Bloggers in Tunisia are struggling to make sense of the Swiss vote to stop minaret-building, as other writers are tackling issues much closer to home.
By Mona Yahia for Magharebia in Tunis – 16/12/09
Tunisian bloggers covered the Maghreb's political and cultural terrain in recent weeks, analyzing issues ranging from violence against women to the role of the press. But some bloggers strayed farther afield to reflect on the Swiss vote to ban the building of minarets.
Arabasta discusses the immediate consequences of the Swiss decision in his "Ban on Building Minarets in Switzerland" post. "Fifty-seven percent of the Swiss people voted in favor of a law banning the building of mosque minarets. The result of this vote came as a major surprise across Europe and opened the door for lengthy and broad debates in several countries. Meanwhile, rightist extremist groups took advantage of this opportunity to pass some of their racist and reactionary proposals."
Providing data on Swiss Muslims, the blogger asks: "Do Swiss Muslims have to be the natives of other Muslim countries? Aren't there large numbers of Swiss Muslims who were born in Switzerland and don't know any other countries? Aren't there 'Muslim' countries that allow the building of churches, such as Tunisia, Morocco and the Philippines? Is it logical that Muslims in Switzerland should be punished for a mistake made by Muslims in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan?"
Antikor is similarly puzzled by the Swiss vote. "Why did the Swiss people say 'No' to the building of minarets? Is this rejection an expression of the 'fear of the other'? Or is it the result of the Swiss people's ignorance? Is this 'No' a racist one?"
Focusing on the Maghreb, the RevolutionTunisie blogger writes about the demarcation of the maritime borders between Tunisia and Algeria. The blogger gives a historical overview of the topic, writing that "negotiations between the two countries on this agreement started as early as December 1995 with the aim of closing the borders file between the two countries once and for all. Tunisia and Algeria had earlier signed an agreement on the demarcation of land borders ... in 1983".
Blogger Hshosh Alnabbar reflects on Tunisia's National Day of Solidarity, held every year on December 8th, while relaying one of his memories of the holiday.
"As soon as I arrived at the university, I found a large crowd. I wondered what the matter was. I said to myself that it might be a conscription campaign. However, I found two people setting up a donation table for the National Solidarity Fund 2626. I wondered if this meant that I would be allowed in only if I made a donation to the fund."
Meanwhile, female blogger Wallada devotes a post to the ongoing issue of violence against women. She writes: "Although I don't like occasion-based writing that raises the issue only on its anniversary day and then forgets about it until the next year's anniversary, I find myself forced to write about violence against women in spite of my work pressures and family obligations. It was enough to type the words 'violence against women' into Google to receive these statistics and figures. It would suffice to just present them without any 'comment', because they are self-explanatory."
Wallada cites statistics showing that up to 61% of all acts of violence committed against women are carried out by family members.
"Thousands of women and girls were killed for family honor in the West Asian, North African and South Asian regions," adds the blogger. "These statistics represent proof that violence against women and girls has become an epidemic that breaks out in all environments, cultures and societies."
Boudouru, a Tunisian blog that follows media issues, publishes a letter from al-Sareeh editor-in-chief Saleh Hajja after Sofiene Chourabi, a young reporter at the opposition newspaper Attarik el-Jadid, attacked him for allegedly doing a poor job.
"'Play near your own house,' ... Sofiene, is a simple and, at the same time, expressive sentence. It's neither a Western nor an Eastern sentence; rather, it was expressed in our eloquent Tunisian slang", the letter reads. "You can hardly see any similar line elsewhere in the Arab, African or Asian press … It's a sentence to be added to Tunisia's huge stock of unique press innovations. It summarizes the experience of the pioneer of the Tunisian press and head of the long-standing al-Sareeh institution".
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/12/16/feature-01.
By Mona Yahia for Magharebia in Tunis – 16/12/09
Tunisian bloggers covered the Maghreb's political and cultural terrain in recent weeks, analyzing issues ranging from violence against women to the role of the press. But some bloggers strayed farther afield to reflect on the Swiss vote to ban the building of minarets.
Arabasta discusses the immediate consequences of the Swiss decision in his "Ban on Building Minarets in Switzerland" post. "Fifty-seven percent of the Swiss people voted in favor of a law banning the building of mosque minarets. The result of this vote came as a major surprise across Europe and opened the door for lengthy and broad debates in several countries. Meanwhile, rightist extremist groups took advantage of this opportunity to pass some of their racist and reactionary proposals."
Providing data on Swiss Muslims, the blogger asks: "Do Swiss Muslims have to be the natives of other Muslim countries? Aren't there large numbers of Swiss Muslims who were born in Switzerland and don't know any other countries? Aren't there 'Muslim' countries that allow the building of churches, such as Tunisia, Morocco and the Philippines? Is it logical that Muslims in Switzerland should be punished for a mistake made by Muslims in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan?"
Antikor is similarly puzzled by the Swiss vote. "Why did the Swiss people say 'No' to the building of minarets? Is this rejection an expression of the 'fear of the other'? Or is it the result of the Swiss people's ignorance? Is this 'No' a racist one?"
Focusing on the Maghreb, the RevolutionTunisie blogger writes about the demarcation of the maritime borders between Tunisia and Algeria. The blogger gives a historical overview of the topic, writing that "negotiations between the two countries on this agreement started as early as December 1995 with the aim of closing the borders file between the two countries once and for all. Tunisia and Algeria had earlier signed an agreement on the demarcation of land borders ... in 1983".
Blogger Hshosh Alnabbar reflects on Tunisia's National Day of Solidarity, held every year on December 8th, while relaying one of his memories of the holiday.
"As soon as I arrived at the university, I found a large crowd. I wondered what the matter was. I said to myself that it might be a conscription campaign. However, I found two people setting up a donation table for the National Solidarity Fund 2626. I wondered if this meant that I would be allowed in only if I made a donation to the fund."
Meanwhile, female blogger Wallada devotes a post to the ongoing issue of violence against women. She writes: "Although I don't like occasion-based writing that raises the issue only on its anniversary day and then forgets about it until the next year's anniversary, I find myself forced to write about violence against women in spite of my work pressures and family obligations. It was enough to type the words 'violence against women' into Google to receive these statistics and figures. It would suffice to just present them without any 'comment', because they are self-explanatory."
Wallada cites statistics showing that up to 61% of all acts of violence committed against women are carried out by family members.
"Thousands of women and girls were killed for family honor in the West Asian, North African and South Asian regions," adds the blogger. "These statistics represent proof that violence against women and girls has become an epidemic that breaks out in all environments, cultures and societies."
Boudouru, a Tunisian blog that follows media issues, publishes a letter from al-Sareeh editor-in-chief Saleh Hajja after Sofiene Chourabi, a young reporter at the opposition newspaper Attarik el-Jadid, attacked him for allegedly doing a poor job.
"'Play near your own house,' ... Sofiene, is a simple and, at the same time, expressive sentence. It's neither a Western nor an Eastern sentence; rather, it was expressed in our eloquent Tunisian slang", the letter reads. "You can hardly see any similar line elsewhere in the Arab, African or Asian press … It's a sentence to be added to Tunisia's huge stock of unique press innovations. It summarizes the experience of the pioneer of the Tunisian press and head of the long-standing al-Sareeh institution".
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/12/16/feature-01.
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