Muftah

Notorious Abu Ghraib Prison Shut Down Over Security Concerns - Muftah

▻http://muftah.org/notorious-abu-ghraib-prison-shut-security-concerns

On Tuesday April 16th, the Iraqi government ordered the closure of Baghdad’s Central prison, formerly known as the infamous Abu Ghraib prison where first Saddam Hussein’s regime and then the U.S. military were known to torture their opponents, many of whom were held captive without trial.

Muftah » Mahmoud Abbas Means Business
▻http://muftah.org/abbas-means-business

Kerry was close to sealing a deal between the two sides which would have convicted Israeli spy Jonathon Pollard released in return for freeing the Palestinian prisoners[1]. In return, the deal would have required a commitment from Israel to demonstrate “great restraint” from building more settlements in the occupied West Bank. Seems clear so far.

Yesterday, the Israelis published tenders for 708 residential units beyond the Green Line in the Gilo settlement in East Jerusalem. I suppose 708 is a demonstration of restraint… it could have been 7,008.

#retenue au sens #USisrael

African asylum seekers strike to demand rights, hold large rally in Tel Aviv

In an unprecedented protest, some 20,000 African asylum seekers march to Rabin Square to demand that Israel examine their asylum claims and stop arresting and detaining members of the refugee community.

http://972mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/rabin.jpg

▻http://972mag.com/african-asylum-seekers-go-on-strike-hold-large-rally-in-tel-aviv/85034

#protestation #requérants_d'asile #marche #manifestation #Tel_Aviv #Israël #asile #réfugiés

A SUIVRE Le gouverneur du Caire aurait pour projet de construire 4 portes de fer aux entrées principales de la place Tahrir (Shorouk news). De nombreux murs rendent déjà difficile (parfois impossible) la circulation autour de la place, et au Caire.

« Dans la guerre de symboles de la transition politique égyptienne, Tahrir est au premier plan. Qui tient la place tient le pouvoir. » écrivait Samuel Forey dans « Nettoyer Tahrir » ►http://orientxxi.info/lu-vu-entendu/nettoyer-tahrir,0380 & ▻http://muftah.org/midan-al-tahrirs-past-and-present

Extrait de « The square », documentaire ambitieux consacré à la place Tahrir et aux événements en Egypte depuis 2011 - YouTube
▻http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twB2zAOzsKE#t=141

#Tahrir #film #culture

Muftah - Unemployment in Saudi Arabia : a Ticking Time Bomb ?

▻http://muftah.org/unemployment-in-saudi-arabia-a-ticking-time-bomb

Article très intéressant sur le chômage en Arabie Saoudite. Une « bombe à retardement prête à exploser », prévient l’auteur.

Despite being the world’s main oil producer, Saudi Arabia has difficulties providing enough jobs for its young population.
The Kingdom’s unemployment problem is a consequence of fundamental and systematic shortcomings, such as a lack of proper education, the difficulty in a religiously conservative society with integrating women into the workforce, and a stagnant private sector dependent on foreign workers.

#économie #emploi #ArabieSaoudite #discrimination

Band of Brothers : The Muslim Brotherhood’s Artistic Side

▻http://muftah.org/band-of-brothers-the-muslim-brotherhoods-artistic-side

While some in the Brotherhood remained hostile to the arts, others took up what was deemed to be “clean,” message-oriented artistic expression, especially after the 2011 Revolution.
At the same time, the culture of struggle has remained very much alive in Brotherhood-affiliated artistic productions. Last August, for instance, Misr 25 aired performances of “Islam of Heroism” and Sayyid Qutb’s poem, “My brother, you are free behind those shackles.” “Islam of Heroism” was also sung at the National Conference to Support the Syrian Revolution this June.

Très intéressant.

#arts #FM #MB #Frères

Sur les événements du we dernier au Caire -> Statement from Egypt’s Revolutionary Socialists : « Not in Our Name »

▻http://muftah.org/statement-from-egypts-revolutionary-socialists-not-in-our-name

#socialisme #Egypte #Rabaa #Morsi

Muftah » If Taksim Is Not Tahrir, What Is It ?
▻http://muftah.org/if-taksim-is-not-tahrir-what-is-it

The orientalist logic is clear. If Turkish protestors are monolithically composed of beer-drinking secularists, their fight is not simply directed at Erdogan, or even his party. The enemy is Islam itself.

