulted in a global misunderstanding about real Islamic belief. The evil belief of these mad people has sentenced Islam and Muslims to be stained as evil, terrorists, savages and people with no mercy.

Islamic governments and scholars shouldn't stay passive. They should assume their responsibilities now and think and plan how to cure and secure our families and societies from this widely spreading disease. They can't close their eyes and ears from the growing danger and say it isn't our problem and they don't affect us. These insane missionaries are now knocking on our doors – Hello, we are at your front doors. Hello, we are here to take you children from you. Hello, we are now killing your families -. Governments should act immediately on uprooting them from our societies. Serious actions should include plans to cripple those people and their freedom of movement, to impede providing them shelter, to draw plans to act on how to cut those people off from their financial sources and capabilities to recruit people, and mosques should be prevented from being misused. Islamic scholars should draft plans on how to defend real Islam from the distorted allegations and should raise public awareness that today our enemies are ourselves. Society should also act in defending their children from being brainwashed and should isolate any intruding damaging members into their society.

Furthermore, specifically as a Palestinian, I do accuse those people for damaging our cause and destroying our years of struggle for freedom. They can't take our cause as an excuse for their evil and mad beliefs. No matter where they are acting; in Baghdad or New York, in Istanbul or Paris, in Madrid or Amman, in Cairo or London, in Beirut or Jerusalem, or even in Bali, it only causes damage for us. Especially in times where we Palestinians are searching for international support to bring to life the long hoped for Palestinian state.

Our condolences are not just for the four senior Palestinians killed in the last suicide attack in Amman, not just for people we knew, like "Brig. General Bashir Nafea' and Colonel Abed Alon," our condolences are not only for the families of the innocent people whose only crime was to attend the wedding of their beloveds. Our condolences are for Islam and what Islam should really represent. Our condolences are for ourselves, who have fallen in the mud of madness.

###
* Khaled Duzdar is a Palestinian writer from Jerusalem.
Source: CGNews, November 11, 2005
Visit the website at www.commongroundnews.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 3
Toward a Virtual Caliphate
Peter Mandaville

Arlington, Virginia - The recent "Zawahiri- Zarqawi Letter" – purportedly a missive on strategy and tactics from Al-Qaida's #2 to their man in Iraq – once again raises the question of bin Laden's capacity to inspire and animate Islamist radicalism across borders and continents. All the more so when considered in light of the July bombings in London and renewed attacks in Bali, Indonesia.

While questions persist about the authenticity of the letter, it nevertheless provides an opportunity to reconsider the larger question of how Islamic religious authority functions in a globalized world. While many hold up the specter of al-Qaida as a de-territorialized "brand name" seeking to rally the masses of the umma (the world community of Muslims) around militant religious radicalism, al-Qaida is not the only game in town in terms of the transnational forces competing for Muslim hearts and minds. Indeed, it is possible today to point to an emerging infrastructure – on the internet and satellite television, in widely-circulated books, through major international conferences and research centers – of a countervailing effort by mainstream Islamic scholars to challenge al-Qaida's global rhetoric.

In Islam's Sunni tradition, to which approximately 90 percent of the world's Muslims adhere, there is no formal or centralized structure of religious authority, as in the Catholic Church. Instead, a variety of local religious scholars and specialists in shariah (religious law) compete with regional and – increasingly – global voices of religious authority.

Historically, Muslim states and dynasties have often relied on cadres of co-opted religious scholars for political legitimacy. At other times, religious scholars have played important civil societal roles in checking the excesses of state power. Until 1924, however, there was in the Sunni tradition a nominal global figurehead in the person and office of the caliphate. The caliph ("successor" to the Prophet Muhammad) was understood to be the worldly guardian of a divine moral order. Not in any sense a cleric, the office of the caliph – whose theoretical jurisdiction extended to all lands under Muslim rule – is better understood as fulfilling the executive branch function of implementing and preserving the law.

The issue of the caliphate provides a valuable space in which to explore the question of contemporary globalization and religious authority. This is not only because a number of Islamic political movements (Al-Qaida among them) aim to re-establish caliphate institutions, but also because wider debates about the waning influence of the nation-state under globalization may render such models of transnational religious polity more attractive.

Perhaps most interesting, however – but certainly least noticed – is a diverse body of "superstar" religious scholars whose efforts might serve as a more metaphorical embodiment of the caliphate. For this group, the caliphate is not so much a political institution attached to sovereign territory, but rather an ideal of pan-Islamic ecumenicism – a moderate and relatively inclusive form of lowest-common-denominator orthodoxy. In their minds, this community of shared knowledge and religious interpretation is explicitly designed as an antidote to bin Laden and the radical jihadis. Given the means of its establishment and propagation, such a tendency might perhaps best be thought of as a "virtual caliphate."

The figure at the forefront of this movement is Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a Qatar-based Egyptian religious scholar who trained at the venerable institution of Al-Azhar in Cairo – the Oxford of the Islamic religious sciences. In recent years, he has sought to articulate a more cosmopolitan understanding of Islam that speaks to the unique problems of the modern world while remaining firmly grounded in the traditions of Islamic law and scholarship. Qaradawi became a household name in the Arabic-speaking world during the 1990s through his popular al-Jazeera program "Islamic Law & Life," in which he directly engaged issues such as medical technology and sexuality. His approach also gained him a strong constituency outside the Arab world; in the last five years, translations of his books have consistently been top sellers in Islamic bookstores around the world.

Qaradawi's greatest contribution lies not in his ideas, but rather in the institutions he has created and the cross-national collaborations he has fostered among Islamic scholars. Qaradawi has helped to develop a sustainable infrastructure for the growth and propagation of cosmopolitan traditionalism through a global network of websites (such as the popular Islam Online) and regionally based research and outreach centers (of which the European Council for Fatwa and Research in Ireland is the best known). He played a key role in the establishment of the International Association of Muslim Scholars, a network of leading representatives from various Islamic schools of thought, orthodox and heterodox alike, seeking to counter radical Islamists who claim to monopolize authentic Islam.

But what is the actual content of this new approach? What are its goals? Its pronouncements and fatwas underscore the importance of emphasizing the similarities, rather than differences, among Islamic schools of thought. Likewise, the scholars have also condemned attempts by radical groups to declare Muslims who do not agree with them to be apostates to the faith. Qaradawi refers frequently to the Quranic injunction against extremism and the emphasis on Muslims as a moderate community of the middle (Quran 2:143).

And it is here that many of his critics would claim that Qaradawi and his associates do not go far enough. They want to see, for example, stronger denunciation of terrorism and the rejection of threats against Jews and non-Muslims – and perhaps also a stronger emphasis on the need for Muslims to co-operate with the West. In doing so, however, they miss the point. The simple fact is that policymakers in the West – and progressive liberals more generally – are not always going to agree with the opinions of Qaradawi et al. Even very open-minded followers of orthodox scripturalism in Islam will often tend toward social conservatism, meaning that there will continue to be tensions regarding homosexuality and the role of women. It will also be difficult to find complete agreement with the West on more immediate political and security issues. While Qaradawi has strongly and consistently condemned bin Laden and Al-Qaida terrorism, his pronouncements on the insurgency in Iraq and the use of violence by Palestinians have certainly been at odds with Washington.

That said, however, perhaps the worst thing the West could do is to cast figures such as Qaradawi as part of the problem simply because his views don't precisely correspond with US goals. Since 9/11, the United States has appeared to want to do business only with hand picked and officially approved "good Muslims" – that is, to work with Muslims who fit US requirements as to what Islam should be. The problem, of course, is that the figures and groups who carry Washington's seal of approval often have little to no legitimacy among the constituencies the US wants to influence.

Viewed in the big picture and over the longer term, one has to wonder whether US goals and those of the emergent "virtual caliphate" might not overlap more than they diverge. After all, a vote for Qaradawi is a vote against Zarqawi. While increased recruitment into the Qaradawi camp will not by any means produce a generation of Muslims favorably predisposed to US foreign policy, it will represent a consolidated, critical mass of influential and respected Muslims with whom meaningful dialogue with the hope of tangible progress can take place.

###
* Peter Mandaville, Director of the Center for Global Studies and Associate Professor of Government & Politics at George Mason University, is the author of Transnational Muslim Politics: Reimagining the Umma. The themes in the present piece are more fully explored in his forthcoming book Global Islam.
Source: YaleGlobal Online, October 27, 2005
Visit the website at yaleglobal.yale.edu
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication. Reprinted with permission from YaleGlobal Online, (http://yaleglobal.yale.edu) a publication of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. Copyright © 2005 Yale Center for the Study of Globalization."

**********

ARTICLE 4
Articulating An American Voice Of Islam And Justice
Muslims For Mukhtaran

Is it possible for a strong Islamic voice condemning violence against women to get serious attention by the American public? That's what several American Muslim organizations and individuals are trying to do in the case of Mukhtar Mai and her visit to the United States this week to be honored as "Woman of the Year" for Glamour Magazine. She plans to dedicate a portion of the $20,000 award to relief for victims of the recent devastating earthquake, as well as solicit more relief during her several speaking engagements raising awareness about the needs of women in Pakistan. Mukhtar Mai, it will be remembered, was subjected to a gang rape upon the orders of a tribal council in retaliation for alleged indiscretions by her brother. The six accused perpetrators were convicted and sentenced to death in 2002, then acquitted in March of 2005, then re-arrested days later, and now remain in custody pending an appeal before the Pakistani Supreme Court.

Yet despite this horrific incident and still waiting for justice, Mukhtar Bibi, as she is known, has emerged as a true grass roots activist for women in rural communities very much like the one she still lives in today, in a one-room home which often shelters others in need of help. She is now an iconic figure in Pakistan, working for the betterment of her people and, in particular, struggling for the rights and security of women, especially the poor and disempowered. In recognizing that what happened to her was due to "ignorance and lack of education" she established the Mai Mukhtaran School in her village, and includes classes from a woman scholar of Islam as part of the curriculum. She has reached out to victims of sexual violence providing them with essential support and consolation and called on her government to establish institutions where women can go to for help. Now with her visit to the United States, her struggle has acquired a broader audience.

What does this have to do with American Muslims? Everything. Mukhtar Mai has been a regular news story in every major American newspaper for years, and again made news this past summer when she was scheduled to visit the United States to speak in several venues about her experience. When President Musharraf stopped her from leaving the country, several human rights and women's groups understandably condemned this restriction on her freedoms. The resulting American public discourse on the story included major misunderstandings of what Islam has to say about rape and violence against women. This prompted some individuals from the San Francisco Bay Area Muslim community to wonder if there was anything we could and should do. Our answer? Yes. First, we took steps to invite Mukhtar Mai to our local communities to raise internal Muslim consciousness about her story. But we also were acutely aware of the prevailing American image of Islam as inherently bad for women and society. If Mukhtar Mai's visit is welcomed only by secular groups and no Muslims welcome or stand with her in support, then the unwritten message is: secular human rights groups help and seek justice for rape victims; Muslims hurt them or stand by silently. We recognized the glaring need for something much more public - a loud and clear Muslim-voiced condemnation of the gang rape, basing our position specifically on the tenets of Islam. Without a powerful and public statement in solidarity with her because of Islam's intolerance for such sexual violence against women, Mukhtar Mai's story may stand for nothing else in the American memory but one more reason to fear Islam and Muslims.

Keeping this in mind, Muslim activists and organizations drafted a Statement in Support of Mukhtar Mai. The Statement affirms that sexual violence against women is a horrible crime in Islam and that our religion requires us to stand firmly behind rape victims and to seek justice when such crimes occur. We are continually encouraged by the variety of groups that have endorsed our Statement, including several major mosques from California to New York, and local and national American Muslim organizations such as ISNA (Islamic Society of North America), MPAC (Muslim Public Affairs Council), NISA (North-American Islamic Shelter for the Abused), CAIR-SFBA (Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Francisco Bay Area), AMILA (American Muslims Intent on Learning and Activism) and others. We are still gathering signatures from American Muslim organizations, large and small. (The full text of the statement, and a link for those wishing to endorse the effort, is available at muslims4mukhtaran.halalfire.com).

Some Muslims might be inclined not to support this project. Perhaps they doubt that the rape ever happened. We considered this, and after considerable research we realized that this would contradict the overwhelming consensus of the world's preeminent human rights organizations, news reports, and even the Pakistani Attorney General currently prosecuting the appeal. Besides western newspapers, major Pakistani publications such as Dawn and The News, as well as reputed Pakistani columnists like Ardeshir Cowasjee and Irfan Husain have for three years accepted that Mukhtar Mai was gang-raped and have accepted her version of what transpired on June 22, 2002. Given all this, we were confident that Mukhtar Mai's story was the more credible. Some Muslims might not support our project because they are suspicious of internal Pakistani politics that seem to be using the case to their advantage. Whatever truth there may be in that, we believe it undeniable that if one believes that a rape did occur, a prosecution must go forward. The Muslim public must demand that crucial questions of justice be separated from political fights – both in the courtroom and in the media. And we should not fall into the trap of refusing justice to someone only because of those who choose to affiliate themselves with her case. If that can be done, we might be able to create a world where sexual violence against women is simply off-limits as a political tool.

We are proud of American Muslim contributions to the earthquake relief efforts in Pakistan and recognize that the recent disaster has admirably united the Pakistani nation in a tremendous spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood as demanded by our religion. We call on our community to once again voice their support for our Pakistani sister, Mukhtar Mai.

Muslims in the United States must also remain cognizant of our unique position in the American discourse, and the imperative which that presents in high profile cases. Often, the public has already made up its mind long before the final verdict. That is going on here. Regardless of who ultimately wins the Pakistani litigation, the American court of public opinion in the United States may have already decided that Mukhtar Mai represents yet another example of the travesty of Muslim justice that must be fought. We American Muslims can start to change that opinion, but our work is not in the courts of Pakistan, nor in its political debates. That is best shepherded by Pakistanis. We are, rather, responsible for presenting a clear, articulate American voice of justice in Islam. If we do that well, we might very well change the world, inshaAllah.

###
* Muslims For Mukhtaran is working to organize the American Muslim community to provide an Islamic response to violence against women in Muslim countries. This statement was written by group members Asifa Quraishi, Shirin Sinnar, Farhan Memon, Asif Shaikh, and Uzma Siddiqui.
Source: Alt.Muslim.com, October 31, 2005
Visit the website www.altmuslim.com.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 5
What's on during Ramadan? Antiterror TV
Charles Levinson

Cairo - In addition to the fasting, feasting, and prayers, in most Egyptian households the Muslim holy month revolves around TV. Once the sun sets in the Arab world, the 30 days of Ramadan are like November television-sweeps month in the US - and then some.

This year there are dozens of mini-series and specials ranging from the story of an Arab living in post-9/11 America to a Kuwaiti drama featuring a character who is a lesbian. But every night at 10, the Refaat family gathers in their living room to watch the most talked about show in the Middle East, "Al Hoor al Ain" (The Beautiful Virgins). It's loosely based on the November 2003 bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 18 people, all of them Arab. And it's one of a handful of shows aired here this month that are challenging the view that Islam justifies terrorism.

"This show is very important because it is treating a very delicate and crucial subject," says Rafiq al Sabban, an Egyptian film critic. "It's not solving the problem, but that's not the job of art. It is forcing viewers to confront the problem and think about it."

Al Hoor al Ain, which concludes Wednesday night, was written by a confessed former member of Al Qaeda. It tells the story of a young Saudi male torn between two sheikhs with competing versions of Islam - one militant and the other moderate. The story is narrated by a Syrian girl burned in the bombing, and stresses that the attacks were Arab-on-Arab.

Militant Islamist websites have savaged the show, and some imams in Saudi Arabia have warned worshippers not to watch it. They have singled out the show's title as particularly offensive. Al Hoor al Ain refers to the virgins the Koran says await good Muslim men in paradise. While the Koran makes no mention of "martyrdom" as a qualification, militant groups have used the passage to attract young suicide bombers to their cause.Despite the objections of conservatives, it is the No. 1 show in Saudi Arabia this Ramadan, according to the Saudi newspaper Al Okaz. And many have hailed the program as a powerful attack on extremism.

"This is an integral part of the battle against terrorism," says Abe al Masry, production manager for the Saudi-owned and Dubai-based Middle East Broadcasting Corporation, which is broadcasting the show. "It shows how bad people intentionally misread religion, and exploit religion to recruit terrorists."

In the Refaat household in Cairo, the show is a source of contention. Ahmed, a 23-year-old who's studying business at Cairo University, says the show ignores the root causes of terrorism." In the show the Saudi government is made to look like the good guys," he says. "But it is their corruption and their oppression which is driving kids to blow themselves up." His sister, Amira, a 25-year-old who works at a health club, says the show teaches "that true Islam is not about killing people."

Beyond terrorism Al Hoor al Ain does not confine itself to tackling terrorism. The cast of characters living in the compound, the ultimate victims of the bombing, hail from Morocco, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and Palestine, and are trying, often in vain, to get along. They suffer the range of ills that plague their respective societies. There are abusive husbands, sterile wives, rebellious daughters, and sons who turn to drugs."

All these families want to be united, but they don't ever reach that understanding," says Mr. Sabban the Egyptian film critic. "It's a metaphor for the Arab world. They are quarreling and they are loving each other, and they are quarreling again."

Another annual Ramadan show, "Tash Ma Tasha" (Whatever Comes Comes), has provoked an even fiercer response from Islamists, who have sent death threats to the Saudi show's producers. The show portrays Islamic extremists as incompetent and unthinking half-wits. In Wednesday night's episode a small Saudi village is divided when some villagers want to install electricity and paved roads. The conservative village sheikhs warn that such modernization will destroy their way of life. The paved road will be like a huge black snake coming from hell, one religious leader warns.

A third show this year, "The Rocky Road," exposes the hypocrisy and corruption among the mujahideen in Afghanistan. In recent years, Ramadan miniseries have triggered controversy, frequently angering the US, Israeli, and various Arab governments, or as in the case this year, Islamic fundamentalists. Last Ramadan, a series called "The Road to Kabul," about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, was cancelled after just eight episodes. The show's creators had received death threats for portraying the Taliban in a negative light. Industry insiders, however, say the reason for the show's cancellation was US pressure on the Qatari government, which produced the show. The US reportedly feared that scenes of CIA agents selling heroin to fund the mujahideen would fire anti-American sentiment in the region.

In 2001, after the second intifada broke out in Israel-Palestine, a pair of Arab TV serials recounted the exploits of Salah Eddin, who drove the crusaders from Jerusalem in 1187. "After the last intifada, that's when these serials start getting more tense and more political," says Marlin Dick, an American researcher in Beirut.

Saudi Arabia softening Ramadan serials have long been a tool exploited by Arab governments to sway public opinion. But the Saudi support for and willingness to air such programs represents a total volte-face for the government, says Egyptian screenwriter Wahed Hamid. Mr. Hamid wrote the first-ever Ramadan serial to tackle the issue of terrorism. It aired in 1993, with the blessing of the Egyptian government, which was at the time battling its own terrorism problem."

For years the Saudis have refused to show my series because they were sympathetic with terrorists, and they were the ones encouraging these extremists," Hamid says. "Now that the terror groups have started to attack them, the Saudis are rebroadcasting it once every two months."

###
* Charles Levinson is a correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor.
Source: The Christian, Science Monitor, November 3, 2005
Visit the website at www.csmonitor.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright © Christian Science Monitor. Please contact lawrenced@csps.com.

**********

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity, brought to you by Search for Common Ground, seeks to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. This service is one outcome of a set of working meetings held in partnership with His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal in June 2003.

Every week, CGNews-PiH will distribute 5 news articles, op-eds, features, and analyses that aid in developing and analyzing the current and future relationship of the West and Arab/Muslim world. Articles will be chosen based on accuracy, balance, and their ability to improve understanding and communication across borders and regions. They will also reflect the need for constructive dialogue around issues of global importance. Selections will be authored by local and international experts and leaders who will analyze and discuss a broad range of relevant issues. We invite you to submit any articles you feel are compatible with the goals of this news service.

Partners in Humanity 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 through its Youth Views column. Student journalists and writers under the age of 27 are encouraged to write cbinkley@sfcg.org for more information on contributing.

We look forward to hearing from you, and welcome any questions, concerns, or comments you may have about this service. Please forward this message to colleagues and friends who may also wish to subscribe to the service. To subscribe, send an email to subscribe-cgnewspih@sfcg.org with subscribe in the subject line.

If you are a member of the media, please join us in promoting constructive dialogue to improve understanding and perceptions. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If you choose to republish any of the articles, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org

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) 777-2207
Fax: +1(202) 232-6718

Rue Belliard 205 bte 13
B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
Ph: +32 (02) 736-7262
Fax: +32(02) 732-3033
E-mail: cgnewspih@sfcg.org
Website: http://www.commongroundnews.org

Editors:
Emad Khalil
Amman Editor

Juliette Schmidt
Beirut Editor

Elyte Baykun & Leena El-Ali
Washington Editors

Michael Shipler & Chris Binkley
Youth Views Editors

**********

This is a not-for-profit list serve.

Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you think would like to see these articles.

To subscribe, send an email to subscribe-cgnewspih@sfcg.org with subscribe in the subject line.

Dear Friend,

This is a weblog which have being designed to create a space for women who have faced violence to come together to share their experiences and stories around the world, so that survivors may know that they do not have to suffer in
silence on their own.

For safety reasons you will have to register first to write messages, this will take a couple of minutes thereafter you can have post notes.

Please feel free to send me details of any events or information you would like
if you are unable to do it yourself.

I would grately appreciate if you will promote the weblog as widely as possible
among your networks, Friends and other womens groups so that we are able to
make a small change in the lives of our sisters.

http://www.horizons.me.uk/

in sisterhood

Zinthiya

International Institute on Peace Education
2006 July 30-August 6, 2006 San Jose, Costa Rica
“Toward a Planetary Ethic: Shared and Individual Responsibility”

The 2006 International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE) is being co-organized by the Peace Education Center of Teachers College Columbia University (New York) and the UN Mandated University for Peace (Costa Rica). IIPE, founded in 1982 by Betty Reardon and faculty colleagues at Teachers College, has been held annually in different parts of the world. It is an intensive multicultural and cooperative learning opportunity in which participants learn from and with each other about substantive peace issues and interactive teaching approaches. The IIPE is also an opportunity for networking and community building among those who educate and work for a culture of peace in the host region and around the world. '

IIPE 2006 will explore the theme of “Toward a Planetary Ethic: Shared and Individual Responsibility,” recognizing that the global community has reached key areas of consensus regarding the challenges we are facing, the shared ethical frameworks of values, norms and principles for meeting them, and in particular the contributions that education should fulfill. In doing so, the IIPE will critically examine various interdependent UN based educational initiatives and normative frameworks that provide a global basis for an holistic approach to peace education: the Millennium Development Goals, the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World, Education for All, the Decade for Literacy, and the Decade for Sustainable Development Education. The IIPE will also look closely at the non-governmental Earth Charter, a declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society. The theme is inspired by the principle of universal responsibility, stated in the ‘Preamble’ of The Earth Charter, which is of fundamental importance in meeting the critical challenges of the 21st Century. Universal responsibility provides a necessary complement to the Universal Declaration of Human Right’s recognition of each person as worthy of equal respect and dignity and with accompanying ‘duties’ to the international community.

The sub theme, Shared and Individual Responsibility, refers to one of the most significant challenges entailed in giving practical meaning to the principal of universal responsibility in a world of asymmetric real freedoms and power. These asymmetries lead to “differentiated responsibility,” based on differing capacities to respond in meeting planetary challenges. This notion is stated in complementary principle 2b of the Earth Charter: “Affirm that with increased freedom, knowledge, and power comes increased responsibility to promote the common good.” Through interactive plenaries, practical workshops, reflection groups, and visits to community projects, IIPE 2006 will inquire into how education can foster responsibility, balancing respect for personal autonomy while at the same time addressing the need for meeting our common challenges as members of local, national, and planetary ethical communities.

