What the readers say
Here
are more reactions from readers.
November 2007
Symbolic significance of Kareem case
I think it is very easy to miss the very subtle
significance of the Abdel-Kareem
case. At face value, it can be seen as just another outspoken individual
ending up in a Middle Eastern jail (there are already plenty of those), and so
why make an issue of this one?
But when looked at in context, this has a huge
scope in terms of symbolic significance; the imprisonment of an internet
activist extends a climate of fear onto the internet, that was before, a
relatively safe and open environment for the exchange of ideas and opinions
(and a wide spectrum at that) in the Middle East (I emphasise the word
“relatively” here).
In the broader context, I was at the rally last
week outside the Saudi Embassy in relation to the visit of King
Abdullah (I didn’t object to the visit per say, I think opportunities for
things to be discussed between people is essential; I objected to the
lavishness of the visit, the absence of criticism of KSA from the British
government, and the whole hypocrisy of the matter). It drew between 150 and 200
people. For me, I thought that was very small given both the nature of KSA, and
also the ease in which to identify the detrimental nature of the Saudi regime.
Given most people know how awful the Saudi regime is, and how easy it is to
relate to this awfulness, I would have expected a lot more.
In the Abdul Karim case, I understand that the
low publicity of his situation, and the difficulty in relating the significance
of his imprisonment means that 20 people is in actual fact far greater than
would be expected (at least in my opinion).
I don’t have numbers in terms of attendance of
rallies last year, but I think the locations are largely similar; this year has
the addition of few Eastern European and South American locations, though
sadly, there doesn’t seem to be a rally in Bahrain like last year (even if it
was small, it is another important symbolic statement).
JR Pugh
Free Kareem Coalition
London, UK
November 2007
Middle Eastern cult heroes
I want to say how much I enjoyed your most
recent piece [Middle
Eastern cult heroes] on Comment is Free. It was interesting and insightful,
and I shall be passing it on to friends and colleagues to enjoy, too. Thank
you.
S Miller
Tel Aviv, Israel
October 2007
A perfect murder?
How [Ashraf Marwan] was like as
a person? Well, he was a real spy. He would never, for instance, leave messages,
which makes it very weird and odd that on the day before his death he left three
messages on my answering machine. He was always very polite and charming, but
his enemies disagree. He was, as I once said to him, a colourful person which
made him laugh.
By the way, he was never called by Mossad the “In-Law”.
The latter is my invention used in my book A History of Israel and aimed at
hinting at, but not revealing his name.
I don't know why Ashraf Marwan died and we will
probably never know for sure. My guess is that he was pushed. The reason for
this is that on the day before his death, when we talked on the phone, it was
clear to me (and to him) that we would meet the next day. He very carefully wrote
down my telephone number (office) and repeated it again and again.
A Bregman
London, UK
September 2007
The Belgian tribes
Very interesting article &
discussion on ze Belgian tribes…:-)
S Brabant
Brussels, Belgium
September 2007
Hopeless romantics
Just read your article on ‘mixed marriages’...
Nice! You are, to say the least, indeed a romantic, but then again, as you
rightfully point out, you two have lots in common – such as a joint interest in
each other’s work etc...
And maybe that’s what relationships are made of,
mate, sharing a common interest.
E Mortier
Brugge, Belgium
September 2007
The art of journalism
I was very touched by your article The art of
peace and related to it 100%. Your article has actually inserted some
hope in what seems at times a hopeless situation. Journalists, like yourself,
can be major contributors to peace between Jews and Arabs. I believe that only
by trying to understand one another, as opposed to blaming each other, can we really
start talking.
Many Israelis empathise with the Palestinians,
and admit that most of them, especially in Gaza, live a miserable and rather
hopeless life. Obviously, we have a responsibility for that unfortunate
reality. Many of us are trapped between the will to live a safe and quiet life
in Israel, and the goal of being a real democratic and humanist society.
Most Israelis are aware of our duty to set an
example, considering the fact that our people were persecuted for centuries.
