Praying for Freedom: Why Is Israel Silencing the Call for Prayer in Jerusalem?

As I was growing up, I was always reassured by the sound of the ‘Muadhin’ making the call for prayer in our refugee camp’s main mosque in Gaza. Whenever I heard the call very early in the morning, announcing in a melodic voice that the time for the ‘Fajr’ (dawn) prayer was upon us, I knew it was safe to go to sleep.

Of course, the call for prayer in Islam, like the sound of church bells ringing, carries a deep religious and spiritual meaning, as it has, five times a day, for the last 15 centuries, uninterrupted. But, in Palestine, such religious traditions also carry a deep, symbolic meaning.

For the refugees in my camp, the dawn prayer meant that the Israeli army had departed the camp, ending their terrifying and violent nightly raids, leaving the refugees behind, either mourning their dead, wounded or detained, and freeing the ‘Muadhin’ to open the mosque’s old, rusty doors, and announce to the faithful that a new day had arrived.

It was almost impossible to go to sleep during those days of the First Palestinian Uprising, when collective punishment of Palestinian communities throughout the Occupied Territories crossed every tolerable line.

That was before the mosque in our camp – the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in central Gaza Strip – was raided, along with other mosques, and the Imam was arrested. When the mosque’s doors were sealed shut by orders from the army, ordinary people climbed to the roofs of their homes during the military curfew and announced the call for prayer, anyway.

Even our ‘communist’ neighbor did – a man, we were told, who had never stepped foot inside a mosque all of his life!

It was no longer just a religious matter but an act of collective defiance, proving that even orders from the army would not silence the voice of the people.

The call for prayer meant continuity; survival; rebirth; hope and layer-upon-layer of meanings that was never truly understood, but always feared by the Israeli army.

The onslaught on the mosques never ended.

According to government and media reports, a third of Gaza’s mosques were destroyed in the 2014 Israeli war on the Strip. 73 mosques were entirely destroyed by missiles and bombs and 205 were partially demolished. This includes Al-Omari Mosque in Gaza, which dates back to 649 AD.

It also includes the main mosque of Nuseirat, where the call for prayer throughout my childhood gave me enough peace and calm to go to sleep.

Now, Israel is trying to ban the call for prayer in various Palestinian communities, starting in Occupied East Jerusalem.

The ban came only a few weeks after the United Nations culture and education organization, UNESCO, had passed two resolutions condemning Israel’s illegal practices in the occupied Arab city.

UNESCO demanded that Israel ceases such practices, which violate international law and attempt to alter the status quo of a city that is central to all monotheistic religions.

After staging an unsuccessful campaign to counter the UN’s effort, going as far as accusing the international institution of anti-Semitism, Israeli officials are now carrying out punitive measures: collectively punishing the non-Jewish residents of Jerusalem for UNESCO’s verdicts.

This includes the construction of yet more illegal Jewish homes, the threat to demolish thousands of Arab homes, and, as of late, restricting the call for prayer in various mosques.

It all began on November 3, when a small crowd of settlers from the illegal settlement of Pisgat Zeev gathered in front of the home of Israeli Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barakat. They demanded that the government ends the ‘noise pollution’, emanating from the city’s mosques.

The ‘noise pollution’- referred to as such by mostly European settlers who arrived in Palestine only recently – are the calls for prayer that have been made in that city since 637 AD, when Caliph Umar entered the city and ordered the respect of all of its inhabitants, regardless of their religious beliefs.

The Israeli mayor readily and immediately obliged. Wasting no time, Israeli soldiers began raiding mosques, including al-Rahman, al-Taybeh and al-Jamia Mosques in the Jerusalem town of Abu Dis.

“Military officials arrived before dawn to inform the muezzins, the men responsible for the call to prayer through the mosques’ public announcement speakers, of the ban and barred local Muslims from reaching the places of worship,” reported International Business Times, citing Ma’an and other media.

Praying five times a day is the second of the five main pillar in Islam, and the call for prayer is the summoning of Muslims to fulfill such a duty. It is also an essential part of Jerusalem’s intrinsic identity where church bells and mosques’ call to prayer often interweave into a harmonic reminder that coexistence is a real possibility.

But no such coexistence is possible with the Israeli army, government and mayor of the city treating Occupied Jerusalem as a platform for political vengeance and collective punishment.

Banning the call for prayer is merely a reminder of Israel’s domination over the wounded Holy City, and a message that Israel’s control exceeds that of tangible existence, into every other sphere.

Israel’s version of settler colonialism is almost unprecedented. It does not simply seek control, but complete supremacy.