The IIPE will draw on the experiences and insights of diverse peace educators from all world regions helping us learn from each other's experiences and innovative educational approaches and strategies in addressing such key questions as: are the U.N. educational initiatives based on ethical principles actually shared by citizens? How can we educate within the related action programs recognizing possible tensions that may exist in balancing principles of cultural diversity and integrity, personal autonomy, national sovereignty, and universal norms? What pedagogies are required to foster a consciousness of universal responsibility?

For more background on the thematic substance of IIPE 2006 please visit the Institute website at: www.tc.edu/PeaceEd/IIPE.

Peace Education Center, Teachers College #171, Columbia University 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027 (212) 678-8116 peace-ed@tc.edu

********************************************************
IPRA CALL FOR PROPOSALS
IPRA Biennial Conference *Patterns of Conflict Paths to Peace*
Calgary, Canada June 29-July 3, 2006
********************************************************

Dear Fellow Peace Workers and Researchers,

The next conference of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) will be held in Calgary, Canada from June 29 to July 3, 2006. The theme of the conference is "Patterns of Conflict and Paths to Peace."

You can apply to present a paper by filling out an online form here:
http://soc.kuleuven.be/pol/ipra/calgary_main.html

IPRA is divided into twenty different commissions. Once you submit your proposal to the central office, it will be distributed to the appropriate commission.

This is an excellent opportunity to meet peace researchers from all around the world.

Ian M. Harris
Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies
Enderis 553
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
P.O. Box 413
Mil. WI 53201 USA
(Phone)1+(414) 229-2326 (Fax) 1+ (414) 229-3700
e-mail: imh@uwm.edu
http://www.uwm.edu/~imh
************************************************
"Give Peace a Chance"

Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
November 8, 2005

The Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

**********

ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

5. “Reworking 'The Simpsons' for the Arab world” by Vivian Salama
Vivian Salama, staff writer for the Daily Star, writes about the changes “The Simpsons” are making to adapt to the Arab world. In addition to some superficial name changes, they are also adjusting their lifestyles; for example Omar (aka Homer) has substituted evenings at the coffee shop enjoying a juice or tea in lieu of the time his Western counterpart spent at the bar drinking beer. Although there are certain themes that may not conform to this new, predominantly Muslim audience, the goal is to keep the show humorous and relevant.
(Source: The Daily Star, October 28, 2005)

**********

ARTICLE 1
Women and a culture of peace
Claude Salhani

Washington, DC - Establishing a role for women in a patriarchal society, one in which they can contribute toward building a culture of peace, is no simple task. Nevertheless, despite restrictions imposed more by cultural traditions than by religious diktat, Muslim women are not entirely the second-class citizens deprived of all rights, as so often portrayed in the West. And nor are non-Muslim women living in the Muslim world.

Women, as the gentler of the two sexes, often make better cultural ambassadors, or even just better ambassadors. It is a shame that most Muslim governments have been painfully slow in recognizing that fact, at least until very recently. With the rare exception, the Muslim world’s diplomatic corps has had remarkably few females serve as head of their overseas missions.

While accompanying Karen Hughes, President Bush’s newly appointed under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs on her visit to Saudi Arabia last September, Jonathan Karl, a senior foreign affairs correspondent with ABC News, wrote in The Weekly Standard, that when he asked a young Saudi female student what she wanted to be 10 years from now, she replied, "Ambassador."

"Does Saudi Arabia have any women ambassadors, anywhere in the world?" he asked.

"No," she replied. But she is convinced that her country is changing so much that Saudi Arabia will soon have women ambassadors, reported Karl.

While the cliché of the oppressed woman still holds true in parts of the Muslim world, by and large, Muslim women have come to enjoy greater freedom. They have won the right to vote and run for office in most Muslim countries. And while they may be largely absent from their diplomatic corps, Arab women are now found serving in police forces of most, if not all, Arab countries.

Muslim women are active members of their societies, where they play influential roles. Given the chance to serve their countries as diplomats, they can impact public opinion in a positive manner, particularly in the West where they can help establish common ground between the two cultures.

Queen Noor of Jordan, and the reigning monarch’s wife, Queen Rania, are prime examples of influential Muslim women involved in promoting dialogue between cultures.

In non-Arab Muslim states, such as Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh, women have fared better, rising to the office of the presidency.

The fossilized views regarding women espoused by the Taliban or those of the strictest of Salafis are the exception rather that the rule in a changing Muslim world. Still, much more needs to be done for Muslim women to win parity with men.

Saudi author Badriyya Al-Bishr, a lecturer in social sciences at King Saud University, recently published an article in the London Arabic-language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat titled "Imagine You're a Woman." She laments the lack of women’s freedom in Saudi Arabia where adult women still require a guardian’s approval even to get a job. The ‘guardian’ may be her 15-year-old son.

In spite of these restrictions, women in the Muslim world are often not afraid to speak up, as demonstrated by a female Saudi Arabian journalist who drilled the Saudi minister of Religious Affairs at a press conference in Riyadh. Not satisfied with the answers, she persisted to the point of near harassment. It prompted the minister, who is also the kingdom’s Grand Imam, to comment to the Western press in attendance: “And some of you think we oppress our women and prevent them from voicing their opinion.”

Indeed, when Karen Hughes toured a number of Muslim countries last September, she was surprised to hear from Saudi women that driving a car, or even voting was very low on their list of priorities. Far more important was their need for the United States to better understand the Arab world, the need to build bridges between the US and the Muslim world, and the need for the US to help bring justice to all the people of the Middle East.

Countries and societies that exclude their women from active participation in every aspect of daily life only end up hurting themselves by limiting their human resource potential and brain power by nearly fifty percent. Empowering women as ambassadors of peace can help build that bridge.

###
* Claude Salhani is International Editor and a political analyst with United Press International in Washington. Comments may be sent to Claude@upi.com.
Source: This article is part of a series of views on "The Role of Women in US-Muslim Relations", published in partnership with the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) and United Press International (UPI).
Visit the website at www.sfcg.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 2
Not the Paris Intifada
Gwynne Dyer

London - “Scum,” French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy called the rioters who have seized control of many working class “suburbs” around Paris every night since Oct. 27, when two teenagers died in an accident that many blame on the police.

Accused of pouring fuel on the flames, Sarkozy responded: “For too long, politicians have not used the right words to describe reality.”

Sarkozy plans to run for the presidency next year, and he wants to seem even tougher on crime and on immigrants (two separate issues that he regularly conflates) than his main rival, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. But his conviction that the policy of multiculturalism has failed has become the new popular wisdom in France where right-wing commentators refer to the riots as the “Paris Intifada” — as if the rioters were all Muslims.

Nothing as bad as the Paris riots has happened in Britain, but last month, gangs of Afro-Caribbean and South Asian youth fought each other in the Birmingham suburb of Handsworth-Lozells and many Asian businesses were looted or destroyed. The talk in the media was all of “ghettoisation”, and even Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality and himself of Caribbean descent, was carried away by the panic.

“America is not our dream but our nightmare,” Phillips said, referring to the existence of a permanent underclass in the United States, largely defined by race, which periodically rises in hopeless revolt and burns down parts of American cities. Britain must not allow American-style racial ghettos to emerge in its cities, he warned, and linked that risk to multiculturalism: “We have allowed tolerance of diversity to harden into the effective isolation of communities.”

Meanwhile, right-wing American commentators gloat over the notion that the French, who refused to follow the Bush administration on its crusade against alleged Islamic extremists in the Middle East (you know, like Saddam Hussein), now faced a Muslim uprising at home. Multiculturalism, as an alternative to the US “melting pot” approach in which second- or third-generation immigrants eventually lose their old identities and merge into the majority, is now under attack everywhere.

Even William Pfaff, the best informed of American commentators, has stopped believing that people with profoundly different traditions can live side by side in the same country. Writing in “The Observer” after the terrorist bombs in London in July, he said: “A half-century of well-intentioned but catastrophically mistaken policy of multiculturalism, indifferent or even hostile to social and cultural integration, has produced in Britain and much of Europe a technologically educated but culturally and morally unassimilated immigrant demi-intelligentsia.”

He was in effect arguing that the London bombs would not have happened if British immigration policy over the past fifty years had extinguished any sense of solidarity between the descendants of Muslim immigrants to Britain and Muslims elsewhere. That is no doubt true, as far as it goes, but not invading Iraq would have prevented the London bombs at a much lower cost.

The real problem with all this ranting about the failures of multiculturalism is that the Paris riots are actually a splendid demonstration of the successful integration of immigrants into French culture (which has, after all, a long tradition of insurrection and revolution). The riots in Paris are not a Muslim uprising. They are not even race riots. They are an outburst of resentment and frustration by the marginalised and the unemployed of every ethnic group.

The low-income housing estates that ring Paris and other big French cities are the dumping ground for everybody that hasn't made it in the cool 21st-century France of the urban centres, and they include the old white working class as well as immigrants from France's former colonies in Arabic-speaking North Africa and sub-Saharan black Africa and from all the poorer countries of Europe. Unemployment there is often twice the national average of 10 per cent. But they are not Muslim majority communities, or even non-white majority.

Every ethnic group lives jumbled together in the apartment towers. The kid gangs that dominate the estates steal from strangers and residents alike and fight among themselves for control of the drug trade, but they are models of racial and cultural integration. This can be little consolation to the owners of the 28,000 vehicles that have been burned on those estates so far this year, but what is happening now is neither an Intifada nor a race riot. It is a incoherent revolt by kids, many of them gang members, who would once have formed the next generation of the French working class. They are no longer needed in that role and they have no future, so they are very angry. But they are not politically organised, so after a few more nights, the violence will die down again for a while.

In Britain, where unemployment is half the French level and the council estates are less grim and less isolated geographically, there is much less anger. There haven't been French-style riots in Germany either, although many Germans have deeply racist attitudes towards non-Christian and non-white immigrants, but German cities also do not concentrate their poor people, immigrant and non-immigrant, in densely populated one-class “suburbs”.

The French have little to be proud of in their immigration policy, but what has been happening there since late October is neither American-style race riots nor a Muslim rebellion. About half the kids burning the cars and the buildings are white, working-class, post-Christian French, and they get along with the black and Muslim kids just fine.

###
* Gwynne Dyer is a London-born independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.
Source: The Jordan Times, November 7, 2005
Visit the website at www.jordantimes.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 3
When we sanctify cultures, we get group-think
Irshad Manji

London - Right now, there is a contest waging around the world between the rights of the individual and the rights of cultures. In Iraq; in Spain; in Indonesia; France; in a large part, here in Britain; and even in Canada, some Muslim leaders are seeking to impose Sharia law on Muslim women and children in the name of cultural rights.

In Canada, it is Muslim women - many of them - who have hit the streets to protest what they term this abuse of multiculturalism. But they found it quite difficult to draw non-Muslims to join them. This leads not just to a lack of solidarity but also to a lack of integrity.

According to the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, last year alone, in that country, 1,200 women were murdered for alleged breaches of their families' honour. That's twice as many detainees than [there are] at Guantanamo Bay.

But honour killings have generated far less public condemnation. Why? I think a large part of the reason is cultural relativism. Now, there are many who would say "but surely we can have it both ways. We can embrace the equality of individuals and the equality of cultures". Yes, if we convince the gatekeepers of cultures to soften their own identities, allow more voices in and voices, in particular, who can and will reinterpret certain traditions.

But here's the key. Even that requires challenging traditions which risks putting people on the defensive, which risks hardening their identities. Is this a worthy risk to take? I would argue that if you believe in universal human rights as I do, then it is not just worthwhile, it is integral. As in integrity. Because if you believe that all human beings are entitled to a certain set of dignities, then those cultural practices which violate such dignities cannot, by definition, be justified.

The universality of human rights is premised on the dignity of the individual, not on the sanctity of cultures. When we sanctify those constructs called cultures, we make them static. We drain them of their dynamism. We wind up with group-think. Otherwise known as fundamentalism.

--From a contribution by the author and broadcaster to a discussion on 'Notions of Identity in a Multicultural Society', held at the Canadian High Commission in London.

###
* Irshad Manji is author of the The Trouble with Islam Today. She is currently making a film about what there is to love within Islam
Source: The Independent, October 26, 2005
Visit www.independent.co.uk
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained from the author for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 4
~YOUTH VIEWS~
In Bridging Gaps, Dialogue is Key
Marwa Abou Dayya and Alex Fortes

Beirut/Boston - Since the events of September 11, 2001, and especially since the beginning of the Iraq War in March 2003, the relationship between Arab states and the United States has been particularly contentious. As participants in Soliya Connect, a program that engages American and Arab college students in dialogue through weekly online videoconferences, we have discussed with our peers the politics, policies, and perceptions that divide these two regions. Encouraged by our surprising agreement and driven by our often-heated debates, we have attempted to better understand the issues that spark the greatest controversy between Arab and American nations. Through examination of our own views and our understanding of our respective cultures, we have identified three major areas of disagreement: Israel-Palestine; democracy, rights, and war ethics; and media objectivity. We believe that a better understanding of these issues, with an unwavering commitment to dialogue, is a vital initial step in disentangling the Arab-American tensions so prominent today.

The most viable proposal we can make is to maintain a serious commitment to increased dialogue and interaction between the two regions. This dialogue must transcend the normal interactions of diplomacy and work to place members of the society in every discipline at a discussion table, to air perceptions and grievances and to help clear up confusions. Programs such as Soliya are well designed to address this problem, but they do not go far enough. The United States' relationship to Israel, and implicitly, Israel's relationship to the Arab world, plays a pivotal role in American-Arab relations.

Therefore, a dialogue between Americans and Arabs must also include Israelis in order to be as productive as possible. The Lebanese government currently prohibits interaction between Lebanese citizens and Israelis. Throughout the course, we honored this rule and did not interact with Israelis at any point in the program; however, we think that it is vital for the interests of the whole region to open up dialogue fully between Israelis, Americans, and Arabs, at least in the context of programs with goals of fostering understanding such as Soliya. We therefore propose an effort to lobby the Lebanese government to modify this rule and exempt programs that aim at increasing understanding among the different cultures. It is also important to note that the United States, in its diversity, presents a less problematic arena in which to enhance American-Arab relations. By fostering dialogues among Americans of various backgrounds including those of Arab descent, we can soothe internal tensions having to do with the conflict without needing to address the more entrenched divides one encounters when dealing with the Middle East.

Since the Arab relationship to America is so heavily marked by the conflict in Israel and Palestine, commitment to resolution of this conflict must be the first priority of American foreign policy in the Middle East. While under the Clinton administration the United States did make earnest attempts to mediate between the two parties in the conflict, the Bush administration has until very recently been less willing to take an active role as mediator beyond putting forth proposed terms of peace. What has replaced the emphasis on Israel and Palestine - the war in Iraq - only serves to further aggravate American-Arab relations. While the justifications for this war were various and poorly corroborated, one of the chief ones stated by the American leadership is bringing democracy to the Middle East.

As a general policy goal, this is meritorious; using war as a means to achieve it, however, is anything but. The U.S. must instead emphasize reform from within, aiding it through trade liberalization and political support of popular liberal revolutions of the society. Achieving a democratic Middle East must be done on the terms of the people of the Middle East. It is the burden of Arab States to cooperate in prosecuting the most destructive elements of Arab society; however, in so doing, these governments risk being perceived as pawns of the United States and losing popular legitimacy. The subtleties of these interactions and the circumstances surrounding them are extremely complex and beyond the scope of this piece to address comprehensively. Even so, a commitment to more enlightened policies - both at the level of international politics and at the level of cultural dialogue and exchange - furthers our goal of cooperation and reconciliation.

We emphasize that maximizing social interaction and cultural exchange through various forms of dialogue - whether they be sponsored by NGOs, governments, educational institutions, or legitimate elements of the mass media - is central to decreasing the tension between American and Arab cultures.

-This joint piece by a Lebanese Muslim and an American Jew is itself a testament to the compromise and consensus that can be achieved between the two; any and all steps taken to further this goal, no matter how small, are positive.

###
* Marwa Abou Dayya is an American University of Beirut student and Alex Fortesa is a student at Harvard.
Source: CGNews-PiH Youth Views, November 8, 2005
Visit the website at www.sfcg.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 5
Reworking 'The Simpsons' for the Arab world
Vivian Salama

Cairo - As with any family moving to the Arab world from the West, "The Simpsons" quickly discovered they'd need to make some adaptations to their lives if they were to connect with the natives. First, they would change their names - the family now called Al-Shamshoons; the father, once Homer, now goes by Omar; his mischievous son Bart, now Badr.

There would be fundamental changes to their lifestyles as well. Omar, once a fan of tossing back a few beers with friends, now goes to the club or the ahwa (coffee shop) and sips on sodas and juice. The list goes on. Donuts have been replaced by kakh (Arabic cookies); bacon is done away with altogether as it is against Islam; and the kids, once a rowdy bunch of conniving delinquents, are still just as cunning but mind their manners with their parents a bit more.

Brought to life by creator Matt Groening and the FOX network, "The Simpsons," over the last decade, would take the United States and later the world by storm. The show, in a way, prompted an animation revolution - with idiosyncratic expressions such as "Doh!" recently added to the English dictionary.

In sharp contrast to cartoons already airing at the time, "The Simpsons" targeted teenagers, with its sophisticated, often controversial and risque antics. Until recently, Arab satellite network MBC aired a subtitled version of the hit cartoon sitcom. Just before Ramadan, the network won exclusive rights to air an Arabic-dubbed version of the show, slightly adapting story lines to suit Arab audiences.

"MBC is looking to find programs suitable for young adults and teenagers," says Michel Costandi, MBC's business development director in Dubai. "We've always thought of new ideas that are entertaining - introducing new genres. The dubbed version of the program fit nicely with our objectives."

Dubbing western cartoons is by no means a new trend. Disney cartoons have been dubbed for years, though their storylines are generally better suited for younger audiences. Still as dysfunctional as their U.S. counterparts, MBC's creative team looked to maintain "Al-Shamshoons" plots nearly identical to that of the original, subtly changing references that may be deemed inappropriate.

"In the Arab world, life does not revolve around bars," Costandi points out.

"Sure we have a night life, but alcohol is not really part of the daily scene in Egypt, Lebanon or anywhere else. So, we do not stress on what Homer is drinking. If he is drinking beer in the original, in ours, we let him drink something else, or we don't say what he is drinking."

"We do not have our own cartoons, unfortunately, that are as strong as the ones coming from the West," points out Shahira Khalil, editor in chief of Samir magazine and an expert in children's press. "Here, the idea is we can show things from other cultures, but the problem is that we fear our children will imitate. This is an Islamic culture - we do not encourage alcohol. It is not our culture."

Part of the success of "Al-Shamshoons" is the voices behind it. Among the major celebrities bringing life to "Al-Shamshoons" cast are actors Mohammad Heneidy, Hanan al-Turk and Rogina.

MBC executives chose to debut the Arabic version of the hit-series during the month of Ramadan as it guarantees them the highest number of viewers.

Currently, the network has only scheduled to run "Al-Shamshoons" daily through the month of Ramadan. However, Costandi says the apparent success of the dubbed program has encouraged executives to continue showing the program after the holy month. As with their decision to run Arabized-reality television shows and game shows modeled after American programs, MBC also intends to repeat the process with other Western programs that would be suitable for this age group.

The original Simpsons was famed for introducing younger audiences to controversial subjects, such as homosexuality and racism. Should MBC decide to continue airing the series, it will have to make some major decisions about the storylines it will keep and those it will do away with.

"With any good idea, we sit together in meetings and research and assess what we need at our network," Costandi adds. "Comedy was discussed - and youth audiences are important so that's how the idea came about. We had to put everything behind this to make it a success. That means talents, scheduling, the season, time slots - it's a big investment for us."

"Al-Shamshoons" is currently broadcast daily during the early-evening prime-time slot on MBC.

###
* Vivian Salama is a staff writer for the Daily Star.
Source: The Daily Star, October 28, 2005
Visit the website at www.dailystar.com.lb
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity, brought to you by Search for Common Ground, seeks to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. This service is one outcome of a set of working meetings held in partnership with His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal in June 2003.

Every week, CGNews-PiH will distribute 5 news articles, op-eds, features, and analyses that aid in developing and analyzing the current and future relationship of the West and Arab/Muslim world. Articles will be chosen based on accuracy, balance, and their ability to improve understanding and communication across borders and regions. They will also reflect the need for constructive dialogue around issues of global importance. Selections will be authored by local and international experts and leaders who will analyze and discuss a broad range of relevant issues. We invite you to submit any articles you feel are compatible with the goals of this news service.

Partners in Humanity 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 through its Youth Views column. Student journalists and writers under the age of 27 are encouraged to write cbinkley@sfcg.org for more information on contributing.

We look forward to hearing from you, and welcome any questions, concerns, or comments you may have about this service. Please forward this message to colleagues and friends who may also wish to subscribe to the service. To subscribe, send an email to subscribe-cgnewspih@sfcg.org with subscribe in the subject line.

If you are a member of the media, please join us in promoting constructive dialogue to improve understanding and perceptions. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If you choose to republish any of the articles, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org

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) 777-2207
Fax: +1(202) 232-6718

Rue Belliard 205 bte 13
B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
Ph: +32 (02) 736-7262
Fax: +32(02) 732-3033

E-mail: cgnewspih@sfcg.org
Website: http://www.commongroundnews.org

Editors:
Emad Khalil
Amman Editor

Juliette Schmidt
Beirut Editor

Elyte Baykun & Leena El-Ali
Washington Editors

Michael Shipler & Chris Binkley
Youth Views Editors

**********

This is a not-for-profit list serve.
Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you think would like to see these articles.
To subscribe, send an email to subscribe-cgnewspih@sfcg.org with subscribe in the subject line.

NEWSLETTER FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS HOUSE NETWORK

1) Widespread election falsification in Azerbaijan
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee, the Human Rights House Foundation, Human Rights Center Viasna and Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan deeply regret to note that Azerbaijani elections once again appear to have been grossly manipulated.

2) Rafto Prize to Lida Yusupova, Chechnya
The Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize for 2005 was yesterday awarded to the Chechnyan lawyer and human rights advocate Ms Lida Yusupova, in recognition of her brave and unrelenting efforts to document human rights violations and act as a spokeswoman for the forgotten victims of the war in Chechnya.

3) Kenya on the spot over treatment of human rights defenders
The Kenyan Government has failed to acknowledge a request for invitation from the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders. Three years after President Moi lost power, Kenyan defenders continue to be harassed and intimidated.

4) Belarusian independent mass media pressured
The pressure against the independent media in Belarus increases before the presidential elections due to take place in six months. - We are rudely pushed out of the legal information space into underground and “non-traditional” forms of mass-media activity, says Zhanna Litvina from the Belarusian Association of Journalists.

5) Remember Saro-Wiwa
An alliance of human rights groups and community activists, including Index on Censorship and English PEN, are joining forces to mark the tenth anniversary on Thursday of the executions of the Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight colleagues.

6) A sentencing verdict for anti-semitic statements in Poland
On 28 October, Leszek Bubel was sentenced for making anti-Semitic statements. In a rare verdict, the District Court in Warsaw ruled that Bubel committed a crime by insulting the Jewish nation in his statement.

7) Russian and Sudanese human rights defenders awarded
Mrs. Ludmila Alexeeva, the chairwoman of the Moscow Helsinki Group and Mr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, the chairman of the Sudan Social Development Organization, received the annual award from the organization “Human Rights First” in New York on 24 October.

******************************************************************

Free of charge news and background service from the Human
Rights House Network, an international forum of cooperation between
independent human rights houses. It works to strengthen cooperation and improve the security and capacity of the 80 human rights organizations in the Network. The Human Rights House Foundation in Oslo is the secretariat.

