Good morning Samira, Eva, Hassan and Hussain!

Or is it? While I slept soundly in the saftey and comfort of my house here in Hilversum, you guys you were faced with the rattle of gunfire and the thump of exploding rocket-propelled grenades. So far the violence in the city I love so very much has left dozens of people dead.

Yet I can't say I am really surprised. After all, we are talking about a country that has faced a brutal and bloody civil war fought along sectarian lines.

The war stopped almost overnight, leaving the country traumatised. But hey this is Lebanon. No fingerpointing. No guilt question. Just pick up the pieces and get on with it. But get on with what? The country has again become a ticking timebomb, with many parties - in and outside Lebanon - vying for power.

So far it seems Hezbollah came in first. The Hezbollah drums of victory could be very shortlived though, for even though the party still has a lot of support resounding through all walks of life in Lebanon, the group might very well be on the verge of overplaying its hand.

It flexed its muscles thereby using its magical and favourite word 'resistance', but what happened in the streets of Beirut these last few days brings back haunting memories of old-fashioned militia fighting in the days of the civil war rather than images of Super Nas (Hezbollah's charismatic leader Hassan Nasrallah) doing his so-called bit for God and country.

And now we are getting closer to the real root of all evil in Lubnan. As BBC journalist Roger Hardy pointed out in one of his articles: Is Lebanon an Arab or a non-Arab state? Should it look to the East or to the West? How should its mosaic of Muslim and Christian communities - officially 18 in all -share power?

In 1943 the political elite attempted to solve this power-sharing problem through the National Pact which stated that the president would be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim.

Over time, however, the consensus that underpinned this power structure has eroded because of the changing demographic make-up of the country. The Christians, originally a majority, became a minority due to migration factors. The dominant Maronite-Sunni alliance came under challenge from the historically marginalised Shia - the largest minority in a nation of minorities.

Throw in the Palestinian element in the delicate religious equation and you have all the ingredients that - in 1975 - eventually led to an all out civil war. It is estimated that more than 100,000 were killed, another 100,000 maimed, and approximately 17,000-20,000 people are still unaccounted for.


Eighty per cent of the killed, injured, and missing were civilians with no militia affiliation. During sixteen years of war, both Christian and Muslim militias killed thousands in massacres, usually in retaliation for attacks carried out by the opposing side.

So where does that leave my friends in Lebanon- Christians and Muslims? I have no idea. For the time being they are all A-okay. I know because I spoke to Samira earlier. That said, this is still Lebanon we are talking about. The tables can be turned at the speed of light. So, please be safe Samira, your mother, Eva, Ahmad, H&H, Rose, the singing colleague...

Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy ...

... finally in available in a Dutch translation

‘You too will marry a boy I choose,’ said Mrs Rupa firmly to her younger daughter.

This is the opening sentence of Vikram Seth’s brilliant novel A Suitable Boy, first published in 1993 and instantly becoming a world bestseller. Now, 15 years later, the book will finally appear in a Dutch translation - De Geschikte Jongen - that is slated for release in Amsterdam on Friday 25^th April.

It took Seth some ten years to finish his magnus opus, and with over 1400 pages Seth’s magnus opus does not exactly qualify as a short story ;-)

Vikram Seth himself will be in the Netherlands to celebrate the occasion. On Thursday 24th April he will do a reading and signing session at De Duif, Prinsengracht 756 in Amsterdam. He will be interviewed by renown Dutch journalist Jeroen van Kan. It all starts at 20.00 hrs. Want to be there? Please order your tickets through www.aub.nl

If 24th April does not suit your schedule, you get a second chance on Friday 25th April. At nine o'clock in th evening, Seth will give a lecture in the Public Library of Amsterdam as part of the International Literature Festival. And no, it is not for free. You do have to pay € 7,50.

So who is Vikram Seth?

Vikram Seth was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1952. He took his A-levels in the UK and was trained as an economist at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Seth presently lives near Salisbury, England.

Dad Seth, was an executive of the Bata India Limited shoe company who migrated to post-Partition India from West Punjab in Pakistan. Mum-dear Leila was the first woman judge on the Delhi High Court as well as the first woman to become Chief Justice of a state High Court, at Simla.

His younger sister, Aradhana, is a film-maker married to an Austrian diplomat, and has worked on Deepa Mehta's controversial movies Earth and Fire (yes the one with Shabana and Nandita).

Seth has always been candid in acknowledging that many of his fictional characters are drawn from life; he has said that only the dog Cuddles in A Suitable Boy has his real name — "Because he can't sue". Justice Leila Seth has said in her memoir On Balance that other characters in A Suitable Boy are composites but Haresh is a portrait of her husband Prem.)

A Suitable Boy

A Suitable Boy centres on Mrs. Rupa Mehra’s efforts to arrange the marriage of her younger daughter, Lata, with a “suitable boy”. At the heart of the novel it is a love story, set in a young, newly independent India. The fictional town, Brahmpur, along with Calcutta, Delhi, Kanpur and other Indian cities, forms a colourful backdrop for the emerging stories.

Lata is a 19-year-old college girl, vulnerable, yet determined to have her own way, and not be influenced by her strong mother and opinionated brother, Arun. Her story revolves around the choice she is forced to make between her suitors, Kabir, Haresh and Amit.

The novel is not simply based on one story. This epic novel covers the various issues faced by post-independence India, including Hindu-Muslim strife, the abolition of the Zamindari system, land reforms and the empowerment of Muslim women.

PS Rumour has it that the book is being made into a film ...

