Africa not Immune to the Mohammed Cartoon Controversy

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/05/201052111314746455.html

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article474893.ece/Zapiros-response-to-the-Prophet-Mohammed-controversy

Several controversies have arisen around the world related to the artistic depiction of the Mohammed. Most notably, you will remember the Dutch cartoon scandal and the recent death threats against American cartoonists regarding a South Park episode depicting several religious figures. (This particular episode, made fun of the anger incited in Islamic extremists cleverly hiding Mohammed behind a bear costume as shown above.)

Recently, sparked by a facebook group asking everyone to draw Mohammed, Zapiro, a South African cartoonist, produced a cartoon depicting, "the prophet reclining on a psychiatrist's couch with a thought bubble stating: 'Other prophets have followers with a sense of humor.'" I thought the best quote of the article is from the editor of the Mail & Guardian who said, "My view is no cartoon is as insulting to Islam as the assumption Muslims will react with violence."

This is a bold attempt by a South African artist (and as pointed out in the article the timing near to the country hosting the world cup) to confront those fews extremists around the world set to censor such depictions of Mohammed. We must pay attention to trends in terrorism relating to intimidation and censorship around the world and in Africa in order to determine the best path towards dialogue to resolve these debates in a peaceful manner.

(Quotes from AlJazeera article entitled, Anger over S. African Prophet Cartoon, May 21, 2010, link provided above)

Current Contemporary Issues in the Alliance between Religion and Violence: Homosexuality in Uganda

This essay was submitted in a compilation of exams for Justice in the Face of Terror

Symbolic Empowerment: Thoughts on the Alliance of Religion and Violence

Introduction

The religious motivations of extremists both empower and validate acts of violence and serve as a cohesive element uniting social groups.[1] Religion and violence exists together with those that seek heightened sense of validation for acts of violence. Religion is only one such excuse or ideology to legitimize and justify violence, but religion is frequently and effectively used to link groups and individuals to feel strong moral validation to justifying their acts of violence

“Symbolic Empowerment”

The main weapon of religious violence is eloquence in that it serves, “to give people the strength or the zeal to take up arms.” [2] Juergensmeyer states that, “To a large extent the use of the term (terrorist) depends on one’s world view: if the world is perceived as peaceful, violent acts appear as terrorism. If the world is thought to be at war, violent acts may be regarded as legitimate.”[1] Because of individual discretion there are many different interpretations of religious teachings and texts.

Juergensmeyer wrote that religious violence serves as a source of “symbolic empowerment” for individuals or groups to legitimize violence with a sense of higher purpose than what truly exists. These “ordinary individuals” are empowered when they link their identity and dignity to a struggle, of which, loss is unimaginable. Yet, there may not be any real “victory” available. [3] For example, it will certainly be hard to determine the victor in what we have termed the “war on terrorism”. Symbolic terminology such as ‘sacrifice’ which originates from the Latin, sacrificium, “to make holy” and ‘martyr’ which originates from the Greek term meaning, “to witness one’s faith”, are two examples of the deeper hidden rhetoric in religious violence. The “symbolic empowerment” of extremist religious rhetoric is delusional and dangerously subjective.

Example of Religion used as “Symbolic Empowerment”

One example of the use of religion as a “symbolic empowerment”, is that of rightwing extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. McVeigh signed his violent directives, “a soldier for Christ and country.” This shows that he may have used religion to amplify his feelings of legitimacy for violence and justify killing others, using religion as a “symbolic empowerment.” [4]

“ Hyper-Assabiyah”

As discussed by Akbar Ahmed, society forms social bonds and cohesive groups based on ideas of honor, revenge, and dignity. Ahmed defines the use of religion to justify violence as living in a “post-honor” world where violence has become routine and people are protecting their “honor” of their groups, culture, and religion. [5] Ibn Khaldun’s theory of asabiyah shows that social bonds can give us an idea of the meaning behind of changing social orders. Hyper-asabiyah is the study of how these socials bonds develop into excessive religious or tribal loyalties.[6] My theory is that religion heightens the sense of social bonds in a greater way than other types of social, cultural, or nationalistic ideologies which thus may lead to more groups with religious elements to their ideology being more violent than similar groups without religious beliefs.