To subscribe, please send an email to: newsletter-subscribe@humanrightshouse.org

More news and background on www.humanrightshouse.org

******************************************************************

Sent by:
Borghild Tønnessen-Krokan
Editor
Human Rights House Foundation (HRH)
Address: Menneskerettighetshuset,
Tordenskioldsgate 6b, 0160 Oslo, Norway
Tel: (+47) 22 47 92 47, Direct: (+47) 22 47 92 44,
Fax: (+47) 22 47 92 01
Website: http://www.humanrightshouse.org,
http://www.menneskerettigheter.no

Die Freiheit des Vernichtungstäters
Harald Welzer über die Bereitschaft zur «Tötungsarbeit»
Von Norbert Frei
18. Oktober 2005, Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Hitler, Himmler und Heydrich - das waren die Namen, die zu hören bekam, wer als junger Deutscher in den fünfziger Jahren nach den Tätern der «Endlösung» fragte. Anfang der sechziger Jahre kam der Name Eichmann hinzu, als Verkörperung einer vermeintlichen «Banalität des Bösen», und bald darauf standen in Frankfurt am Main die «Biedermänner» von Auschwitz vor Gericht, aber ihr Profil blieb verschwommen. Im Grunde galt weiter, worauf die deutsche Nachkriegsgesellschaft sich schon sehr früh verständigt hatte: Die Vernichtung der Juden, unter grösster Geheimhaltung von ein paar «Hauptkriegsverbrechern» befohlen, war die perverse Tat einer kleinen Gruppe von Sadisten, «Asozialen» und Kriminellen. Dieser braune Abschaum der Menschheit hatte weder Namen noch Gesichter, und daran änderte eine um Aufklärung bemühte politische Pädagogik so wenig wie die zeitgeschichtliche Forschung. Die Diskretion des Unkonkreten, die den Modus der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Judenmord jahrzehntelang bestimmte, brach recht eigentlich erst auf, als 1979 ein amerikanisches Fernsehdrama den Begriff «Holocaust» an die Stelle von «Auschwitz» setzte. Fortan ging es weniger um eine anonyme Masse von sechs Millionen Toten als um einzelne Menschen mit individuellen Biografien. Und plötzlich wurden auch die Täter sichtbar.

«Täterforschung»

Die Geschichtswissenschaft reagierte auf diesen veränderten Blick, der nicht zuletzt auf einer veränderten Generationenkonstellation beruhte, in den achtziger Jahren zunächst von ihren kritischen Rändern her. Seitdem ist eine «Täterforschung» entstanden, die das menschenleere Bild der fünfziger Jahre gründlich revidiert hat. Namentlich Christopher Brownings bahnbrechende Studie über die «ganz normalen Männer» des Polizei-Reservebataillons 101, die freilich erst in der Auseinandersetzung mit Daniel Goldhagens These vom «eliminatorischen Antisemitismus» der Deutschen gebührende Aufmerksamkeit fand, trug dazu bei, dass die Vorstellung widerlegt wurde, der Holocaust sei die Tat einer kleinen, charakterlich abnormen Gruppe fanatischer Judenhasser gewesen.

An diesem Punkt setzt nun auch der Sozialpsychologe Harald Welzer an: Was, wenn nicht ein tief verinnerlichter Judenhass, liess Tausende zu «Direkttätern» werden? Wenn die geistige «Normalität» der meisten, die an den oft tagelang sich hinziehenden Erschiessungen von Männern, Frauen und Kindern beteiligt waren, nicht ausser Frage steht - wie erklären wir dann ihr Verhalten? Und nicht zuletzt: Was lässt sich daraus für die Zukunft lernen?

Welzer nutzt, systematischer als seinerzeit der Historiker Browning, die zum Teil schon klassischen Erkenntnisse der soziologischen und sozialpsychologischen Konformitäts- und Gehorsamsforschung (darunter das berühmte Milgram-Experiment und dessen Folgestudien), in die er eine mikrohistorische Rekonstruktion von Tathergängen und Tatdeutungen der einstigen Täter gleichsam einliest. Seine Quellen für diese - nicht leicht zu ertragenden - Beschreibungen sind, wie in der neueren Holocaust-Historiographie, vor allem die im Rahmen von Ermittlungs- und Gerichtsverfahren entstandenen Aussagen der Täter. Anders als die Geschichtswissenschaft interessiert sich Welzer jedoch weniger für das Spezifische der einzelnen Mordaktionen als vielmehr für die erkennbar wiederkehrenden Muster. Dadurch gelingt es ihm, zu zeigen, dass (auch unterhalb der Fragen nach «Entschlussbildung» und Entscheidungsstrukturen, die die Aufmerksamkeit der Historiker so lange okkupierten) von einem sich Schritt für Schritt entwickelnden Geschehen auszugehen ist. Die Vernichtungsaktionen «hinter der Front» - bei denen Einheiten der Wehrmacht, wie wir heute wissen, die Einsatzgruppen in vielfältiger Weise unterstützten - seien kein «statischer Sachverhalt, sondern ein sich selbst perfektionierender und dynamisierender Prozess» gewesen.

Alles ist möglich

Auch in dem, was Welzer «Tötungsarbeit» nennt, entwickelten sich Routinen. Und diese gelte es genau zu analysieren, wenn man verstehen wolle, wieso «ganz normale Männer» im Sommer des Jahres 1941 anfingen, «unbewaffnete Männer aus ihren Häusern zu holen, diese ihrer Habseligkeiten zu berauben, um sie anschliessend mit einem sich schnell verfeinernden professionellen Raffinement zu erschiessen». Ein Schlüsselbegriff in Welzers Erklärungsschema ist jener der «situativen Dynamik». Die Akteure sind, das hebt er noch stärker hervor als seinerzeit schon Browning, Teil eines blutig-primitiven, zugleich aber auch komplexen Interaktionsgefüges: mit Initiationssituationen, Professionalisierungsschüben und learning by doing. Am Ende solcher Prozesse werde das Morden dann als eine «Arbeit» begriffen, «die erledigt wird wie jede andere auch».

«Alles ist möglich», lautet deshalb Harald Welzers deprimierende Schlussfolgerung am Ende eines Buches, dessen empirischer Kern zwar um den Holocaust kreist, das sich in einem knappen Kapitel aber auch auf das Massaker von My Lai, den Genozid in Rwanda und auf die Massentötungen in Srebrenica bezieht. Die Dichte und die Überzeugungskraft, die Welzers Argumentation mit Blick auf die Holocaust-Täter entfaltet, stellen sich in den drei vergleichend erörterten Fällen allerdings nicht ein - zu schmal ist hier die Quellenlage, zu unklar bleibt das Bedingungsgefüge der Massentötungen, dessen genauer Untersuchung sich im Falle der Einsatzgruppen die wichtigsten Schlussfolgerungen des Autors verdanken.

So dunkel die Diagnose des Sozialpsychologen einerseits ist, so klar distanziert er sich andererseits vom anthropologisierenden Raunen über die böse «Natur» des Menschen und vom ewigen Warnruf vor der «dünnen Decke der Zivilisation». «Gewalt», so Welzer, «ist sozial und historisch spezifisch, und zwar qualitativ wie quantitativ.» Damit aber ist die Frage nach dem ideologischen Referenzrahmen aufgeworfen, innerhalb dessen der Holocaust geschehen konnte. In diesem aus historischer Perspektive interessantesten Zusammenhang gewichtet Welzer, unter ausdrücklicher Berufung auf die Arbeiten Raul Hilbergs, manche bekannten Argumente neu. Vor allem hebt er die Bedeutung der «NS-Moral» hervor, die seit 1933 in Deutschland neue «zeitgenössische normative Standards» geschaffen habe, ohne deren weitgehende gesellschaftliche Übernahme die Ausgrenzung der Juden nicht erklärt werden könne. In dieser Deutung erscheint der Holocaust am Ende auch als Konsequenz einer für die Mehrheit der Deutschen attraktiven Volksgemeinschafts- und Rassenideologie, von der Welzer meint, sie habe in der kurzen Phase eines zunehmend aussichtsloser werdenden Krieges schliesslich sogar das Potenzial besessen, die tradierte bürgerliche Moral zu suspendieren. Immerhin liesse sich das ostentative Bedürfnis nach Bürgerlichkeit und Sekurität, das für die Bundesrepublik der fünfziger Jahre so charakteristisch war, in diesem Sinne als eine sozialpsychische Rekonstruktionsleistung deuten.

Die psychische Eigenschaft der Autonomie, gewonnen durch die Erfahrung von «Bindung und Glück», ist unter uns Menschen zweifellos ein rares Gut. Solange das so bleibt, bleibt Harald Welzer gemäss auch weiterhin «alles möglich». Das aber kann nur heissen: Es kommt darauf an, die humanen Rahmenbedingungen und die demokratischen Strukturen unserer Existenz so zu befestigen, wie es vor 1933 in Deutschland nicht gelungen war.

Harald Welzer: Täter. Wie aus ganz normalen Menschen Massenmörder werden. Verlag S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2005. 323 S., Fr. 34.90.

Diesen Artikel finden Sie auf NZZ Online unter: http://www.nzz.ch/2005/10/18/fb/articleD5MTG.html

Copyright © Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG

The WMD's DemocracyNews
Electronic Newsletter of the World Movement for Democracy - www.wmd.org
November 2005

POSTING NEWS:
We welcome items to include in DemocracyNews. Please send an email message to world@ned.org with the item you would like to post in the body of the message.

******************************************************************

CONTENTS

24. WORLD MOVEMENT PARTICIPATING NETWORKS, ORGANIZATIONS AND
INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE

******************************************************************

DEMOCRACY ALERTS/APPEALS:

1. Internews Loses Battle to Stay in Uzbekistan
Internews, an international media development organization, lost its bid to continue working in Uzbekistan where it has been operating for ten years supporting independent media. Only ten minutes of deliberation occurred before the Tashkent Court denied Internews Network's appeal of a court ruling to shut down its office in Uzbekistan. In September, Tashkent city court found Internews Network in a number of "gross violations" of Uzbek law and ordered it to shut down. In August, two Internews employees were convicted of conspiring to publish information and produce TV programs without the necessary licenses. The liquidation order was based on these convictions as well as a number of other violations. In the last 18 months, there has been a crackdown in the country on foreign non governmental organizations, especially those supporting the development of democracy.
Go to: www.internews.org/news/2005/20051012_uzbek.html

2. Singapore NGO Condemns Death Sentence for Non-Violent Crime.
Think Centre, an independent, multi-partisan non governmental organization in Singapore, expresses its strong disappointment with the Singapore government's decision to reject the final pleas of clemency for Australian citizen Nguyen Tuong Van. Nguyen Tuong Van was convicted of smuggling a large quantity of heroin into Singapore in December 2002, and faces imminent execution by hanging following the latest decision by the government. The Think Centre finds the death penalty for Van to be an unfair, cruel, inhuman, degrading and disproportionate punishment that violates the right to life. Think Centre calls on the Singapore government and members of parliament to abandon the use of the death penalty and seek a more humane way to overcome the law enforcement problem. It also calls on all concerned persons to express their support for Nguyen Tuong Van, and all others on death row.
Go to: www.thinkcentre.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=2657

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

3. Penn Kemble, Long Time Democracy Advocate, Passes
Democrats around the world have been greatly saddened to learn of the recent passing of Penn Kemble, long time democracy advocate who most recently was a senior scholar at Freedom House and former deputy director of the US Information Agency under President Clinton. Penn maintained a lifelong commitment to the democratic cause, from his time as a civil rights activist in the U.S. to his role as a leading architect of the Community of Democracies. Most recently, he worked closely with colleagues in the World Movement for Democracy in forming the Transatlantic Democracy Network and as co-editor of its Democracy Digest. He will be sorely missed and we extend our condolences to his family and friends.
Go to: www.freedomhouse.org/media/pressrel/101905.htm

4. 2006 Fellowships for Threatened Scholars Worldwide
The Institute of International Education's Scholar Rescue Fund provides fellowships for scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries. These fellowships permit scholars to find temporary refuge at universities and colleges anywhere in the world. When conditions improve, these scholars will return home to help rebuild universities and societies ravaged by fear, conflict, and repression. Academics, researchers and independent scholars from any country, field, or discipline may qualify. Fellowships are awarded to institutions for the support of specific individuals, to be matched, in most cases, by the institution or a third-party. The application deadline is December 1, 2005.
Go to: www.iie.org//Content/NavigationMenu/Programs7/SRF/SRF.htm

5. Conference on "Burma: Looking Forward" Held
On October 26, 2005, in Washington, D.C., the Brookings Institution's-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, the National Endowment for Democracy, and Church World Service co-sponsored a day-long conference, "Burma: Looking Forward," that discussed the Burma crisis and international policy responses. Participants included activists, government officials, researchers, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations. Sessions focused on "Why Burma Matters," "Responding to Critical Issues Facing Burma and the Region," "Displaced Persons," and "International Policy Responses." "Burma:
Looking Forward" was held as part of the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium's (TBBC) annual meeting. The consortium's 10 members take turns hosting the meeting, and Church World Service is a founding member and supporter.
Go to: www.churchworldservice.org/Immigration/archives/2005/10/82.html

6. Publication: September 2005 Issue of the International Journal for Not-for-Profit Law
The International Center for Not for Profit Law (ICNL) published the September 2005 of the International Journal for Not-for-Profit Law. This issue featured articles on several topics, such as "NGO Laws in Selected Arab States," "NGO Regulations in Iran," and "Comparative Analysis of European Policies and Practices of NGO-Government Cooperation." The complete texts of these articles as well as others are available online.
Go to: www.icnl.org/JOURNAL/vol7iss4/

7. Africa Network Launches Online Discussion Forum
The African Democracy Forum (ADF) has launched an Online Discussion Forum to continue the dialogue from its annual ADF meeting in Lagos, Nigeria, in July 2005. The discussions seek to develop practical plans of action that would be recommended to the African Union, other regional inter-governmental organizations, and NGOs in Africa. Currently, there are 6 discussion groups: "Preventing Violations of the Constitution"; Ensuring Democratic, Free, and Fair Elections"; "National Human Rights Commissions: Providing a Road Map for the African Human Rights Movement"; "Instilling Justice by Educating Citizens"; "Deepening Linkages between Democracy and Human Rights"; and "Tackling Human Rights Deficits: Strategies for NGO's in Armed Conflict Situations". The discussions will end on November 30, and recommendations from the groups will be published on the ADF Web site and distributed to relevant institutions and groups.
Go to: www.africandemocracyforum.org/forum

8. IFES Launches New Web site
IFES has released an enhanced version of its Web Site. The enhancements include streamlined access to IFES publications and resources, a comprehensive inventory of democratization initiatives worldwide, helpful links, photo galleries and feature stories, and an easy-to-use press site for journalists.
Go to: www.ifes.org

9. Publication: October 2005 Issue of the Journal of Democracy
The October 2005 issue of the Journal of Democracy, published by the National
Endowment for Democracy's International Forum for Democratic Studies, focuses on "Iran's Peculiar Election." The issue includes several articles assessing the presidential elections and democratization efforts and challenges in Iran. Other articles include: "Preempting Democracy: The Case of Belarus," "Cambodia: Getting Away with Authoritarianism?,""Babel in Democratization Studies," "Nepal: Between Dictatorship and Anarchy,""Ethiopia's Extended Transition," and "The Caribbean: Democracy Adrift?"
Go to: www.journalofdemocracy.org/jod.htm

CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING

10. Civil Society to Keep Close Watch on Peer Review Process
Despite some initial difficulties, civil society groups in South Africa are still committed to ensuring that a national self-assessment conducted under the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) will be transparent. Civil society representatives have complained about the tight timetable, perceived government dominance of the process, and a lack of information about how the South African review will be managed.
Go to:
www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49456&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&Select
Country=SOUTH_AFRICA

11. CatComm in South Africa Upgraded its Web Site: Creating a Global Network of Community Solutions
Frustrated with conditions of poverty in her Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, community, Ivanilde Araújo Pinto began educating poverty-stricken children on the streets. While this effort, and many others, found little support financially, it has been successful and has grown. Catalytic Communities (CatComm) publishes the work of these small community efforts to inspire others. CatComm is a totally virtual and volunteer initiative to help low-income community members worldwide solve their local problems and share their practical solutions through an easy-to-use Internet database and other networking services. CatComm is announcing the launch of its upgraded Web site, where visitors can consult, include, or search projects in its Community Solutions Database, which already features over 100 projects.
Go to: www.catcomm.org

ELECTIONS

12. Voter Education Planning Survey: Afghanistan Election 2004
The Asia Foundation has released the findings of a voter education planning survey from Afghanistan. The survey was undertaken by The Asia Foundation to provide detailed, quantified information on the knowledge and attitudes of Afghan citizens regarding their country's first national elections, which took place in October 2004. The goal was to use the findings to provide the Foundation, and other nongovernmental organizations conducting voter education, with information needed to more accurately plan their work for elections. It builds upon similar surveys conducted by the Foundation in the past few years prior to elections in Indonesia, Cambodia, and East Timor.
Go to: www.asiafoundation.org/pdf/afghan_voter-ed04.pdf

HUMAN RIGHTS

13. Calls to End Silencing of Human Rights Defenders in Colombia, Nepal and
Zimbabwe
Civil society activists from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America have issued a resolution at the fifth International Human Rights Colloquium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, urging respect for freedoms of expression, association, and assembly. The Colloquium was held October 8-15, 2005. The statement calls on civil society organizations to pressure the governments of Colombia, Nepal, and Zimbabwe to end the harassment of human rights activists and revise or repeal legislation that curtails fundamental freedoms. They ask for an environment where activists can operate freely and without fear of reprisals, as guaranteed by regional and international human rights instruments signed by the three countries.
Go to: www.civicus.org/new/media/ColloquiumStatement.pdf

14. Human Rights Features Article: Manual Scavenging: Time to Clean Up Our Act
The latest Human Rights Features article published by the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRDC) exposes a degrading inhumane practice of "manual scavenging" used in parts of India today. The practice entails removing of human and animal excreta using brooms, small tin plates, and baskets from dry latrines and carrying it - on the head - to disposal grounds some distance away. Mostly women and young girls, manual scavengers are exposed to inhumane conditions of work that pose serious health hazards and they are employed at highly exploitative wages. Perceived as "polluters" and untouchables, scavengers are kept at the margins of society. They are forced to live in segregated settlements in the outskirts of their villages; denied access to local temples, community events, and public water taps; and are excluded from interpersonal relations. The article examines the reasons for government's failure to abolish this inhumane practice and calls for immediate action toward its elimination.
Go to: www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfeatures/HRF129.htm

15. Seoul Summit on : Promoting Human Rights in North Korea, December 18-12, 2005, Seoul, Korea
"The Seoul Summit: Promoting Human Rights in North Korea," organized by the groups for North Korean Human Rights, and Freedom House will take place on December 8-12, 2005, in Seoul, Korea. The summit will consist of a series of events focusing on promoting and improving human rights in North Korea, including a meeting of world political leaders, a Conference on North Korean Human Rights Improvement Strategy, a meeting of South Korean and international human rights and other civic society groups, and a Symposium of International University Students.
Go to: www.freenk2005.com/

INTERNET, MEDIA, AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

16. Global Forum for Media Development Draws Overflow Crowd
On October 2, 2005, in Amman, Jordan, experts from 100 countries met and explored the relationships between independent media and economic and political development. The main objective of the Global Forum for Media Development meeting was to demonstrate the linkages between media and development, including media's role in fostering political reform with a focus on countries recently experiencing transitions, such as Georgia, Ecuador, Ukraine, and Lebanon. Eighteen organizations prepared the conference, including Arab Press Freedom Watch, the International Federation of Journalists, and Internews. This was the first global gathering of media assistance practitioners to discuss the issues they face, and potentially to launch a process of collective action to increase the ability of media aid organizations to contribute to political and economic development around the world.
Go to: www.internews.org/news/2005/20051003_gfmd.html

POLITICAL AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION OF YOUTH

17. Youth Movement for Democracy Launches: Global Youth Democracy Campaign
October 18th marked the beginning of the Youth Movement for Democracy's (YMD) Global Youth Democracy Campaign. This campaign promotes democracy and inspiring young activists to mobilize and to educate youth and larger communities about the importance of human rights, and raise awareness of the positive contributions young people are making to advancing democracy in the world. As part of the campaign, YMD is hosting an Essay Contest and an international conference. The Essay Contest is open to talented and inspiring youth around the world who would like to share their stories. Contestants must answer the question: "What do you see as the most important challenge to democracy in your world, and what can the youth movement do about it?" The most important criterion for judging the contest is whether or not the readers find contestants work interesting, thought provoking, and inspiring. Deadline for essay submissions is December 1, 2005. The international conference, entitled: Global Youth Conference on Democracy and Political Participation takes place December 13-15, 2005 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The international conference will focus on issues of democracy and political participation. Questions for discussion will include: What does "democracy" mean to young people today?; What will it mean to future generations?; What changes do we want to see in our communities? And in the world?; and What kind of movement do we want to build? The Youth Movement for Democracy is a global community of youth and allies working non-violently for democracy affiliated with the World Movement for Democracy.
Go to: www.ymd.youthlink.org

18. Progress Report of Youth Electoral Study
The Youth Electoral Study's (YES) second progress report reveals that a wide range of political activities experienced in schools or during adolescent years in community organizations can have beneficial effects. These effects include more positive attitudes and intentions to engage in adult political behavior, such as voting. Therefore, the experiences of young adults in secondary schools are crucial determinants to the kind of politically aware and active citizens they become as mature adults. The project, led by Professors Murray Print (University of Sydney) and Larry Saha (Australian National University), investigates why so many young people are disengaging from democracy,
particularly as indicated by not voting.
Go to: www.civics.edfac.usyd.edu.au/projects_yes.shtml

POLITICAL PARTIES AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

19. John Smith Fellowship Accepting Applications for 2006
The John Smith Memorial Trust is currently accepting applications from potential
candidates for its 2006 Fellowship Program, which takes place in June-July, 2006. The 6-week study program in the United Kingdom aims to strengthen and deepen democratic awareness and good governance, and to demonstrate the workings of democratic organizations and their role within a democratic society. Applicants for the Fellowships are invited from: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, and the Ukraine. The Fellowship Program is open to political leaders, national or local government officials, journalists/media experts, lawyers, and influential young leaders from civil society or the NGO sector.
For further information and application form, go to:
www.johnsmithmemorialtrust.org/Web/Site/Programme/how_to_apply.asp

RESEARCH

20. Latest Issue of Democracy Research News Available Online
The Network of Democracy Research Institutes (NDRI) released the September/October issue of its e-newsletter, Democracy Research News. The current issue includes information on the recent NDRI Washington Workshop, a new Master's Degree Program on Democracy Studies at Georgetown University, recent publications by NDRI members, and a welcome to two new network members. The NDRI is a functional network of the World Movement for Democracy.
Go to: www.wmd.org/ndri/ndri-newsletter.html

TRANSPARENCY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION

21. Comparing Freedom of Information Legislation in India and Pakistan
"Right to Information Legislation: A Comparison of Pakistan's Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 and India's Right to Information Act 2005" is the title of publication from the Center for Peace and Development Pakistan (CPDI). The paper supports relevant civil society efforts and informs policy processes related to access to information Pakistan.
To access the publication, go to: www.cpdi-pakistan.org/publications/Right%20to%20Information%20Legislation.pdf
Go to: www.cpdi-pakistan.org

WOMEN'S ISSUES

22. Young Female Activist from Burma Named 2005 Asia Hero
In an article entitled: "Educating Burma," the October 10th issue of Time Asia Magazine, highlighted young Burmese activist Charm Tong's work in the movement to stop human rights violations by Burma's military regime. Tong started her human rights work at the early age of 16, and one year later addressed the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. Now 24, she works with the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN), an organization that reports on and documents the rape of hundreds of women and girls by Burmese Soldiers.
Go to: www.time.com/time/asia/2005/heroes/charm_tong.html

23. Panel at Johns Hopkins on Women and Legislative Reform in Muslim-Majority Societies
On November 17, 2005, women leaders from Muslim-majority societies will discuss strategies for the creation of egalitarian communities and reform of family law based on women's capacity to choose. The Women's Learning Partnership, in collaboration with the SAIS Dialogue Project at the Johns Hopkins University, is hosting the event.
Go to: www.learningpartnership.org/

24. WORLD MOVEMENT PARTICIPATING NETWORKS, ORGANIZATIONS AND
INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE

* African Democracy Forum (ADF) - www.africandemocracyforum.org
* Asia Foundation - www.asiafoundation.org
* Catalytic Communities (CatComm)- www.catcomm.org/
* Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)- www.cipe.org
* CIVICUS (World Alliance for Citizen Participation) - www.civicus.org
* Freedom House- www.freedomhouse.org
* International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) - www.ifes.org
* Internews- www.internews.org
* Journal of Democracy (JOD) - http://www.journalofdemocracy.org/
* Network of Democracy Research Institutes (NDRI)- www.wmd.org/ndri/ndri.html
* Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN)- www.shanwomen.org
* South Asia Human Right Documentation Center (SAHRDC) - www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/about.htm
* Transatlantic Democracy Network - www.demdigest.net/
* Women's Learning Partnership (WLP)- www.learningpartnership.org
* Youth Movement for Democracy - www.wmd.org/youth/youth.html

******************************************************************

To subscribe send an email to subscribe-democracynews@lyris.ned.org.