Magic

photo credits: Peter Adams

Some call it fusion. Some call it lounge. I call it magic, for what else can it be when you are listening to Prem Joshua's music on a bright blue cold April morning in Hilversum, Holland, with temperatures slightly below zero and only being able to think of India, a country I have never been to. If that ain't magic, then what is?

Through tracks like 'Water Down The Ganges' and Nisha I feel India running through my veins faster and faster, both its beauty and its ugliness, from the Taj Mahal, the Ganges, the temples, the mosques to the sorrows of the downtrodden in Indian society and the courage of ladies like Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das who defy Bollywood kitsch to give voice to these people. I know Das lives in New Delhi and everytime someone from New Delhi visits this blog I think of this actress.

Asha Miro, a Catalan Daughter of the Ganges

photo credits Ganges pic: Anthony Plummer
photo credits Asha pic: Spanish literary magazine
Just finished reading Traces of Sandalwood (Sporen van Sandelhout), a book by Asha Miro and her literary agent Anna Soler-Pont. It is actually Miro's third book dealing with her own adoption and migration, her first two books being Daughter of the Ganges and The Other Face of the Moon.

Asha Miró was born in a little Indian town called Shaha, not far from the holy city of Nasik, at the bank of the Godavari river. She spent the first seven years of her life between Nasik and Mumbai. In 1974 she was adopted by Joseph Miró and Electa Vega in 1974 and became a citizen of Barcelona.

Asha finished her studies in Educational Sciences in the Blanquerna University of Barcelona and studied music and piano in the Municipal Conservatory of Barcelona. From 1989 until 2001 she worked as a music teacher, mainly in the Escola Brasil of Barcelona. Her interest in the world of cooperation led her to work as a volunteer in work-camps in India, Rwanda and Chiapas. She has collaborated in the organization of many solidarity events, peace concerts and conferences with young people from all over the world.

Concerning the international adoption, she has become a leading figure and her presence has been required in congresses, debates, television programmes and courses to train future adoptive parents.

From the year 2000 onwards, she has presented many public events, she has collaborated in many radio programmes and she has been the presenter of AD, a television programme about the advertisiong world from Canal 33, of Líneas in Via Digital Channel and of the weekly programme Filmets which she still presents today.

She also works in the Communication and Promotion department of the Universal Forum of Cultures Barcelona 2004, while she continuosly promotes her first book Daughter of the Ganges. On the last Day Saint George Day, the International Day of the Book, it was the best-selling book in Catalan, and was also a success in Spanish. Daughter of the Ganges has been translated into Dutch, French and Italian. A documentary based on the book has been filmed, and a cartoon TV series which will be called Asha has been inspired by the book.

An absolute must see: the work of Tarek Atrissi

Exhibition at De Levante, Amsterdam: 2 May - 22 June

His work has been on display at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and is in the permanent Design collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in the Affiche Museum Holland and in the Design collection of the University of Amsterdam .

That said, the work of Beirut-born Tarek Atrissi has remained one the biggest secrets in the Dutch arts scene. Chances are that this is about to change, for De Levante Foundation in Amsterdam will exhibit the Graphic and Typographic Design work of this leading Lebanese-Dutch designer.

The exhibition will feature a varied selection of Tarek Atrissi's work developed over the last ten years in Lebanon, New York, Dubai, Qatar and The Netherlands- for commercial and non-commercial projects & commissions around the world.

The Graphic Design work displayed will include Posters, Visual Identities, Typographic and Calligraphic Work as well as interactive design work; a selection of work which is often distinguished by a strong cross-cultural flavour and often described as a modern Arabic Graphic Design Language.

Feel free to drop by and view Atrissi’s work which will be on display from May 2nd 2008 until the 22nd of June 2008.

The artist
Atrissi has worked and studied in Lebanon, the Netherlands and the United States. He holds a BA in Graphic Design with distinction from the American University of Beirut; a Masters of Arts in Interactive Multimedia from the Utrecht School of the Arts in Holland and an MFA in Design from the School of Visual Arts in New York- where he studied under people like Steven Heller, Paula Scher and Stefan Sagmeister.

His projects were featured in major international design magazines and books in Korea, Germany, France, Russia, Australia, China, Japan, Holland, the United States, England,Canada and the Arab world. He is the principal of his own design studio, Tarek Atrissi Design, based in the Netherlands and serving a variety of clients, big and small, in Europe, the Middle East and the United States.

Prem Joshua: the bestselling World Music artist in India

Prem who? Prem Joshua, that sitar player and flautist who perfectly blends the magic of Eastern music with modern Western sounds.

Born to a musical family in Germany, Joshua began learning the flute at the age of five, becoming a fine flautist while still a child. He vividly remembers hearing Indian music for the first time, age 16 - a crackly vinyl record of a sitar performance by Ravi Shankar: “I had never heard anything like this before,” Joshua recalls.

This experience changed his way of perceiving music completely. And so, in the late seventies, at the age of 18, he left home, high school, abandoned all career plans, and travelled to India instead, visiting Greece,Turkey,Iran,Afghanistan, Pakistan in between.

When he finally reached India it was like coming home! He started playing with musicians from all over the world and learning from some of India's finest teachers, among them Maestro Ustad Usman Khan, who became his sitar mentor.

Years later, in the early nineties Joshua returned to the West after many years of study in India. He and his music had totally changed - it was time to share the overflow and time for his music to really blossom.