Example of Religious Violence and Khaldun's “hyper-assabiyah”

One example of religious violence and Khaldun’s “hyper-assabiyah” is the organization of the Hutaree Militia which recently made headlines because of FBI raids during March 2010.[7] This particular group identifies themselves as an apocalyptic Christian militia. On their website they wrote they are, "Preparing for the end time battles to keep the testimony of Jesus Christ alive". [8] The Hutaree use religion to justify planning an attack to kill law enforcement officers in several States. They quote many Bible verses such as Luke 22 and John 15 as empowerment to take up arms against transgressors and to protect and defend themselves and their compatriots. The combination of religious rhetoric with anger shows the Hutaree’s “hyper-assabiyah” or heightened sense of group loyalty that the Hutaree feel. They feel that they must protect each other and their ideologies.

Current Contemporary Issues in the Alliance between Religion and Violence: Homosexuality in Uganda

A current example of the dangerous combination of “symbolic empowerment” and “hyper-assabiyah” in society is the growing surge of condemnation and hatred towards homosexuals in Uganda. This issue reportedly originated from a religious conference in Uganda where American evangelicals discussed the fear that homosexuality is ruining the institution of marriage as well as associating homosexuality with pedophilia. Although homosexuality is already currently illegal, recently proposed legislation, entitled the Bahati Bill, may make the crime of homosexuality punishable by death and life in prison in Uganda. Religion has played a huge role in this debate as evangelicals cry for violence as vengeance for other’s individual sexual choices. Religious leaders have used fear to promote their agendas scaring crowds by showing radical gay pornography and instituting McCarthy-esque finger-pointing in public newspapers. The Western response has thus been to sit back and wait to see the finality of the parliamentary debate, but aid organizations are poised to withhold funds from the country and there is growing discussion of the fear of violence during the upcoming political election. These issues may be responsible for slowing the debate. At a local rally, James Buturo, one of the Bahati Bill’s supporters stated, ““These are desperate times, but we will not accept intimidation. It is our business to do what God wants. Pray for Bahati, and pray for the bill.” [9]

Conclusion

It remains to be determined how Uganda and other African nations will handle this religious call to violence against homosexual citizens, but it certainly adds to my assessment that there is often a relationship between religion and violence. There are endless of examples of the use of religion as “symbolic empowerment” toward violent ends and as an aspect of violent ideology for groups to form have excessive bonds of loyalty known as “hyper-assabiyah” that may exacerbate violence as group members strive to protect their "honor".

[1] I recognize that analysis of religion is subjective and thus through an individual’s discretion can be used as a symbol to empower violence and an ultimate source of morality. However, I have chosen to discuss the ways in which religion is used as a tool of radicals to legitimize their violence.
[2] Juergensmeyer, 150.
[3] Ibid., 161-162.
[4] Juergensmeyer, 188.
[5] Ibid., 57.
[6] Ahmed, 15.
[7] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/us/30militia.html
[8] http://www.hutaree.com/
[9] Entire section involves portions of both: In Uganda Push to Curb Gays Draws US Guest http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/world/africa/03uganda.html and Vanguard’s Series Missionaries of Hate http://www.hulu.com/watch/150328/vanguard-missionaries-of-hate

World Cup Plot

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/18/world-cup-plot-detained-i_n_580356.html


One detainee recently described to authorities that Al-Qaeda in Iraq is planning attacks on the World Cup in South Africa specifically targeting Danish/Dutch teams or fans in revenge for the Dutch cartoonists depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. Certainly I will be paying close attention to the security of the World Cup. Also, as I was reading this article, I was intrigued by the fact that it did not seem like torture had been used in order to cox confession from the detainee. They stated the detainee did not look abused or bruised in any way. Perhaps, it is possible to gain information from "terrorist" suspects without the use of torture and through the use of the usual criminal procedure rules and guidelines used in everyday law enforcement investigations. (this is conjecture since I do not know the way in which they obtained the confession.)

