Books
The free and the less free
In "My Prison, My Home," Ms. Esfandiari, a scholar, author and public intellectual who directs the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, recounts the story of her detention in Iran. From May 8, 2007, it included incarceration in the infamous Evin prison, where she remained for a total of 105 days until she was set free in late August and finally allowed to leave the country. Reading this book makes striking how interlocked we all are in this world - the free and the less free.
Islam and democracy: They can work together
Nineteenth-century French thinker Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that the relationship between religion and democracy in the West was the “great problem of our time.” While arguably it may be less significant in the West now, it is altogether a different matter in the Muslim world. Canadian political scientist Nader Hashemi's book (Islam, secularism and liberal democracy. Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies. Oxford University Press, 280 pages, ) tackles the question in historical and comparative perspective, and proposes fresh ideas on reconciling the tensions among Islam, secularism and liberal democracy.
China’s New Confucianism
China is increasingly abandoning the old Maoist prejudice against the culture inspired by Kǒng Fūzǐ, the Chinese philosopher who lived between the 6th and 7th Centuries B.C., and Confucian classics are taught in party and in state schools, as Daniel A. Bell explains in his most recent book (China’s New Confucianism, 258 pp., .95, Princeton University Press). Why do the regime’s leaders dye their hair black? Why is Karaoke so popular in China? Because if Marx is dead, Confucius instead is enjoying extremely good health.
Do Chinese immigrants ever die?
Chinese people never die (I cinesi non muoiono mai, Chiarelettere) is a journey through the Italian peninsula, from Vercelli to Prato and Matera, discovering the faults and virtues of a surprising community, portrayed with curiosity and a degree of admiration by Raffaele Oriani and Riccardo Staglianò. The countryside surrounding Vercelli with “fields never so crowded and active since the Sixties” have been repopulated by Chinese immigrants, and in Basilicata they have saved historical districts. They have injected vitality, money and optimism into our old society and yet we like to talk about them in stereotypes. Their greatest defect is that their faults are too similar to our own.
An article by Daniele Castellani Perelli.
A white tiger in the darkness
Which caste does Balram Halwai belong to? To the caste of men with large bellies or that of men with small ones? This is the dilemma round which the first novel written by the young Indian author Aravid Adiga develops, “The White Tiger”, recently the winner of the Booker Prize. In this book, the former correspondent for Time magazine shows us a different India, the India that lives in the “Darkness” and has not been touched by globalisation. As already happened with Mohsin Hamid’s “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”, this book can also be seen as a reflection on relations between the West and Asia.
Reaching the last man. Barefoot.
For the Indian government and various humanitarian organisations, development primarily signifies constructing buildings. Yet a building such as a school does very little if it remains half empty due to teacher absences and poor student attendance. Instead, development means having faith in people and valuing their ideas, whilst avoiding those projects preceded by incomprehensible and costly surveys which are far from the aspirations of the local people. This is the belief which guides the Barefoot College, which for 35 years has tried to improve the quality of life for thousands of poor Indians by teaching them a skill, a profession. And it is to the organisation’s ongoing dedication and philosophy that Maria Pace Ottieri has dedicated her new book, Reaching the last man. (Raggiungere l’ultimo uomo Einaudi 2008).
An article by Valeria Fraschetti.
“Why Arab countries need them”
What is it that moved a young French scholar, Frédéric Pichon, accompanied by his wife and two very small daughters, to embark on a long journey from the Lebanon to Greece, moving from convent to convent through Syria and Turkey? Primarily, his love for the Arab world, in which he had lived for a long time, his strong faith of course, which inspired him to research those communities still experiencing a spiritual and “silent” Christianity and ultimately the desire to portray the situation of the religious minorities often experiencing alienation in those countries. This exploit then became a book, Viaggio tra i cristiani d’Oriente (published by Lindau, 2008) [Journey among the Christians of the East], a useful instrument for those wishing to acquire knowledge of the situation experienced by those Christians of the East about whom we know little or nothing at all.
“Allah’s Christians and Mediterranean civilisation”
“The 300,000 Christians who converted to Islam between the 16th and 19th centuries were fleeing from an oppressive system which prohibited them from social redemption. Islam represented a genuine possibility to change the way in which they lived”. In his latest novel, Massimo Carlotto tells the story of Cristiani di Allah (Allah’s Christians, Edizioni e/o), a ‘Mediterranean Noir’ set in Algiers in 1542: “To overcome the ‘clash of civilisations’ we need to lay claim to our common ‘Mediterranean roots’”, he said during this interview with Resetdoc. “I see the Mediterranean as a closed sea where one civilisation was born which then divided into two cultures”.