Until today he has released 14 albums under his name and played on countless studio recordings. Joshua is now the number one bestselling World Music artist in and the daily newspaper "The Times of India" has lauded him as the new "Guru of Fusion". In 2003, the BBC nominated him for its prestigious “World Music Listeners Award”.

In early 2005 the music channel "MTV" invited Joshua and his band to give a half-hour live performance during one of their regular MTV live shows in Bombay. His performance was broadcast on TV several times - a rare opportunity for a musician of his genre to be featured on a TV music channel that otherwise concentrates mainly on mainstream music.

In 2007 Joshua received the award "Best Film Music on Indian TV" at the Indian TV Awards in Mumbai.

Islamic heritage under threat ... by Muslims

The Satanic Verses. Submission.The Danish cartoons. Fitna. In order to voice their discontent Muslims haven taken to book burning, murder, street protests and, in a best-case scenario, dragged people to court.

Yet there is an almost deafening silence when Saudi radicals – in line with the doctrines and habits of Wahhabism, demolish Muslim and Arab cultural heritage and erect Manhattan-like skyscrapers around the Kaaba instead.

Again lips are sealed when it comes to the attacks on holy Shia shrines carried out by Saudi-incited Sunni terrorists. Islamic heritage is literally bulldozed off the face of the earth under the pretext that it is shirk.

Someone who refuses to keep quiet is Dr. Irfan al-Alawi, a leading Islamic scholar on the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He is also the co-chairman of the Islamic Heritage Foundation and director of the Centre for Islamic Pluralism. He's a university lecturer and barrister of Law.

Al Alawi has written extensively on the subject for renown British newspapers such as The Guardian and The Independent, drawing attention to the outrageous decadence displayed by the Saudi royalities, like the diamond studded Mercedes of Prince Al-Walid.

While visiting me in Hilversum, Irfan showed me loads of pictures of the unbridled destruction spree of the Wahabis, such as the grave of Muhammad's mother, Amina bint Wahb, that has been bulldozed. And let's not forget about the house of Abu Bakr Siddiq, the closest companion of Muhammad, that has been replaced by the Mecca Hilton Hotel.

Another holy place that was sent into oblivion was the house of Khadija, the prophet’s first wife. Its presence was concealed by sand and to make things worse, public toilets were erected on the spot where Muhammad had slept. The aim, once again, was to discourage prayer at the site.

And we worry about the Danish cartoons or Fitna … In my book that is called double standards. Irfan is presently in Leiden, Hotel De Doelen, and will only be here for two more days before going back to the UK.

Post scriptum
One latest example of these ‘pious’ Muslims with their petrodollars: The crown prince of the United Arab Emirates of Dubai who bought a female camel yesterday for a record sum of 2.72 million dollars at a camel beauty pageant.

Salva Mea

Eclectic as I am when it comes to music, it should come as no surprise that I am a great fan of the British band Faithless, or rather the leading vocalist and rapper Maxi Jazz.

I only found out recently that Mr Jazz is a Soka Gakkai Buddhist, a particular form of Nichiren Buddhism, based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren (1222–1282).

Now, if Maxi Jazz is such a strong believer, why then choose a name like Faithless. The story goes that this all happened when writing the song Salva Mea (Save me). Maxi was asked to write a song about frustration, something he knew a good deal about having been through a great number of frustrating situations in his life he didn't ever believe he could get through. What Maxi was writing about was about those that have no faith, no confidence and so the name Faithless was born.

In 2006 Maxi Jazz provided the vocals for the hit Tiësto track, Dance 4 Life. It was one of the biggest club hits of the year for Tiësto and the trance community.

He currently lives in West Norwood, in the London Borough of Lambeth.

Fusion

In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
Where no one sees you,
But sometimes I do,
And that sight becomes this art.

Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi
(Afghan poet 1202 - 1273)

I know there are some people who only visit my blog because of the music. Hope you are not too dissapointed with the reshuffle of my playlist.

No Fitna, just music

Just found out about this cd last night. Pulsating Arab rhythms fused with fiery Andalusian flamenco. The album is called Flamenco Arabe and is the very successful cooperation of Jose Luis Monton and Hossam Ramzy. I already had a cd by Hossam Ramzy.

The album takes you back to the old silk and spice routes to find the origins of Arabian, North African and Flamenco Music. It reaches deep into history to find the incredible journey of these nomadic tribes that caused the conception and birth of such magnificent styles of musical compostion.

A house divided cannot stand

'The Syrians did it.'
'Hell no, it was the Israelis.'
'What are you saying, can't you see this assassination has 'CIA' written all over it?'

Think again mates. Last week a UN-investigation unit stated that the murder of former Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri on 14th February 2005 was masterminded by some criminal network. So where does that leave Walid Jumblatt, Saad Hariri and so many others for that matter, who are still dead certain that the Syrian government was behind this horrific murder.

It is corny, but time will tell and somehow I think Lebanon will be in for a hot summer. Still no president and so many parties vying for power - not just inside Lebanon.

Fitna
Oh, and why did I not say anything about Fitna... because IMHO it proved a storm in a teacup. Wilders lived up to his promise that he was going to make a film that portrays the Koran as a fascist book that can be used by fanatics to incite violence and which preaches the oppression of women and homosexuals.

What really worries me is the other anti Koran film by Ehsan Jami. Yes, that photomodel like politician in his early twenties who is of Iranian origin. Jami rose to public fame when he launched his Committee for Ex Muslims last year. His film, slated for release later this month, is bound to hammer home his immense frustration towards Iran, Islam and the prophet.

India's finest back from Mauritius?

