[This is a bi-weekly roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Resistance and Subversion in the Arab world and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the DARS Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each bi-weekly roundup to DARS@jadaliyya.comby Sunday night of every second week.]
News & Commentary
Who Speaks for Muslim Women, by Al Jazeera
Femen, the self-identified "sextremist" women's movement, says it wants to fight for Muslim girls everywhere, but plenty of Muslim women say they neither want, nor need their help. After Femen launched its “International Topless Jihad Day”, a wave of responses by Muslim women rejecting Femen's tactics circulated online, leading to discussions of Western images of Muslim femininity and what it means to be a feminist in Islam.
People Power, by Tareq Baconi
Institutional failure to move the peace process forward is compelling the Palestinian people to look to themselves and to civil society for a solution. Within the context of failure to achieve a solution on the level of leadership and institutions, there arises an opportunity for the Palestinian people to collectively redefine the parameters and direction of their own future. This effort is proceeding on the popular level.
What we Talk About When we Talk About Violent Resistance – a Funeral in Hebron and the 21-Gun Salute, by Allison Deger
Without broadcasting defeat, Palestinian armed resistance in the West Bank ended as a tactic a decade ago, but as an aesthetic it is in overdrive. While one reading of the gunshots fired on the day of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh’s funeral in Hebron suggest a warning to the Israelis, the intended audience was more likely another faction of the same political party.
Worldwide Protests Mark Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Political Prisoners, by Sara Chaudhry
April 17 marked a day of worldwide solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners, an often forgotten issue. One of the most effective ways Israel suppress and control Palestinians is through a relentless policy of mass detention and imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians.
Israeli Journalist Amira Hass on Palestinian Resistance, “Peace Talks” and U.S. Role in Region, by Democracy Now!
Interview by Amy Goodman with Amira Hass on her recently published article “The inner syntax of Palestinian stone-throwing” in Haaretz.
Syrian Activist Communities, the Battle Inside, by Rita
Recent changes in the revolution and the escalation of violence have outpaced and overshadowed peaceful Syrian activists, profoundly challenging them. Many activists are still beautifying the Syrian street with humble movements and small protests under the same slogans of those at the beginning of the uprising. These activists are the most vulnerable to brutal arrests, executions and torture and are considered the most dangerous by regime.
The Revolution is Being Televised, by Al Jazeera
This film tells the story of six media activists in Syria, who struggle to tell the story of their hometown of Qusayr to the outside world amidst the chaos of the Syrian uprising. Having watched the revolutions of the Arab Spring, the activists were well aware of the impact social and conventional media can have in shaping opinion and mobilizing both external and internal forces to take action.
Culture is the New Resistance, by Giuliana Sgrena
In Tunis, a group of students decked out in traditional Tunisian costumes, with the Tunisian flag wrapped around their shoulders, perform the Harlem Shake: a dance that has recently gone viral online as a popular meme. These “protest dancers” symbolize the new generation that was born out of the uprising, a vivid, colorful and diverse mix of people who say culture has become the new frontline in the ongoing fight for democracy in post-revolutionary Tunisia.
Kuwaitis Protest Over Jailing of Opposition Leader, by Middle East Online
Thousands of Kuwaitis demonstrated Monday night after the lower court sentenced key opposition leader Mussallam al-Barrak to five years in prison for insulting the emir. Around 10,000 people gathered at Barrak's residence southwest of the capital Kuwait City and marched on the nearby central jail, where Barrak could serve his jail term, disrupting traffic at a major highway without any police interference.
Algerian Activism: a New Generation Draws the Line, by Hicham Yezza
Although Algeria has seen little large-scale street demonstrations, there has been a seismic shift in the national consciousness. A new generation of young organizers, trade unionists and campaigners has been issuing increasingly audacious challenges to the country's rulers, and they are being taken seriously.
None of Your Business, by Sarah Carr
The creator of the “None of your business” campaign speaks out: “Just about everyone who finds my ID card in their hands has this compulsion to flip it over. They feel this need to satisfy their curiosity or categorize me according to some personal schema in which religion (and perhaps marital status) is indispensable… I felt angry and powerless until the idea of covering up the religion field on my ID card came to me... I wrote “none of your business” on a piece of paper and covered up the religion and marital status fields on my ID card and posted a picture on Facebook.”
Satire as Civil Disobedience, by Mona Eltahaway
Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef, whose satire is a kind of popular derision that is projected to 30 million viewers across the Arab world, faces allegations of insulting the president, Islam and "spreading false news with the aim of disrupting public order." Youssef is so threatening to the Egyptian establishment because satire is a marriage of civil disobedience to a laugh track, a potent brew of derision and lack of respect that acts as a nettle sting on the thin skin of the humorless.
Democratization Theory and the Arab Spring, by Alfred Stepan and Juan J. Linz
What new perspectives are needed in light of the recent upheavals in the Arab world? The authors focus on three topics that have been illuminated by the events of the Arab Spring: the relationship between democracy and religion, especially in the world’s Muslim-majority countries; the character of hybrid regimes that mix authoritarian and democratic elements; and the nature of “sultanism” and its implications for transitions to democracy.
Campaigns
Love in the Time of Apartheid is a Palestinian campaign that calls for the opposition by all peaceful means to the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order), preventing the reunification of Palestinian families when one partner holds Israeli citizenship while the other is resident of the occupied Palestinian territory.
“None of Your Business” is a campaign in Egypt urging citizens to remove the “religion” box from their ID cards. This campaign was launched several days after sectarian violence broke out between Copts and Muslims near Cairo.
Art
The Art of Survival in Post-Saddam Iraq, by Zoe Holman
New forms of violence have risen out of the vacuum of civil conflict in post-Saddam Iraq. Ten years after the Iraq war, this violent legacy is emerging in the work of the country's artists through film, painting and poetry.
The Egyptian Revolution as Seen Through Graffiti, by Busra Mutlu
Swedish journalist and photographer Mia Grondahl’s third book, “Revolution Graffiti: Street Art of the New Egypt”, was released recently and it focuses on Egypt and its street art after the revolution that began on 25 January 2011.
Conferences & Events
Arab Spring as Seen by Women Philosophers, 31 May 2013, École Normale Supérieure de la rue d’Ulm, Paris, France
The Reality and the Prospects of Gender Equality After “the Arab Spring,” 30-31 May 2013, Mohammed I University, Oujda, Morocco