Related Posts
Geert Wilders and Free Speech
Aziz beat me to it. Geert Wilders was arrested for attacking Islam. Dumb idea. As Aziz says “the best answer to bad speech is more speech.” The best thing to happen now is that a group of Dutch Muslims comes forward to his defense. Islam is bigger than one person, whether OBL or Geert Wilders. It can take care of itself. It’s Muslims who need to care of ourselves, and that doesn’t mean supporting dumb ideas.
Dehumanized
Non-Muslims are uncaring people who are happy when they see other people being abused and tortured. At least that’s the impression I got from reading CNN.com today. Two stories talking about the images of torture at Abu Ghuraib prison had the following paragraphs: The images sparked anger among Muslims around the world… (link) The images have sparked anger among Muslims across the world… (link) I never would have thought that CNN reporters would dehumanize non-Muslims, but I guess there’s a first for everything. Just for the record, the second article actually does talk about Muslims across the world. The first…
Berlusconi and the ‘Mamma the Turks!’ strategy
Berlusconi and the ‘Mamma the Turks!’ strategy | Islam, Muslims, and an Anthropologist. As an anthropologist, I find the connection that Berlusconi and his team propose between Muslims and Gypsies very interesting. Italy has been rebuked by the European Union for the intolerable condition in which Gypsies (many of whom have been Italian citizens for centuries) are left, and the lack of religious spaces for minorities in the country, with the paradoxical situation that the Catholic Church supports the construction of mosques. But the similarities end there: Gypsies in Italy tend to be Catholic or are Muslims in they own…