True, I may have started working as a teacher, but that doesn't mean I forgot all about my dream interview with none other than Shabana-ji. Quite the contrary.

When I called her Mumbai office last month I was told that Mrs Azmi (57) was in Mauritius doing some film shoot.


Since she was supposed to have returned to India today, yours truly contacted her office again today ... by email.

So do keep them fingers crossed that she is still willing to talk to me about a variety of topics, from Muslim fundamentalism to the future of mainstream Indian cinema and everything that lies in between, such as gender issues and racism.

Breaking news ...

The Dutch Muslim Broadcasting Corporation – Nederlandse Moslim Omroep (NMO) – is actually considering broadcasting ‘Fitna’, the anti-Koran film of Dutch politician Geert Wilders, which is scheduled for release this coming week. The 10 to 15 minute film is said to depict the Koran as the inspiration for terrorist attacks and other violence.

NMO is presently looking into the legal pitfalls and in the midst of talks with all the board members. If they press ahead, this would indeed be a remarkble move, if only because all other Dutch television networks have already refused to broadcast Wilders’ film. The move does fit in NMO’s liberal tradition to invite criticasters of Islam.

Friend and former De Pers colleague Ana Karadarevic wrote the following article today.

De Nederlandse Moslim Omroep (NMO) overweegt serieus om Geert Wilders’ anti-Koranfilm Fitna integraal uit te zenden. De NMO zou daarmee de enige publieke omroep zijn die dit aanbod doet. Het aanbod om Fitna uit te zenden, is volgens Alfred Broer, programmamaker televisie bij de NMO, niet zo opmerkelijk als het lijkt. ‘Dit past in de traditie van de omroep om ook islamcritici aan het woord te laten. Hirsi Ali is bij ons te gast geweest, evenals Theo van Gogh. Geert Wilders hebben we de afgelopen jaren meermalen uitgenodigd, tevergeefs.’

De redactie van de NMO heeft voorgesteld om Fitna uit te zenden. De redactie wil dat Wilders na uitzending van de film met voor- en tegenstanders in discussie gaat. Vrijdagavond heeft directeur Abderrahman Farsi hierover gepraat met de Nederlandse Moslim Raad, de zendgemachtigde.

Voorzitter Abdulmajid Khairoun van de NMR staat positief tegenover het idee. Hij polste al twee juristen om advies te vragen. Er zijn nog twee voorwaarden: een aantal bestuursleden moet nog worden bereikt om hun mening te polsen en de NMR gaat niet akkoord als Fitna strafbare uitingen bevat ‘We zullen de film dan ook wel eerst moeten bekijken’, aldus Khairoun.

Dit weekend overleggen de betrokkenen met elkaar, met de bedoeling een dezer dagen de knoop door te hakken. Als de meerderheid voor uitzending is, wil de NMR gaan praten met Wilders.

Wilders maakte onlangs bekend dat hij geen omroep had kunnen vinden die de vijftien minuten durende film in zijn geheel wilde uitzenden. Hij is daarom van plan om de film op internet te zetten. Dat zou gebeuren vóór 1 april. Maar Wilders heeft steeds gezegd: ‘Als zich vandaag een omroep bij mij meldt, kan de film vanavond nog op tv.’

Ding dong ...the witch is dead.

All over the world Christians are getting ready for Easter and the resurrection of Christ. The victorious battle of good over evil. While Christians have Easter, Hindus have Holi and guess what ... it was today.

Holi celebrates the survival of Prince Prahlada who, in defiance of his father, worshipped Lord Vishnu. To kill the prince, the old king plotted with his evil, bitchy, witchy sister Holika, who claimed to be immune from burning.

He sent his pious son to sit with her in a bonfire. Good guy Prahlada survived while Holika was incinerated. With the traditional Holi bonfires, evil is banished at the same time heralding springtime , a new season bursting with life. Party time. Subh holi.

Picture: courtesy Times of India

International Women's Day. What better moment to pay my respect to ...

The Widows of Vindravan

Despite India's rapid transformation into an economic superpower, there are still some horrific spectres in the closet from time to time rearing their ugly heads.

Say "Taj Mahal" and everyone goes gaga. Say "Vindravan" and everyone goes quiet, foreign tourists that is, for in Vindravan it is devout local tourists that set the tone. They visit the town because it was here that the Hindu God Krishna in his teenage years flirted with his gopis in the forest next to the riverbank. Yet it is not just local pilgrims visiting Vindravan. The town is also home to thousands and thousands of Hindu widows,women who are seen as social outcasts once their husbands are dead.

They flock to the tempels of Vindravan and stay in these so-called widow houses, where they dress in white, chant bhajans (devotional songs) for sustenance, and pray for salvation (Moksha).

Dutch photo journalist Karijn Kakebeeke put it as follows: "India's modern answer to sati, the funeral pyre on which widows were thrown in former times." Studies show that more than of the Vindravan widows were married off at the age of twelve.

Vindravan - only three hours away from New Delhi by car and probably three days away by cow- is now home to no less than 16,000 Hindu widows.

It is this very plight of Hindu widows that catapulted Indian-Canadian Deepa Mehta into action in 1999/2000 to make the highly controversial "Water", a film about Chuyia, an 8-year-old widow in the India of 1938. She has barely met her husband but is banished by her parents to a widows' house on the edge of the Ganges. Chuyia is left there sobbing, in one of the most heart-wrenching scenes in the film, but she insists her parents will soon return for her.

