Netherlands: Terrorism as Art

For sensitive souls who think art is beautiful and terrorism is sick it might be a shocking idea, but there is a relationship between terrorism and art, argues Prof. Dr. Bob de Graaf, professor of terrorism and counter-terrorism.

An article from the University of Leiden newsletter.

Little attention is paid in the Netherlands to the to similarities and reciprocal influences between violent radicalism and art, he says. Researchers as well as politicians and policy makers try to find and influence especially economic and social root causes. Naturally they should do so, thinks De Graff, but besides that they should be aware of the need of - especially by well educated - youth for self expression and their "fifteen minutes of fame". To also be aware of the cultural manifestations in society, give more attention to "what's in the air".

Because that is an important aspect of being a terrorist: the need for self-expression. A terrorist works in staging, composing, searching for a public. American skyscrapers, American airplanes and the scenario of the American disaster movie made the attack on 11 September 2001 into a form of street theater. And the current number 2 of Al-Qaeda described the attack on the Egyptian president Sadat in 1981, in which he was involved, as "an artistic plan prepared with care".

It's a known fact that authors and movie-makers write about life and death. In the 90s there was a real boom, especially in America, of films and books about disasters and violence. It is certainly not unthinkable, according to De Graaf, that terrorists were inspired by literary scenarios. Hi cites the statement of Robert Altman that Afghanistan might have been the breeding ground for 9/11, but that Hollywood was the source of inspiration.

But there's more than mutual influences; it's not always easy to draw the line between fiction and reality, argues De Graaf. In 19th and 20th century Europe there were whole art-movements which glorified the spreading of violence and which then flowed into actual terrorist movements.

Nihilism, which began with the novel Fathers and Sons by Turgenev, ended radically violent. Terrorist acts play a big role in the work of Surrealists like Luis Bunuel and André Breton. Breton even thought that the true Surrealist should go out in the street and shoot wildly.

Situationism, which came out of Surrealism, began with playful happenings, as an accusation against the consumption society, but the smell, stink and pudding bombs became real bombs in the 70s. Movements like the Black Panthers, the Red Brigades and the Red Army Faction began as art-movements which said that art should be extreme and have an impact. For Andreas Baader, with his designer sunglasses and predilection for films about terrorism, terrorism was the best way to get attention..

De Graaf says its doubtful whether that's the case recently. On the one hand, it seems like art it taking a step back. Shocked by 9/11 American authors don't write any more about terrorist, but about victims and trauma processing and the apologize for their earlier work. The violence of which was rather tame, for that matter. But on the other hand terrorism lack the fantasy and ambiguity that characterizes art. The repeated pictures of attacks lead to people getting used to it. And, so says De Graaf, "habit is deadly for terrorists."

Regarding Islamic terrorism De Graff says he doesn't yet know enough. Is the relationship between terrorism and art maybe typical to Western terrorism? Are there important differences in the culture of language and images, or is there a globalized culture of the individual that seeks expression and attention, and that can leave behind its trail in history. De Graaf's Center for Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism is building up a database of ego-documents of terrorists to start a study. In any case, young Islamic terrorists don't choose a role model from authors and artists, but from practicing preachers: Osama bin Laden and suicide bombers.

But there are also signs that this is indeed a global phenomenon, and that above all it's the consumer society which provokes terrorism as part of the sub-culture.

In this sense the similarities with the above-mentioned Situationism is striking. The combination of initially innocent artistic and intellectual protest and a subculture of youthful street violence can also flow into present-day explosive political violence. Government and citizens must therefore take into account that a specific form of society and belief brings with it risks and secure themselves against it, ends De Graaf. Besides that, an imagination isn't a bad quality.

Source: Leiden University (Dutch) h/t Allochtonen Weblog

See also: De Graaf's paper " Something in the Air, Terrorism as Art" (PDF, Dutch)

Denmark: Muhammad drawing in elections

Danish prime minister Rasmussen announced yesterday that the national parliamentary elections will take place this coming November 13th.

The Danish People's Party has already gotten to the news with its election poster titled: "Freedom of expression is Danish, censorship isn't". The note at the bottom says: we adhere to Danish values.



The picture is based on one from a 1683 book about Islam by Alexander Ross.

The Danish Islamic Society said in reply that Pia Kjærsgaard just wants to provoke them and attract attention, but she's not worth it. Their policy is to ignore provocations from the Danish People's Party, according to spokesperson Kassem Ahmed.

Experts dismiss the idea that this picture would cause riots like the Mohammed Cartoon Affair.

