February 2007
Middle East
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©2006 Katleen Maes |
Arabs and Israelis held hostage by a common enemy
Salom Now! And METalks are two experimental initiatives
which sought to rewrite the script of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and give
ordinary people a starring role in the quest for peace. Those involved
experienced profound changes to their outlook and took the first steps towards
forging a new, more inclusive narrative for the Middle East. However, such
popular, grassroots action is held hostage by some common enemies: despair,
hatred, antipathy and distrust.
Part I – War and elusive
peace
Part II – Talking under
fire
Part III – Dangerous
liaisons
Part IV – Constructive
ideas
Part V – Let’s talk about
you and ME
Part VI – Terrorised by a
common enemy
Part VII – Existential
angst
Part VIII – Moving forward
Madrid for the people
Some 15 years after the Madrid conference which
launched the now defunct Israeli-Palestinian peace process, former statesmen
and stateswomen from both sides got together to try to revive the quest for
peace. What we now need is to complement this crème-de-la-crème peacemaking
with a gritty ‘Madrid for the people’, Khaled Diab argues in a letter to former
Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, one of the figures who spearheaded the
initiative. Read
on
Exchange of friendly fire
Anat el-Hashahar, an Israeli and founder of
METalks, debates the Arab-Israeli conflict – from Oslo to Lebanon – with Khaled
Diab, an Egyptian journalist and writer. Read on
No defeating hate
Marina Werbeloff gives her opinion on the
METalks experiment. Read on
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Fiction
Courting terror
He clipped her with the edge of his headlights
on the grassy knoll beyond the hard shoulder, as his car chugged along like a
mechanical tortoise. The man braked and reversed. She froze in the beam like a terrified
rabbit quivering and he glimpsed the raw fear in her owlish eyes. He opened the
door and was assaulted by the young woman’s loud screams, which were muffled
somewhat by the sheets of falling rain. Read on
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Focus Salom Now! Fusing the
Arabic and Hebrew words for ‘peace’, Salom Now! is the idea of creating an
Arab-Israeli civil alliance to build understanding and strike out towards a
people’s peace in the Middle East. Read on |
Focus Conflict in the Middle East Conflict has
become an increasingly common feature of the contemporary Middle East for a
variety of geo-strategic, political and historical reasons. This section
explores a variety of unorthodox ideas for mitigating conflict and building
bridges in the region. Read on |
Focus Homosexuality in the Middle East Homosexuality is one of the most
controversial taboo topics in the Arab world today, and one that is rarely
discussed in public. In this special focus on homosexuality, Diabolic Digest is doing its
own modest bit in bringing the issue out of the closet. Read on |
Focus Democracy in Egypt Democratic reform in Egypt is a
one step forward, one step back, two to the side kind of experience. It is sometimes
exciting and promising, often frustrating and depressing, and too often
stagnant. This special focus section explores the issue of democracy in
Egypt. Read on |
Focus Multiculturalism in Europe Europe faces the tough challenge
of forging a tolerant and representative multicultural society that reflects
the chequered identities of the many people who call themselves European.
Presently, this is particularly the case when it comes to its Muslim
minority. Read on |
Focus Women, feminism and Islam The position of Muslim women is a
complex and varies greatly from country to country, from group to group and even
from person to person. Many of the issues facing Muslim
women are familiar to women everywhere – the difference is often a question
of degree. What is clear is that debate, dialogue and reform are sorely
needed if Muslim women are to attain the equality they deserve. |
ã2007 K. Diab. Unless otherwise stated, all the content on this website
is the copyright of Khaled Diab.