The original cast of the film starred Shabana Azmi as one of Chuyia's protectors. But alas, it was not meant to be. Hindu nationalists protested that the film was anti-Hindu.
Some 500 demonstrators took to the streets, ransacked the set and burned Mehta in effigy. She appealed to the state government for help, but fearing more violence, local officials asked the film crew to leave. In 2005 Mehta went ahead anyway. This time with a new cast. The film was shot in Sri Lanka. An absolute must-see!!!

Check out Fazal Sheikh's superb black and white photobook Moksha on the subject. They don't come any better than this. The B/W picture in this posting is one of Sheikh's pictures.

The colour pics are stills from the film Water by Deepa Metha

School is out and I'm still standing

I am still very much alive & kicking, and what's more, still laughing. The first school week is now behind me. On the whole it went much better than expected. No real troublemakers, simply teens. Some serious, some clowns, some noisy, some sweet. And yes, some genuinly interested in what I have to say. Some even went so far as to ask me about my ethnic background. For those interested, they call me ''Juf" I guess "Sharida" is still a bridge too far.

This interest was probably brought on by my lesson about Victorian Britain and its colonial jewel in the crown: India. We moved back and forth from Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice to the Anglo-Indian film Bride and Prejudice.

As said in a previous post, of course I am most definitely Indian. I have all the genetic features. I eat Indian food. I listen to Indian music. I have certain Indian values. But that's about as far as it goes, for I was born and bred in the Netherlands, with family roots in Surinam, a former Dutch colony in South America.

Perhaps this year will be the year in which I shall actually visit the Motherland, if only to interview Shabana Azmi. Can you imagine me finally going to a country which I only know from books, documentaries and Indian cinema? Me joining 1.2 BILLION countrymen. Me who comes from a single-parent family. Me who has no brothers and sisters. Me joining a sea of people who look like ... me.

If you can read this, thank a teacher!

Got a number of text messages from my former De Pers colleagues and friends this morning who were wondering how I had weathered my first working day at school. Was I perhaps ranting and raving like a madman when I left the school building? The answer: no!

It went just fine. Not spectacularly good or bad, just fine. I am still in the saddle. My head is crammed though with students' faces and all new rules and regulations that are part of a new job. Fun and tiring at the same time. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Irene Khan in translation

And here is posting number two on this cold bright blue February morning. There were some people who were interested in an English translation of the interview my colleague Sanne Rooseboom and I had with Irene Khan (51), secretary general of Amnesty International. The following is a translated excerpt of the original Dutch interview.

Photo credits: Auschwitz.nl

'I expect a great deal from the US’

Irene Khan is a petite woman with curly hair. The 51-year old Bengali Muslim has headed Amnesty International as Secretary General for more than seven years and has seen to it that the world’s largest human rights organisation is now also paying attention to poverty, discrimination and sexual violence. Khan was briefly in The Netherlands to deliver the ‘Auschwitz Never Again’ Lecture. Since 2004 this lecture is organized in the ‘Beurs van Berlage’ by the Netherlands Auschwitz Committee,

Your first working day at Amnesty was one day afer 9/11…
‘That was a strange start indeed. All my life I have been a Muslim, but after 9/11 this bit of identity suddenly became very important. One would almost forget that I am also a mother, lawyer, cook and Bengali.’

Many people think Islam and human rights are incompatible.
‘There are many democratic countries with a large Muslim population where the two do mix. In India the former president Abdul Kalam was himself a Muslim. Indonesia too, the largest Muslim country in the world, is a democracy. I am not denying there are political, economic and social problems, but it would be unfair to say that these countries have put democracy on a back burner. I really don’t see why religion should not go hand in hand with freedom and democracy. The real problem is that it is often abused for political reasons.’

A number of Muslim countries can’t be bothered by human rights, using Shariah law as a pretext not to do so.
‘If countries violate women’s rights and legitimize their actions through Shariah law, I really have my doubts whether such countries are actually bothered by the Shariah, for remarkably enough, Islamic law is not an issue when these very governments are doing business with the World Bank or the IMF. It simply proves that religion is used as a power instrument.’

‘I was in Sudan in 2004 to present the minister of interior affairs a report on rape as a weapon of war in Darfur. He threw it back in my face, finding it a lot of nonsense. ‘I do not believe you. Muslim men do not rape’, he said. ‘I could have contradicted him. Instead I chose to follow his line of reasoning. I replied: ‘Are you then saying that Muslim women are lying? Women we have all talked to?’ He did not reply.’

Many Muslims favour the death penalty, again feeling they are right because of Shariah law. What is your take on that?
‘Over the years I have spoken to many Muslim scholars on the subject. The Koran mostly certainly offers a way out of the death penalty and even to abolish it, simply by appealing to the state’s mercy.’

In 2005 you called Guantanamo Bay a ‘gulag of our time. Wasn’t that a bit over the top?
‘No, as I think it is the task of Amnesty to call a spade a spade and shake people up. At the time many people thought my wording was indeed too strong, but now you see that the media have started using the same words.’

That said, some ten million people died in the Russian gulag. In Guantanamo a couple of hundred people are detained without a trial.
‘It is not about quantity. I did not mean to say that Guantanamo is a gulag. It is all about what we accept. In the war on terror human rights are eroded and the world is letting it happen. The people detained in Guantanamo Bay have no rights. They are placed outside the law.’

What should happen with Guantanamo Bay?
‘It should be closed and prisoners should stand trial within the American justice system. Those who innocent should be sent home. If it not safe for some of them to return home, the US should look for a solution and Europe could help by granting asylum to ex-detainees.’

