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32. The Effects of Suicide Attacks against Military Forces
- Author:
- José Luis Calvo Albero
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Athena Intelligence Journal
- Institution:
- Athena Intelligence
- Abstract:
- Existen numerosas experiencias de radicalización yihadista en prisiones, algunas de elias también en España. Este artículo describe en primer lugar la situación de los internos de origen musulmán en las prisiones españolas. Seguidamente analiza los retos y las disfunciones que actualmente afronta el sistema penitenciario español. Se trata de puntos débiles que afectan a la relación entre internos yihadistas y presos comunes de origen musulmán, a la vigilancia y control de la vida cotidiana de los internos, de la posible difusión de documentos radicales dentro de las prisiones y de las comunicaciones entre el interior y exterior de los centros. En conjunto, se advierte la falta de un plan estratégico por parte de la Administración penitenciaria para la prevención de la radicalización yihadista.
- Topic:
- Islam
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Spain
33. Prevention of Jihadist Radicalization in Spanish Prisons. Current Situation, Challenges and Dysfunctions of the Penitentiary System
- Author:
- Javier Jordán, Humberto Trujillo, and Jose Antonio Gutiérrez
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Athena Intelligence Journal
- Institution:
- Athena Intelligence
- Abstract:
- There are many experiences of jihadist radicalization in prisons, some of them also in Spain. This article first describes the situation of Muslim convicts in Spanish prisons. Following, it analyzes the challenges and inefficiencies that the Spanish penitentiary system is currently facing. These are weaknesses that affect the relationship between convict jihadists and common prisoners of Muslim origin, the prevention and control of the prisoners' daily lives, the diffusion of radical documents inside the prisons and the communication between the interior and exterior of the center. Overall, it is noticeable the lack of a strategic plan from the penitentiary Administration for the prevention of jihadist radicalization.
- Topic:
- Islam and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Romania, and Spain
34. Rights and the Hijâb: Rationality and Discourse in the Public Sphere
- Author:
- Howard Adelman
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Human Rights and Human Welfare - Review Essays
- Institution:
- Josef Korbel Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver
- Abstract:
- When I took my family to France for one of the hottest summers on record, we went to a local municipal pool in Beaune. After paying the en trance fee and entering the pool area, we were informed that my children would not be allowed to swim wearing their North American boxer-style swimming shorts. “Public health” required that they wear speedo-type suits. No reason or evidence was offered to explain the policy. The officials simply said it was French law. The swimming pool administration generously provided washed speedos. My children had a great time. The next day, my youngest son developed an itch in his crotch. When we took him to the doctor, he was diagnosed with a serious skin infection most likely contracted from the borrowed swim suit.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Islam, and Nationalism
- Political Geography:
- Europe, France, and North America
35. Culture of Co-existence in Islam: The Turkish Case
- Author:
- Ali Bardakoğlu
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- This article aims to show how exchanges between religion and secularism, Islam and democracy and cross-cultural relations over many years have shaped Turks' perception of Islam and their position towards freedom of religion and co-existence of different faith communities. Muslims are generally attributed a monolithic identity marked by intolerance despite the fact that they have considerable diversity in their understanding of Islam and its practice. The Turkish case challenges such essentialist views by demonstrating that despite some isolated events, Turkey succeeds in managing religious diversity because the perception of Islam has developed in connection with a variety of current and historical events. The perception that emerged in the course of Turkish cultural and political history provides strong grounds for peaceful co-existence within the shared social order. Turkey's achievement in establishing a political culture and a perception of Islam that facilitates religious pluralism can be attributed to factors as such democracy and secularism and Turkey's efforts to join the European Union.
- Topic:
- Islam
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Turkey
36. How to Engage with Political Islam? Lessons from Europe
- Author:
- Nathalie Tocci and Nona Mikhelidze
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Since the late 1980s, research on political Islam has been much in vogue in Europe and the US. This phenomenon is typically viewed as an expression of religion rather than of politics. Precisely because of the assumed "religious" underpinnings of political Islam, most Western attempts to engage with Islamists often remain trapped in an attempt to test their "democratic credentials". By focussing on what Islamists think about democracy, many studies have ignored the political, social and economic contexts in which Islamists operate. Accounting for the political underpinning of Islamist movements can both help understand their political evolution and open up fruitful avenues for comparative analysis. For this reason, attention is turned to Europe to seek best practices of external engagement with domestic opposition movements in authoritarian contexts, such as Western engagement with opposition actors in Franco's Spain, Kuchma's Ukraine and Shevardnadze's Georgia.
- Topic:
- Islam and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Georgia
37. Time to Deradicalise? The European Roots of Muslim Radicalisation
- Author:
- Amel Boubekeur
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- When European Muslim citizens are involved in social conflicts or when they contest the place that is given them in Europe, these political claims are often seen as radical and inspired by external influences. If an attempt is made to understand what part the influences of the so-called Muslim "countries of origin" play in the way Muslims contest European models of society and integration, it turns out that the roots of radicalisation are often purely European. The idea that it is the Islamic and communitarian nature of the European Muslim way of life which is at the base of their failing integration has to be challenged. Indeed, the initiatives of religious actors have failed to channel the radicalisation of European Muslims' political demands. The role of the religious variable is of much less importance in political radicalisation than the lack of an institutional response to the demands for greater social and economic integration.
- Topic:
- Economics and Islam
- Political Geography:
- Europe
38. The Long Path from Recognition to Representation of Muslims in Italy
- Author:
- Andrea Coppi and Andrea Spreafico
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The Muslim community in Italy does not benefit from official recognition, which could, among other things, provide it with access to state funding. Nor does its fragmented nature favour a process of aggregation leading to the formation of a single representative body delegated to dialogue with the institutions. The government initiative establishing the Council of Italian Islam (Consulta) sought to encourage an original course in this direction, but it seems that the body is unlikely to solve the problem. The solutions adopted in various European countries and the proposals put forward by experts suggest that legal recognition cannot sidestep the question of representation and therefore calls for a process of cultural mediation.
- Topic:
- Islam
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Italy
39. Religion et politique en France dans le contexte de la construction européenne
- Author:
- Jean-Paul Willaime
- Publication Date:
- 12-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Strongly marked by the weight of the past, the French approach to State-Religion- Society relations has distinct qualities, and especially a strong confrontational and emotional dimension. This essay address the evolution of these relations and their tensions by focusing on three subjects that make manifest the relationship between politics and religion in important ways, namely, schools, sects, and Islam. The arena of the school is especially significant in three respects: the link between public and private schools; the question of what should be taught about religion, and the display of religious expression by students. The essay considers these matters within the context of wider transformations in religion (secularization) and politics (disenchantment and changes in the state's role in society). It concludes by situating recent developments in the context of globalization and especially Europeanization.
- Topic:
- Development, Globalization, and Islam
- Political Geography:
- Europe and France
40. What Turkey teaches about democracy
- Author:
- Melkulangara Kumaran Bhadrakumar
- Publication Date:
- 01-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- The 85-year-old Turkish state finds itself at a crossroads. But the implications of Erdoğan's final choice go far beyond Turkey's borders. Turkey's standing as a regional powerhouse, its strategic location as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East, its historical and cultural heritage in the Muslim world – all these are bound to come into play in the coming months. The crucial importance of what is unfolding in Turkey lies in that, to quote former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami in a recent article, "Engaging political Islam will need to be the central part of any successful strategy for the Middle East. Instead of sticking to doomsday prophecies of categorical perspectives that prevent an understanding of the complex fabric of Islamic movements, the West needs to keep the pressure on the incumbent regimes to stop circumventing political reform."
- Topic:
- Islam and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Israel