If you do not have access to the Web and would like to access the materials mentioned above, please contact us by e-mail(world@ned.org)or fax (202-293-0755).

DemocracyNews is an electronic mailing list moderated by the National Endowment for Democracy as the Secretariat of the World Movement for Democracy. The material presented in DemocracyNews is intended for information purposes only. The WMD's DemocracyNews Electronic Newsletter of the World Movement for Democracy - www.wmd.org

PROMOTING STABILITY IN POST-CONFLICT SITUATIONS: PROSPECTS FOR THE PROPOSED PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION
Date: Thursday November 10, 2005
Time: 1:00-2:30 p.m.
Location: United Nations Church Center
777 United Nations Plaza, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10017

RSVP: Full contact information to -
Jessica Hartl, UNA-USA
202-462-3446
jhartl@unausa.org

Featured Speakers

Jamal Benomar
Special Advisor
Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, United Nations Development Program

Thant Myint-U
Senior Officer in the Executive Office of the Secretary General
United Nations

Parvina Nadjibulla
Program Specialist on Human Rights, Peace and Security
General Board of Global Ministries
The United Methodist Church

Background

With progress towards the creation of the Peacebuilding Commission hailed as one of the successful outcomes of the 2005 World Summit, expectations have been running high that the Peacebuilding Commission will be up and running by the end of the year. With inter-governmental negotiations, led by Tanzania and Denmark, now under way to finalize details, the international community is watching closely to see whether the UN is able to realize one of its key reform efforts. Key outstanding issues include: establishment, involvement of the host country, reporting lines, agenda setting, and membership of the organizational committee. Once it is implemented, however, it remains to be seen how the Commission actually will impact the work of UN institutions already dealing with many aspects of the peacebuilding process. This distinguished panel will reflect on the need for a peacebuilding function at the UN, update us on progress towards the December 31st deadline set in the outcome document, and enlighten us on how the Commission will impact the work that they do. Fifteen minute presentations will be followed by forty-five minutes of discussion.

************************************************************

About the Council of Organizations

The Council of Organizations is a division of the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA), the nation's largest grassroots foreign policy organization and the leading center of policy research on the United Nations and global issues.

UNA-USA's reach extends to millions of Americans through its Council of Organizations, a coalition of over 100 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with interests in education, religion, labor, sustainable development, human rights, health and women's issues that all share the common goals of making the American public more knowledgeable about global issues and the U.N. and strengthening the U.S. - U.N. relationship.

With the United Nations showing an ever-increasing interest in working with civil society and NGOs, the Council of Organizations plays a critical role in offering opportunities for leaders from the NGO community to develop partnerships with the United Nations and each other.

With Executive Committees in Washington, D.C. and New York the Council sponsors monthly briefings featuring U.N. ambassadors, academics, U.S. government officials, distinguished NGO leaders and top Secretariat officials which keep the NGO community informed while offering a forum to share educational information and advocacy plans regarding issues on the U.N. agenda. The Council also works to support the United Nations by educating its members about the U.N. system through joint community work with local affiliates of organizations.

***************************************************************

For information on the Council of Organizations, or to inquire about NGO membership, visit www.unausa.org/council or contact: Jessica Hartl, Coordinator, Council of Organizations, 202-462-3446 or jhartl@unausa.org.

R-E-S-P-E-K-T, brøler Harald Eia midt i beste sendetid
Human Rights Service (HRS)
Av Jeanette, Human Rights Service

Tre brødre som ikke er brødre har en fornøyelig sketsj som forteller at i land med lavt bruttonasjonalprodukt (BNP), er landets kapital ”respekt”. Jeg kommer selv fra et land med lavt BNP, Pakistan, men er nå så heldig at jeg bor i et land med ett av verdens høyeste BNP. Sånn sett skulle ”respekt-kapitalen” være et tilbakelagt stadium, men når Eia forkledd som pakistaner brølende forlanger RESPEKT, knyter det seg i magen min. Rett og slett fordi Eia har så ufattelig rett: Respekt i Vesten og "respekt" i et land som eksempelvis Pakistan, er ikke det samme.

Respekt er komplisert
Alle mennesker ønsker seg respekt. De fleste av oss jobber hardt og målbevisst for å oppnå respekt. Vi vet også at respekt går begge veier; man oppnår ikke respekt selv, hvis en ikke respekterer andre. Vi prøver derfor å gjøre oss fortjent til respekt. Og når vi opplever å bli respektert, gir det oss en god følelse. Kanskje kan vi si det så sterkt at en både må være respektert og respektere andre for å være lykkelig og oppleve harmoni i samvær med andre mennesker.

Men respekt er ikke enkelt å mestre.

Forskjellige holdninger til respekt
Jeg har mange ganger undret meg over hva nordmenn mener med begrepet respekt. Med tiden har det gått opp for meg at ”respekt” ikke har samme meningsinnhold for nordmenn og oss pakistanere.

For pakistanere, også i Norge, anses respekt å være noe av det aller viktigste i livet. Likevel er det nettopp i de pakistanske miljøene jeg har erfart den største mangel på respekt. Allerede fra man er barn får man høre at ”uten respekt kommer en ingen vei”, og barneoppdragelsen bygger på ”respekt”: Respekt for foreldre, eldre, autoriteter, menn… Men respekten er klassifisert og organisert, jo høyere status og rang, jo høyere krav på respekt har du. Respekt er noe kan du forlange, hvis de riktige forutsetningene er tilstede. Mangler disse, så er det farvel til noe håp om respekt.

Gitt min egen opplevelse av mangel på respekt fra pakistanske miljø, spurte jeg forskjellige innvandrere og nordmenn samme spørsmålet: ’Hva legger du i begrepet respekt, og hva betyr respekt for deg?’ Svarene jeg fikk overrasket meg. Jeg hadde forventet at det ville være ulik holdning fra innvandrerne og nordmennene, men jeg skjønte ikke at det ville være så utrolig stor forskjell.

Innvandrere versus nordmenn
Innvandrerne jeg snakket med, alle som én, understreket at respekt er veldig viktig. De forklarte respekt med «å være lydig, ærbødig og ydmyk». Alle fortalte at respekt er noe man skal ha for de som er eldre og har mer livserfaring enn en selv. Dessuten skal kvinner vise menn respekt: Sin far, sine brødre og sin ektemann (og etter eventuelt ektemannens død skal hun vise samme respekten til sin eldste sønn). Denne ”respekten” innebærer at man ikke skal stille spørsmål ved en ordre som blir gitt av en som er eldre enn en selv, av ens foreldre eller av ens ektemann. Hvis man ikke opptrer lydig, ærbødig og ydmyk, så viser man heller ikke respekt. Et barn som ikke viser respekt til sine foreldre, utgjør en trussel for foreldrene og familiens ære. Skades familiens ære, kan ikke foreldrene ivareta barnas interesser. Respekterer man derimot sine foreldre, vil foreldrene ta avgjørelser som er til det beste for barnets fremtid. Er det oppstått ubalanse i familien, for eksempel at barnet er ulydig eller egenrådig, kan foreldrene og den øvrige familien gripe til trusler og tvang for å få barnet på rett spor. På denne måten ”læres” respekt.

Nordmennene hadde en helt annen holdning til respekt. Alle tok utgangspunkt i det individuelle: at respekt handler om retten til å ha egne meninger, og retten til å tenke fritt og uavhengig fra andre. Toleranse og likeverd var de ordene som ble nevnt flest ganger, og som ble forklart med at respekt handler om å verdsette andre, men uten å la det gå på bekostning av sin egenverdi. Man må respektere uten å fordømme, forlange eller misbruke. Å avvise andres rettigheter, eller tro at man ”er bedre enn andre”, er mangel på respekt. Samtidig mente nordmennene at respekt ikke bare kan gå en vei. Man blir med andre ord ikke mer respektert enn den respekt en selv utviser. Har man respekt for hverandre er det grunnlaget for harmoni, sinnsro og fred. I tillegg til respekt for foreldre, familie, venner, må man også ha respekt for lover, regler og naturen. Er det oppstått ubalanse, det vil si at man ikke respekterer, er også ”straffen” individuell: det er ens egen ære som svekkes, og en kan ikke selv forvente å få respekt.

Les hele teksten på http://www.rights.no/hrs_skrib_gen/siste/hrs_65.30_050405_101.htm

Publisert 8. november 2005, Human Rights Service ©

N.Y. Charity Begins National Awareness Campaign Against Child Slavery; Media For Humanity Hosts 'Children in Chains' at Harvard Club Nov. 14

Who: Media 4 Humanity, a NY-based nonprofit of media professionals serving at-risk children.

What: "Children in Chains... the Growth of Child Slavery in the U.S. and Abroad." A 2-hour luncheon-conference focusing on this hidden, yet hideous problem in America. Pictures, videos, expert testimony, and riveting interviews with survivors on hand.

Where: The Harvard Club: 27 West 44th St., New York (between 5th and 6th avenues).

When: Monday, Nov. 14, Noon to 2 p.m. EST

Moderator: Curtis Sliwa, WABC-TV talk show host and Guardian Angels founder.

Host: Tina Louise, actress (Ginger on Gilligan's Island), children's writer and advocate.

Speakers and Panelists:

1) Agatha Dominik, writer of Lifetime TV's "Human Trafficking" fall 2005 mini-series
2) Zoe Trodd, Harvard Professor. Historian. Expert on modern-day slavery
3) Steve Wagner, Director of Human Trafficking, Dept. of Health & Human Services
4) Florrie Burke, Psychologist. Sr. Director Anti-Trafficking Initiative with Safe Horizons
5) Pamela Chen, Assistant U.S. Attorney dealing with human trafficking
6) Carmen Maquilon, Director of Immigrants Services for Long Island Catholic Charities
7) Rachel Lloyd, Survivor of sexual exploitation. Founder & Director of GEMS-Girls.org
8) A brave survivor of human trafficking

The luncheon conference is open to the public. Tickets must be purchased in advance by calling 212-535-9006.

We really hope you join us in supporting this important campaign. Seats are $100. Tables for 10 start at $900. Corporate tables for 10 are $2,800. * This is not an actual fundraiser. Ticket sales help to cover student leaders and journalists we're inviting. The remainder goes to our anti child-slavery campaign.

We know how busy you probably are, but please take a moment to forward this on to the appropriate people at your company and also to your friends. Our conference is an event that may lead to a change in the lives of thousands of young boys and girls.

Best wishes to you and your colleagues,

Media 4 Humanity
info@Media4Humanity.org
T: (212) 535-9006
http://www.media4humanity.org/

Media 4 Humanity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)3 charitable organization of media professionals brightening the lives of disadvantaged children.
Projects include: revitalizing public school libraries in NYC and in New Orleans;
creating sports days, spa nights, literacy activities, self-esteem-building programs,
and public service campaigns on a national and global level.

The Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival at the American Museum of Natural History will have an exciting program this year.

"Original Child Bomb" is a documentary that chillingly illustrates the human cost of nuclear weapons. Please share this information with your staff and organization members to help spread the word about the festival's educational and moving films.

We greatly appreciate your help and hope to see you at the festival. The screening of "Original Child Bomb" is Sunday, November 13 at 2 pm. To see a complete schedule of the festival please visit us at: http://www.amnh.org/programs/mead/

Sincerely,
Julie Criniere
Festival Intern

Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival
American Museum of Natural History

Dear Friends,
this announcement is sent to us by Ashraf Salama, who is a member of the scientific committee for this conference.
Most warmly,
Evelin

Rebuilding sustainable communities in Iraq: policies, programs and projects
July 23-26, 2007
College of Public and Community Service
University of Massachusetts at Boston

In 2004, the World Bank and the United Nations established the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq to help "donor nations channel their resources and coordinate their support for reconstruction and development in Iraq." Similarly, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has expressed its commitment to support Iraqis in rebuilding their country by carrying out "programs in education, health care, food security, infrastructure reconstruction, airport and seaport management, economic growth, community development, local governance, and transition initiatives." Consequently, the central objective of this conference is to provide an intellectual forum for scholars and practitioners to explore how these tasks could be carried out in a manner that promotes social justice, economic and political sustainability, and full participation of all stakeholders. The outcomes of the conference deliberations should help policy makers to formulate and implement the most appropriate policies as well as embark upon innovative sustainable projects.

AfricAvenir News are kindly sent out by Eric Van Grasdorff:

Liebe/Liebe Freunde,

Auch diese Woche möchten wir Sie herzlich einladen zu zwei weiteren Veranstaltungen im Rahmen von "African Perspectives".

Zunächst findet am Freitag, den 11. November um 20 Uhr in der Galerie der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung unsere zweite Szenische Lesung statt. Vorgetragen wird aus dem Werk "Kinjeketile" von Ebrahim Hussein, es lesen Lusako Karonga, Michael Ojake, Nisma Cherrat und Errol Harewood. Das ursprünglich in Suaheli verfasste Stück erzählt die Geschichte des Maji-Maji Widerstandes 1904/1905 im damaligen Deutsch-Ostafrika (heute Tanzania, Burundi, Ruanda). Die ausgewählten Szenen heben besonders die Figur des legendären, spirituellen Oberhauptes Kinjeketile Ngwales im Krieg gegen die Kolonialherrschaft hervor, der zum Schutz vor den Angriffen der Deutschen hunderttausende von Männern mit heiligem Maji (Suaheli: Wasser) weihte. Thematisch umrahmt wird die Szenische Lesung von ausgesuchten Zeugensaussagen Überlebender des Maji-Maji Krieges. Die Veranstaltung findet statt in Kooperation mit dem Afro-Berliner Theaterensemble abok, der Heinric h-Böll-Stiftung und dem BER (Berliner Entwicklungspolitischer Ratschlag e.V.), Fördermittel stellt das BMZ (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung). Eintritt: 3 Euro.

Ein Highlight unserer Filmreihe bildet die Vorpremiere des diesjährigen FESPACO-Gewinners "Drum" von Zola Maseko, ein Spielfilm, zu dem AfricAvenir am Sonntag, den 13. November um 17.15 Uhr in das Filmtheater Hackesche Höfe einlädt. "Drum" erzählt die Geschichte des südafrikanischen Journalisten Henry Nxumalo, der in den 50er Jahren als Sportreporter für DRUM, dem damals wichtigsten Lifestyle-Magazin Afrikas, arbeitet. Die Ungerechtigkeiten des Apartheidregimes veranlassen Nxumalo nach und nach, seine Beiträge vorwiegend politischen Themen zu widmen, die das Magazin bald zum führenden Sprachrohr der Regimekritiker werden lässt, zunehmend aber der Regierung ein Dorn im Auge ist. Im Anschluss an den Film besteht die Möglichkeit zur Diskussion mit der Schauspielerin Moshidi Motshegwa. Die Veranstaltung findet in Kooperation mit der INISA und dem South African Club statt sowie mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Südafrikanischen Botschaft, der South African Airways, dem BER (Berliner Entwicklungspolitischer Ratschlag e.V.) und dem BMZ (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung). Eintritt: 5 Euro

R: Zola Maseko, SA/USA/D 2004, 94 min, OmU

Ort: Filmtheater Hackesche Höfe (Rosenthaler Str. 40/41, 10178 Berlin)
Vorbestellung unter: 030 - 2 83 46 03 (MO-SA ab 14.30 Uhr/SO ab 10.30 Uhr.

www.AfricAvenir.org
Wollen Sie Fördermitglied von AfricAvenir International e.V. werden?
Kontaktieren Sie Ann Kathrin Helfrich, Fon: 030-80906789, a.helfrich@africavenir.org

Redaktion des Newsletters: Eric Van Grasdorff, e.vangrasdorff@africavenir.org
AfricAvenir International e.V. ist nicht für die Inhalte externer Webseiten verantwortlich.

Dear Friend,
Please see Stephanie Heuer's book I Feel Like Nobody When … I Feel Like Somebody When … that she created subsequent to our 2004 Paris meeting! She sends us kindly the following message:

Book signings
November 29th, Barnes and Noble
6 PM
Almanden Plaza
San Jose CA

December 10th, Borders
12pm
Oakridge Mall
San Jose, CA

Stephanie writes further more:

I am negotiating two more, but don't have the dates. Since it is so near to the holidays, it may have to be after March when things pick up again. I spoke at SouthPort Elementary school in October on Respect Day, and there is a possibility that the Vallejo school district may have me come and implement the same idea in that district. Indeed, very significant.

This book is truly amazing when parents and children read it. People have stories they can immediately relate too about how they were treated, humiliated, embarrassed, etc. I have had people cry, laugh, and most of all, think about how they and their children can change. Having such an impact is significant for me. It is real, it has a face, it has a purpose. I will spend now a good portion of my life dedicated to this change in behaviour and how to treat one another at all levels. It has changed how I communiciate with my children, my students, my husband, my family and the people I meet in everyday life.

See you in New York. I may be coming early, like on the 13, or 14th, I will book this week. I may have a meeting relating to the book, or another job I have taken on as a technical advisor for a Norwegian company.

klem fra meg.
safa

Dear Friend!
Please see further down a message from George Jacobs. Would you like to collaborate?

Dear Evelin,
We were in touch about a year ago, when Arran Stibbe and I discussed with you our work on the language we use to talk about our fellow animals (see http://www.humiliationstudies.org/intervention/animals.php).

I'm pleased to inform you that we have co-edited a special issue of the journal Society & Animals, due to appear early in 2006. The special issue will be available online only in 2007. Firther down please find the issue's intro. I'm happy to forward soft copies of any of the articles to anyone you know who might be interested.

Arran and I plan to continue pursuing this topic, in case anyone you know is doing parallel work and/or might like to collaborate.

Cooperatively yours - george

George Jacobs, Ph.D.
President, Vegetarian Society (Singapore)
www.vegetarian-society.org
george @ vegetarian-society . org
190 Clemenceau Ave, #04-19/20
Singapore Shopping Centre
SINGAPORE 239924 (address for correspondence only)

Brief Introduction to the special issue

The twentieth century saw what could be described as a parting of the ways between humans and other species of animal in many parts of the world. Increasing urbanisation and the intensification of farming resulted in restricted opportunities to interact directly with other animals, particularly free-roaming animals in their natural habitats. At the same time, changes in technology led to greatly increased opportunities to come into contact with animals indirectly, through their representation in media such as film, television and the internet. This extra stage of mediation between actual animals in the world and a human population’s experience of them is extremely important, because representations are necessarily partial.

Among the forces which potentially influence representations are powerful commercial forces, pressuring for more intensive confinement of animals, increased human use of habitats, larger catches of wild animals, and numerous other ways of increasing the utility drawn from animals. At the same time, these forces are resisted in a variety of directions by those working for animal welfare, rights or liberation, as well as environmentalists and ecologists aware of the effects that the treatment of animals was having on the planet.

Over the course of the twenty first century, the relationship between humans and other animals looks set to become even more distant, and more mediated. As cloning, genetic engineering, the use of animals as medicine factories, and new confinement techniques go from being a novelty to being ubiquitous, representation will increasingly become the site where the future of many species of animals is determined.
It becomes increasingly important, therefore, to understand the processes of representation and how they are influenced by the forces present in society. There have, in recent years, been a number of studies of the linguistic representation of non-human animals, but this will be the first special issue dedicated entirely to analysis of linguistic representations of animals and contains six new articles.

A Ladder Without Rungs: Exploring Metaphors of Trauma

Howard Zehr
Co-Director, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding
Professor of Restorative Justice
Eastern Mennonite University
Harrisonburg, VA 22802
Voice: 540-432-4492
Fax: 540-432-4449
http://www.emu.edu/cjp/

Restraining Rage: The Ideology of Anger Control in Classical Antiquity
by William Harris

Review by M.F. Burnyeat
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v24/n20/burn02_.html

We should flatten a country or two,' said a young man to the television camera on 11 September last year. 'Justice, not revenge,' the Roman Catholic bishops warned that same day. They were not given time to explain the difference, nor was the young man asked to name a country or two for flattening. But the bishops had reason to speak out.

It would be going too far to say that 11 September undid centuries of Christian teaching and made revenge respectable again, just as William Harris is over the top when he opines: 'In the United States, views about revenge seem to have sunk to a level appropriate to a neolithic village.' But it is troubling how much public talk of revenge there is at present. This study of rage restraint in classical antiquity must have been completed before 11 September. In the shadow of that trauma, it has a topicality its author can hardly have expected.

Harris is known for ground-breaking books on Roman imperialism and on literacy in the ancient world. His new book, a vastly ambitious attempt to cover nearly every aspect of anger in antiquity from Homer to early Christianity, breaks fresh ground again. Despite a somewhat rambling organisation and quirky remarks like the one just quoted (what's the evidence for neolithic views on revenge?), it is full of interest. Harris's only serious omission is anger in the context of war. The ancients had much to say about anger both as a major cause of war, including civil war, and as a potent factor in the fighting. Harris's neglect of the military aspects of his subject (just two brief entries in the index under 'war, warfare') is a surprising lapse.

In his De Ira ('On Anger'), Seneca claimed that anger is the only passion that can at times grip a whole nation. By 'anger' he meant the desire for vengeance against an enemy that has inflicted injury on one's people: 'No entire people has ever burned with love for a woman, no whole state has set its hope on money or gain; ambition seizes individuals one by one; only fury plagues whole communities at once.' We do not need to endorse this claim (grief is an obvious rival) to appreciate that anger and revenge are back in the news today, precisely in connection with whole communities at war with each other. Not only in the potential war against Iraq, but also on both sides of the conflict in Israel, territory of the Roman province of Palestine.

'Anger' is the first word of Western literature. 'Sing, goddess, the wrath of Achilles' is the opening prayer of Homer's Iliad, but in the original Greek, the word mhˆnin, 'wrath' or 'anger', comes first, in the place of emphasis. The anger of Achilles is the central theme of our civilisation's first and most powerful epic.

Achilles is angry because Agamemnon has grabbed his girl, his booty in the war against Troy. A great insult to his honour and prestige, which Homeric values count as injury to the person. Athene intervenes to check his urge to kill Agamemnon on the spot, and he withdraws in a sulk from the fighting. Deprived of their best warrior, the Greeks begin to lose ground. Achilles refuses to come to their rescue. It is only when they are pushed right back to their ships, one of which the Trojans set ablaze, that he relents and allows his beloved friend Patroclus to rejoin the Greek army to help drive the enemy off the beaches. And it is only when Patroclus himself is killed that Achilles takes up arms again to avenge his death, slaughtering Hector and dragging his body three times around Patroclus' tomb.

For centuries, this story was compulsory school reading for both Greeks and Romans. 'It was at Rome that I was raised and taught how much the wrath of Achilles harmed the Greeks,' Horace wrote as prelude to recalling his own wretched fate on the losing side at the battle of Philippi, which decided the civil war between defenders of the Roman Republic and the future Emperor Augustus. By the first century bc, the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon had become emblematic of the horrors of internal strife and civil war. Yet that quarrel was only one dramatic episode in a larger conflict between East and West. The cause of the Greeks' attack on Troy was their outrage at Paris' abduction of Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta. The Greeks sought revenge, booty, annihilation of their enemy's prosperity. After ten long weary years, they won.