Source: DR.dk (Danish)

Brussels: Riots disrupt public transport

MIVB Public transport buses serving Sint-Joost-ten-Node, were diverted yesterday until the end of service hours (00:30). According to MIVB spokesperson Jean-Pierre Alvin commuters were injured by the riots.

In Sint-Joost tensions on the bus-line reached a high point at about 8:15pm, about an hour after the first reports by drivers of buses 65 and 66, says Alvin. Bus 61 was "attacked by a small group" by the Houwaert square. "One or two" commuters were injured. "We have decided to divert buses 59, 61 and 63 until the end of the service about 00:30am. They drive through the center of Sint-Joost. This because the federal police can't guarantee that peace will return within an hour or two.

In Schaarbeek the first reports of trouble no the bus lines came in about 7:05pm. The windows of three trams were smashed with stones. The damage is "relatively important", says Alvin. One commuter was hit by a tile and glass fragments. One tram engineer was hospitalized with shock. All tram lines were diverted.

After an interruption of 85 minutes, the situation on the bus lines returned to normal at about 8:35pm.

Source: HLN (Dutch)

See also: Brussels: Turkish riots

Germany: Imams on patrol

The West German state North-Rhineland-Westphalia will bring in imams in the fight against criminality among Muslim youth.  The spiritual leaders will go on patrol with police agents.

Imams must also visit family of young Muslims who get into trouble more often, argued the government envoy in charge of integration.  According to the envoy many Muslim youth do not recognize the police as an authority, but do have respect for the imam.  The city of Essen already has positive experience with the so called "security partnership", reports German media.

Source: Nieuw Nieuws (Dutch)

Brussels: Turkish riots

The discussion in the US about recognizing the Armenian Genocide and the Turkish soldiers abducted by Kurdish nationalists near the Iraqi border are having an effect on the Turkish community in Belgium as well.

In the Brussels suburbs of Sint-Joost and Schaarbeek dozens of youth, mostly of Turkish origin, have been playing cat-and-mouse games with the police since 5pm after an illegal protest was broken up. Sint-Joost is a town with a large Turkish population, and more than 50% council members are Turkish.

At least 100 people have been arrested and several cars have been set ablaze.

The police is out in full force with about 200 policemen and a water cannon, charging in from time and time and following groups of youth among the evening traffic.

Mayor Jean Demannez of Sint-Joost understands that the local Turkish population wants to show its solidarity with Turkey now that the situation on the Turkish-Iraqi border is so tense. However, what's happening tonight is senseless and there was no request for a permit for the protest.

According to Demannez, "Small groups of youth spread themselves out and regroup everywhere. It's not only youth from our municipality or people who demonstrate for Turkey, but there are also youth who are only out for violence."

The disturbances today follow those on Sunday, which started with about 100 flag waving protesters marching to the American embassy . Local Turkish journalist Mehmet Koksal was attacked there, since he reports very critically about the Turkish extreme right. The protest then continued on late into the night with the destruction of a restaurant owned by an Iraqi of Armenian origin, for being "provocative". One policeman was injured. (see here a video clip of the Sunday protest)

In Antwerp about 200 Turkish youth gathered together at about 6pm. According to Sven Lommaret, spokesperson for the local police, there was no destruction, no injuries and no arrests. The youth, protesting against the Kurdish PKK, called out slogans. Several hot-heads suggested to really march through town and the group started to do so. However, the police spoke with the protesters and with people from the Turkish community and convinced them to turn back. The protest continued with shouted slogans and songs and ended at 7:30 with a moment of silence.
Sources (Dutch): HLN, Brussels Nieuws, Knack, Azady, Bruxelles 1, 2

See also: Brussels: Tensions between Turks and Kurds

Norway: Prisoners convert to Islam to protest lack of halal food

A dietary conflict at Ringerike Prison has provoked inmates to convert to Islam.

Several prisoners have demonstrated their sympathies with Muslim inmates by religious conversion after authorities refused to supply halal meat during Ramadan, NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) reports.

An anonymous inmate told NRK that the support of fellow prisoners was appreciated, but others had expressed a desire that the conversions could have occurred due to the message of Islam rather than as a protest.

The protest began when prison officials refused to supply meat slaughtered according to Islamic law during Ramadan, the Muslim month of daily fasting.

Last year the Muslim prisoners received halal meat, but this year it was deemed too large an expense.

Source: Aftenposten (English)

Jihad recruiters arrested in Spain, France

In what looks like a joint venture, French, Belgian and Spanish police arrested 11 people yesterday in the French-Spanish border area, on suspicion of recruiting Muslims for Jihad in Iraq.

Six people suspected of recruiting Islamic militants to send to Iraq were arrested by Spanish police on Wednesday, the interior ministry said.

Paramilitary police were searching the homes of the suspects in the northern Burgos region, it said.