Albinos in Africa

"One in 4,000 people in Africa is an albino." During my time in Tanzania, I saw albinos in my village treated normally and fairly, however, they can often be discriminated against and lately news reports have stated that albinos in Tanzania are being hunted and killed by witchdoctors because of age-old superstitions.(mainly in the rural communities especially in the western area in Mwanza and fishing villages) I hope that attention will be paid to this important issue and that there will be a justice for albinos and public outcry against this brutality and discrimination.

Current Conversation: Justice in the Face of the 1998 Embassy Bombings in Tanzania

Suffering Grass: A Tanzanian Perspective

Edith Mpangala, Peace Corps Medical Officer (PCMO) and native Tanzanian, speaks with obvious affection for her American volunteers when she says to me in her friendly drawl, “My dear, I feel great that I have friends like you people, and I feel strongly you are like one of my own children.” On the day of the bombings, August 7, 1998, Edith was in a building adjacent to the embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, examining a volunteer with a high-fever. Suddenly, a blast, initiated by a suicide bomber in a large truck, shook her office and she recalls the sickening feeling as she experienced when she heard the shattering glass nearby.

In the moment of the explosion’s impact, she flashed back to her experiences as a nurse stationed on the front-line during the war between Tanzania and Uganda where she was nearly killed several times by Ugandan bombs blasting towards the army asleep in the trenches. Immediately, she knew this was an explosion and quickly called Aga Khan Hospital, where the receptionist reported that the U.S. Embassy had indeed been bombed. Other Peace Corps workers would not accept this news. The Peace Corp’s Country Director (CD), whose wife worked at the embassy yelled angrily, “Edith, stop this rumor, the embassy has not been bombed.” Quickly, she grabbed her medical kit. Meanwhile, at the scene of the bombings, Tanzanian ministers and police, and American security prevented anyone from entering the building, fearing another explosion. Edith and her fellow PCMO rushed through backstreets and neighborhoods, climbed wire fences, and scaled the embassy wall to reach the injured. She worked all night in nearby Muhimbili National Hospital to tend to the wounded and coordinate care for families. She found herself in the wards, briefly, alongside the CD’s wife. She remembers at one point consoling an American lady who had lost her Tanzanian husband. His body was unrecognizable, identified only by the trousers and belt he had worn to work that day.

In the weeks and months after the bombing, Edith received calls from concerned friends and relatives in Dar es Salaam who were distraught that a violent act like this could take place in their homeland. Edith revealed her disappointment after reading a state department cable that praised the "quick actions" of American staff who had not contributed much to the relief and that overlooked the efforts of herself and her Tanzanian counterparts. “I was surprised with the American system. My country was shaken up because we have no experience with violence. For a couple of years after, I was afraid of terrorism and to tell people that I was working with an American organization.”

Edith now believes that the bombings have resulted in improved political, economic, and social relations between Tanzania and the U.S. and that safety and security has improved, stating, “Terrorism was an eye opener to Tanzania. We (the U.S. and Tanzania) have to be on the same page fighting terrorists, because no single American died in the attacks. It was the Tanzanians who died. Tanzania has and will continue to improve security.” To bolster security, she hopes the U.S. will develop exchange programs with Tanzanian police and army to increase their training and security techniques.

In addition, she suggests that Tanzania should remain rigid in its policy that keeps religion and government separate. In Tanzania, mutual respect exists between Christians and Muslims who work side by side in their fields, schools, and government. Edith further recommends that peace-making Muslim and Christian leaders should be encouraged to work together. She finds hope in the growing emphasis placed on religious teachings of peace and love in both religions. The key, according to Edith, will be to minimize clashes between the United States and the Muslim world in order to reduce terrorism around the globe.