Don’t you think Amnesty is coming down too hard on the US?
‘I expect a great deal from the US and therefore take a tough stance towards this country, a country that functions as a role model. If we talk to the Russian president Vladimir Putin on human rights in Chechnya, he will immediately point at Guantanamo Bay. Not Sudan or Bangladesh. Of course, it doesn’t diminish Putin’s own responsibility, but it clearly shows that whatever the US are doing is seen as an excuse in the rest of the world.

Your organisation has broadened its focus on social rights and not just the death penalty and torture, as Amnesty once did in the beginning.
‘You have to look at the bigger picture. A person’s economic situation is just as important as one’s freedom of speech. Human rights are just as much about war, climate change and corruption. We can’t just focus on a specific number of human rights. Women in Bangladesh are fighting for their rights in a way the West has forgotten about. To these women, there is no difference between social or political rights.’

Are there any countries you would not want your 19-year old daughter to live in?
‘Oh, quite a few. I won’t name them, but there are so many countries where the treatment of women is downright outrageous.’

Any ideas what you would like to do after Amnesty?
‘I will at least stay on until the end of 2009. After that, I would most certainly continue with human rights. Or I will become a cook. I love cooking. Bengal food with western influences. A bit like me: Bengali with a twist.’

Career switch

Long time no posting, but yours truly was in the midst of switching careers. Next week I will start my third career, teaching the ins and outs of the Queen's English to A-level students at a secondary school in Almere. So keep them fingers crossed that all goes well.

I might say that I left my newspaper Dagblad De Pers with a bang, writing a front page article about the Dutch Muslim Broadcasting Corporation (DMBC) where I myself worked for over three years.

A major Dutch news station accused the DMBC of having been taken over by conservative Muslims after the so-called liberal director Frank William had left. In my eyes, a completely laughable accusation once you take a look at the DMBC tv and radio programmes or at the people making the programmes for that matter.

My editor-in-chief decided to run my story on the front page. Result: loads of media coverage from parties interested in the other side of the story, from Netwerk to De Leugen Regeert. I do so hope that the DMBC will be able to effectively refute all criticism and claims that the show is now run by radical Muslims.

And wouldn't it be nice if Dutch politicians like Jeroen Dijsselbloem would think twice before so easily taking things for granted and blabbling away in Nova, no questions asked.
But hey, mention Islam and orthodoxy in one breath et voila, the shit hits the fan.

Interview met Irene Khan, Secretaris-Generaal Amnesty International

Uit Dagblad De Pers
Door Sanne Rooseboom & Sharida Mohamedjoesoef


'Ik verwacht veel van de VS'

Irene Khan is een kleine, tengere, beweeglijke vrouw met wild krullend haar. De 51-jarige Bengaalse moslim staat al zeven jaar aan het hoofd van Amnesty International en heeft ervoor gezorgd dat ’s werelds grootste mensenrechtenorganisatie ook ruim baan maakt voor onderwerpen als armoede, discriminatie en seksueel geweld. Ze was even in Nederland, om op uitnodiging van het Nederlandse Auschwitz Comité de Nooit meer Auschwitz Lezing te houden.

Uw eerste werkdag bij Amnesty was een dag na 11 september 2001…

‘Dat was een raar begin. Ik ben al mijn hele leven moslim, maar na 9/11 werd dat stukje identiteit plotseling heel belangrijk. En dat terwijl ik ook moeder, advocaat, kokkin en Bengaalse ben.’

Veel mensen denken dat islam en mensenrechten niet samengaan.

‘Er zijn democratische landen met veel moslims, zoals India, waar het wel degelijk samengaat. De vorige Indiase president was zelfs moslim. Ook Indonesië, het grootste moslimland ter wereld, is een democratie. Ja, er zijn problemen op politiek, economisch én sociaal gebied, maar het is niet zo dat deze landen de democratie op een zijspoor hebben gezet. Ik zie niet in waarom religie niet samen zou kunnen gaan met vrijheid en democratie. Het wordt alleen zo vaak politiek misbruikt.’

Een aantal moslimlanden maakt weinig werk van mensenrechten en verschuilt zich achter de sharia.

‘Als landen vrouwenrechten schenden en zich daarbij beroepen op de sharia, dan heb ik daar mijn ernstige twijfels over. De sharia speelt geen rol wanneer ze zaken doen met bijvoorbeeld de Wereldbank of het IMF. Het bewijst dat religie als machtsmiddel wordt ingezet.

In 2004 was ik in Soedan. Ik gaf de minister van Buitenlandse Zaken een rapport over verkrachting als oorlogsinstrument in Darfur. Hij smeet het terug op tafel en vond het een hoop onzin. Ik geloof u niet. Moslimmannen verkrachten niet. Ik had hem gewoon kunnen tegenspreken, maar koos ervoor in zijn redeneertrend mee te gaan. Zegt u dan dat de moslima’s die wij hebben gesproken allemaal hebben gelogen? Daar had hij geen weerwoord op.’

Veel moslims zijn op basis van de sharia voorstander van de doodstraf.

‘Ik heb in de loop der jaren met heel veel moslimrechtsgeleerden gesproken. De Koran biedt wel degelijk de mogelijkheid onder de doodstraf uit te komen. Er kan namelijk een beroep op de staat worden gedaan om genade te tonen en de doodstraf af te schaffen.’

In 2005 noemde u Guantanamo Bay een ‘goelag van onze tijd’. Heeft u spijt van uw woorden?