When the mosque in my former refugee camp was destroyed, and soon after a few bodies were pulled out from underneath the wreckage to be buried, the camp’s residents prayed atop and around the rubble. This practice was replicated elsewhere in Gaza, not just during the last war, but the previous ones as well.

In Jerusalem, when Palestinians are prevented from reaching their holy places, they often amass behind Israeli army checkpoints and pray. That, too, has been a practice witnessed for nearly fifty years, since Jerusalem fell to the Israeli army.

No amount of coercion and court orders is likely to ever reverse this.

While Israel has the power to detain imams, demolish mosques and prevent calls for prayer, Palestinian faith has displayed far more impressive strength, for, somehow, Jerusalem never ceased calling upon its faithful, and the latter never ceased praying. For freedom, and for peace.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/17/praying-for-freedom-why-is-israel-silencing-the-call-for-prayer-in-jerusalem/

What Do You Call It...

Gisele Marie, Muslimah Rock Guitarist...

Chilling Silence Surrounds Rohingya...

For much of last week, the silence was disconcerting. After a series of coordinated attacks on border posts in western Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state left nine soldiers and police dead on Oct 9, a crackdown followed and the hunt for some 400 suspects turned bloody. The violence in the two weeks which followed left a further five officers dead, which is unforgivable, but the crackdown from authorities against the unrecognised Rohingya Muslim minority was more brutal: officially 33 accused insurgents were killed, including several suspects in custody, but given the secrecy there are fears the toll is much higher.

The area was sealed off from outsiders, international aid was denied or severely restricted, and little to nothing was said officially about what was happening in the flashpoint border city Maungdaw or elsewhere in Rakhine state. On Sunday, reports filtered through that security officials had forced about 2,000 Rohingya from their homes in western Myanmar's Kyee Kan Pyin village as part of the crackdown. It was also said 1,000 Buddhist residents had been displaced.

NGOs and the United Nations called for access and information, saying there were allegations of human rights abuses, with unarmed people shot, women and girls raped and assaulted, homes and Korans burned and shops looted. Allegations, it should be noted, that are extremely difficult to corroborate in the circumstances. The World Food Programme, which assists 152,000 people in Rakhine state, said while deliveries were slowly being made, as of Friday 50,000 people had not been reached in weeks.

On Friday, the silence broke with reports from Reuters that dozens of Rohingya women had been raped by groups of soldiers. The accounts from eight women interviewed both on the phone and in person were chilling, with a mother of seven saying her headscarf was removed before four men attacked her and a 15-year-old daughter. A 30-year-old woman also described being knocked off her feet by soldiers and repeatedly raped. "They told me, 'We will kill you. We will not allow you to live in this country,'" she told Reuters.

Senior figures in the Myanmar government denied the accusations, with one going as far as calling the accounts Islamist propaganda. The US State Department responded by saying it had voiced concern to Myanmar's foreign ministry and calling for an investigation which held those responsible to account. Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: "The Burmese government should ensure a credible inquiry into the Oct 9 violence by inviting UN human rights experts to take part. Rakhine state's ethnic divide is perhaps Burma's biggest fault line. The government's handling of this inquiry is a big test for preventing future violence against the Rohingya and other populations."

One account the government has not denied, however, is the death in custody of Khawrimular, a 60-year-old Rohingya detained on Oct 14 on suspicion of involvement in the earlier attacks. Arrested along with his three sons and two of his brothers, he was described as a community leader yet authorities said he had to be subdued after grabbing a gun while in custody.

He was rendered unconscious and died on the way to hospital. The government has promised an investigation into this death.

Observers are worried this could be the worst violence to hit Rakhine state in the four years since 125,000 people were left displaced, leading to an annual exodus of asylum seekers. Without access it is impossible to say, but it does come at a difficult time as the government of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy is still finding its feet and negotiating the balance of power with an army that still holds tremendous sway.

Much criticism has been levelled at Ms Suu Kyi for perceived and real failures to address or in some instances even acknowledge the plight of the Rohingya, considered among the world's most repressed and officially denied citizenship and rights under previous junta rule thanks to enmity that in turn dates back to the colonial era. Some of this criticism is justified, and even in June she told the UN her government would continue the policy of avoiding the term "Rohingya" -- they are seen by many as illegal Bangladeshi migrants. More sympathetically, it should be remembered democracy remains fragile in Myanmar after so many decades of military rule and there are many competing political forces, ethnic minorities and war-torn regions for the government to deal with. This is to say nothing of the men with weapons, money and power who stand to lose from the transition to democracy.

Nearly a year has passed since her election. While Ms Suu Kyi cannot hold the office of president, as a democracy hero and de facto leader her words carry weight. She is no longer an opposition figure but a world leader, and she needs to act as such. For years, her silence on the Rohingya has been disconcerting. In light of the recent violence, it is more troubling still.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1122597/chilling-silence-surrounds-rohingya

What Has Become Of The Ténéré?