Now almost 12 years since the bombing, and after 26 years of working with United States Peace Corps, Edith Mpangala has been asked to retire by the Washington Office so that they may replace her nursing position with that of a medical doctor. She longs to visit her friends in America and shares her hope that the violent influence of terrorism will stay far away from Tanzania. Because as she concludes, “Fahari wawili wakigombana ziumiazo ni nyika.” When two herds fight, it is the grass that suffers. [1]

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[1] Excerpts from email interview with Edith Mpangala February 23, 2010. I wrote this as an extra portion of my paper, “Tanzania and Islamic Radicalization” in Terrorism, Crime, and Public Policy

Terrorist Threats in Africa on the Rise

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This is a Man-Made Disaster

Mugabe and the White African

"We just want our land and will take it the way we know how. What can they do?"
Mugabe speaking of his government's 'Land Reform' programme in May 2000.


"I am still the Hitler of the times. This Hitler has only one objective: Justice for his people; sovereignty for his people. If that is Hitler, right... then let me be a Hitler ten fold!" - Robert Mugabe

(quotes from the below website entitled, Mugabe and the White African.)

http://www.mugabeandthewhiteafrican.com/mugabe-zimbabwe/

Current conversation: Justice in Face of Rwanda and Burundi

Human Rights and Development in Terrorism
I believe within the discussion of justice in the face of terror the example of Rwanda and Burundi’s journey from complete chaos, violence, and terror to its current quest to find justice for the brutality of civil war and genocide can provide compelling examples of the importance of justice – in the form of human rights and development work- and more nuanced rhetoric in the face of terror (as discussed in this week’s reading such as Hoffman, Kaplin, and Aeschylus) to end the cycle of violence.

Very Brief Historical Background
Rwanda and Burundi can trace the ideology that sparked their tragedies to an evolution overtime in the meaning of its geography and tribal classifications. Although there are no defined differences between tribes other than through bloodlines- meaning no differences in appearance, language, customs, or abilities- European colonists divided Hutu and Tutsis into separate kingdoms by enforcing stereotypes with policies such as instituting labeling identity cards with the tribal name. This may have been one factor that sparked rising levels of violence overtime between the tribes as well as competing for economic and political power. Jan Vanisa writes of the destructive force of such rhetoric saying, “The Europeans merely adopted a practice they found on the spot and the terminology they used to express it derived from the speech of the local elites.”[1] What an example of the power of rhetoric! The Europeans added fuel to the flame of racism in the region. This flame was fed and allowed to breathe and gain ground until it exploded in a rage in April 1994, when the Presidents of both Rwandan and Burundian were murdered sparking genocide when the Hutus began to kill Tutsis and Hutus that refused to kill Tutsis in Rwanda and a similar civil war in Burundi. These events led to the killing of several hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children with barbaric weapons such as machetes, knives, and rocks. Rwanda and Burundi’s violence is an example of a case where the absence of justice led to extreme terror. [2]

Why and how the example of Rwanda can advance our understanding?

The Fever of Terror
Recently, I finished a book entitled, “Strength in What Remains” by Tracy Kidder. Based on a true story, Kidder tells the tale of a Burundian refugee, Deo, who survived the genocide and civil war in Rwanda and Burundi in 1994 and becomes a doctor and working for Partners in Health's(PIH) Paul Farmer. (also a good book is Mountain beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder telling Paul Farmer's story! It is my favorite book!!!! ) Deo describes PIH’s mission to provide healthcare in third-world countries by stating, "By all means, let's do prevention! Prevent people from suffering! Don't wait for people to feel like their lives are not worth living. Once they feel that way, how are they going to feel about another person's life?"[3] Perhaps in the realm of justice and prevention of terrorism, it is important to view the basis for the political, social, and cultural issues at play such as a culture of poverty and violence due to a lack of education, healthcare, and equality in a society.