As it began, so it continued. Greek and Roman literature return constantly to the theme of injury, often by way of insult or slight to the dignity of a god or human, followed by anger and revenge, often revenge of appalling savagery. Think of the grisly end of Euripides' Hippolytus, written in the fifth century bc. Hippolytus, his body mangled by his own horses, is dying because Aphrodite, goddess of sexual love, was offended by the chastity of his life dedicated to the virgin goddess Artemis. Or of Euripides' Medea, in which Medea's rage at Jason for taking another wife leads her to kill the children she bore him. Not to save them from a terrible fate (as in Toni Morrison's Beloved), but to retaliate for what Jason has done to her: 'It's the way to hurt my husband most,' she says. Medea was popular enough to be repeatedly restaged in the next century, and was re-created in Latin by Seneca for the brutal world of the early Roman Empire.

I pick these two examples of post-Homeric revenge because one of Harris's most interesting chapters is on angry women. He discusses Medea and other examples from tragedy, but also less 'literary' sources, such as Galen's description of his mother: 'She sometimes bit her slave-women; she constantly screamed at my father and fought with him, more than Xanthippe did with Socrates.' This may be a stereotype masquerading as autobiography (to show that Galen knows what he is talking about in a medical work on the diagnosis and therapy of the passions), but for the historian stereotypes are often more significant than individual lives: 'A properly organised community, from the point of view of Greek and Roman men, was one in which women knew their place, and knowing their place involved, among other things, avoiding anger. The stereotype we have been examining implies that there was almost no legitimate place for women's anger.'

So far, excellent. The stereotype can be documented for all periods of antiquity. But that need not mean, as Harris claims, that it 'represented women as the irascible sex' or that 'the angry emotions were feminine.' The wrath of Achilles was deplorable in many ways, but it was hardly effeminate. I prefer to take the stereotype as evidence that the angry emotions were supposed to be the prerogative of the male. Not of course in excess, or in the undignified manner of Xanthippe's alleged nagging of Socrates. But the corollary of there being almost no legitimate place for women's anger was that male anger, appropriately expressed, was not only legitimate: it was required. Aristotle describes as 'slavish' a man who does not get angry at insults to himself and his family, meaning that he is ignoble because he does not stand up for himself and his own. The assertiveness required of a self-respecting man was frowned on in slaves and women. Medea's vengefulness was all the more terrible for being the expression of womanly rage. (A goddess's anger is beyond condemnation, like a storm at sea.)

To call the non-angry man 'slavish' is itself a stereotypical insult. Aristotle is not voicing a personal opinion, but articulating generally accepted values in a chapter of his Nicomachean Ethics devoted to the analysis of a virtue he terms 'gentleness' (prao´thV). The gentle man is not, as a modern reader might expect, someone who seldom gets angry, but rather someone whose anger is always proportionate to the offence and the offender. Lack of anger is as much a vice, by Aristotle's account, as being habitually bad-tempered or unreasonably severe on minor offences. Conversely, proper anger may range from the mild to the extreme, depending on the gravity of the provocation it responds to.

This chapter of Aristotle's refutes a central claim of Harris's book. Harris contends that the Greek word o'rgh´ does not correspond to our 'anger' because it always refers to intense emotion, anger on the point of bursting out into some violent expression. Mild anger, or anger that is prudently restrained, is not o'rgh´. If this were correct, Aristotle could not introduce 'gentleness' as the virtue that disposes one to proper, proportionate reactions of anger (o'rgai´). Nor could Plato in his Laws rule that a young man must endure his o'rgh´ quietly if he is roughed up by a senior citizen.

Another piece of Aristotelian wisdom which Harris rejects is that even mild anger nourishes thoughts of revenge, retaliation, or getting back at the one who 'done me wrong'. 'Let anger be defined,' Aristotle wrote for his students of rhetoric, 'as a desire, accompanied by pain, for apparent revenge in response to an apparent insult to oneself or one's own from persons who ought not to insult one.' The qualification 'apparent' caters for the subjectivity of emotion. You take him to have insulted you, and you respond in a way you hope will hurt. It makes no difference whether you are right or wrong in these assessments. You are still angry. You still desire the satisfaction of revenge as requital for the pain you felt. That, according to Aristotle, is what anger is. And he was not alone in thinking this. Other philosophers' definitions of anger use different words to say much the same.

If we follow Aristotle rather than Harris, the ancient concern about anger is not just about intense anger, but about anger as such, and a key question is whether revenge and retaliation have a legitimate role in society or one's personal life. The question is complicated by the ancient context, where the state did not have the official monopoly on violence that we are used to. In Classical Greece there were no public prosecutors to bring an offender to justice; charges had to be brought by the victim of the crime or by relatives of the victim. Under the Roman Empire, when Seneca was writing, an officer could legally execute his soldiers; the head of a household could execute his son or his slaves; and the governor of a province could execute the people he ruled. In such a context it is difficult to maintain a sharp distinction between punishment and revenge, and in fact common Greek and Latin verbs for punishing (timwre´w, ulciscor) also translate in terms of revenge or retribution. If Aristotle and other philosophers are right about the desire to return pain for pain being an essential component of anger - anger as experienced then, in a society where the honour code remained as binding as it was for Achilles and Agamemnon - it is easy to understand why the angry emotions became a prime topic of concern. In a world dominated by powerful men, the consequences of anger could be lethal.

'There is nothing so ugly as a harsh temper yoked to supreme power,' Cicero wrote in late 60 or early 59 bc to his irascible brother Quintus, then serving as governor of the province of Asia (modern Turkey). The cure he recommended (without much confidence that it would help with a man of Quintus' age) was to study the many writings of the philosophers about anger.

There were indeed many. As well as Seneca's De Ira, read and admired as long as Europeans were brought up to understand Latin, and several pertinent treatises by Galen, we are lucky enough to have two more essays on anger control: one by Plutarch and another by the Epicurean Philodemus, recovered from the ashes of the volcano at Herculaneum, near Naples. But we know the authors and titles of numerous other works on anger which have not survived.

Evidently, anger was a subject of intense concern. A story from Seneca will illustrate why:

There was Gnaeus Piso, whom I can remember: a man free from many vices, but misguided, in that he mistook inflexibility for firmness. In a fit of anger he ordered the execution of a soldier who had returned from leave of absence without his comrade, on the ground that if the man did not produce his companion, he must have killed him; and when the soldier asked for a little time to institute a search, he refused the request. The condemned man was led outside the rampart, and as he was in the act of presenting his neck, there suddenly appeared the very comrade who was supposed to have been murdered. Hereupon the centurion in charge of the execution bade the guardsman sheathe his sword, and led the condemned man back to Piso in order to exonerate Piso from guilt, as fortune had exonerated the soldier. A huge crowd amid great rejoicing in the camp escorted the two comrades locked in each other's arms. Piso mounted the tribunal in a rage, and ordered both soldiers to be led to execution, the one who had done no murder and the one who had escaped it! What could be more scandalous? Two were dying because one had been proved innocent. And Piso added a third. He ordered the centurion who had brought back the condemned man to be executed as well. On account of the innocence of one man, three were appointed to die in the self-same place. How clever is anger in devising excuses for its madness! 'You,' it says, 'I order to be executed because you were condemned; you, because you were the cause of your comrade's condemnation; you, because you did not obey your commander when you were ordered to kill.' It thought out three charges because it had grounds for none.

Most philosophers held that anger neither could nor should be eradicated entirely. It is both an intrinsic part of human nature and an asset to society when there is fighting to be done. To remove anger, they said, quoting Plato quoting Homer's disparaging description of Menelaus, is 'to cut out as it were the sinews of the soul and make oneself "a feeble warrior"'. The solution, therefore, is to moderate anger so as to avoid the excesses of Achilles, and to train people to be angry on the right occasions only, in the appropriate manner and degree. Which might mean very angry indeed, especially on the battlefield.

Stoics such as Seneca, however, argued that anger could and should be banished altogether. The Stoics were inspired by Socrates' revolutionary stand against revenge, as expressed in a passage of Plato's Crito (often echoed by Christian writers in later antiquity) where Socrates insists that we should never return wrong for wrong, injury for injury. Socrates was no Jesus commanding his followers to turn the other cheek, but a thinker reminding his old friend Crito of the conclusion of many arguments they have shared in the past, to the effect that the urge to hit back is demeaning and harmful to anyone who succumbs to it. This does not commit Socrates to pacifism (he fought bravely for his country), but to a view of war as the administration of just punishment aimed at restraining and, if possible, reforming the offenders. And that is the view he espouses in Plato's Republic when discussing war between one Greek state and another. About larger conflicts with non-Greek peoples of the East he remains silent. His more conventional interlocutor Glaucon recommends a no-holds-barred approach to barbarians.

The Stoics, who view mankind as a global community, share Socrates' opposition to revenge and his judicial approach to the use of violence. Seneca continues the passage quoted earlier with the following words:

Anger, I say, has this great fault - it refuses to be ruled. It rages against truth itself if the truth turns out contrary to its desire. With outcry and uproar and gestures that shake the whole body it pursues those whom it has marked out, heaping upon them abuse and curses. Not thus does reason act. But if need should so require, it silently and quietly wipes out entire households, destroying families baneful to the state - wives, children, and all; it even tears down their houses, levelling them to the ground, and abolishes the very names of the foes of liberty. All this it will do, but with no gnashing of the teeth, no wild tossing of the head, doing nothing that would be unseemly for a judge, whose countenance should at no time be more calm and unmoved than when he is delivering a weighty sentence.

Modern weaponry, operating from a great distance, makes calm slaughter much easier. Nowadays it is the folk back home whose anger is needed to sustain support for a war. In antiquity, many of those involved in a decision to go to war would themselves have to take part in the fighting - face to face with the enemy. That did not make wars less frequent than they have been since. But it did allow critics of the Stoic position to complain that it is unrealistic to expect soldiers to stay cool, calm and dispassionate in the turmoil of battle.

Harris agrees with this complaint, although he is aware that Stoics think it beside the point. It is beside the point because the judicial impartiality Seneca describes is an ideal: reason at its human best directed by perfect wisdom. The Stoic claim is that we should aspire to that ideal, not that any of us are likely to attain it in practice, and they spell out the life we should strive for by describing the character and conduct of a sage who has achieved it. Harris may see the figure of the Stoic sage as a philosopher's subterfuge, but there were Greeks and Romans who did seriously try to live up to Stoic values. One such, no ordinary soldier, was the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who ruled from 161 to 180 ad.

His Meditations open with a tribute to his grandfather Verus for having provided him with an inspiring example of nobility of character and freedom from anger. The relevance of this tribute (mistranslated by Harris into a boast by Marcus to be free from anger already) becomes clear in later pages, where the supreme commander of the Roman army records the efforts he makes to help himself live up to his grandfather's example and restrain his temper. One of the things he does is scramble the stereotypes. He tells himself that calm gentleness is both more human and more manly than indignation, that gentleness is the character which has strength and sinews and fortitude. Gentleness is closer to power because 'as grief is a mark of weakness, so is anger, for both have been wounded and have surrendered to the wound.'

This gentleness is not identical with the Aristotelian virtue. As a Stoic, Marcus condemns all anger, not just anger disproportionate to the offence. And the Stoic case against anger is at its strongest when applied to the big strategic decisions that fall to emperors and generals. It is entirely realistic for both soldiers and civilians to demand that anger play no part there at all.

M.F. Burnyeat (/contribhome.php?get=burn02) is a senior research fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. His books include The 'Theaetetus' of Plato, Ancient Philosophy and Notes on Eta and Theta of Aristotle's 'Metaphysics'.

politisches buch:

Von Christopher R. Browning

In den 1990er Jahren wurde die Debatte über Holocaust-Täter zwischen zwei gegensätzlichen Lagern geführt. Daniel Goldhagen sprach sich für ein »kognitives« Modell aus, das die Denkweise und Einstellung der »normalen Deutschen« durch einen jahrhundertealten und tief in der Kultur verwurzelten »eliminatorischen« Antisemitismus erklärte. Goldhagen beschrieb eine deutsche Gesellschaft, die nur auf die Nationalsozialisten gewartet hatte, um den Genozid gegen die Juden entfesseln zu können, an dem »normale Deutsche« geradezu begeistert teilnahmen, weil sie ihn als notwendig und richtig erachteten. Ich dagegen führte in meinem Buch Ganz normale Männer (1993) ins Feld, dass situative Faktoren und allgemeinere Eigenschaften der menschlichen Natur (wie sie etwa aus der Dynamik des Gruppenverhaltens erwachsen) »normale Männer« zu nationalsozialistischen Mördern werden ließen. Dabei berief ich mich vor allem auf sozialpsychologische Erkenntnisse hinsichtlich Konformismus, Autoritätsglaube und Rollenadaption, die sich den damals schon jahrzehntealten klassischen Experimenten von Salomon Asch, Stanley Milgram und Philip Zimbardo verdankten. Goldhagen fand derartige Faktoren nebensächlich und den sozialpsychologischen Ansatz generell irreführend.

Nun zeigt ein neuer Beitrag zu dieser Debatte vonseiten der Sozialpsychologen – die nach der Glanzzeit von Asch, Milgram und Zimbardo das Interesse an dem Thema verloren hatten –, dass ein polemisches Nebeneinanderstellen von ideologischen und kognitiven Faktoren einerseits und verhaltens- und situationsbedingten Faktoren andererseits eine falsche Dichotomie herstellt. Wie schon der amerikanische Sozialpsychologe Leonard Newman führt jetzt auch Harald Welzer überzeugend aus, dass es keine »objektiven« Situationen gibt; vielmehr bewegen wir uns in einer »konstruierten« Welt, in der wir die Umstände, unter denen wir leben, gemäß unseren unterschiedlichen »normativen Referenzrahmen« und kulturellen Voraussetzungen sowie unseren allgemeinen Verhaltensmustern wahrnehmen, interpretieren, bewerten und auf sie reagieren. Jede künftige Täterforschung muss also versuchen, die richtige Mischung aus kulturellen und situativen Faktoren und deren Wechselwirkung zu finden – und darf sie nicht nebeneinander stellen.

Die Originalität und der wichtige wissenschaftliche Beitrag von Harald Welzers neuem Buch liegen darin, dass er ältere sozialpsychologische Erkenntnisse über Gruppenverhalten und soziale Prozesse mit der neuen Größe »Referenzrahmen« kombiniert und den daraus resultierenden begrifflichen und theoretischen Ansatz auf eine detaillierte Fallstudie anwendet: die »normalen Männer« des Reserve-Polizeibataillons 45, eines berüchtigten Killerkommandos in der Ukraine, das dem Reserve-Polizeibataillon 101 in der Region Lublin und dem Reserve-Polizeibataillon 133 in Ostgalizien an tödlicher Effizienz in nichts nachstand.

Letztendlich nimmt Welzer zwei große Fragen in Angriff: Wie und warum konnte sich der »normative Referenzrahmen« nach 1933 in Deutschland so schnell und vollkommen verändern? Und warum waren fast alle »normalen Männer« in Einheiten wie dem Reserve-Polizeibataillon 45 bereit zu töten, wenn auch mit einem unterschiedlichen Grad von Begeisterung, Gleichgültigkeit oder Abscheu? Im Mittelpunkt der NS-Herrschaft stand für Welzer die Neudefinition der menschlichen Gemeinschaft, und zwar von einer integrativen, dem Menschenbild der Aufklärung verpflichteten hin zu einer ausgrenzenden, auf Rassismus und Antisemitismus basierenden. Diese radikale Neustrukturierung der Mitgliedschaft im deutschen Kollektiv führt der Autor auf drei Gründe zurück. Historisch lag sie im Sonderweg Deutschlands im 19. Jahrhundert begründet. Wegen der fehlenden erfolgreichen bürgerlichen Revolution konnten sich in Deutschland aristokratisch sanktionierte Werte wie Ungleichheit und Ehre gegen die Ideale der Aufklärung durchsetzen. Im unmittelbaren Kontext der 1930er Jahre schließlich lieferte die Ausgrenzung und Verunglimpfung der Juden für alle, die der Volksgemeinschaft als »Arier« angehörten, die psychische Genugtuung einer »kollektiven Nobilitierung«. Die Plünderung der Juden bedeutete zugleich materielle Befriedigung und Bereicherung aller Nichtjuden. Und drittens (und meiner Ansicht nach am wenigsten überzeugend) behauptet Welzer, dass – unter dem Aspekt des Menschseins in der Moderne – Freiheit und Autonomie von vielen als Last empfunden wurden; insofern galt die Befreiung von Verantwortung und Selbstbeherrschung gegenüber der ausgegrenzten Gruppe als willkommene Entlastung.

Welzers Erklärung, warum es den Nationalsozialisten so schnell und lückenlos gelang, einen auf Ausgrenzung basierenden neuen »Referenzrahmen« zu schaffen, mag mitunter eklektisch und bruchstückhaft sein. Trotzdem ist ein zentrales und überzeugendes Argument des Buches, dass die erfolgreiche Neudefinition, wer der deutschen Gesellschaft angehörte, grundlegend für die Ingangsetzung der »selbst dynamisierenden sozialen Veränderungsprozesse« war, die zum Massenmord an den Ausgeschlossenen führten.

Für Welzer war der entscheidende Wendepunkt 1933 – nicht 1939 oder 1941. Dass die Ausgrenzung der Juden sich ziemlich problemlos im Alltag vollziehen konnte, bedeutete zugleich die Anerkennung einer neuen »NS-Moral« auf breiter Ebene. Die entscheidenden Elemente dieser »NS-Moral« lauteten, dass es gut und sinnvoll sei, die »jüdische Frage« zu lösen, auch wenn dies radikaler Mittel bedurfte. Vielleicht war es nicht vorhersehbar, aber letztlich ermöglichte die Ausgrenzung, dass die Enteignung und Ermordung der Juden von jeglichem Bewusstsein für Verbrechen und Unmoral entkoppelt werden konnte.

Welzer untersucht dann, wie »normale Männer« im Reserve-Polizeibataillon 45 zu willigen Mördern wurden. Dabei beruft er sich sowohl auf die Situation wie auf den Prozess. Er nutzt die Forschung von Asch, Milgram und Zimbardo, um akribisch herauszuarbeiten, dass die Männer des Bataillons, die den Auftrag zum Mord an den Juden erhielten, verschiedene Stadien durchliefen: Erwartung, Initiation, Ausführung und Anpassung. Es war ein sich langsam vollziehender Prozess, der den Massenmord durch zunehmende Professionalisierung in normale »Arbeit« umwandelte. Für Sozialpsychologen ist es eher ungewöhnlich, eigene historisch-empirische Untersuchungen anzustellen, meistens stützt man sich auf die Forschungsarbeiten anderer. Welzers großes Verdienst ist es, dass er die Verhöre und Aussagen dieser Männer sorgfältig analysiert und viele faszinierende Beobachtungen angestellt hat. Er zeichnet ein kollektives Porträt der »normalen« Mörder als Männer, die in ihrer »Arbeit« größtenteils eine unangenehme, aber durchaus notwendige historische Pflicht sahen, wegen der sie weder damals noch später ein schlechtes Gewissen empfanden.

Welzer hat ein wichtiges und wertvolles Buch geschrieben, das die Debatte über die Holocaust-Täter voranbringt. Ich begrüße seinen Versuch, ein Gleichgewicht zwischen kulturellen und situativen Faktoren herstellen zu wollen, nur besteht zwischen Teilen seiner Argumentation eine gewisse Spannung, die er meiner Ansicht nach klarer hätte herausarbeiten müssen. Welzer führt an, dass die Täter keine moralischen Skrupel überwinden mussten, als man ihnen den Auftrag zum Morden erteilte, weil sie den neuen »Referenzrahmen«, der das Töten der Juden von Verbrechen trennt, bereits verinnerlicht hatten. Ihr Morden war im Wesentlichen eine Spiegelung der in den Jahren zuvor angenommenen Überzeugungen.

Welzer erkennt außerdem, wenn auch weit weniger nachdrücklich, zwei wichtige Beobachtungen im menschlichen Verhaltensbereich an. Einerseits wollen auch Täter sich als »moralisch handelnde Personen« sehen und von anderen so gesehen werden. Andererseits gilt die Maxime: »Praxis selbst verändert die normative Perspektive.« Zusammengenommen liefern diese beiden Erkenntnisse eine gute Erklärung für die schnelle Anpassung und Verwandlung der »normalen« Täter, die einen stärkeren Akzent auf die unmittelbare Situation setzt, in der sich diese 1941 befanden. Viele waren anfangs von ihrem Tötungsauftrag irritiert und beunruhigt, und das nicht nur, weil diese schwierige Arbeit neu für sie war, sondern weil sie – gemäß Raul Hilberg – tatsächlich »moralische Skrupel« plagten, die als »nachhaltige Auswirkung der zweitausendjährigen westlichen Moral und Ethik« zu verstehen waren. Die Anerkennung der »NS-Moral« bedeutete allerdings nicht die sofortige und vollkommene Ausblendung anderer Überzeugungen und Werte. Die meisten Deutschen durchlebten das »Dritte Reich« in einem Zustand des Leugnens und redeten sich ein, sie müssten sich zwischen der Loyalität zum Naziregime und traditioneller Moral entscheiden.

Im Gegensatz dazu blieb den Mitgliedern der Tötungseinheiten tatsächlich nur eine harte und unvermeidliche Wahl. Angesichts des starken Drucks, sich in der gegebenen Situation konform zu verhalten, gehorsam zu sein und die zugewiesene Rolle anzunehmen, wurden die meisten Männer zu Mördern, sobald ihrer Einheit der Auftrag dazu erteilt wurde. Anfangs empfanden die meisten durchaus Kummer und »kognitive Dissonanz«. Und wie Leonard Newman behauptet hat: »Verpflichtet man Menschen zu Verhaltensweisen, die gegen ihre normalen Maßstäbe verstoßen, sind sie bereit, ihre Einstellungen und Überzeugungen zu ändern, um die Diskrepanz zwischen ihrem Verhalten und ihrem Wissen zu vermindern.«

Kurz gesagt: Das mörderische Handeln der »normalen« Deutschen war zum Teil durch die Überzeugungen geprägt, die sie sich während der NS-Zeit zu Eigen gemacht hatten, doch die Überzeugungen vieler »normaler« Deutscher wurden auch durch ihr Handeln geprägt.

Aus dem Englischen von Brigitte Jakobeit

TESOLers Social Responsibilities

by Francisco Gomes de Matos
an applied peace linguist from Recife

In recent meetings with local teachers of English, I have added one query to my list of provocative questions: How do you demonstrate or exemplify that you are an English language educator with social responsibilities?

To systematize that challenge, I resort to the strategy of asking participants to list, in alphabetical order, some of the roles that they play, especially in classrooms, but also outside the school context, that manifest such social responsibility.

I´d like to extend the above-mentioned challenge to you, but with the addition of something new, as is expected of creative actions (or CREactivations, to use one of my favourite terms when discussing the creative dimension in English language teaching): provide additional roles to those I have made explicit as motivational starters.

Ready to play? Try to add as many roles for each letter in the alphabet as possible, but remember that your contributions should sound/look/feel realistic and relevant.

Upon conclusion of this type of engaging practice, individually or in small groups, ask yourself/yourselves: Which of the roles would we select as more representative of what I/we do in our classrooms? Why?

Following is my alphabetically arranged list. In groups, I ask participants to interpret each suggested role, rather than telling them my intended meaning.

A TESOLer´s social responsibilities would include such teacher roles as;

activist
builder
crosscultural agent
dignifier
ethics-promoter
fighter
generator
humanizer
integrator
joiner
kindness agent
liberator
mediator
nourisher
organizer
peace-promoter
query-provoker
reconciler
supporter
TRANSformer
unifier
value-promoter
well-wisher
X (?)
Y (?)
Z (?)

What about the letters with no roles attached? Filling those blanks is another challenge to you as creative users of English. Look forward to your feedback, so this experience can become a feedforward!

Last but not least (to borrow a cliché), I wonder how each of us TESOLers fare when it comes to assessing our own roles as socially responsible educators?