Unfortunately, though, the Arab, and I gather much of the Western European
media, aren’t interested in understanding the depth of our conflict with the
Palestinians and the conflict within the Israeli society. We, for our part,
feel frustratingly misunderstood. We choose, then, to isolate ourselves and
stop being attentive to the criticism, even when it’s right! The anti-Israeli
media not only fuels the hate amongst Jews-Arabs-Christians, it rarely offers
any pragmatic solution.
Your exceptional and insightful article shows
that there are other, constructive, and very clever ways to encourage real long
lasting regional peace. Amen for that!
Looking forward to read about the
Palestinian narrative and more…
A Revivo
Israel
September 2007
I have been keeping up with all of your
articles, and I particularly like this pair [The art of peace I and II].
Very nice synopsis. I can’t bear to read
the comments, though.
Keep up the great writing. Your articles are a
pleasure to read.
D Adler
USA
September 2007
Exaggerated threats and cultures of fear
I read your article A
Christian jihad? with some interest as a friend of mine recently
completed an MA in International Relations focusing on Islamic fundamentalism.
You refer to some of the same zealous figures that Richard Dawkins also
mentions in his criticism on Christianity, such as Falwell and Coulter, whose
claims are indeed worthy of outrage.
However, these figures are easy,
soft targets for any criticism on American Christian fundamentalism. I find it
hard to believe that they represent a very powerful fundamentalist majority, a
so-called “Christian right” (to put it that way) who could take over America.
In my view, your article is founded
on and within the culture of fear that other scholars, such as Frank Furedi, are
highly critical of. The culture of fear is one that ‘sells’ the potential for a
variety of looming threats that are constantly hovering over the heads of all
humanity, who are then seen as passive mobs who should take care to know, be
aware of and be conscious of the imminent potential for danger in all
religions, mass movements –‘ism’s, bathroom cleaning products and so forth.
Although I find your writing to be
generally informative, I’m concerned that A Christian jihad? simply
falls into the category of fear-mongering (“a more ominous menace closer to
home”). I’m afraid that readers might miss one of the very last sentences, “We
should not stigmatise or further marginalise religious extremists [...] but we
should dialogue with them and show them that their fears are exaggerated and
misplaced”, and will instead focus on how to avoid the next potential ‘terror
attack’, wherever that may come from.
C Broodryk
Pretoria, South Africa
September 2007
The Muslim faithful in South Africa
In reaction to your last piece,
I need to inform you that the Muslim community is largely of Asian extraction
in South Africa and constitutes a very conservative bunch overall – most of our
ulema, for instance, still get trained in Pakistan.
So frankly, in some quarters, people did not
like what you said, but at the same time there is a progressive element who
loved it and I see my task as strengthening this progressive fringe.
H Solomon
Pretoria, South Africa
August 2007
Scramble for resources
Well, I agree with what you wrote (though when I was there, Darfur wasn’t an issue). But from what I understand, it is in essence a conflict of resources. The whole Arab-African thing isn’t helpful at all as a way of analysing it. I read an interesting opinion that the Rwanda massacres were also partly driven by an overpopulation problem which I find quite scary because I think we could face the same in many places around the world.
A Hammond
Cairo, Egypt
August 2007
New Model Army v War on Terror
In response to your ‘time for a song’
article, it’s my pleasure to pass on this to you...
New
Model Army’s Bloodsports is about as modern an anti-war song as you
can get, a total rejection of the so-called ‘War on Terror’ and written very
much against the backdrop of the band’s hometown of Bradford with its large
Muslim population.
J Sullivan
New Model Army
Bradford, UK
July 2007
Forgotten refugees
I just wanted to thank you for writing the
article The
other right of return. I found it incredibly refreshing to see an Arab
writer mention the topic. My husband and I are Israelis; I am Ashkenazi and he
is Mizrachi (his grandparents came to Israel from Yemen). His grandparents
lived in refugee camps in Israel before being moved to government housing. It
was just nice to hear someone other than an Israeli recognise the fact that
there were forgotten refugees that came out of this conflict. It is my
father-in-law’s dream to visit Yemen and see where his family came from.
M Tamaroff
Boston, USA
July 2007
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