Who am I? Where do I come from? In two sentences, I am a South African Muslim male from an impoverished working class background who was reared in a gang-infested area by a single parent. Many of our neighbours were Christians and the debt collectors – of which there were always many – were invariably Jewish. Who am I? Where do I come from? In two senten […].
Islamic Civilization in Globalization: From Islamic futures to a Postwestern civilization
Abstract: Islam can be seen as a counter discourse to globalization, to the expansion of economic space and the fulfillment of the dreams of the social darwinists. However, even as Islam attempts to create new possibilities for globalism, national politics doom it to a politics of reaction, of reducing diversity and innovation. This is especially perilou […].
The Problem With Coercive Democratization
In a rare display of solidarity, Islamist and secular nationalist opposition leaders have joined forces with governments officials to denounce the U.S. democracy initiative as a blatant case of foreign intervention into the affairs of sovereign Arab states. […].
Panique, manipulation et valse médiatique
Le mardi 1er novembre 2005 à 23h 26, Decepticus poste sur le forum de Nawaat la transcription de la séquence du journal télévisé consacrée à la grève de la faim. Dans sa minutie, Décepticus poste la source de cette transcription : http://www.infotunisie.com/2005/11/011105-4.html Le lendemain, mercredi 2 novembre 2005, l’intégralité des propos du présent […].
Communiqué de presse du 1er novembre 2005 – بيــان غـرّة نوفمبر
و في سياق تكثيف حملة “حريّة التعبير في حِداد” مع اقتراب انعقاد مؤتمر القمة العالمي لمجتمع المعلومات ينشر منشطي “يزّي” سلسلة أولى من أشرطة الفيديو الرامية إلى لفت إنتباه الرأي العام لخطورة أوضاع الحريات في البلد المضيف للقمة تونس. Et afin d’appuyer et d’intensifier la campagne « La liberté d’expression en deuil », les animateurs de Yezzi.org diffu […].
Use the information summit to pressure the Tunisian authorities
The choice of Tunisia to host the November 16-18 second World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) has provoked much controversy. The idea behind the summit is to bridge the gap between rich and poor countries in a field that has proven to be one of the focal points of present and future progress. Tunisia, however, excels neither in informatics and rel […].
إضراب جوع – grève de la faim – Hunger strike
وإزاء هذا الوضع قررنا نحن ممثلي الأحزاب السياسية و الهيئات المدنية الممضين أسفله الدخول في إضراب جوع مفتوح بداية من يوم الثلاثاء 18 أكتوبر 2005 Pour exprimer leur refus de l’arbitraire et exiger le respect des droits politiques et humains du peuple tunisien, les signataires de cet appel, représentants d’associations de la société civile et de partis polit […].
Tunisians Launch Their Own Version of Kifaya
“Fock !” – yes, do a double-take. It’s a transliterated four-letter word, but not what you first think. “Fock” is part of the new online protest of Tunisians fed up with the censorship imposed by the regime of Zinedine Ben Ali (for background on the man whose ruled since when Ronald Reagan was still in office, see “Stamp of Myself” and “Ben Ali Family Valu […].
Tunisian Activists to Ben Ali : Enough !
Right now there’s an extraordinary online protest coming out of Tunisia. The website, Yezzi.org, is a collection of photos of Tunisians holding up signs in various languages, each with a message directed to Tunisian President Ben Ali. Though the phrase they use, “Yezzi, Fock !,” may appear to be a misguided attempt to curse out a certain swear word in the […].
Freedom of expression in mourning
Since we are physically unable to demonstrate within Tunisian public spaces, we will use the internet to organize permanent virtual demonstrations in order to express our total disapproval with the Tunisian dictatorial regime. À défaut de pouvoir manifester physiquement au sein des espaces publics tunisiens, nous mettons à profit l’espace que nous permet […].
Deterioration of rights situation in Tunisia
Tunisia is currently in the limelight of freedom of expression and other human rights groups as the country controversially is to organise the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) on 15-18 November. The decision to hold the summit in Tunis has been termed scandalous since Tunisian authorities prohibit any free circulation of information. […].
Globalized Islam
Muslims, like other immigrants, have come to the West in search of better economic opportunities. But are they bound to clash with their Western counterparts ? In this Globalist Interview, Olivier Roy — author of “Globalized Islam : The Search For a New Ummah” — explains that, due to globalization, these two groups actually have much more in common today t […].
Tunisian government puts financial squeeze on press to curb freedoms
Tunisia serves as a prime example of how Arab governments, by exercising subtle control over the media, are able to prevent a genuinely free press from emerging in the Middle East. […].
Identity and Human Rights in the Age of Globalization
Non-Western world, especially the Muslim world, has yet to come to grips with the notion of globalization. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the Muslim world faces many challenges, but none more formidable than the issue of how to strike a balance between maintaining cultural integrity and religious identity on the one hand, and absorbing changes as […].
Islam et démocratie:
Le monde musulman, exposé plus que jamais à des changements sociaux intensifiés par le processus de mondialisation, est devenu un terrain d’observation et d’analyse privilégié. Les chercheurs se penchent plus particulièrement sur les rapports entre tradition et modernité politique, entre islam et démocratie ; tandis que pour les acteurs locaux, la situatio […].
Tunisia: the trial of Zain El-Abedeen Ben Ali “the Arabic Pinochet ” opens the door for torture victims in the Arab World to bring their slaughterers to courts.
Gineva primary court opened a law case filed by the Tunisian Activist Abdul-Nasser Naiet Liman, the ex-prisoner against Zein Al_Abedeen Ben Ali and his ex-minister of interior, Abdullah Al-kallal on Wednesday 9th June 2005.the case opened despite Ben Ali’s being on power till now. باشرت محكمة جنيف الابتدائية نظر دعوي قضائية أقامها الناشط التونسي عبد الناص […].
Islamists and Democracy : Keep the Faith
Islamist organizations—that is, organizations that appeal to the religious values and social conservatism of the Arab public in their call for political reform—are the key to democratization in the Arab world. They have considerable support, as measured by the votes they receive when they are allowed to participate in elections, the turnout at their […].
The West and Moderate Islam
Amr Hamzawy looks at Western democracy promotion efforts in the Arab world. He argues that the U.S. and Europe need to engage not only liberal Arabs, but also moderate Islamists to appeal to their popular constituencies. […].