Francisco Gomes de Matos

Adapted from the TSR NEWSLETTER for September, 2005, Volume 5, Issue 2

TESOLers for Social Responsibility Caucus Statement of Purpose:
TESOLers for Social Responsibility comprises TESOL members who are Actively engaged in integrating language teaching with social responsibility, world citizenship, and an awareness of global issues such as peace, human rights, and the environment. The caucus aims to promote social responsibility within the TESOL profession and to advance social equity, respect for differences, and multicultural understanding through education.

November 01 2005

Discourse and Power in a Multilingual World
by Author: Adrian Blackledge, University of Birmingham

Series Title: Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture 15 2005, John Benjamins, http://www.benjamins.com/

Abstract:
In Discourse and Power in a Multilingual World the discourse of politicians and policy-makers in Britain links languages other than English, and therefore speakers of these languages, with civil disorder and threats to democracy, citizenship and nationhood. These powerful arguments travel along 'chains of discourse' until they gain the legitimacy of the state, and are inscribed in law. The particular focus of this volume is on discourse linking 'race riots' in England in 2001 with the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, which extended legislation to test the English language proficiency of British citizenship applicants.

Adrian Blackledge develops a theoretical and methodological framework which draws on critical discourse analysis to reveal the linguistic character of social and cultural processes and structures; on Bakhtin's notion of the dialogic nature of discourse to demonstrate how voices progressively gain authority; and on Bourdieu's model of symbolic domination to illuminate the way in which linguistic-minority speakers may be complicit in the misrecognition, or valorisation, of the dominant language.

Table of contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
1. Language, ideology and power 1-29
2. Language ideologies in multilingual contexts 31-58
3. Discourse and discrimination in the social arena 59-92
4. Political discourse and the rhetoric of discrimination 93-119
5. Political discourse and the media 121-153
6. Representing the voice of the people 155-180
7. The legitimation of discriminatory discourse 181-205
8. Discourse, power and the multilingual world 207-231
Notes 233-237
References 239-248
Index 249-252

"This important and timely book strengthens our understanding of the macro-linguistic contexts in which multilingualism is embedded. It is an incisive analysis of 'new racism' and discrimination masquerading as liberalism, and a passionate plea for new images of and new engagement with 'Muslim' residents in a 'Western' nation."  Professor Ingrid Piller, Basel University, Switzerland

"'Discourse and Power in a Multilingual World' is a timely contribution to our understanding of how deeply-rooted ideologies of language, nation and State give rise to current racialized discourses of inclusion and exclusion under contemporary conditions of globalized transnational movements."  Profesor Monica Heller, CREFO, OISE, Universit de Toronto, Canada

"Adrian Blackledge has made a major contribution to our understanding of the nexus between language and power in social and political life, and all who are interested in this linkage will benefit from a close reading of this book."  Professor Ronald Schmidt, Sr, California State University, Long Beach, USA

"In this day and age where xenophobia is spreading like wildfire and national and global policies originate from fear and threats of 'the other', this book offers a unique and comprehensive analysis of the process through which the discourse and language of politicians, the media and others in authority serve as such powerful tools contributing and perpetuating such ideologies of discrimination. This book should be on the required reading list not only for students of applied linguistics and discourse, but also for those in political science, sociology and public policy whose research engages with the role of language within policy making."
Professor Elana Shohamy, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Hardback: ISBN: 9027227055 Pages: x, 252 Price: Europe EURO 110.00
Hardback: ISBN: 9027227055 Pages: x, 252 Price: U.S. $ 132.00

The American science of interrogation
Debility, dependency and dread - for decades, U.S. researchers and policymakers ramped up the techniques of "coercive" questioning.
By Rebecca Lemov
© Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-lemov22oct22,0,3219677
October 22, 2005
Opinion : Commentary

REBECCA LEMOV is the author of "World as Laboratory: Experiments with Mice, Mazes and Men," to be published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in December.

PAGING THROUGH the sheaf of declassified documents that comprise the first three years of Bush administration policy toward detainees in the global war on terror, one comes across a curious document. Dated Nov. 27, 2002, it is a short affair, about two pages, but it is important because it marks a potential turning point, a road not taken.

Until that point, the administration had been accumulating legal arguments for "ramping up" the use of more aggressive interrogation techniques. But in this particular document several higher-ups took a step back, recommending that certain techniques known as Category III (such as "waterboarding" and false executions) be halted pending further review. "Our armed forces are trained to a standard of interrogation that reflects a tradition of restraint," warned William J. Haynes II, general counsel to the Department of Defense.

Still, even in this cautionary document, a long list of techniques, including "the use of stress positions (like standing) for a maximum of four hours" within a 24-hour period, as well as the forced shaving of body parts, were approved without reservation. Signing off on this document several days later was Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who took the trouble to add a mild, handwritten demurral: "However, I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to 4 hours? D.R."

Rumsfeld's penciled comment is remarkable for two things: the fact that the secretary of Defense took time out that afternoon to imagine what it would be like to be subjected to a coercive interrogation technique, and the suggestion that he found it entirely reasonable. In the weeks that followed, the stress-positions technique that he referred to (Category II, No. 1), along with many other interrogation methods, were approved for use.

Rumsfeld, however, was far from the first American to think closely and carefully about interrogation. In fact, beginning in the 1920s, an American science of coercion was honed in laboratories and, eventually, extended to post-laboratory settings such as prisons and detention centers, giving how-to instructions in applying coercive stimuli to increase a subject's compliance.

Coercion wasn't new, of course. As long as prisons and ideologies have existed, interrogators and inquisitioners have passed down tried-and-true techniques for getting information out of those who are reluctant to give it up.

But in 20th century America, breaking the human will became a science, indeed a uniquely American one, sometimes called "aversive conditioning" and sometimes "coercive interrogation." (Indeed, who but Americans, with their bent to render everything from cake baking to car repair as science, could have imagined creating systematic methods for eliminating "purposive behavior" and inculcating "desired goal responses"?)

THE FIRST RAT ran through the first maze for scientific ends around 1906 at the University of Chicago. This was the work of the youngest PhD Chicago had ever produced, John B. Watson, who employed rats in various stages of sensory deprivation - their whiskers plucked out, paws muffled, eyes blinded - to ascertain whether they could still navigate a maze.

It didn't take long before rat-in-maze work and other animal experimentation had taken off in psych labs at every major university. One lab experiment that signaled a breakthrough, of sorts, for the budding science of interrogation was undertaken by Yale's Hobart Mowrer in the mid-1930s. Mowrer showed that when sheep and guinea pigs were hooked up to electrodes and subjected to an unpredictable regime of shocks, their stress level in anticipation of a shock could be made to rise to "any desired level."

In the 1920s and 1930s, social scientists (from psychology, sociology, anthropology and psychoanalysis) began transferring their research from small animals to human beings in what came to be known as "human engineering," a type of behaviorism-meets-Freud approach aimed at developing a unified science of human behavior. At Yale, scientists worked to render the vagaries of all that people do and think as charts, numbers and logarithms.

When researchers tried a similar procedure to Mowrer's on humans in 1937 - specifically, Yale undergraduates were stripped nude, strapped to wire Army cots and rigged with electrodes delivering shocks to their wrists and thighs - most subjects dropped out of the experiment forthwith. Undaunted, the Yale researchers concluded you could actually rewire a person this way, and that you could also use symbols to bring about radical changes of mind and behavior.

During the mid-1950s, this line of research grew (and turned toward the pragmatic). An immense Cold War program run by the military, State Department, CIA and other governmental and nongovernmental sources proceeded into the chancy terrain of what could be done with controlled environments and captive human beings.

Dr. Louis Jolyon West, working in a climate of fervid anticommunism toward the end of the Korean War, was hired by the military to research the urgent problem of a disturbing "attitude change" observed among American fighters who were returned from captivity. The men were displaying a compliance rate that seemed close to total, and in the Journal of Social Issues, two leading social scientists who examined them and studied their debriefing files questioned "whether or not persons may at some time be helpless to control their behavior once they have fallen into 'enemy' hands."

West's group came up with the moniker "DDD" - based on the Yale scientists' theories of conditioned fear - to explain what had happened to some of the men. The first D was for debility: This was induced by semi-starvation, fatigue and poor health (untreated wounds, in particular). The second D was for dependency: This was produced by a prolonged deprivation of basic requirements such as food and sleep. The deprivation was interrupted by occasional, unpredictable, brief respites, reminding the prisoner that the captor had the power to relieve his misery.

The third D was for dread, produced by encouraging chronic fear - of death, pain, deformity or permanent disability. Captors also hinted at violence against a prisoner's family and other unnamed humiliations. In each case, the factors of DDD sent the prisoner down a gradual path of weakening that in most instances led to total compliance with his captors' demands.

ENTER THE CIA, which quickly realized it could use these findings itself in dealing with enemy captives. By 1963, the CIA's relevant chapter in the manual Counterintelligence Interrogation, "The Coercive Counterintelligence Interrogation of Resistant Sources," included a step-by-step approach for inducing the "debility-dependence-dread state" through the manipulation of the prisoner's sleep, temperature, clothing, body image, anxiety level, sense of dignity and ultimately sense of self.

Also in the 1950s, Harold Wolff of the Cornell Medical School was commissioned by his acquaintance, CIA head Allen Dulles, to compile all historical and current information available on the topic of "forceful indoctrination." In addition to interviewing defected KGB agents and looking over top-secret files, Wolff and his colleague, Lawrence Hinkle, appear to have run some experiments of their own. A test subject was placed in an untenable situation - a "situation of frustration" - in which any effort to escape or reduce discomfort was fruitless. "If the pressures are continued long enough . he becomes first exasperated, and finally dejected and dependent upon anyone who offers to help him," they reported. Their 1956 "Communist Interrogation and Indoctrination of 'Enemies of State' " became a classic in the field.

In succeeding decades, the science of coercion spread. In the 1970s and 1980s, the CIA-backed School of the Americas taught Argentine, Salvadoran and Panamanian soldiers techniques for forcibly extracting information. An updated 1983 CIA field manual, harking back to Wolff and Hinkle, described how a "questioner" could work "to manipulate the subject's environment, to create unpleasant or intolerable situations, to disrupt patterns of time, space and sensory perception."

So was there ever a "tradition of restraint," as claimed by Haynes in his memo? In some parts of government, perhaps. There were, for instance, directives (found, among other places, in the U.S. Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation) designed with care to uphold a standard of comportment and that, altogether, comprise a different take on interrogation from the CIA's gloves-off approach.

The recent 90-9 vote in the Senate approving, over strong White House opposition, an amendment by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that outlaws the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of any prisoners under U.S. control is an important nod to that tradition.

But to understand how cruel, inhuman and degrading techniques came into favor, one must turn to a more remote scientific history - nearly forgotten, slightly embarrassing but increasingly pervasive.

© Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-lemov22oct22,0,3219677

"Those who suppress freedom always do so in the name of law and order." John V. Lindsay

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Dear Friends,
Please see further down a message which Leo Semashko kindly sends to us with regard to the significance of children:

Dear Evelin,
I am very grateful to you for your deep understanding of the necessity to make children a priority in society and for its firm support. I fully agree with you that the quality of its relation to children and youth defines the quality of a society. As seen in the last two centuries and deftly expressed by Janusz Korczak in the beginning of the 20th century, the traditional quality of relations of an industrial society and state to children, leaves a wide open space for humiliation of the children’s dignity. Despite all the successes of an information society growing inside the industrial society, children are now doubly marginal.

Double marginality of children is, first, the age marginality and, secondly, the social marginality. The age marginality is natural; it is connected with the initial age, when the human is still small, weak and ignorant. But the child possesses all human qualities at the beginning of development. This marginality comes from nature, it is temporary, and it passes with age. The social (including state, political and legal) marginality of children is created by society and defined by its quality. Presently social marginality of children is manifested first of all in the age voting qualification. All the Constitutions recognize a human as a citizen of the state from the moment of his birth but voting rights are only received from the moment of maturity, as a rule, at 18 years. However, there is an opportunity to give voting rights from the moment of birth but, owing to the age marginality, the EXECUTION of a child’s voting right would be INCUMBENT upon his parents or legal guardians.

Thus, social marginality of children differs from natural (age) that there is a social way of overcoming it. (The only way to overcome the natural marginality of children is for them to reach adulthood.) However, until now the industrial society and state is not interested in overcoming the social marginality of children. Therefore, the children of the industrial society must endure this double marginality, this double source of humiliation. In this connection the most authoritative international organization – the UN - was compelled to ascertain on the Special Session (May 2002) that modern society leaves children in "poverty, discrimination and neglect" and that it has not created "a world fit for children" yet. Poverty, discrimination and neglect are doubly strong sources of humiliation for children. Double marginality of children in the industrial society fosters humiliations of children, at least twice as large and strong as the humiliation suffered by adults. You, as the doctor of medicine and psychology know better than I, what deep and pernicious consequences (psychological, moral, social, professional etc.) result from the double humiliation of children.

The quality of the human capital of society and social capital of the person is cut "at the root" by double marginality of children. A social priority of children, established by the social-cultural institute of children’s suffrage executed by parents and guardians, is the sole way to overcome the social marginality of children and the reason for their humiliation. The priority of children will neutralize a social source of their humiliation and arm them and their caregivers (parents, teachers, doctors, grandmothers, grandfathers, instructors etc.) with the powerful tool of an opposition and minimization of their humiliation owing to their natural (age) marginality. The priority of children removes the social marginality of children in all countries and cultures.

A serious step in the direction of children’s priority and a sharp reduction of their humiliation was made in Sweden, the first nation in the world to accept in 1979 the "anti-spanking" law forbidding parents to use corporal punishment on their children. But this law, despite its doubtless value, only limits arbitrariness on the part of parents and does not aim them at prevention of the social humiliation of children ("poverty, discrimination and neglect") and does not arm them with an adequate powerful and lawful mechanism. The social-cultural and legal institute of children’s suffrage executed by parents can be such a mechanism. It creates and establishes the necessary preconditions for the priority of children in a society and state. Only in a condition of children’s priority, when children come first in the society and state, is it possible to expect a qualitative reduction of the children’s humiliation and an increase in the quality of the human and social capital.

I see a role for children’s priority in the statement of equal dignity of all people proclaimed by the Declaration of the Rights of Human and in prevention of the humiliation of the human dignity. I do not consider my opinion to be the final word; therefore I would be glad if you put it up for discussion on the site of your unique international organization "Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies" (HumanDHS). The discussion topic can be formulated approximately so: "Priority of children, human dignity and humiliation prevention". Such a discussion is possible on our site if its authors would be interested in it.

Warmest wishes of peace and harmony,

Leo

Dear Friends!
Grace Feuerverger kindly sends us this message:

Applications are invited for a tenure-stream position at the rank of Assistant Professor in Urban Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT).

The appointment will be made in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, which offers graduate programs in Curriculum and Second Language Education, as well as teacher education programs in the Bachelor of Education and Master of Teaching formats.

The successful candidate will possess: a doctoral degree; extensive educational experience in curriculum, teaching and learning in urban schools at the elementary or secondary school level (or other comparable expertise); a strong commitment to initial teacher education and the continuing professional development of teachers; a well informed and responsive approach to issues of equity and diversity; an understanding of and demonstrated leadership in school-university partnerships; and a distinctive research and publications record with an ongoing program of research in one or more of the following areas: “at-risk” learners, multi-literacies, equity (e.g., anti-racist, anti-homophobic, and inclusive pedagogies); curriculum and social justice; urban school reform policies and strategies; poverty and school achievement; community-school partnerships; youth identity issues; teacher development.

Responsibilities of the position will include conducting research, teaching courses and supervising master’s and doctoral theses in the graduate program, teaching in the teacher education programs, and working collaboratively in the Department’s Centre for Urban Schooling, with related units across OISE/UT and the University of Toronto, and with school districts in the Greater Toronto area. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. The appointment will commence on July 1, 2006.

Applications, which must include full curriculum vitae, should be submitted by November 15, 2005, to Professor Dennis Thiessen, Chair, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1V6. Three confidential letters of reference should be sent directly to Professor Thiessen by the same date.

The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from visible minority group members, women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, members of sexual minority groups, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority.

For more information, please visit the OISE/UT web site at http://www.oise.utoronto.ca or the Department’s web site at
http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/depts/ctl/

Dear all

I am writing to let you know that the information on how to apply for a Large Research Grant for the Diasporas, Migration and Identities Programme is now available on the Arts and Humanities Research Council Website (www.ahrc.ac.uk). Click on the Diasporas, Migration and Identities Link on the right of the home page, and then click on Research Grants. The information given below will appear:

· Details of the call for outline applications to the Diasporas, Migration and Identities Research Grants Scheme

· The AHRC Research Funding Guide provides an overview of the Research Grants Scheme. It details the eligibility criteria, assessment criteria, information on how to apply, application deadlines, eligible dates and terms and conditions of awards

· Guidance Notes for completing and submitting the outline application form for the Diasporas, Migration and Identities Research Grants Scheme

· Outline application form for Diasporas, Migration and Identities Research Grants

· The Diasporas, Migration and Identities Programme Specification, which we strongly advise you to read before submitting an outline application

· Subject Coverage

· Frequently Asked Questions document for more details on the Programme.

Good luck with your applications, and do get back to us if you have any queries once you have looked at the documentation.

Katie Roche
AHRC Programme Administrator
Diasporas, Migration and Identities
Address: Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds LS2 9JT
Tel: +44 113 3437838
Fax: +44 113 3433654
email: k.a.roche@leeds.ac.uk
http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/dmi

Dear friends and colleagues,

conflict & communication online Vol. 4, No. 2 is on the net and can be downloaded from the internet address www.cco.regener-online.de .

Best regards,
Wilhelm Kempf

Table of contents:

Conflict journalism and the audience: Framing, comprehension and response I

Samuel Peleg & Eithan Alimi
A Palestinian State - Yes or No? Constructing political discourse in the Israeli print news media - An experimental design

Wilhelm Kempf
Two experiments focusing on de-escalation oriented coverage of post-war conflicts

Juan Lallave
The accectability of arguments in favour and against the Iraq War

Non-thematic contributions

Lydia Eckstein Jackson & Jennifer L. Sparr
Introducing a new scale for the measurement of moral disengagement in peace and conflict research

Book reviews

R. Hackett & Y. Zhao (eds), 2005. Democratizing Global Media: One World, Many Struggles. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Martin Löffelholz (ed.), 2004. Krieg als Medienereignis II. Krisenkommunikation im 21. Jahrhundert. Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

Projektgruppe Friedensforschung Konstanz (ed), 2005. Nachrichtenmedien als Mediatoren von Peace Building, Demokratisierung und Versöhnung in Nachkriegsgesellschaften. Berlin: regener.

Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Kempf
Department of Psychology
University of Konstanz
D-78457 Konstanz
Germany

AfricAvenir News are kindly sent out by Eric Van Grasdorff:

Liebe/Liebe Freunde,

Multikulturalität ist ein Schlagwort, das sich aus dem Vokabular des 21. Jahrhunderts nicht mehr wegdenken lässt, in sämtlichen Bereichen - sei es Politik oder Wirtschaft, Literatur, Sozialwissenschaften oder Religion - unaufhaltsam an Einfluss gewinnend. Dennoch ist Multikulturalität kein Phänomen der vergangenen Jahrzehnte; das friedvolle Zusammenleben heterogener Völker und Kulturen findet sich wiederholt und auf unterschiedlichste Weise in unserer Geschichte wieder, sowohl innerhalb Europas als auch andernorts.

Ein noch und gerade in der heutigen Zeit wieder interessantes Modell einer funktionierenden multikulturellen Gesellschaft bietet die im mittelalterlichen Spanien sich entwickelnde Bevölkerung, bestehend aus muslimischen Mauren, Christen und Juden, die das damalige Al Andalus – heute Andalusien – zu einem der kulturellen Zentren Europas wachsen ließen.

AfricAvenir International e.V. lädt ein zu einer viertägigen Studienreise ins andalusische Sevilla Südspaniens, um vor Ort die Spuren der multikulturellen Vergangenheit dieser Region und deren Auswirkungen auf die gegenwärtige Situation - insbesondere auch die Migrationspolitik der Regierung Zapatero betreffend - zu entdecken.

Zunächst wird in einer Stadtführung ein Gesamtbild der Sevillas entworfen, das nicht nur die Schönheit der Stadt projiziert, sondern besonders die vielfältigen Einflüsse jahrhundertelanger Migration hervorhebt. Diese ersten Eindrücke werden in Vorträgen über die geschichtlichen Zusammenhänge und deren Einfluss auf die sprachliche Entwicklung der Region u.a. mit Historikern der Stiftung „Tres Culturas“ weitergehend vertieft. Aktuelle Standpunkte der Einwanderungspolitik sowie die prekäre Situation bisher illegal Beschäftigter in Spanien werden bei Gesprächen mit Vertretern von NGO´s und regierungsnahen Institutionen erläutert. Zeit bleibt außerdem für zahlreiche multikulturelle Genüsse kulinarischer Art im frühsommerlichen Sevilla. Das endgültige Programm wird Ende November 2005 bekannt gegeben.

Daten: Montag, 03.04.- Donnerstag, 06.04. 2006
Der Preis pro Person beträgt € 184,- (Doppelzimmer) bzw. € 210,- (Einzelzimmer) zzgl. Essen und Flug. Im Preis inbegriffen sind 3 Übernachtungen und o.g. Programmpunkte. Direktflug nach Sevilla ab Berlin Tegel mit Air Berlin. Aus Kostengründen ist es geraten, frühzeitig zu buchen.
Bitte senden Sie uns das angehängte Anmeldeformular ausgefüllt und unterschrieben zurück. Per Post: Juliane Neumann, Dresdener Str.13, 10999 Berlin; per Fax: +49 (0) 30 885 08 57

Eric van Grasdorff
Sparkasse Berlin
10050000
Kontonr. 920139507

AfricAvenir International e.V.
Dresdener Str. 13
10999 Berlin

Tel/Fax: +49 (0) 30 885 08 57
Mobil: +40 (0)177 75 45 788
E-Mail: e.vangrasdorff@africavenir.org
Web: www.africavenir.org

Erinnerung:
Donnerstag, den 03. November, 19.30 Uhr
Ibiba DonPedro: "Nigeria: African Renaissance in Danger?"
Im 'Mosaik' (Oranienstr. 35)

Freitag, den 04. November, 20 Uhr
Lesung zum Gedenken an den Bürgerrechtler Ken Saro Wiwa
„Die Sterne dort unten“ und „Flammen der Hölle“
Mehringhöfe (Gneisenaustr. 2a)

Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter www.africavenir.org

www.AfricAvenir.org
Wollen Sie Fördermitglied von AfricAvenir International e.V. werden?
Kontaktieren Sie Ann Kathrin Helfrich, Fon: 030-80906789, a.helfrich@africavenir.org

Redaktion des Newsletters: Eric Van Grasdorff, e.vangrasdorff@africavenir.org
AfricAvenir International e.V. ist nicht für die Inhalte externer Webseiten verantwortlich.

Dans ce message, vous trouverez également une version française.
In this message, you will also find an English version.

***************
FLASH-FORO N°4 / MARTES 1° DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2005 - UNA CENTENA DE TALLERES Y ORADORES DE 70 PAÍSES EN EL FORO INTERNACIONAL SOBRE EL NEXO ENTRE CIENCIAS SOCIALES Y POLÍTICAS (IFSP)
***************

Luego de la elección -en ocasión de la 33ª Conferencia General de la UNESCO- del nuevo Consejo Intergubernamental que dirige el único programa de las Naciones Unidas sobre la gestión de las transformaciones sociales (Programa MOST), el Foro Internacional sobre el Nexo entre Ciencias Sociales y Políticas (IFSP) -organizado en el marco de este Programa, del 20 al 24 de febrero de 2006- promete convertirse en una verdadera plataforma de diálogo entre quienes toman las decisiones políticas y los investigadores en ciencias sociales.

Durante cinco días se prevé la asistencia de más de un millar de participantes en Argentina y Uruguay para compartir experiencias y análisis sobre las transformaciones del mundo contemporáneo y los desafíos que éstas implican para las ciencias sociales y para la implementación de políticas públicas.