Certainly, cultural tensions fuelled by recent, religiously motivated government policies targeting women’s reproductive rights and other social freedoms bear some credit for the current unrest. But it is not the only cause, and it may not even be the most important cause, either.

As Turkish commentator Zihni Ozdil recently pointed out, Erdogan and his conservative party retain a strong base of support among members of Turkey’s urban working class and rural poor.
Turkey, still a predominately Muslim state, is unlikely to unite under a 21st Century iteration of Kemalism, and there is no evidence that protestors themselves have organized on behalf of this particular ideological agenda.

By focusing primarily on Erdogan’s Islamism and the presence of secularists within the demonstrations, Western journalists and activists are perpetuating an Islamophobic perspective that locates Islamic beliefs as the source of Erdogan’s more repressive policy initiatives.

The real degree to which Islam influences Erdogan’s policies is nearly impossible to gauge; his response to unrest in the streets of Turkey’s major cities is characteristic of an autocratic leader determined to retain power, and does not necessarily indicate a desire to transform Turkey into a theocracy.

Nor does the existence of secularist demonstrators herald the emergence of a secular uprising. For one thing, Turkey’s protestors are not uniformly secular. Reports of alcohol consumption and the presence of non-hijabi women among their numbers reveal, on the surface, nothing substantive about the political and religious motivations of the protestors as a group. To assert otherwise, it is necessary to ignore the actual diversity of Islamic belief, and of the protestors themselves. By extension, this attitude demonizes conservative Muslims and locates them as collaborators with a repressive government.

Muftah » Why the Gezi Park Protests Do Not Herald a Turkish Spring (Yet)
▻http://muftah.org/why-the-gezi-park-protests-do-not-herald-a-turkish-spring-yet

Themes like ‘Turkish Spring‘ and ‘Taksim = Tahrir’ were manifest in the many analyses and expressions of solidarity with the Turkish protesters.

These comments, however well intentioned, reflect a poor understanding of Turkey’s political economy under the AKP government, as well as the main driving force behind the Gezi Park protests.

These realities make recent developments in Turkey fundamentally different from protests that broke out in Egypt and Tunisia in 2011.

One simply needs to look at the youth attending the protests and, more importantly, at the youth who are absent from these demonstrations to realize that unlike the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings this is not a mass popular movement supported by broad segments of society.

Mass labor protests, like those that preceded and directly influenced the April 6th movement in Egypt, are largely absent from Gezi Park. Disenfranchised, jobless youth from the slums have generally stayed away from the demonstrations so far. Pious girls with headscarves who want more liberties are also absent.

As long as these girls in headscarves, mechanics, poor vendors, construction workers, and jobless Anatolian youth are not protesting in Taksim Square, a comparison with Egypt’s Tahrir Square is misplaced.

Upper Class Revolt

The youth demonstrating in Gezi Park and in solidarity protests in secular bastions across Turkey hail from several groups opposing Erdogan. Nevertheless, young people from the country’s mainly upper-class, secular ‘white Turk’ social strata are the key driving force.

In this sense, these demonstrations represent one of the last convulsions of the old ‘secular’ elites, who have been waging, and losing, a bitter battle against the rising Anatolian nouveau-riche that make up Erdogan’s AKP.

The fact that protesters did not remove representatives from the main opposition party, CHP, who were present at yesterday’s Gezi Park demonstration is telling

CHP is just as neoliberal and autocratic as AKP and has a similarly dismal governing record when it comes to human rights. In contrast to the Erdogan government, however, CHP represents Turkey’s old ‘secular’ elite. In fact, the party had approved and ratified the Gezi Park development plans, a fact that went without mention by people who welcomed its attempt to piggy back on the protests.

(...)

Conclusion: No Turkish Spring

Erdogan is no Mubarak. The AKP is a populist party that was voted into power in free and fair elections, and has been successful in appeasing and expanding its base.

The Gezi Park protests do not herald a ‘Turkish Spring,’ at least not yet. Instead, the protests and Erdogan’s violent defiance are likely to further divide an already extremely polarized country.

Amass popular uprising in Turkey will only occur when the bubble economy bursts, which is bound to happen sooner or later. Perhaps, then, the ‘Turkish Spring’ will be upon us.