‘Nee, het is de taak van Amnesty om de waarheid te zeggen en mensen wakker te schudden. Destijds vonden veel mensen mijn woorden te sterk, maar inmiddels hebben de media het overgenomen.’

Toch, in de Russische goelag zijn zo`n tien miljoen mensen omgekomen, in Guantanamo zitten een paar honderd mannen vast zonder proces.

‘Het gaat niet om de hoeveelheid. Ik bedoelde niet dat Guantanamo precies als een goelag is. Het gaat erom wat we accepteren. Mensenrechten sneuvelen in de War on Terror en de wereld laat dat gebeuren. De mensen die vastzitten in Guantanamo Bay hebben geen rechten, ze zijn buiten de wet geplaatst.’

Wat moet er gebeuren met Guantanamo Bay?

‘Het moet opgedoekt worden. De gevangenen moeten binnen het Amerikaanse rechtssysteem worden berecht. Wie onschuldig is moet terug naar huis. En voor diegenen die niet veilig zijn in hun eigen land, moet de VS een oplossing vinden. En aan die oplossing moeten Europese landen meewerken door asiel te verlenen aan ex-gedetineerden.’

Heeft Amnesty het niet een beetje te veel gemunt op de VS?

‘Ik verwacht veel van de VS en pak ze daarom hard aan. Het land heeft een voorbeeldfunctie. Als wij Poetin aanspreken op mensenrechtenschendingen in Tsjetsjenië, wijst hij gelijk naar Guantanamo Bay. Niet naar wat Soedan doet, of Bangladesh. Het neemt de verantwoordelijkheid van Poetin niet weg, maar wat de VS doen wordt als excuus gebruikt in de rest van de wereld.’

Als u een mensenrechtenschending ongedaan zou kunnen maken in de wereld, wat zou het zijn?

‘Marteling. Ik zou willen dat nergens meer ter wereld wordt gemarteld.’

Toch richt uw organisatie zich steeds meer op sociale rechten, niet meer alleen op de doodstraf en martelingen, zoals Amnesty ooit deed in het begin.

‘Je moet kijken naar de bigger picture. De economische situatie van iemand is net zo ingrijpend als zijn vrijheid van meningsuiting. En rechten hebben ook te maken met oorlog, met klimaatsverandering, met corruptie. We kunnen ons niet alleen richten op een aantal mensenrechten. Vrouwen in een dorp in Bangladesh vechten voor hun rechten, voor hun bestaan, op een manier die in het Westen vergeten is. Voor hen is er echt geen verschil tussen sociale rechten of politieke rechten.’

In Nederland heeft Amnesty campagne gevoerd tegen discriminatie op de werkvloer. Moet de organisatie zich daar wel mee bezighouden?

‘Dat is de keuze van de landelijke organisatie. Maar álles heeft met mensenrechten te maken. Zeker ook discriminatie. Dat beïnvloedt bijvoorbeeld de Nederlandse houding met betrekking tot het asielbeleid en antiterrorisme-maatregelen.’

U komt op gevaarlijke plekken. Vreest u wel eens voor uw leven?

‘Nee, ik ben niet zo snel bang. Vroeger als kind in Bangladesh pakte ik de kogels op die door het raam binnen kwamen zeilen tijdens gevechten. Bovendien zullen mensen mij niet snel wat aandoen. Ik vertegenwoordig immers een enorme en invloedrijke organisatie.’

Wat is het vreselijkste land ter wereld?

‘Dat kan ik niet zeggen. Er zijn veel vormen van 'vreselijk'. En als ik een land noem, is het net of ik andere landen ermee weg laat komen.’

En landen waar u van hoopt dat uw 19-jarige dochter er nooit gaat wonen?

‘O, dat zijn er heel veel. Ik noem ze niet. Maar er zijn zoveel landen waar de houding tegenover vrouwen schandalig slecht is.’

Wat wilde u vroeger worden?

‘Ik wist van kleins af dat ik rechten wilde studeren. Wat me vooral fascineert is hoe je rechten als een middel kunt gebruiken om verandering te bewerkstelligen. Daarnaast leek het me als klein kind wel wat dat de rechtbank pas om tien uur open ging. Dan kon ik tenminste uitslapen.’

Heeft u al plannen voor uw tijd na Amnesty?

‘Ik blijf nog zeker tot eind 2009. Daarna wil ik zeker verder werken aan mensenrechten. Of ik word kok. Ik ben dol op koken. Bengaals, met wat westerse invloeden. Een beetje zoals ik zelf, Bengali with a twist.

Are Islam and democracy compatible?

Keep an eye out for the forthcoming interview I am having with Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty International, the world's biggest human rights organisation.

See, or rather read, how the Muslim lady from Bangladesh wipes the floor with Muslims and non-Muslims who subscribe to the point of view that Islam and democracy cannot see eye to eye.

Mrs Khan will be in the Netherlands on Thursday 24 January to deliver the 'Nooit meer Auschwitz-lecture' ('Auschwitz never again'). Place of venue: Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam, 14.00-15.30 hrs.

To me, amnesty is not about tolerance, but about mercy, about grace, about justice. I am having great difficulty with the word 'tolerance' as there is this negative ring to it: I don't like you, but I tolerate you. I don't accept you, but I tolerate you.

The following is an article I wrote for my newspaper. It was published last Friday and is about four master students at the Erasmus University Rotterdam who organised a ten-day trip for 75 fellow students to Mumbai as part of the Cordaid Entrepreneurial Challenge 2008.