Los días 20 y 24 de febrero de 2006 se realizarán sesiones plenarias con oradores de alto nivel en Buenos Aires (Argentina) y, del 21 al 23 de febrero de 2006, al menos 91 talleres repartidos en 5 áreas temáticas serán organizados en 4 ciudades de Argentina y Uruguay por ministerios, organismos de las Naciones Unidas, centros universitarios de investigación y militantes asociativos del mundo entero.

Así, se desarrollarán en Buenos Aires 36 talleres sobre el tema "Políticas sociales" y 22 sobre "Problemas y dinámicas globales"; 13 talleres sobre "Población y Migraciones" tendrán lugar en Córdoba; 6 talleres sobre "Integraciones regionales" en Montevideo; mientras que la ciudad de Rosario recibirá 14 talleres del tema "Políticas urbanas y descentralización".

En total, de acuerdo a los oradores anunciados por los organizadores de los talleres, aproximadamente 70 países estarán representados en el Foro, incluyendo varios ministros en ejercicio e investigadores de renombre (Alemania; Arabia Saudita; Argelia; Argentina; Autoridad Palestina; Bahrein; Barbados; Benin; Bolivia; Brasil; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Camerún; Canadá; Chile; China; Colombia; Congo; Costa Rica; Cuba; Egipto; El Salvador; Eslovaquia; España; Estados Unidos de América; Federación de Rusia; Francia; Gambia; Ghana; Grecia; Guatemala; Guayana; Haití; Honduras; India; Italia; Jamaica; Japón; Jordania; Kenia; Lesoto; Líbano; Malawi; Mali; Marruecos; México; Mozambique; Nicaragua; Noruega; Nueva Zelanda; Pakistán; Panamá; Paraguay; Perú; República Dominicana; Reino Unido; República Unida de Tanzania; Rwanda; Santa Lucía; Senegal; Sierra Leona; Sudáfrica; Suecia; Suiza; Tailandia; Uruguay; Venezuela; Zimbabwe...).

A partir del mes en curso se podrá consultar en el sitio Internet del Foro (www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp) las informaciones prácticas para proceder a la inscripción en este evento sin precedentes. La inscripción es gratuita para estudiantes y periodistas.

Desde el 15 de noviembre de 2005 se podrá consultar en el sitio del Foro el proyecto de Declaración con el objetivo de impulsar el debate sobre este documento que será promovido como resultado del Foro.

Aquellas personas que no puedan estar presentes en Argentina o en Uruguay podrán enviar sus contribuciones a través del sitio en Internet del Foro y sus preguntas y propuestas serán transmitidas a los talleres.

Organizado conjuntamente por la UNESCO y los gobiernos de Argentina y Uruguay y contando con el apoyo de una amplia gama de entidades académicas, políticas y ONGs, el evento es coordinado por un Comité Directivo Internacional compuesto por representantes de los gobiernos de Argentina, Uruguay, Sudáfrica, Perú y Mali y de los siguientes organismos: UNESCO; UNDESA; UNRISD; UNU-CRIS; OIT; PNUD; Banco Mundial; FLACSO; AICARDES; AASSREC; CODESRIA; Comisión Europea; Fundación Europea para la Ciencia; SAREC; SSHRC; ODI; GASPP; CICS.

----- PARA RECIBIR "FLASH-FORO" EL 1° Y EL 15 DE CADA MES -----
Si Ud. no ha recibido este mensaje de parte de los organizadores del Foro y desea inscribirse en esta lista de difusión, sírvase hacer clic en:
mailto:sympa@lists.unesco.org?subject=sub%20ifspnews-shs

----- INFORMACIÓN GENERAL -----
Sitio del Foro: www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp
Christine Allan, Secretariado del IFSP: ifsp@unesco.org

----- CONTACTOS COMUNICACIÓN Y PRENSA -----
·ARGENTINA:
Juan Schjaer y Silvina Seijas, Ministerio de Educación, Ciencia y Tecnología:
schjaer@me.gov.ar ; sseijas@me.gov.ar
·URUGUAY:
Cristina Casaubou, Comisión Nacional del Uruguay para la UNESCO: ccasaubou@yahoo.es
Carolina Porley, Universidad de la República: carolinaporley@yahoo.com
·UNESCO:
Cathy Bruno-Capvert y Ana Krichmar, Sector de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas:
c.bruno-capvert@unesco.org ; a.krichmar@unesco.org

****************
FLASH-FORUM N°4 / MARDI 1er NOVEMBRE 2005 - UNE CENTAINE D'ATELIERS ET DES INTERVENANTS DE 70 PAYS DIFFERENTS AU FORUM INTERNATIONAL SUR LES INTERFACES ENTRE POLITIQUES ET SCIENCES SOCIALES (IFSP)
****************

Alors que la 33ème Conférence générale de l'UNESCO a été l'occasion d'élire un nouveau Conseil intergouvernemental chargé de mettre en oeuvre le seul programme des Nations unies sur la gestion des transformations sociales (programme MOST), le Forum international sur les interfaces entre politiques et sciences sociales (IFSP) - organisé dans le cadre de ce programme, du 20 au 24 février 2006 - promet d'être une véritable plateforme d'échanges entre décideurs politiques et chercheurs en sciences sociales.

Durant cinq jours, un millier de participants sont en effet attendus en Argentine et en Uruguay pour partager constats, expériences et analyses sur les transformations du monde contemporain et les défis qu'elles posent aux sciences sociales et à l'action publique.

Les 20 et 24 février, des séances plénières autour de conférenciers de haut niveau se dérouleront à Buenos Aires (Argentine), tandis que, du 21 au 23 février 2006, pas moins de 91 ateliers, groupés en 5 axes thématiques, seront organisés, dans 4 villes d'Argentine et d'Uruguay, par des gouvernements, des organismes des Nations unies, des centres de recherches universitaires, et des militants associatifs du monde entier.

Ainsi, à Buenos Aires, 36 ateliers traiteront de «politiques sociales» et 22 autres des «problèmes et dynamiques mondiaux»; à Córdoba, 13 ateliers permettront d'échanger sur «population et migrations»; à Montevideo, 6 ateliers constitueront autant d'occasions de partager expériences et analyses sur la question des «intégrations régionales»; tandis que la ville de Rosario réunira 14 ateliers liés au thème «politiques urbaines et décentralisation».

Au total, parmi les intervenants annoncés par les organisateurs de ces ateliers, près de 70 pays seront représentés, à travers de nombreux ministres en fonction et chercheurs de renom (Afrique du Sud; Algérie; Allemagne; Arabie saoudite; Argentine; Autorité palestinienne; Barbade; Bahreïn; Bénin; Bolivie; Brésil; Bulgarie; Burkina Faso; Cameroun; Canada; Chili; Chine; Colombie; Costa Rica; Cuba; Egypte; Salvador; Espagne; Etats-Unis d'Amérique; Fédération de Russie; France; Gambie; Ghana; Grèce; Guatemala; Guyana; Haïti; Honduras; Inde; Italie; Jamaïque; Japon; Jordanie; Kenya; Lesotho; Liban; Malawi ; Mali; Maroc; Mexique; Mozambique; Nicaragua; Norvège; Nouvelle-Zélande; Pakistan; Panama; Paraguay; Pérou; République démocratique du Congo; République Dominicaine; Royaume-Uni; République-Unie de Tanzanie; Rwanda; Sainte-Lucie; Sénégal; Sierra Leone ; Slovaquie; Suède; Suisse; Thaïlande; Uruguay; Venezuela; Zimbabwe...).

Dans les tous prochains jours de novembre, on pourra trouver sur le site internet du Forum (www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp) toutes les informations utiles pour s'inscrire à cet événement sans précédent, auquel étudiants et journalistes sont invités à participer gratuitement.

Dès le 15 novembre 2005, un projet de Déclaration finale sera mis en ligne afin qu'il puisse être largement discuté, amendé, et promu à l'issue du Forum.

Celles et ceux qui ne pourraient être présents en Argentine ou en Uruguay pourront, par ailleurs, adresser des contributions via le site internet du Forum afin que leurs questions et leurs propositions soient restituées lors des différents ateliers.

Organisé conjointement par l'UNESCO et les gouvernements argentin et uruguayen, avec le soutien de nombreux partenaires universitaires, politiques et associatifs, cet événement international est coordonné par un Comité de pilotage international composé de représentants des gouvernements d'Argentine, d'Uruguay, d'Afrique du Sud, du Pérou et du Mali, ainsi que des organismes suivants: UNESCO; UNDESA; UNRISD; UNU-CRIS; OIT; PNUD; Banque Mondiale; FLACSO; AICARDES; AASSREC; CODESRIA; Commission Européenne; Fondation Européenne des Sciences; SAREC; SSHRC; ODI; GASPP; CISS.

----- POUR RECEVOIR "FLASH-FORUM" CHAQUE 1er ET 15 DU MOIS -----
Si vous n'avez pas reçu ce message des organisateurs du Forum et souhaitez vous inscrire à la liste de diffusion, merci de cliquer sur le lien suivant: mailto:sympa@lists.unesco.org?subject=sub%20ifspnews-shs

----- INFORMATIONS GENERALES -----
Site du Forum: www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp
Christine Allan, secrétariat de l'IFSP: ifsp@unesco.org

----- CONTACTS POUR LA COMMUNICATION ET LA PRESSE -----
·ARGENTINE :
Juan Schjaer et Silvina Seijas, Ministère de l'Éducation, de la Science et de la Technologie : schjaer@me.gov.ar ; sseijas@me.gov.ar
·URUGUAY :
Cristina Casaubou, Commission Nationale de l'Uruguay pour l'UNESCO : ccasaubou@yahoo.es
Carolina Porley, Université de la République : carolinaporley@yahoo.com
·UNESCO :
Cathy Bruno-Capvert et Ana Krichmar, Secteur des sciences sociales et humaines :
c.bruno-capvert@unesco.org ; a.krichmar@unesco.org

*****************
FLASH-FORUM No.4 / TUESDAY NOVEMBER 1 2005 - AROUND ONE HUNDRED WORKSHOPS AND DELEGATES FROM 70 COUNTRIES EXPECTED AT THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON THE SOCIAL SCIENCE - POLICY NEXUS (IFSP)
*****************

The 33rd General Conference of UNESCO has elected the new Intergovernmental Council responsible for the implementation of the MOST Programme - a unique social science initiative focusing on the management of social transformations. The International Forum on the Social Science-Policy Nexus (IFSP), which is set within the MOST framework, offers a true platform for exchange between policy-makers and social scientists.

Over five days, around 1000 delegates are expected in Argentina and Uruguay to take stock together and to share experience and analyses on contemporary social transformations and the challenges they entail for social science and policy.

On February 20 and 24 2006, plenary sessions around keynote speakers will meet in Buenos Aires (Argentina), and, from February 21 to 23 2006, 91 workshops are scheduled in 4 Argentinean and Uruguayan cities, convened for the 5 thematic streams of the Forum by government departments, UN agencies, academic research centres and NGO activists from all over the world.

36 workshops in Buenos Aires will cover "social policies", along with 22 on "global issues and dynamics". Córdoba will offer 13 workshops on "population and migrations" and Montevideo 6 on "regional integration", while discussion in the 14 workshops scheduled for Rosario will focus on "urban policies and decentralization".

The participants expected by workshop convenors represent nearly 70 countries, including many serving Ministers and eminent academics (Algeria; Argentina; Bahrain; Barbados; Benin; Bolivia; Brazil; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Canada; Chile; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; Cuba; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Dominican Republic; Egypt; El Salvador; France; Gambia; Germany; Ghana; Greece; Guatemala; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; India; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Jordan; Kenya; Lebanon; Lesotho; Malawi; Mali; Mexico; Morocco; Mozambique; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Norway; Pakistan; Palestinian Authority; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; United Republic of Tanzania; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Saint Lucia; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Slovakia; South Africa; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Thailand; United Kingdom; United States of America; Uruguay; Venezuela; Zimbabwe...).

By early November, the Forum website (www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp) will provide practical information to take part in this unprecedented event, which is open to students and to journalists free of charge.

On November 15 2005, the draft Final Declaration of the Forum will posted on the website with a view to open discussion and amendment, along with wide-ranging dissemination after the Forum.

Interested parties unable to be present in Argentina or Uruguay will also be able to send contributions through the Forum website. Their questions and proposals will be reflected in the work of the various workshops.

Convened by UNESCO, in conjunction with the Governments of the Republic of Argentina and of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, and with the support of a wide range of academic, policy, and NGO partners, the IFSP event is coordinated by a International Steering Committee comprising representatives of the Governments of Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa and Mali; UNESCO; UNDESA; UNRISD; UNU-CRIS; ILO; UNDP; the World Bank; FLACSO; AICARDES; AASSREC; CODESRIA; the European Commission; the European Science Foundation; SAREC; SSHRC; ODI; GASPP; and the ISSC.

----- TO RECEIVE "FLASH-FORUM" ON THE 1ST AND 15TH OF EACH MONTH -----
If you didn't receive this message directly from the Forum organizers and wish to subscribe to the mailing list, please click on : mailto:sympa@lists.unesco.org?subject=sub%20ifspnews-shs

----- GENERAL INFORMATION -----
Forum website : www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp
Christine Allan, IFSP Secretariat: ifsp@unesco.org

----- PRESS AND COMMUNICATION CONTACTS -----
·ARGENTINA :
Juan Schjaer and Silvina Seijas, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology: schjaer@me.gov.ar; sseijas@me.gov.ar
·URUGUAY :
Cristina Casaubou, Uruguay National Commission for UNESCO: ccasaubou@yahoo.es
Carolina Porley, University of the Republic: carolinaporley@yahoo.com
·UNESCO :
Cathy Bruno-Capvert and Ana Krichmar, Sector of Social and Human Sciences:
c.bruno-capvert@unesco.org; a.krichmar@unesco.org

Please See Four Marie Curie Programs:

1. Marie Curie Chairs
Marie Curie Chairs (EXC) are a career mechanism for world-class researchers who have already attained a certain level of independence in their research activities and who are looking to resume, or further develop, their scientific careers in Europe. Just like the Marie Curie Excellence Grants, this action aims first and foremost to counter the brain drain effect by retaining or luring back the best international talent to Europe's shores.
Marie Curie Chairs combine teaching, PhD supervision and research work. Potential Chair holders will already have extensive experience in managing research and supervising thesis work. They will also have the ability to inspire students and trainees. Furthermore, the Chair holder must be willing to engage in publicity and dissemination activities to help improve the public image of the research profession and the general understanding of the impact of research on society. The appointment usually lasts for three years, but shorter periods are possible.

2. Host Fellowship for Transfer of Knowledge (ToK):
A- The Development Scheme
B- The Industry-Academia Strategic Partnership Scheme

3. Marie Curie Outgoing / Incoming fellowships

4. Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowships

Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
November 1, 2005

The Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

**********

ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

5. “Cultural Sensitivities Surface in Choosing 'Appropriate' Children's Toys,” by Nadia Wassef and David Blanks
Nadia Wassef, one of the owners of the Diwan Bookshop and David Blanks, a historian, discuss the cultural and political sensitivities (and friendly disputes) involved in purchasing a Barbie or Fulla doll for their daughter’s friend in Cairo. Outlining the reasons they found each doll to be an inappropriate gift, they were surprised to discover that though each of them “was up in arms over a perceived misrepresentation of our own culture by members of our own culture and neither one was particularly bothered when it worked the other way around.”
(Source: The Daily Star, October 22, 2005)

**********

ARTICLE 1
When Ballots Bring on Bullets
By Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder

New York - Nine months after President George W. Bush's call to spread democracy abroad, the results of this year's spate of elections throughout the Middle East are in.

They are dismaying. Most of the winning candidates ran on platforms endorsing Islamic sectarianism, narrow ethnic interests, warlord power, nuclear proliferation, terrorism (in the case of Hamas), or a continuation of authoritarian business as usual. In Iraq, the voting deepened the political stalemate.

This is not just a speed bump on the road to a democratic peace. It reflects a fundamental flaw in the Bush administration's strategy of forced-pace democratization in countries that lack the necessary preconditions.

Countries that are just starting down the path toward democracy are at high risk of war, especially if they are ill prepared for the journey. Our research shows that over the past two centuries, countries that opened up to elections without the institutions needed to manage political competition have been more than four times more likely to become embroiled in war than other states.

Yugoslavia collapsed into war in 1991, six months after divisive elections. The elected regimes of Pakistan and India clashed in the 1999 Kargil War. Wars between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ecuador and Peru, Russia and Chechnya, Ethiopia and Eritrea also followed democratic experiments in the 1990s. Deadly violence engulfed Burundi after an internationally mandated 1993 election, and East Timor after the an independence referendum in 1999.

Shaky emerging democracies are at risk for international and civil war because violent nationalism and sectarianism thrive in their turbulent politics. Old regimes often gamble on nationalist appeals as a way of hanging onto power. Challengers appeal to ethnic groups which have been oppressed. In the early days of electoral jockeying, liberal, secular groups are harder to organize than tribal, ethnic or religious groups.

Without a basic framework of law, effective government and consensus on which ethnic group gets to exercise the right of self-determination, elections become an opportunity for ethnicity-baiting.

This year's Middle Eastern votes illustrate this pattern. The Iraqi election played into the hands of religious and ethnic sectarians and soured the Sunnis on democratic politics. Iranians elected a pro-nuclear, hard-line Islamist as president. Palestinians face a choice between religious terrorists and corrupt hacks. In Egypt, Islamist candidates were banned, monitors were kept away from the polls and the authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak won in a landslide.

The Lebanese election was a blow for independence from Syrian domination, but politics remained locked in an ethnically based voting system that has hindered cross-group political movements and contributed to the outbreak of civil war in the 1970s. In Afghanistan, elections simply ratified the power of warlords and tribal leaders.

President Bush has claimed that "it is the practice of democracy that makes a nation ready for democracy, and every nation can start on this path." In fact, openings toward democracy usually revert to autocracy or to chaos in countries that have very low incomes and literacy, weak state institutions, deep ethnic divisions, or oil-based economies. All Arab states have at least some of these risk factors, and none have strong institutional antidotes in place.

Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, Syria and Yemen have per capita incomes under $2,000. Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen have illiteracy rates above 20 percent. Pushing these countries into electoral politics too soon risks stoking war, sectarianism and terrorism.

The problem is not that Islam is culturally unsuited for democracy. In Turkey, where governmental institutions provide a stable framework for political competition, the ruling moderate Islamic party is committed to democratic processes. Other Middle Eastern countries need to develop this kind of effective state before elections can be expected to produce the same kind of moderate outcome.

To reduce the risk of democratic processes that serve only to strengthen democracy's foes, democracy promoters need to work patiently to put in place the preconditions of democracy, and in the proper sequence. The process must start with economic reform and the development of a competent, impartial state administration. This was the path followed by Taiwan, South Korea and Chile - countries where democratization was successful and peaceful. Like them, the Middle East should take the transition slowly and get the sequence right.

###
* Professors Edward D. Mansfield of the University of Pennsylvania and Jack Snyder of Columbia University are the authors of ''Electing to Fight: Why Emerging Democracies Go to War.''
Source: International Herald Tribune, October 28, 2005
Visit the website at www.iht.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 2
Higher Education: New 'Engine' of Development
Shafeeq Ghabra

The Arab world today is experiencing a revolution in higher education, whereas a decade ago we were talking about the information revolution. This education revolution stems from two phenomena: (1) the millions of Arab students graduating from high schools and looking, since Sept 11, 2001, for regional colleges to accommodate their needs, and (2) an evolution in methods of teaching, subjects, and ways of thinking.

Private education holds an edge in advancing the evolution in methods, subjects, and ways of thinking. This type of education stands to leave an indelible mark on the future of learning in the Middle East. Restrictions on travel by Arab students trying to study in the United States after Sept 11 makes the case even stronger for private education in the Arab world.

Private higher education based on a US-style system must be able to provide its students with emerging international standards of knowledge and exposure to prevailing professional habits. With public education having become increasingly bureaucratic over the last two decades, private education has the potential of acting as an agent of change in the cultural and political arenas as well as in the professional world. Only by focusing on quality, standards, and best practices can the new private education reach a new level of effectiveness. Standards must be reflected in admissions, classrooms, and student life. Without quality, education cannot succeed.

American higher education is a method and model of learning based on a variety of practices, opinions, research, and experiences that allow critical and problem solving thinking to flourish. India has the largest number - 600,000 - of Indian students studying in US-affiliated universities worldwide. Indians are well aware how this type of education promotes the development of critical thinking, advanced communication skills, independent study, and self-awareness. One of the values of this system is life-long learning. This aspect of education has become a basic component of the modern era. Every learned individual is today a reflection of life-long learning. When we say "American curriculum," we mean an open curriculum, with contributions from all cultures. The US education system is not a closed system based only on one view.

It is basic in US education to focus on interaction inside lecture halls and laboratories, in libraries and through sports and the various other activities that develop talent and character. American education emphasizes discussion, classroom interaction, teamwork, and projects that require library and Web research as well as work at research centers. Attendance at lectures is stressed as is providing assistance to students having difficulties. A lively, effective, and creative model in all these areas, with the goal always of student-centered learning, is a must in higher education. This style of academic teaching model provides a learning environment - which includes trust and safety - that helps in achieving its goals.

Students graduating from colleges based on the American system will be eagerly sought after in the local and regional labor market. The curriculum and educational system makes them desirable in the private sector as well as in the public sector. By the time they graduate, such students should have the required linguistic, intellectual, and operational skills to make valuable contributions to the workforce. Accordingly, a graduate is not bound to only one specialization, but is able instead to be versed in a larger context of education, knowledge and skills.

Quality higher education is expensive. Hiring distinguished faculty from American universities is quite expensive as is providing needed services for students, staff, and professors. American-style universities in the Middle East must ameliorate their high cost through financial aid and scholarships. This year, for example, the American University of Kuwait created a scholarship fund of $300,000. We are now seeking additional scholarship funding from the private sector as part of our commitment to expanding the student population to avoid becoming an elitist institution.

It is without a doubt that any institution in the Middle East with US affiliation would face challenges if founded during active US military involvement in the Middle East. Lots of international hires see our region as militaristic and war-ridden. Kuwait, however, has been a country of peace with the exception of the 1990-1991 invasion and war. Our ability to clarify where Kuwait is and what it stands for, helps recruit faculty who see the merit of contributing to the East-West dialogue through education. We must always meet the challenge of attracting a distinguished group of professors and executives.

This is a special time for American education in the Middle East. It is a model of education that is admired and respected by the peoples of the region despite the controversy over politics and policies. While war is raging in Iraq, the American University of Kuwait and other American universities in the Middle East are building for peace and a better future.

The Arab world has a long way to go in establishing high-quality education systems. We have lagged behind during the last fifty years, and it is time to do something serious about development and learning in the region. We are at critical phase of learning, building, and developing. Quality learning is and should remain our main focus.

###
* Shafeeq Ghabra is president of the American University of Kuwait.
Source: Arab Times, October 25, 2005
Visit the website at www.arabtimes.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 3
Pressure Builds on Syrian Regime
Nicholas Blanford

Beirut - The beleaguered Syrian regime is set to be hit this week with another critical report from the United Nations, days after a UN investigation implicated senior Syrian security officials in the killing of a former Lebanese prime minister.

Together, the two reports are expected to underpin a diplomatic offensive led by the US and France, which could lead to sanctions against Damascus.

"They want this [Syrian] leopard to change so many of its spots that it turns into a lap dog.... It's tantamount to regime change," says Joshua Landis, an American professor of history presently living in Damascus and author of the influential Syria Comment weblog.

Late last week, Damascus was stung by the findings from the UN investigation into the murder of Rafik Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister, killed in a bomb explosion in February. Later this week, UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed Larsen is expected to report that Syria is still meddling in Lebanese affairs even after it withdrew its troops in April.