Madaya Mom

Marvel has no shortage of superheroes under its creative branch, but perhaps none are more heroic, or relevant, than Madaya Mom. The new comic book series comes from a collaboration between Marvel and ABC News (both owned by Disney), detailing the real-life accounts of a mother living in the war-torn Syrian city of Madaya. 

The comic is based on a series of blog posts from the mother — who, for safety reasons, has chosen to remain anonymous — published on ABC beginning in January with "Syria Starving: A Family's Fight for Survival." The Madaya Momcomic takes into account some of her real-life exchanges with ABC's journalists; she would text them updates about her and her family's situation.

"Today, our one meal was rice and bean soup ... our bodies are no longer used to eating," the mother starts one exchange with ABC. This, in turn, became the opening line for the comic book. 

The mainstream media has given less coverage to Syrian cities like Madaya unless they've been beset by headline-grabbing tragedy. So the comic offers a new way to provide context to what daily life is like in the besieged region through the mother's perspective. It's the clear intent from ABC, as they have also provided a teacher's guide with the comic. 

Madaya Mom is available to read and download for free here.

The Women's Boat To Gaza...

The 2nd World Nomad Games...

In early September Kyrgyzstan hosted the 2nd World Nomad Games at the lakeside resort town of Cholpon-ata. The Games kicked off with a lavish opening ceremony on September 3 and closed with an eclectic concert on September 8. The week between was filled with earnest competition, friendly contests, and a full-on Central Asian Burning Man-like festival. Attended by delegations from more than 40 countries–some serious competitors and some perhaps press-ganged backpackers–the Games were a vibrant celebration of nomadic culture. “If Genghis Khan were alive, he’d be here,” the announcer at the opening ceremonies boomed to an appreciative cheer from the crowd.

*http://thediplomat.com/2016/09/spectacle-and-sport-at-the-world-nomad-games/?img=2#postImage

8 September marked the final day of the World Nomad Games, which saw Kyrgyzstan finishing at the top of the medals table and an impressive closing ceremony. The Games included over 20 sports and games traditional to nomadic cultures, including falconry, horse racing, wrestling and Buzkashi, a Central Asian sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. The games were accompanied by a cultural programme, which this year featured music and fashion events.

Kyrgyzstan triumphed in the medals table, winning 79 medals including 25 golds. Making up the rest of the top five were Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Azerbaijan. The second World Nomad Games were held from 3 – 8 September 2016  on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan.

*https://calvertjournal.com/news/show/6708/world-nomad-games-come-to-a-close-with-kyrgyzstan-topping-the-medals-table

An International Eid Sa'eed To You & Yours ...

Remove Your Veils!

The headscarf in the colonial period

As far back as over 100 years ago, people were already arguing that the headscarf was a symbol of male oppression and therefore incompatible with Western civilisation and its system of values. In the French colonies, authorities actually followed through on these ideas, forcing women to take off their veils. Historical insights from Susanne Kaiser

It must have been a strange spectacle: a group of traditionally dressed female Muslims gathered on a stage. Then, before the eyes of the tense spectators and a specially invited group of international journalists, they were given a sign and simultaneously began to take off their veils. Perhaps they took to the podium one by one, pulled off their headscarves and publically declared that they were freeing themselves from patriarchal tradition and embracing emancipation.

Soldiers were ordered to mingle among the audience and encourage unveiled locals to join in, to support the de-veiling spectacle on the stage with applause and expressions of sympathy. Everything was carefully staged, no dramaturgical detail left to chance. But did Muslim women feel liberated from the male yoke in the wake of this public display?

The colonial rulers' masquerade

One of the women later recalled how she had cried when she was forced to put on a red and blue robe for the mass spectacle. As though in a theatre, she was supposed to embody "Marianne", the female representation of the French Republic.

Monique Ameziane was 18 years old when she was selected for the propaganda campaign of the French colonial power in Algeria, a campaign that attained its climax in de-veiling ceremonies held for maximum media effect in all the major towns and cities in the year 1958. Her story is documented in the military archives of the French army in Paris. The young Algerian woman did not voluntarily remove her veil, but only took part in the theatre because she was told that her detained brother might otherwise face execution. Others like her joined in because they did not want to lose their jobs in French households.

French generals intended to make an example of women like these, and show the whole world how modern France was triumphing over the archaic nations of Islamic Africa.