On my non-participation
Dear Resetdoc,
In an interview with Ernesto Ferrero posted on your website, the director of the Turin Book Fair 2008 mentions that I had been invited to the fair, but declines to state that I strongly rejected the invitation. In no way would I take part in an event which legitimises Israel's settler-colonial occupation, and the repression of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip; least of all on an occasion which marks the dispossession and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.
Best
Jamil Hilal
Multiculturalism, Politics and Conflicting Values
“That Moroccan family next door was back home again. They steal bikes like a magpie. And there sits this monkey, this little Moroccan”. This is one of the phrases gathered up by Paul M. Sniderman and Louk Hagendoorn for their informative and scientific investigation, the central theme in their latest book, When Ways of Life Collide (Princeton University Press 2007, 176 pages), which discusses the state of Muslim integration in Holland. Despite two main drawbacks (research was carried out prior to 11 September; and it confronts a theme written at the same time as bestsellers such as Murder in Amsterdam by Ian Buruma, albeit with a very different approach), it’s a piece of work which is able to provide an analysis and an in-depth reflection on the limitations of multicultural society.
“We are not going, because Israel violates human rights”
“We cannot host a country which does not respect human rights in Gaza and the occupied territories”. Mohamed Salmawy, General Secretary of the Arab Writers’ Union, calls for the boycott of the Turin Book Fair, which, after choosing Egypt as its guest of honour for the 2008 event (8th-12th May), has replaced its choice with Israel: "We are saddened and shocked. Arab people have always had a good and reciprocal relationship with Italy due to its impartial position with regards to the issues in the Middle East. There will be negative consequences the following year, when Egypt will be the guest of honour".
“This controversy is damaging to the Palestinian cause
“We invite writers, not ‘the State’. The role of Egypt as the guest of honour, initially planned for this year, was moved to 2009 not to make room for Israel, but because next year Turin, which is already home to a famous Egyptian museum, will be holding important archaeological exhibitions on Ancient Egypt”. Ernesto Ferrero, Director of the Turin Book Fair, defends his decision to make Israel the guest of honour this year, “There was no political intention. For the 2009 Fair we would like to host Palestine and Palestinian writers.”
Interview by Amara Lakhous.
The Lady and her Enemy
After September 11th the Lady abandoned her previous literary projects, her novel, her “child”, to devote herself body and soul to a personal campaign against terrorism, a campaign that is basically a declaration of war against Muslims, as such, against Islam as such, and against a religion as such. Against the Enemy, the Dragon, the Monster. Her books, her articles and her interviews in the course of these years, all contain a mixture of ingredients that approximately correspond to a complete list of the abstractness and mistakes that should be avoided if one really wishes to defeat jihadist terrorism, if one wishes to weaken it and isolate the rogues that promote it.
An Italian case
We need to analyse how the journalistic field and the Italian intellectual world work; from the editorial world and the mechanisms which have produced the best sellers in Italy between 2001-2006, as well as the existence of a contemporary “Fallaci moment” which is connected to the “Berlusconi moment” in politics. The heroine of the ‘60s and ‘70s had by then become a racist Erinyes. Oriana Fallaci, by now stuck with a solitary Islamophobic way of thinking, has been transformed without any scruple into a media circus animal by editors; it is these very ones who, instead – along with the journalist/writer’s colleagues, intimidated by her prestigious reputation and by her acrimony – could have and should have exert a minimum amount of peer review in her articles (before or after publication).
‘Orianism’, an ancient vice (and not only an Italian one)
There is a growing division within our societies, between those who find the recopies and language of traditional politicians excessively sophisticated, cold, incomprehensible and distant, and those who entrust their fears to noisier speeches, filled with values, tradition, and religion. In this division, those who speak of the Enemy, without much quibbling, will find it easier to be greeted by applause. And if one can identify this Enemy, downstairs on the street as the immigrant who belongs to that same religion invoked by suicide terrorists, the sermon will result in astounding success, especially if well-packaged by a good author. This was one of the secrets in Oriana Fallaci’s Italian (and international) success. A vice also shared by many intellectuals.
The debate continues: a new book on Tariq Ramadan
He has dominated the most important international controversy of the year, but Tariq Ramadan has not yet stopped making himself the topic of conversation. The Genevan philosopher represents some of the hottest questions which the West faces today: its relationship with Islam and the immigrant community, the weight of religion in the public sector, the limits of liberalism and of the freedom of expression, terrorism, the role of women, the distance between the USA and Europe, and Middle Eastern politics. An important contribution to this debate now also comes from the Italian scene, with Nina zu Fürstenberg’s latest book, Who’s afraid of Tariq Ramadan? (Marsilio 2007).