Mr. Larsen is expected to hand to the UN Security Council his latest report on Syria's compliance with Resolution 1559, which calls for a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and respect for Lebanese independence and sovereignty. While Syria has pulled out its troops, an erratic campaign of bomb attacks and assassinations against anti-Syrian Lebanese is being blamed on Damascus and its remaining allies in Lebanon.

According to Sunday's edition of Israel's Haaretz daily newspaper, which claimed to have received a copy of the report, Larsen's findings confirm that Syrian troops have left Lebanon but accuse Damascus of continued indirect military intervention and direct intelligence intervention in Lebanon, including supplying weapons to pro-Syrian Palestinian groups.

Tuesday, however, the UN Security Council will assess the findings of Detlev Mehlis, the German prosecutor who heads the UN investigation into Hariri's murder. The report - released Thursday, which over the weekend captivated Lebanese gathered around TV sets to listen to news on its findings - concludes that there is "converging evidence pointing at both Lebanese and Syrian involvement in this terrorist act," and recommends the investigation continues.

President Bush called the report "deeply disturbing." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "There will have to be some way to ensure accountability for what has already been found here."

The Lebanese government on Saturday welcomed the report, saying it "provides the basis for finding the truth ... and punishing those responsible."

On Saturday night, Lebanese police arrested Mahmoud Abdel-Aal, a member of the pro-Syrian Islamist group, Al-Ahbash, and a brother of one of the chief suspects in Mr. Hariri's death. The police also announced Saturday the arrest of three men who had confessed to being recruited by Syrian intelligence to carry out bombings and shooting attacks in Lebanon.

Although the Mehlis report does not provide conclusive evidence against senior Syrian officials, an earlier version of the report mistakenly released to the media did name suspects in the Hariri assassination. They are Maher Assad, Syrian President Bashar Assad's brother, and his brother-in-law Gen. Asef Shawkat, head of military intelligence.

Analysts and UN officials say that the Security Council will issue a resolution warning of "serious consequences" if Syria fails to cooperate with the UN investigation. If Syria is subsequently judged to be stonewalling the UN commission, the Security Council could impose targeted sanctions on Syria.

In anticipation of UN action, Syria softened its tone over the weekend with Riad Daoudi, the legal adviser at the Syrian foreign ministry saying, "Syria remains committed to the decisions of international legality [the UN], and we will continue to cooperate with the international community."

Furthermore, Professor Landis has posted on his weblog an unusually detailed and frank letter from Imad Mustafa, the Syrian ambassador to Washington, addressed to US Rep. Sue Kelly (R) of New York, in which he provides a rebuttal of US accusations and expresses a willingness to engage fully with the Bush administration.

"Threats of further sanctions will have a negative impact on Syria's efforts to achieve what the US administration has repeatedly asked Syria to do, and what we have been working hard on achieving," Mr. Mustafa writes in the letter.

Some Security Council members may be wary of treading the sanctions path after the controversy surrounding sanctions in the 1990s on Saddam Hussein's Iraq. The sanctions brought widespread suffering to the Iraqi people but failed to dislodge Mr. Hussein's regime.

And it remains unclear whether sanctions would force a change in behavior in Damascus or effect the stability of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Some analysts argue that the series of strategic blunders made by Syria in recent years is leading to President Assad's inevitable downfall. They include the decision to extend for a further three years the mandate of Syria's close Lebanese ally, President Emile Lahoud, last year.

Hariri's assassination sparked the so-called Cedar Revolution and led to Damascus disengaging from Lebanon in April, ending a military presence of 29 years. Washington has a raft of issues with Syria, of which Lebanon is only one. Others include Damascus' support for Palestinian rejectionist groups and accusations that it is failing to secure its porous desert frontier with Iraq.

"If we want to assess the regime's chances for survival on the basis of its performance over the last few years, then I have to say that they are next to none," says Ammar Abdelhamid, a Syrian social activist with the Washington-based Brookings Institute. "Indeed, we find ourselves in this situation today, not as a result of some conspiracy, but on account of the cumulative effect of the regime's various miscalculations over the years."

On the other hand, while President Assad is isolated internationally and regionally, some analysts argue that he remains strong domestically, the result of a crackdown on opposition groups and tightening his inner circle of regime leaders.

Within the regime itself, the apparent suicide two weeks ago of Ghazi Kanaan, the Syrian minister of interior and a powerful member of the Alawite community that forms the backbone of the regime, removed a potential alternative to President Assad - one that might have been acceptable to the US.

"I think the regime is very stable here," says Landis. "I think the Ghazi Kanaan thing was a demonstration that they are on top of the coup possibilities. It's just too hard to pull off a coup here anymore."

###
* Nicholas Blanford is the Beirut correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor, October 24, 2005
Visit the website at www.csmonitor.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 4
The Oil Tsunami
Youssef M. Ibrahim

Dubai - The global oil market environment is becoming a target of opportunity for terrorists and world powers. The terrorists increasingly see disruptions of oil facilities as a valid strategy in their war against governments that they oppose. World powers like China, Japan, the United States and India are driven into increasing confrontation fighting for diminishing oil supplies.

These are sinister developments, ingredients for the next tsunami to hit the already turbulent world of oil where prices have gone so high that they are depressing world economies.

The trouble from insurgents blowing up oil facilities is no less dangerous than the pressures from China, India and Japan's voracious appetite for more oil.

China is a major superpower showing that it will not hesitate to use pressure to secure oil. The Chinese are developing a strong foothold in Pakistan, where thousands of Chinese workers are building a new port in Baluchistan at Gwadar, right at the entrance to the Persian Gulf.

One of the main causes of friction between China and Japan now involves access to oil and gas deposits in the East China Sea. When the Security Council tried to impose sanctions on Sudan - one of China's main oil suppliers - over the issue of Darfur, the Chinese said no.

In May when a massacre occurred in Uzbekistan with hundreds of people killed on the orders of President Islam Karimov, the United States and Europe asked for an international investigation. China, which had signed a $600 million gas deal with Uzbekistan, blocked it.

One needs to ring the alarm bell as this Asian pressure combines with terrorist attacks to form the elements of the perfect storm heading directly toward the Arabian Peninsula.

At the moment Iraq is the biggest model for jihadists seeking to spread chaos, fight the pro-American government there and eventually defeat the United States invasion - and the American project in the region by attacking oil facilities. But soon this tactic will travel to other oil-producing countries. There have already been attacks on oil installations in Chechnya, Pakistan, India, Russia, Azerbaijan and Nigeria.

Since the American invasion of Iraq, there have been more than 300 attacks on pipelines, refineries, and other facilities. Iraqi refineries have been looted to a point that the United States and Kuwait are supplying gasoline and heating oil to Iraq, which sits on top of one of the world's largest oil reserves.

Iraqi oil production has fallen drastically, and with it so have Iraqi oil revenues. The Northern pipeline that carries Iraqi oil to Turkey, which is repeatedly blown up, has never really functioned since the war.

The decreasing oil supplies, the Chinese-Japanese demand juggernaut and insurgents targeting oil have added an "anxiety premium" to the price of oil - a fear tax if you will - which accounts for more than $10 a barrel, leading to the current prices of $65 per barrel. The winter might well see prices going higher.

Western intelligence agencies are particularly concerned that many of the jihadists fighting in Iraq are non-Iraqi Arabs from Arab oil-producing countries. They come from Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, Kuwait and Qatar, among others. These jihadists will return to their countries supplied with a well-practiced model. Do the math.

The oil crisis we face today is not the supply-driven crisis we had in 1973, when the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia led the oil boycott of the United States and the West to protest against their support of Israel in the October war of that year. This is a demand-driven crisis, which leaves the world more dependent on its most politically unstable area: the Greater Middle East, where 77 percent of the world's oil reserves are located.

High prices will eventually push world economies to aggressively pursue a search for alternative sources of energy including solar, nuclear and oil sands, which are very expensive to create or extract, but everything is relative.

It still takes time to get from here to there.

We are in a bottleneck that will last for five to 10 years. OPEC is not the solution, as its members are already producing all the oil that they have. Nor are they spending money to increase production.

In fact, at this time, NO oil producer - from Russia to Saudi Arabia - is spending money on boosting its oil infrastructure to produce more oil. Instead, they are using huge new revenues to build up their economies and pay debts.

No one can blame them. They like the high prices and need the money.

As for the jihadist terrorists, they are already secure in the knowledge that blowing up an oil refinery or pipeline is much easier than ramming planes into the World Trade Center or blowing up subways in London and Madrid.

Their philosophy is guided by the likes of Osama Bin Laden, whose core belief is that war against what he calls "infidels" is a war against Western economies dependent on energy. So fasten your seat belts. We are in for a rough ride on oil prices.

###
* Youssef Ibrahim, a former Middle East correspondent for the New York Times and energy editor of the Wall Street Journal, is managing director of the Dubai-based Strategic Energy Investment Group, a consulting firm.
Source: Middle East Times, October 21, 2005
Visit the website at www.metimes.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 5
Cultural Sensitivities Surface in Choosing 'Appropriate' Children's Toys
Nadia Wassef and David Blanks

Cairo - It is not uncommon for a child to fight with his or her parents over a toy he or she wants; it is less common for the parents to fight about that toy. But two weeks ago, when our daughter received an invitation to go to another little girl's birthday party, the whole present-buying episode caused a rather unfortunate clash of civilizations.

Mistake number one was letting the baby choose the gift. Free will at the age of 18 months is, as it turns out, a rather dubious proposition: She ran straight for the Barbie dolls - which was enough to send her 1980s-era father into politically correct, feminist whiplash.

"Uh uh. No way. We're not buying that. What kind of a message does it send?! Look at the body image! If this were a life-sized woman her measurements would be 52DD, 12, 16!"

Mom felt he was overreacting.

So we scooted our infant off in another direction. This time she chose Fulla, the politically-correct, Middle Eastern Barbie-substitute.

"Oh no," Mom said, "This is too much."

For those of you who haven't picked out birthday presents for little girls lately, Fulla was launched in 2003 by a Syrian-based company called, ironically, New Boy Design Studio. It has become an amazing bestseller all over the Arab world.

Marketed as a doll with "Muslim values," Fulla comes complete with lace undies, a calf-length skirt, pink and white top with long sleeves, pink flat shoes, pink shoulder bag, a black abaya with gold trim, a matching hijab, and a tiny prayer rug in pink felt. Dad didn't see the problem.

But while daughter wailed at her unfair parents and proceeded to rip through several shelves of building blocks and train sets, it was explained to him in no uncertain terms. Point one: It's wrong to profit from religion. Point two: You don't have to wear an abaya to have good Muslim values. Point three: If it's what's on the inside that counts, why are these dolls making such a big deal about what's on the outside?

"But sweetheart," he countered weakly, "They have a Doctor Fulla and a Teacher Fulla - surely that's a good thing."

Point four: You came home at three o'clock in the morning last Thursday and didn't even call! End of argument. No Barbie; no Fulla.

Back home we got on the Internet and discovered that this was not the first attempt to give Barbie a makeover (i.e. eat into her market share). In the West, there is a black Barbie and a size 16 Barbie and no doubt a Barbie who wears sweat pants and t-shirts and likes to play basketball instead of dressing up and playing with Ken.

In the East, Fulla too has had her predecessors. There was Moroccan Barbie, Leila the Muslim slave girl, and Razanne, the veiled doll created by Noorart with her scout, teacher, eid mubarak, and "in and out" outfits (please check out their Web site www.noorart.com). "Razanne helps Muslim girls understand that in the home they can be the ultimate fashion statement yet still have attractive attire while dressing modestly outside the home."

Surely, however, there must be many ways to be modest without having to don the abaya. It's not even Egyptian! What about Fulla the fellaha, who reflects our heritage and culture, who works hard, has good family values, and just happens to get her feet wet feeding her family? She doesn't have gold trim on anything.

Nor is there fellaha silverware, fellaha stationery, fellaha luggage, fellaha cereal, fellaha chewing gum, fellaha bicycles and a fellaha spring wardrobe (all sold separately of course). Perhaps there should be. Abla Kamel could do the commercials. Can't you just see her pedaling daintily through the Delta tossing bon bons to immaculately clad peasant children while singing Arabized selections from "The Sound of Music?"

Ultimately, we solved our dilemma by placing baby in front of a large display of stuffed animals, where she proceeded to pick out a purple creature with a triangle on its head that offended no one's cultural sensibilities, since neither one of us are natives of Teletubbystan.

It's funny, though, how each of us was up in arms over a perceived misrepresentation of our own culture by members of our own culture and neither one was particularly bothered when it worked the other way around.

It was also funny that we should fight over something so silly - and it forced us to re-evaluate the way we communicate and to look for ways to avoid such disagreements in the future. In the end, we came up with a pretty good solution.

Next time we're hoping for a boy.

###
Nadia Wassef is one of the owners of the Diwan Bookshop. David Blanks is a historian. They live in Cairo.
Source: The Daily Star, October 22, 2005
Visit the website at www.dailystar.com.lb
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity, brought to you by Search for Common Ground, seeks to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. This service is one outcome of a set of working meetings held in partnership with His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal in June 2003.

Every week, CGNews-PiH will distribute 5 news articles, op-eds, features, and analyses that aid in developing and analyzing the current and future relationship of the West and Arab/Muslim world. Articles will be chosen based on accuracy, balance, and their ability to improve understanding and communication across borders and regions. They will also reflect the need for constructive dialogue around issues of global importance. Selections will be authored by local and international experts and leaders who will analyze and discuss a broad range of relevant issues. We invite you to submit any articles you feel are compatible with the goals of this news service.

Partners in Humanity 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 through its Youth Views column. Student journalists and writers under the age of 27 are encouraged to write cbinkley@sfcg.org for more information on contributing.

We look forward to hearing from you, and welcome any questions, concerns, or comments you may have about this service. Please forward this message to colleagues and friends who may also wish to subscribe to the service. To subscribe, send an email to subscribe-cgnewspih@sfcg.org with subscribe in the subject line.

If you are a member of the media, please join us in promoting constructive dialogue to improve understanding and perceptions. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If you choose to republish any of the articles, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org

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) 777-2207
Fax: +1(202) 232-6718

Rue Belliard 205 bte 13
B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
Ph: +32 (02) 736-7262
Fax: +32(02) 732-3033
E-mail: cgnewspih@sfcg.org
Website: http://www.commongroundnews.org

Editors:
Emad Khalil
Amman Editor

Juliette Schmidt
Beirut Editor

Elyte Baykun & Leena El-Ali
Washington Editors

Michael Shipler & Chris Binkley
Youth Views Editors

**********

This is a not-for-profit list serve.

Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you think would like to see these articles.

To subscribe, send an email to subscribe-cgnewspih@sfcg.org with subscribe in the subject line.

EURYI: Call for proposals

European Young Investigator Awards

2005 EURYI winners awards announced- This November, twenty-five science researchers will receive EURYI awards to enable them to create research teams in Europe to focus on cutting-edge science research.
In July 2004, 25 Awards were granted after the first Call: Project descriptions of the 25 EURYI award winners

EURYI: First Call evaluation

The Evaluation Report of the EURYI Awards First Call can be downloaded by clicking on the PDF icon .

What is EURYI ?

In 2003, the European Heads of Research Councils (EUROHORCs) developed the European Young Investigator Awards (EURYI) Scheme in cooperation with the European Science Foundation (ESF). The aim of the scheme is to attract outstanding young researchers from anywhere in the world to work in Europe and lead their own research team.

In an open competition funded by national research organisations in 16 European countries, the EURYI Awards Scheme provides the resources to pursue an independent research career, including the development and building up of a research group where appropriate.

The countries which have participated in the EURYI Scheme so fare are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The European Commission is supporting the management and assessment process with a contract of about 1.8 MEUR for 5 calls, which allows all the money from the Participating Organisations to be spent on the funding of awards.

Talents for benefit of competitiveness of European Society

Professor Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, President of Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and then Chairman of EUROHORCs said after the First Awards Call: "Many of our organisations have developed specific strategies to attract and support highly qualified young researchers. We shared the conviction that outstanding young researchers need to be offered excellent research conditions which enable them to carry out their own independent research unit as early as possible. Thus, we concluded that by joining our efforts we could achieve an added value with regard to this common goal."

“Scientists are often in the early stages of their career when they formulate new ideas which later lead to paradigm shifts or a Nobel Prize. Therefore, if we want to support creativity and progress in science we should focus on the next generation of scientists and give them independence to pursue their own ideas”, says Bertil Andersson, CEO of the European Science Foundation and member of the Nobel Prize Committee. “Younger people are probably the most valuable source of new discoveries in science. They are usually more adventurous and unconventional and are willing to challenge old established ‘truths’. We need to nurture this talent and make Europe more competitive in terms of creativity and innovation. In this way the European societies will all benefit from the new EURYI Award Scheme”, stresses Bertil Andersson.

Young talented women are especially encouraged to apply as they were under represented in the applications. One of the female awardees in the first call remarked: "I have received several grants. Sometimes I had the feeling that it was because I was a woman or came from country X. This time I know I received the award because of my qualities !"

New way of collaboration in Europe

The EURYI Scheme is also unique in the way European research funding organisations collaborate. This is the first time the organisations have taken an initiative to pool their funding in a common project with open competition.

Second Call

In July 2004, 25 Awards were granted after the first Call. The second call, was launched on 1st September 2004 with a deadline of 30 November 2004. In July 2005, the Awardees of the second round has been announced (see above).

Rush to stabilize may backfire in polarized Iraq

By Shibley Telhami
San Jose Mercury, Perspective Section
October 30, 2005

Even as the death toll of American soldiers in Iraq reached 2,000 last week, the administration continued to hope that the passage of Iraq's constitution and the recent opening of Saddam Hussein's trial would begin to provide redemption for its much-maligned foreign policy.

Since Saddam was toppled more than two years ago, the Bush administration has been waiting anxiously for both events as potent signals that Iraq was moving past dictatorship and toward democracy. The hope was the two events would provide inspiration not just in Iraq, but also in the entire Middle East, propelling people to seek more democracy in their own countries and to begin seeing some good out of a war most of them opposed.

Instead, both the Iraqi referendum on the constitution and Saddam's trial are likely to intensify the anger between Iraq's Sunnis and its Shiite and Kurdish populations and the dismay in much of the Arab and Muslim worlds. And that means we face the possibility not only of more sectarian strife in Iraq, but also increased chances that other countries and groups will join the fray as providers of arms and even fighters.

The irony of the Iraqi Constitution, which passed with 79 percent of the vote, is that while it would appear to be a critical step toward democracy, from the point of view of limiting sectarian conflict, it would have probably been better had the document been defeated.

Sunnis, many of whom believe the constitution discriminates against their interests and who voted in large numbers against it, would have at least gained more faith in the process. Shiites -- who constitute a majority of the Iraqi population -- and Kurds, meanwhile, might have been more willing to compromise with the Sunnis in a new round of negotiations to amend the constitution after December's National Assembly elections.

Irregularity suspicions

Instead, there is prevalent suspicion of irregularities among Sunnis. Early reports of 99 percent approval in some provinces were reminiscent of the habitual 99 percent wins of the region's dictators that the United States was hoping to undermine through the Iraqi example. And a statement by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before the votes were even counted that the constitution “probably passed” played into existing skepticism about the fairness of the elections.

Even if the election were considered fair, the fact that the results were so imbalanced -- with Shiites and Kurds generally voting yes and the majority of Sunnis voting no -- would surely empower the groups in drawing support along sectarian lines.

Some Sunnis, even skeptical ones, might be drawn into the political process by the chance to win changes in the constitution if they can elect enough members to the National Assembly, which will negotiate amendments as part of a deal made right before the election. But Sunnis will still remain a minority in the Assembly and there are no guarantees they will win more favorable terms than they did in the drafting of the existing constitution.

It probably didn't help sectarian strains -- in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East -- that Saddam Hussein's trial began as votes were being counted. Hated by many who suffered his ruthlessness, a group that includes Iraq's Shiites and Kurds and many Kuwaitis, he is still admired by many in and out of Iraq. (In my 2004 survey of public opinion in Arab countries, more people in Jordan, one of America's closest Arab allies, identified Saddam as the “most admired world leader” than any other person outside their own country.)

Methods in question

More important, even among the large number in the Arab and Muslim world and among Iraq's Sunni Arabs who didn't admire the former Iraqi ruler, many question the method in which a sitting Arab ruler was removed, and the legitimacy of the institutions that will try him in Iraq.

International human rights groups had proposed an international tribunal for Saddam and warned against a “victors’ court.” Those groups, including Human Rights Watch, worry that the requirements for conviction under rules set up for his trial are far less stringent than acceptable international standards.

Arab groups, meanwhile, have expressed doubt about the fairness of a trial that takes place in the shadow of American forces. The court did agree, after one day of the trial, to recess for a month to address concerns that the defense attorneys had been hurried and needed more time to prepare their cases, but that won't address other questions of fairness. In the end, it is doubtful that the trial will change many minds and more likely that it will continue to fan sectarian anger when it resumes Nov. 28.

How much worse could sectarian violence in Iraq get? The worst-case scenario is an all-out civil war leading to the breakup of the country into three states along the lines of the dominant strains. But that danger remains limited in the foreseeable future.

For one thing, there is much population overlap in many parts of Iraq and significant intermarriage, especially among Sunni and Shiite Arabs -- although those factors are not, in themselves, enough of a barrier to division. For another, each group has much to lose if it were to move rapidly toward independence.

Certainly Sunni Arabs would have the most to lose, especially as Iraq's rich oil fields are primarily in the Shiite areas in the south and in heavily Kurdish areas in the north. Having dominated Iraqi politics for so long, Sunni Arabs would find it hard to swallow being left with a shrunken and resource-deprived state.

The Shiites would lose the benefits of a unified Iraq in which, as the majority faction, they finally would have the biggest say. Moreover, a breakup of Iraq might push them closer to Iran strategically, which is not a happy outcome for most Shiites. Iraqi Shiites do have religious affinity with Iran. They are, however, also Arab and Iraqi and feel the force of ancient rivalries between Arabs and Persians, as well as the newer Iran-Iraq rivalries that drove the two countries into a bloody war in the 1980s.

Even the Kurds, who clearly see themselves as an independent people worthy of a state, have pushed for gradual autonomy in large part to assuage strong opposition to Kurdish independence especially in Turkey and Iran, which are fearful of secession movements among their own Kurdish populations. But even if an all-out civil war is avoided, any escalation of sectarian violence could wreak havoc in Iraq and throughout the region.

The intensification of conflict would have two immediate consequences. The first would be the increased ability of the Sunni insurgency to recruit more support in the Arab and Muslim world, where Sunnis are the majority. This could be the battle cry that helps groups like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Al-Qaida in Mesopotamia to vastly increase the number of foreign recruits in Iraq.
Zarqawi has been trying to boost those numbers by targeting Shiites in the hopes of creating a backlash against Sunnis. But so far, the best estimates are that foreigners constitute only about 10 percent of the insurgency.

Drawing others in

The second consequence would be the likelihood of drawing other governments in the region into Iraq. If Sunnis are on the losing end of sectarian conflict in Iraq, it would be hard for many Arab and Muslim countries to sit on the sidelines.

And the Iraqi factions’ needs for garnering allies and supplies would open up new intervention opportunities for interested neighboring states. That includes Iran, which has already been accused by Britain and the United States of intervening in Iraq, and which could see Iraq as a good site to act out its anger at European and American demands that it alter its nuclear activities. It also includes Syria, which has been accused by the United States of allowing insurgents to cross into Iraq and which is also increasingly at odds with the United States and others over a just-released U.N. report that implicated some of the country's top leaders in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Those threats -- of a more violent Iraq and a destabilized Middle East -- are the reasons most international actors, including the United States, are trying so hard to keep Iraq unified and its factions talking. But the rush to vote on a constitution that divides more than it unites and a controversial trial that is sure to make hourly headlines in the Arab press may achieve the
opposite result.


SHIBLEY TELHAMI is Anwar Sadat professor for peace and development at the University of Maryland and senior fellow at the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution. He is a member of the board of directors of Human Rights Watch. He wrote this article for Perspective.

Copyright San Jose Mercury 2005