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Christoph Zed

Pope warns of 'new colonialism' - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8289188.stm

church christianity pope africa colonialism materialsim globalisation

shared by Christoph Zed on 04 Oct 09 - Cached
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  • Pope Benedict has warned that a form of colonialism continues to blight Africa.
  • he said the developed world continued to export materialism - which he called "toxic spiritual rubbish" - to the continent.
  • Pope Benedict praised Africa's rich cultural and spiritual treasures, caling them a "spiritual lung" for the world.
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  • But he said the continent was afflicted by an export of the "so-called 'first world'... [the] toxic spiritual rubbish" of materialism. "In this context, the political colonialism is never finished," the Pope said.
  • He said Africa also suffered increasing religious fundamentalism, in the form of religious groups which "act on behalf of God" but "teach intolerance and violence".
Christoph Zed

The Axis of Honour: Honour, Modernity, and al Qaeda « The Sensible Jew - 0 views

sensiblejew.wordpress.com/...-honour-modernity-and-al-qaeda

globalisation terrorism al qaeda values society capitalism pluralism secularisation colonialism moral honor

shared by Christoph Zed on 23 Aug 09 - Cached
  • So many scholars and commentators attribute suicide terrorism to such factors as poverty, foreign occupation, or religion, among many other things.
  • Over the past two hundred years, there has been a global, though highly uneven, shift within the values systems of various societies.
  • One particularly profound transformation has been the relegation of one’s religion to the private sphere, as a matter of purely personal choice.
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  • So societies that have embraced modernity, have effectively “privatised” religion. Indeed capitalism has been the driving force behind secularism because it required the dismantling of the communalist society.
  • Replacing the old communalism is heterogeneity and pluralism. These have eroded not only religious monopolies, but their centrality in various societies. The end result of this is a society’s secularisation.
  • Globalisation, in which western technological and cultural products predominate, is often framed as a form of colonialism.
  • Ironically, the rise of transnational Islamist terrorism is also a product of globalisation.
  • As the power of the nation state diminishes, religious ideology’s mobility allows it to permeate shifting borders.
  • The current face of modernity is therefore ideally suited to –  and an ideal breeding ground for – the creation of suicide terrorist groups.
  • In order to fortify the in group, moral strictures must become ever more rigorous, while condemnation of transgression must become ever more vociferous – and violent, thus intensifying the demarcation between “good” and “bad”.
  • terrorism implies a crisis of legitimacy
  • But can we say that such a crisis of legitimacy applies to transnational terrorists such as al Qaeda?
  • modernity is an attempt to destroy community and communalism…, all those forces which created identity and authority
  • such threats to communalism result in feelings of humiliation amongst those who do not benefit from the new order.
  • humiliation therefore “links the concepts of honor and human rights in an enlightening way, providing a framework both for ideologies and for the transition between them.”
  • Scott Atran identifies the primacy of honour throughout Arab societies, noting that the Arab perception of being humiliated by outsiders is a prime motivator for suicide attacks.
  • There emerges from the collective sense of humiliation something of an obligation to demonstrate outrage and embark on actions – even if they have little chance of success – in order to avenge honour. Martyrdom is one such example.
  • Beit-Hallahmi writes, that under such circumstances, “contemporary martyrdom can be viewed as an uprising against the end of history and the final triumph of liberal capitalism.”
Lucy Rechnitzer

BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | Senegal's youths dream of Europe - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8251029.stm

shared by Lucy Rechnitzer on 13 Sep 09 - Cached
  • We sat on the ground and the message from all these fishermen was along the lines of: "They may be talking about an economic crisis in Europe but if you want a real crisis it's right here in Senegal."
  • A very animated and infuriated Abdoulaye told me that his son left for Spain in a fishing boat five years ago, and was now living a far better life than he was. "I am 45-years-old and I don't have half of what he has now, like a nice house and a car," he said, adding that he would do all he could to send more of his relatives to Europe. None of these young men referred at any stage to the risks of getting to Europe even though hundreds - probably thousands - have died at sea in recent years. Senegal looks to Europe more than most countries I have visited. Not so much to Spain, but to the old colonial power, France, which has maintained strong links.
  • If it were not for the West African street traders, the whole of Europe would be squinting and struggling to keep their trousers up, judging by the number of people I have met who said they made their living selling these goods on the streets.
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  • I used to be able to work in Italy for just one month and earn enough money to spend the rest of the year living it up in Senegal," Vieux told me. He said 10 years ago in Italy people would come knocking on the door offering work but not any more
  • But much of the development is through money sent home from abroad, and economic crisis or not, Europe will still be the target for many young Senegalese looking to swap the horse and cart life for a Renault in the fast lane.
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