Hawks v Reformists
Paul Berman, Terror and Liberalism, W.W.Norton, 2003 pp.214
ISBN 0-393-05775-5
Amin Saikal, Islam and the West: Conflict or Cooperation? Palgrave MacMillan, 2003 pp. 171 ISBN 1-4039-0358-1
In order to change something in my country, I need to change myself
Irene Munz writes: “I have the great pleasure to be with Tahmina in the same program, Gender and Peace Building, here at UPEACE. Although we detected very soon, that our motivations and interests are similar, each of us student is bringing a different background and different visions, enriching our daily course here at UPEACE. Tahmina, as the only representative from Central Asia in our group, brings us valuable insight into her culture, her individual way of thinking and her struggle for her religion, the Islam, and women rights in her country, Tajikistan.”
Islam: Fighting the Darkness Within
Islam: Fighting the Darkness Within Author: Mohammed Abu-Nimer Originally Published at Peace and Conflict Monitor on 12/01/2005 The November 27th kidnapping of four members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT)—Tom Fox (54), of the United States, Norman Kember (74) of Great Britain, and James Lonely (41) and Hameet Singh Sooden (32) of Canada—who were working in […]
Terrorist Splinters
The Death of Somoza by Claribel Alegria and Darwin Flakol though published some time ago, 1996, is well worth a read not only because of its intrinsic interest, but also because of the lessons that can be taken from it in understanding the nature of international terror, and particularly interesting as providing an insight into what happens when freebooters find scope for bloody initiatives.
Above Enrique Haroldo Gorriaran Merlo, international terrorist and assassin, is flanked by his captors.
Hebron: a typical cauldron
Some recent press reports have been suggesting recently that peace in Israel/Palestine is a real prospect in the not-so-distant future. Am Johal, now back in Canada, reflects on how tense the situation is in Hebron, and measures the problems there against those of the whole of Israel/Palestine.
Laying the Blame
Bernard Lewis, What Went Wrong: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East, Perennial (HarperCollins), 2003, ISBN 0-6-051605-4, PB, pp.186
Bernard Lewis argues that Islamic fundamentalism (thus terrorism) is a result of the failure of Islam to produce modern societies and nation states, and the best prescription for the current violent conflicts between the West and the Islamic world is the spread of modernism.
The Weapon is Patience
Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan. A Man to Match the Mountains, By Eknath Easwaran, Nilgiri Press, 2002 (Second Edition). At a time when Islam is becoming increasingly and thoughtlessly associated with terrorism, and has come to replace the “menace of Communism”, one author has reissued his book on the “Muslim Gandhi”.
Globalization and Identity Mobilization in Nigeria: Muslim and Christian Youth Violence in the 1990s
Nigerian youth were directly responsible for most of the violent conflicts that straddled the socio-political life of Nigeria in the 90s. This can be partially explained by the argument that the search for economic relevance made Nigerian youth the carriers of violent identities. As such, youth were instruments that were used to transform the social structure from what it was to what it is.
This paper is a discussion of youth and religious identity in Nigeria, and it is premised on the fact that the breakdown of the state and its capacity to arrest the declining fortune of the economy gave rise to a very religious youth who, across religious barriers, saw no other means of becoming politically active than becoming religiously active. For Nigerian youths of the 90s, therefore, there was a close relationship between political and religious processes, ultimately encouraging their participation in the violence of the era.
Love in a Headscarf: Muslim Woman Seeks the One
“Love in a Headscarf: Muslim Woman Seeks the One” Book Reviewed by Ethar El-Katatney
Self-immolation in Tajikistan
A significantly large number of young women in Tajikistan, and elsewhere in Central Asia, forced into marriage attempt suicide by setting themselves alight. The author explains why.