Muftah » The Many Arabics of Politics
▻http://muftah.org/the-many-arabics-of-politics

Despite the immense political upheavals taking place in the Middle East in the last few years, opinions remain divided on the extent to which political realities in affected countries have actually changed.
One way of examining the issue is to compare the linguistic habits of the region’s outgoing autocrats and its new generation of political leaders.
Conventionally, Arabic is divided between Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), also called Fuṣḥā, which is a formal academic and literary language, and the numerous regional dialects, also called ‘Āmmiyya or Dārijiyya, many of which are mutually unintelligible.
The truth is somewhat fuzzier than this: spoken Arabic exists on a relative scale rarely reaching ‘pure’ Fuṣḥā or ‘pure’ ‘Āmmiyya. The register can even shift within a single utterance.
Each form carries its own implications and social and political meanings. With such a wealth of linguistic options, it is worth investigating how political leaders use the different registers of Arabic, and whether this demonstrates anything about their leadership style and relationship to the people.

Un pseudo-féminisme raciste et morbide

Donc, l’inénarrable Martine Gozlan de « Marianne » a « retrouvé Amina, la Femen tunisienne » :

►http://www.marianne.net/J-ai-retrouve-Amina-la-Femen-tunisienne_a227722.html

Il est frappant de constater à quel point on adore ce genre de scénarios : le héros solitaire musulman, ou, encore mieux, l’héroïne solitaire musulmane, seul-e touché-e par la grâce des Lumières occidentales, uniformément entouré-e de barbares obscurantistes, névrosés et violents qui l’étouffent et/ou lui veulent du mal, et qu’on se donne pour mission de protéger, car il/elle est des nôtres : c’est nous qui sommes sa vraie famille – comme cela apparaît très clairement dans le papier ci-dessus, où Martine Gozlan, qui la rencontre pour la première fois, postule d’emblée une affinité entre Amina et elle-même qui éclipse celle existant entre la jeune fille et sa famille.

Il ne s’agit pas de prétendre qu’un milieu familial ne peut pas être étouffant ou néfaste, mais il est très problématique d’en retrancher un individu pour rejeter l’ensemble de son entourage dans l’inhumanité en en faisant une peinture à la "Jamais sans ma fille". Cette démarche ne laisse à cet individu le choix qu’entre deux attitudes extrêmes : soit la rupture nette et franche, présumée facile par les « amis » occidentaux (elle ne peut quand même pas être attachée à ces bouseux… ?), soit une adhésion inconditionnelle, affirmée en réaction, dans un mouvement de révolte et de solidarité avec les siens face aux propos racistes tenus à leur sujet (une attitude que l’on trouve notamment dans le discours des Indigènes de la République, les mêmes mécanismes étant à l’œuvre au sujet des descendants d’immigrés en France).

Ce storytelling est sûrement très valorisant d’un point de vue narcissique, mais il est, au mieux, complètement stérile, et au pire, dans la plupart des cas, ravageur pour la cause qu’il prétend défendre : des individus isolés, vite récupérés par des instances flirtant avec le racisme, sont impuissants à faire évoluer leur société. Seuls des mouvements qui y sont enracinés ont ce pouvoir, comme le souligne très bien la féministe égyptienne Sara Salem :
►http://muftah.org/femen-strikes-in-tunisia-the-case-of-amina

Mais se pourrait-il que faire avancer la cause des femmes dans les pays musulmans ne soit pas réellement le but ? Je n’ose pas l’imaginer…

On en arrive pourtant à la situation éminemment malsaine où il est de l’intérêt objectif des Femen qu’il arrive les pires horreurs à Amina. Dans le cas contraire, on ne parlera plus d’elles – ou du moins, plus à ce sujet, puisqu’on fait confiance à leur créativité pour relancer la machine. Difficile de ne pas en retirer l’impression qu’il s’agit moins de se montrer solidaire des femmes musulmanes que de prouver la barbarie atavique et irrécupérable des hommes musulmans. Ce pseudo-féminisme morbide ne profite à rien ni à personne, sauf aux Femen elles-mêmes et à leur besoin obsessionnel de publicité. Et au "choc des civilisations"...

#Femen #racisme

Femen Strikes in Tunisia – the Case of Amina
►http://muftah.org/femen-strikes-in-tunisia-the-case-of-amina

When it comes to women, nudity is a great tactic if your priority is to get media attention, but can be problematic because, often, that is the only way the media will pay attention to women — i.e. if we are performing for the male gaze. Source: Muftah

Paid Maternity Leave : Almost Everywhere - NYTimes.com
▻http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2013/02/17/opinion/17coontz2-map.html?ref=sunday

Presque partout, sauf dans 8 pays dont les Etats-Unis.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/02/17/opinion/17coontz2-map/17coontz2-map-popup.png