"In The Seraglio" by Frederick Arthur Bridgman. For the colonial powers of Europe, the veil was the epitome of cultural and social backwardness: in Egypt, for example, "to put an end to the 'medieval and barbaric customs of Islam', legions of well-meaning educators were let loose on the colonial civil population [...] to express solidarity with repressed and disadvantaged women against the dominance of the Oriental male, and liberate them from it"

Step-by-step guides to de-veiling

In Egypt, the British had already realised by the late nineteenth century that women were the key to dominance of the colonies and instigated a public debate over the hijab. The feminist intellectual Leila Ahmed shows how Lord Cromer exploited the head covering to his own ends, in order to expose "Islam" as a complete social failure. He said that the gender-based segregation effected by the veil branded women as inferior and subservient to men. This was how Cromer attempted to play Egyptian women off against their husbands, fathers and brothers.

In order to put an end to the "medieval and barbaric customs of Islam", legions of well-meaning educators were let loose on the colonial civil population: missionaries, feminists, even doctors were deployed to express solidarity with repressed and disadvantaged women against the dominance of the Oriental male, and liberate them from it. They often distributed handbooks with a step-by-step guide on how to remove the veil.

Cromer – apparently such a champion of women's rights – made a name for himself in England as an opponent of female suffrage. In Egypt, he made sure that no more women qualified as doctors – women, he felt, were better able to realise their natural qualities as nurses. There are rumours that Cromer was not concerned with the freedom of Egyptian women at all, but that he couldn't bear to be seen by women concealed from his own view by the hijab.

The dream of a domesticated society

The colonial period in Egypt ended before the "forced emancipation" could bear real fruit. In Algeria, on the other hand, the dream of a total domestication of society continued for a while longer. But because most Muslim women did not want to give up their hijab of their own accord, they had to be pushed towards their "happiness", and because that wasn't as easy as they thought, the colonial authorities resorted to more creative methods.

Monique Ameziane, who had to play the part of "Marianne" in a de-veiling ceremony, is an example of this colonial inventiveness. The twist in her story is that in actual fact, until her stage appearance, she hadn't actually been wearing a headscarf at all. It was, in fact, wrapped around her head especially for the ceremony.

Rudolf Lennert's "Tunisian Bedouin". The Orient as the West liked to imagine it: in 1890s' France, "pictures and postcards were circulated among the French public, allegedly portraying totally normal Muslim women as ladies of the harem in sumptuous robes and in suggestive poses, veiled yet bare-breasted"

Frantz Fanon, who hailed from Martinique and was, therefore, himself from a French colony, is today regarded as a pioneer of post colonial theory. In his case studies from this era, Fanon presents other victims of the enforced de-veilings who were dressed in exotic traditional robes for the act – or at least in what the French considered to be traditional robes.

The media trick with the ethnic clothing had already been effective in the 1890s. At that time, pictures and postcards were circulated among the French public, allegedly portraying totally normal Muslim women as ladies of the harem in sumptuous robes and in suggestive poses, veiled yet bare-breasted. It later emerged that the pictures had been staged and that prostitutes had been paid a great deal of money for their involvement.

They did, however, fulfil their purpose and fuelled the oriental fantasies of French men, who were barred from all contact with Muslim women – apart from prostitutes. At the same time, those who remained at home could imagine that this was what conquest looked like. The Algerian author Malek Alloula has put together an informative collection of French harem pictures.

Colonial folklore for the anti-colonial resistance

But Fanon shows something else too – and this is the essential message that emerges from many of his writings, one that is considered far too infrequently in contemporary discourse – namely that women put up a fight. When they realised how obsessed the occupiers were with the veil and saw the possibilities that this presented, they wasted no time in exploiting the power of this piece of cloth to further their own interests. Female resistance fighters who had previously worn the veil now disguised themselves as converts by removing their headscarves. Dressed in Western outfits and high heels and with elaborately coiffed hair, they were not taken seriously by border guards patrolling France's newly acquired cities (such as Algiers). This enabled them to smuggle weapons for the anti-colonial resistance in their handbags.

These days, Muslim women in Europe are fighting back, but not in a militant fashion. Instead, they take their cases to the constitutional court or write books. At the same time, feminists such as Alice Schwarzer continue to take the same line as more than 100 years ago, namely that the key to the emancipation of Muslim societies lies in the status of women. They see the headscarf as the flag of Islamism; the symbol that sets women apart, that makes them second-class citizens. They say that the headscarf and full-body veil are a serious impediment to and restriction on movement and communication.

In all of this, they do not seem to be aware of the dilemma they are presenting to Muslim wearers of the headscarf: is the only option open to women to choose between allowing themselves to be dominated by men or by pseudo-feminists? Faced with this choice, many opt for the veil.

https://en.qantara.de/content/the-headscarf-in-the-colonial-period-remove-your-veils