The cell is alleged to have operated through Internet chat roms and discussion groups.

"The dismantled group was organising clandestine meetings, was gathering funds for imprisoned terrorists (and) was justifying terrorism," the ministry said.

Five men have been arrested in southwestern France on suspicion of helping to recruit Islamic extremist fighters for combat missions in Iraq, police said Tuesday.

Three of the five men were arrested in the city of Toulouse and two in the nearby region of Lot, in a joint operation by French and Belgian police.

The eldest of the suspects, aged from 25 to 45, is suspected of providing close-combat training to several suspected extremists arrested in an anti-terrorist swoop in February.

The others are accused of providing material assistance, although searches of their homes turned up no evidence.

Source: Expatica 1, 2 (English)

Netherlands: Islam recognized by justice department

The ministry of Justice has recognized Islam as a religion allowed to give spiritual care within judicial institutes.

Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin signed a covenant with the CMO (Contact Body Muslims and Government, Contactorgaan Moslims en Overheid). Sixty "prison imams" who had worked freelance and part-time will now become civil servants.

The CMO will set up its own service for Muslim spiritual guidance, whose goal is to keep separate practical policy and theological questions. Together with the new service there will be a religious council which will follow up on which imams are working in prisons and what pastoral care they give.

Mohamed Ajouaou (40) has been functioning since June 1st as the head of the 63 Muslim spiritual caretakers in judicial institutes in the Netherlands. He is a theologist, not an imam. Ajouaou advocates for a modern orthodoxy, in which the Koran, Hadith and other Islamic writings are not only read, but also understood.

Source: Parool (Dutch)

See also: Netherlands: Imam training leads to disagreement among Muslims

Netherlands: 5% are Muslims

About 5% of the Dutch population are Muslims, according to new statistics from 2006 by the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS). This is about 850,000 people.

The number is lower then previous estimates, since the CBS used a different way of working, which according to the bureau gives a better estimate.

According to the old estimates there were more than a million Muslims in 2006. In the past the CBS based its estimates on teh basis of external research and the portion of Muslims in the land of origin. Now they use data from the Permanent Survey of Life Situations. In this survey people are given the opportunity to say on their own which religious denomination they belong to.

This data shows that about half of non-Western immigrants follow Islam. Turks (about 325,000) and Moroccans (260,000) are the biggest groups of Muslims. Other big groups are Surinamese (34,000), Afghans (31,000) and Iraqis (27,000). There are 12,000 ethnic Dutch Muslims.

40% of the non-Western immigrants in the Netherlands would like to move. The reasons are the qualitatively worse residences in which immigrants usually live and the size of the family. The readiness to move among immigrants is much higher than by ethnic Dutch.

Since 2002 the total of house movings in the Netherlands has gone up, just like the number of people who want to move. The number of people who have built a house themselves or had one built, are gone up remarkably, according to the CBS.

Less than half of Amsterdam residents (44%) were born in the city. In the inner city, a third of the residents were born in Amsterdam.

According to the CBS, most of the native Amsterdam residents can be found in Oostzaan, Nieuwendam en Buiksloot. In Buiksloot 80% of the residents were born in the city.

Source: NU (Dutch)

See also: CBS 1, 2 (Dutch)

Netherlands: Muslim group wants correction on allegation of being radical

The Dutch Muslim Council (Nederlandse Moslim Raad, NMR) wants the NOVA program to correct the piece about the alleged radicalization of the NMS and the Dutch Muslim Broadcaster (NMO). NOVA had denounced this development in an October 11 broadcast.

The NMR has given the NOVA editors till October 25 to make the corrections, before taking further steps.

The scandal about the NMR and NMO was caused by a NOVA report about the merging of the NMO with the more conservative Dutch Islamic Broadcasting of the NMR. Nova had said about them that "The eight new members of the combined board currently consists exclusively of strict, Orthodox Muslims. A number of them should be followed by the AIVD. Yahia Bouyafa for example. He has close connections to the extremist Muslim Brotherhood.

The NMR is supported by a court decision in Amsterdam, who decided last week that De Telegraaf newspaper should print a correction about the allegations against Yahia Bouyafa, board member of the NMR, which were published August 4. [see here]. The newspaper headline was "More Muslim power" and the sub-heading was "Bouyafa, new consultation partner to the government, works on secret plans." According to NMR, NOVA had used the De Telegraaf article as a source for the program about the NMR and NMO.

The NOVA editors were not available for comment.

Source: World Journalisten (Dutch)

See also: Netherlands: Muslim broadcaster increasingly controlled by radicals, Netherlands: Government discussion partner has ties to Muslim Brotherhood