Within the book “Strength in what Remains”, Kidder describes the work of scholar Peter Ulvin who speaks to the political, social, and economic forces at work leading to violent genocide in Rwanda and Burundi as well as any act of "structural violence". Ulvin defines this idea of "structural violence" or "violence that is, of the quotidian kind, the physical and psychological violence of poverty."[4] The use of the radio, newspapers, and word of mouth between Hutus was integral in spreading the propaganda against Tutsi’s and in organizing the killings. Perhaps “Justice” could be a cure to such a fever or terrorism with a prescription of:

1. health ("hunger, disease and untimely death")
2. education (so much human potential lost without this element)
3. safety and security (rule of law)
4. fighting corruption (which in turn excludes poor villagers)

There are a few cultural paradigms of the “fever of terror” that jumped out at me from my experiences in Tanzania:

1) There lies a culture of group retaliation when a thief is caught in action. We were taught to avoid yelling, “Thief” at all costs with the warning that the criminal who steals your cell phone could be jumped and killed right in front of you. I have witnessed unsettling swift and brutal mob justice.

2) Foreign aid is often more productive and tailored than in surrounding countries due to its recent success with democratization, however, many countries foreign aid does not reach the villagers in need and instead lines the corrupt pockets of politicians and a small elite.

3) Courts, law enforcement, prisons and other important institutions to the rule of law and civil order are not easily accessible due to lack of infrastructure and personnel.

Without a strong presence of justice, peace in these African countries is fragile, as made evident during the Kenyan elections in 2008 that erupted in sudden tribal violence.

Does the example of Rwanda help advance the call for justice in the face of terror?

The International Criminal Courts and Democratization
Ulvin writes, "In societies where the rule of law is close to nonexistent and security forces are neither effective or trusted, small groups of people willing to use violence can create enough chaos and fear to force everyone into making violent choices." So, prejudice or fear or whatever driving factor is behind an initial "call to arms" for a small group of violent people, Ulvin says, "Social exclusion and the ethnicization of politics are the two central elements to violent conflict...that, like electrons, spin around a core of massive poverty and institutional weakness." Justice may be the only solid force that can bring stability to the cycle of terror.

Today, Rwanda and Burundi have begun to heal the deep wounds of April 1994. Through the international criminal courts and democratization, the victims have been given a voice and the cycle of violence has stopped. Even with this justice both Hutu and Tutsi refugees remain in the surrounding region and it will, perhaps, take several generations to calm the terror. Because of justice, memorials have been erected and relative peace has returned to the region.

Conclusion
The micro-politics of a region or culture may fuel a fever of the psychological and physical violence of poverty, a human condition that causes terrorism that may be cured when justice and political order are revived. At the end of “Strength in what Remains”, Deo is approached by a Hutu women who asks for forgiveness for her participation in the violence and Deo responds, “What happened happened. Let’s put the tragedy behind us, because remembering is not going to benefit anyone.” Perhaps that is true with any conflict where society has lost track of the “tit for tat” orgins of violence, that in order to find neutral ground for dialogue we must forgive and forget and let justice start anew.

Inspired by:

Kidder, Tracy. “Strength in What Remains -A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness”. Random House. New York. 2009.

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[1] Kidder, 265.

[2] I was aided in the brief outline of this history by facts located with the Historical Notes found in Kidder, 263-272.

[3] Kidder, 155.

[4] Ibid.,

Human Rights and Development in Terrrorism

It is my belief that the elimination of terror in Africa can be achieved by focusing on increasing the fundamental human rights of Africans through more tailored development of infrastructure. Within the realm of Justice in the Face of Terror in Africa, I will be exploring topics related to human rights and development (i.e- improving health care, education, and safety and security, fighting corruption, etc.). I wish to explore if development can be used as a tool to reduce the influence of terrorism in Africa.