Reading Legitimation Crisis in Iran
"Liberalism" in the context of contemporary Iran is quite revolutionary. The quest for human rights, women's rights, civil liberties, pluralism, religious toleration, freedom of expression and multi-party democracy, are indeed nothing but a radical attempt to bring about liberation to majority of Iranians who have been in bondage to various forms of tyranny for centuries. The progressive forces, the NGO's and intellectuals can do much more that just opposing a war in Iran; they can and should actively get involved in supporting the reforms in Iran. Danny Postel's plea in this direction – in his last book Reading Legitimation Crisis in Iran (Prickly Paradigm Press) – is quite helpful and persuasive.
Suad Amiry: “Irony will free us from the war”
“Buonasera, come stai?”. Suad Amiry’s answered at the phone in perfect Italian because she says “I come to Italy every year and I practice my Italian every day for an hour”. Her curriculum is long and astonishing. She is a Palestinian architect and since 1981 teaches at the Birzeit University of Ramallah. She participated in the 1991–1993 Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations in Washington, D.C.. Mrs. Amiry is known for “Sharon and my mother-in-law” (which soon will be a film). She started writing “No sex in the city” because “it was a very difficult moment for me on a personal rather than a political level. I was beginning the menopause and Hamas was winning the elections." The secret of Suad Amiry to knock down difficulties: lots of irony.
Learning democracy from Confucius
The democratisation of China does not necessarily pass for the adoption of a Western model. Not at all. It is really by looking within oneself, and especially at one’s Confucian roots, that the Asian giant could slowly open its political system up to democracy. It is one of the conclusions in Daniel A. Bell’s recent books, Beyond Liberal Democracy. Political Thinking for an East Asian Context (Princeton University Press 2006, 408pp), which, with accents at times provocative, invites the West to look beyond the end of its own nose and launches the message extremely clearly to those who believe that beyond the confines of the West there is nothing but sand and desert, and that therefore there is little to learn and everything to (culturally and economically) to win.
Berlin, liberalism in the face of diversity
An increase of complexity, a multiplication of the quests for an identitarian acknowledgement, an erosion of the modern instruments for conflict resolution: contemporary world is challenging philosophical thought with complex ethical and political dilemmas, requiring instruments that are more and more sophisticated. However these means might be found in authors who didn’t overlook the XX century, and left us a legacy of significant (and farsighted) categories to think the world. Among them, there is for sure Isaiah Berlin, whose considerations on pluralism, moral conflict, genealogy of authoritarian thought – which were recently reproposed in a book by Australian scholar, George Crowder – allow liberal thought to deal with the burning question of the relationship with diversity.
Within the limits of memory alone
Too much memory or not enough? Hrant Dink was killed because he wrote to remember the Armenian genocide; the Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk was forced to leave Turkey and threatened for the same reason. In South Africa rites of memory and reconciliation, rites that facilitate forgiving, were, and still are, necessary. In discussing the ethics of memory, there is not only blame in forgetting and praise for remembering, there is also blame and praise the other way around: sometimes destroying an archive can seem just, more often it is not. In order to discuss the ethical and moral facets of memory and oblivion, we interviewed Avishai Margalit, author of “The Ethics of Memory”.
Stefano Allievi and the Freedom of Expression
Stefano Allievi, Professor of Sociology, scholar and expert in Islamic matters, cited by Adel Smith, a controversial Islamic figure, famous for his radical opinions and fiery gestures on various subjects (especially his polemic against the crucifix), has been sentenced to six months, as well as a monetary fine of 3,000 euros, for the opinions he expresses about Smith and his actions in his book Italian Islam, published by Einaudi. This sentence is even more surprising if we think of how often Professor Allievi has taken a stand for the guarantee of freedom of speech and expression of Muslims themselves, to studying and understanding whom he has dedicated over fifteen years of research.
The withdrawal of Toaff’s book does more harm than its release
Ariel Toaff, history professor at the Israelian university of Bar-Ilan, has asked the editor of Il Mulino to withdraw his book, Easter of Blood, from the market. The book argued the possibility that groups of Ashkenazi Jews from Northern Italy in the medieval ages carried out the infanticide of Christian babies in order to use their blood in Easter rituals. The decision was made after this argument expressed in the book brought about criticism and accusations from historical circles and from important Jewish figures, including the ex-head rabbi of Rome (also Ariel’s father) Elio Toaff. On the one hand, the book’s historical reliability is argued, confirming that the use of Christian blood in rituals is more than just a legend; on the other hand, Ariel Toaff’s argument has been accused of fuelling anti-Semitic feelings and positions. This is the reason behind the historian’s decision to withdraw his book from the market until he has clearly defined the heart of his research.