You are currently browsing posts tagged with islamophobia
Posted on Tuesday, 23 October, 2007 By yours truly | TOOLS: Talk or Share
Just in time for Halloween, it’s “Islamo-Fascism Awereness Week!” Haven’t heard of Islamo-Fascism? Don’t worry. It’s made up by the boo-scaries of the New Right.
In what I guess could be described as the heir apparent to — or rather the mutant offspring of — traveling Elmer Gantry style faith healers and caravans of circus geeks, bearded ladies, Siamese twins, skeleton boys and monkey girls, something calling itself the “Terrorism Awareness Project,” is promoting an “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week” tour with all the bravado and twice the pandering as P.T. Barnum.
Taking the stage (allegedly at campuses across the Homeland), in what one supposes is a lineup meant to draw converts to the rabid-right instead of a few odd looks and a couple of snickers before a quick dismissal are:
So, easy targets for first-year college debate team members looking for some warm-up stretching, but what’s the big? After all, Carrot Top does college tours.
Well, the notion these people are peddling is that Middle East studies must be wiped out of academia since any rigorous analysis would include a critical look at the US and Israel roles in the problems there as well. That’s way off message for this crowd.
Get some more of this post
Posted on Wednesday, 22 August, 2007 By yours truly | TOOLS: Talk or Share
Many organisations spent weeks and months planning to host the Palestinian Under 19 football team in a 3 week visit to the UK in September. This visit is no longer going to take place as the British Consulate in Jerusalem has refused to grant visas to the entire team and coaches.
The British Government, in a decision apparently taken at a senior level, have refused entry visas to the entire team. Although they will not provide reasons in writing, they say the decision was taken because the economic situation in Gaza, where the majority of the team are based, is so bad that they do not believe that the Palestinians will return home again. They deny taking the decision for any politically motivated reason, although they did say at one point that it was because the Israelis would not allow them to return – and so would create a refugee issue, but they have since denied this.
The team posed no threat and the tour was intended to provide support to a team of boys and young men who would have no other opportunity to play in real football stadiums. Britain is now directly aiding Israel in punishing the Palestinians by denying them freedom of movement on no legitimate grounds.
The imprisonment of the Palestinian team in this way is a stark contrast to the welcome Israel’s national team is expected to receive in its qualifier against England on September 8 th at Wembley. This unequal treatment of Israeli and Palestinian football teams must be challenged.
Action Alert:
1) Write to the FCO:
- Demand to know the reason for the U19 teams visa refusals.
- Request that the decision made be reversed.
FCO, King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AH | Tel: 020 7008 1500
2) Write to FIFA, UEFA, and the FA asking them to suspend Israel from international football until it abides by International law.
3) Write letters to FIFA (contact@fifa.org ), the FA (info@thefa.com) and UEFA ( media@uefa.ch and info@euro2008.com)
Continue reading for updates
on demonstrations at the qulifiers
vigils at Wembley and so forth.
Posted on Monday, 14 May, 2007 By yours truly | TOOLS: Talk or Share
Karen Armstrong, author of “Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time,” has a piece worthy of a gander the London Financial Times. Too much of it is quoatable so I’ll just start it here:
Balancing the Prophet
By Karen Armstrong
Ever since the Crusades, people in the west have seen the prophet Muhammad as a sinister figure. During the 12th century, Christians were fighting brutal holy wars against Muslims, even though Jesus had told his followers to love their enemies, not to exterminate them. The scholar monks of Europe stigmatised Muhammad as a cruel warlord who established the false religion of Islam by the sword. They also, with ill-concealed envy, berated him as a lecher and sexual pervert at a time when the popes were attempting to impose celibacy on the reluctant clergy. Our Islamophobia became entwined with our chronic anti-Semitism; Jews and Muslims, the victims of the crusaders, became the shadow self of Europe, the enemies of decent civilisation and the opposite of ”us”.
For an excerpt from her book, “Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time,” Check out this page at NPR. Well worth the read and for setting historical record right.
Posted on Wednesday, 25 April, 2007 By yours truly | TOOLS: Talk or Share
Apparently if you don’t let people see it, it can’t exist. At least that’s the theory that apologists for the occupaton of Palestine enjoy maintaining. Boston Public Library recently reported it’s first ever art theft when some one(s) made off with a photo exhibit created by children from Balata refugee camp in Nablus, West Bank. — Link
Let’s get this straight now; a hate crime is a deed motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice. The Anti-Defamation League has been working on hate crimes in the Boston area for some time, dubbing Massachusetts as “the fifth highest in the nation for hate crimes.” Let’s hope they help get to the bottom of this as well.
Posted on Wednesday, 18 April, 2007 By yours truly | TOOLS: Talk or Share
The xenophobic boo-scary crowd managed to keep the Oly+Rafah Sister City Project from getting official recognition for its good works of increasing understanding between peoples. Way to go.
“In keeping with its commitment to open government, the Olympia City Council is pleased to provide online access to live and archived City Council meeting videos, minutes, and agendas.”
• The meeting’s Agenda
• The background material that will be presented for our item (which seemed to have not been read by the majority of the council).
• Video of the meeting available here. (Warning: some freaky, racist anti-Arab statements lie within, as well as a lot of powerful statement in support of ORSCP)
• Or paste this into iTunes under the podcast section>subscribe to podcast
to have it download to your computer: http://olympia.granicus.com/ViewPublisherRSS.php?view_id=2
• Minutes of meeting available here.
Flickr photos of the meeting are here: Link
Some blogging on the vote:
• What This Town Needs
• Gabi Clayton ~ Inside the outsider
Posted on Friday, 6 April, 2007 By yours truly | TOOLS: Talk or Share
Unable to formulate a decent academic debate with Norman Finkelstein, an assistant professor of political science at DePaul University, Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz takes the low road and tries to get his his academic better canned. — Link
« Older Entries
“Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism — how passionately I hate them!”