Uit Dagblad De Pers, vrijdag 18 januari 2008

photo credits Dharavi: Christopher Kober

photo credits Mumbai: James Cridland

Zwoegen en zweten in India

Het wordt de snelst groeiende economie van onze planeet genoemd. Tijd voor 75 masterstudenten van de Rotterdamse Erasmus Universiteit om af te reizen naar India.

‘We staan nu in Dharavi’, ratelt Derk Jan Statema op luide toon door de telefoon. ‘Iedereen is onwijs onder de indruk en Marcia heeft een lichte vorm van malaria opgelopen.’

Het is bijna niet voor te stellen dat deze 23-jarige student samen met Marcia de Graaff, Christopher Kober en Avinash Badaltjawdharie enkele dagen geleden nog in een Rotterdams bruin café de laatste voorbereidingen trof voor dit tiendaagse Indiase avontuur.

Maar liefst 75 masterstudenten en vijf docenten van de Rotterdamse Erasmus Universiteit doen mee. Inmiddels is Rotterdam verruild voor Bombay (in 1996 omgedoopt tot Mumbai). Het financiële hart van India, tevens het domein van de Indiase filmwereld, telt met zeventien miljoen Indiërs meer inwoners dan in heel Nederland.

Een blik op het programma is voldoende om te beseffen dat dit geen werkbezoek wordt langs de grote, koele directiekamers van Indiase multinationals. Hooguit Reliance, een van India’s telecomgiganten, kan rekenen op een bezoek.

Verder is het zwoegen en zweten geblazen in het roemruchte Dharavi, de grootste sloppenwijk van India, waar ongeveer drie miljoen mensen in erbarmelijke omstandigheden wonen en werken.

Hier moeten de studenten als onderdeel van de ‘Cordaid Entrepreneurial Challenge’ in groepjes van vijf allerlei opdrachten van TNO uitvoeren, waarbij alles draait om ondernemerszin en duurzaamheid.

Derk Jan: ‘Mijn groepje moet een duurzaam alternatief vinden voor de dure en ongezonde kerosine, die de inwoners van de sloppenwijken nu gebruiken om te koken. Als alternatief stellen we zonne-energie voor, omdat dit goedkoper is en ook nog eens beter voor het milieu. Hieromheen moeten we een businessplan schrijven. De groep studenten die zijn plan het beste presenteert aan een jury van ondernemers en investeerders, wint de mogelijkheid om zijn plan daadwerkelijk uit te voeren in India.’

Het idee voor deze bijzondere Indiareis kwam van Christopher, een Duitse student die in Spanje opgroeide, zijn opleiding in Engeland genoot en nu in Rotterdam de Master entrepreneurship and new business venturingvolgt. Met zijn geestdrift wist hij al gauw Avinash, Marcia en Derk Jan over de streep te trekken.

Minder vlotjes ging het met de financiën. Derk Jan: ‘We hadden bij het organiseren van deze reis het geluk dat Cordaid het belang inziet van ondernemerschap als een methode om de armoede op een duurzame manier te bestrijden. Samen met onder meer de luchtvaartmaatschappij Alitalia hebben zij ervoor gezorgd dat deze reis kon plaatsvinden.’

De deelnemers buitelen bijna over elkaar heen in hun enthousiasme om de keus voor India toe te lichten. ‘Vergeet niet dat je hier praat over een land dat in slechts zestig jaar tijd is uitgegroeid tot een van de grootste en snelst groeiende economieën ter wereld,’ doceert de een. ‘De armoede is van 45 naar 27 procent gedaald’, weet de ander.

‘Het analfabetisme is fors teruggedrongen en de groei van het Bruto Binnenlands Product die nu uitkomt op ruim 9 procent, zal naar verwachting de komende tien jaar verdubbelen. Daarvan profiteren niet alleen de grote bedrijven, maar ook de kleinere bedrijven, want die spinnen garen bij de toekomstige vraag van de mensen aan de zogeheten onderkant van de piramide. Dat zijn mensen die nu nog van minder dan twee dollar per dag moeten rondkomen, maar die langzaam maar zeker opschuiven naar de middenklasse.’ Ze weten het zeker: ‘Hier moet je zijn. Je moet welhaast oogkleppen ophebben om niet te zien dat de ondernemerskansen juist in India voor het oprapen liggen.’

Om de studenten enigszins voor te bereiden op de cultuurschok die hen te wachten stond, stroopte inspirator Christopher intussen vol vuur YouTube af op zoek naar allerlei ludieke filmpjes die typische aspecten van de Indiase samenleving blootlegt, zoals ‘Hoe u moet oversteken in India.’ Op het zakelijke vlak kregen de studenten de nodige lezingen te verstouwen en werd The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid van de Indiase wetenschapper C.K. Prahalad tot hun bijbel gebombardeerd.’

De grote vraag is hoe je weer bijkomt van de maniakale drukte en de vochtige hitte van Bombay om je in alle rust voor te bereiden op de eindpresentatie van de Cordaid Entrepreneurial Challenge. De toverwoorden blijken yoga en Bollywood.

Christopher: ‘Dit is natuurlijk bedoeld als een knipoog naar de Indiase cultuur, maar het zijn aspecten die een wezenlijk onderdeel vormen van de Indiase samenleving. Ik hoop alleen niet dat ik tijdens de yoga-sessie halsbrekende toeren hoef uit te halen, zoals mijn been in mijn nek leggen. Ik kan je vertellen dat er dan geen happy end à la Bollywood is.’

De avonturen van Marcia, Christopher, Avinash en Derk-Jan zijn te volgen op http://www.blogger.com/www.eshipstar.nl/blog