Nonviolence International

Photo from http://www.fpif.org/articles/in_bahrain_an_uprising_unabated

On May 21^st, NI Director Michael Beer, with other activists, spoke up at a  Bahraini diplomatic event at the Bahrain Embassy in Washington DC and questioned the human rights and business policies of the regime.

While expressing admiration for the Bahraini people and society, the activists made clear to the audience of 100 people that the government of Bahrain is engaged in a public relations exercise to cover-up and distract attention from the appalling mistreatment of its own people.

During the question and answer period, Beer asked why anyone would want to invest in a country which has been categorized by Reporters Without Borders to be among the 5 worst enemies of the Internet.  He went on to ask if the reports were true that it was necessary to give the prime  minister a cut of any substantial new business venture. He concluded with a question about the economic stability of the country by asking what the prospects of a power-sharing arrangement might be since many of the key opposition leaders with whom a deal would need to be negotiated are in prison.

The Deputy Chief of Mission, Khalid Yousif Al-Jalahma, responded by saying that no country is perfect and that Bahrain is making progress. He also said that the reports of the Prime Minister taking a share of new businesses were exaggerated.  Before finishing his response, Tighe Barry of Code Pink stood up and asked Al-Jalahma to justify the imprisonment of nonviolent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab and his recent report of witnessing torture in prison. Finally, Medea Benjamin stood up to ask why the regime was imprisoning 6 nonviolent people for tweeting. Al-Jalahma responded by saying that being far away  in Washington, D.C. he could not respond to the specific allegations but would refer us to the Interior Ministry.

Nonviolence International calls on the Bahrain government to release nonviolent activists, to end its censorship of the internet, and to pursue a political power sharing negotiation that substantially meets the democratic demands of its citizens.

NI calls on supporters to continue to send financial donations to the Bahrain Nonviolent Activist Humanitarian Fund that provides humanitarian assistance to activists and their families.

Dr. Randall spent decades teaching young scholars, with a special interest in human needs and nonviolence, at the School of International Service at the American University. In addition to the international internship awards, Dr. Abdul Aziz Said, Vice President of Nonviolence International is proud to announce the availability of research funding for graduate students who are either attending or are alumni of the American University and are interested in researching nonviolence around the world.

For more information and applications for these programs:

Randall Global Internships

Randall Research on Nonviolence Funding

Among the dozens of Facebook groups spawned by the Syrian uprising, a page supporting women’s rights has suddenly received a wave of attention, because of an image posted there by one of its followers. The picture was of 21-year-old Dana Bakdounis, without the veil she had grown up wearing – and it polarised opinion.

Text taken from BBC’s coverage of the statement, read more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20315531

The Project.

Nonviolence International is United States fiscal sponsor for the Gaza’s Ark Project. The projects mission statement is to “build a boat in Gaza using existing resources. A crew of internationals and Palestinians will sail it out of Gaza, the only Mediterranean port closed to shipping, carrying Palestinian products to fulfill trade deals with international buyers, to challenge the illegal and inhuman Israeli blockade.”

Recent happenings

Recently the Gaza’s Ark project has announced news that Former Canadian MP (Member of Parliament 1980-88) and retired United Church Minister Jim Manly will join a crew of prominent internationals on the Freedom Flotilla’s “Estelle” sailing from Naples to Gaza to peacefully challenge the illegal and inhumane Israeli blockade of Gaza.”

Further Details about Gaza’s Ark can be found on their website through their website http://www.gazaark.org/ Donations to the Gaza’s Ark project can be contributed also through their website at this page. http://www.gazaark.org/donate/

The  41st Annual  Conference of the Association of

Muslim Social Scientists of North America  (AMSS)

Religious Dimensions of Democratization

Processes in Muslim-Majority Nations Yale University, New Haven, CT Saturday, September 29, 2012

The Arab Spring

Mubarak Awad

Spark of the Arab Spring

The Arab spring was triggered in Tunisia when Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after claiming he was slapped by policewoman Fedia Hamdi. This spark in the Arab World has created a great divide in cultural tradition and rigid tribal mentalities. Feelings that governments intimidated its citizens have degraded Arabs and Moslems alike and have caused unrest in the streets. Mismanagement of funds and economic stratification has created resentment and a feeling of hopelessness for a better future. Youth graduating from college cannot find jobs. They have begun realizing that their four years of college is a waste of time. Military personnel are getting into big business while college graduates have no jobs.

Condition of Arab states

Arab states have lost their vision of unity for the future. Each state has its own agenda and the resource of the land becomes family owned resources which results in a few wealthy families while their countrymen struggle. The authoritarian states, corruption, human rights abuses and violations, inflation, sectarianism, unemployment, and the influence of religion in politics have created unfavorable conditions for the citizens. Additionally, leaders are often willing to ignore the constitution or change them to put their children in positions of power without any consideration of the will or the vote of the people. These factors have resulted in public frustration, lack respect for government, lack of democracy and corruption. In some areas there has been a push to enforce Sharia Law with lack of regard to women’s rights. There has been an increase in the prominence of Islamic fanatics that hide behind religion in order to pursue their own narrow will on others in the name of Islam.

Promises of Nonviolent Action

The people in the streets have no military training or weaponry. Nonviolent resistance Methods can give them power, especially in numbers against the state regimes. Citizens can make civil resistance a part of their strategy. Techniques include mass defection from government jobs or the army, and massive demonstrations which refuse to disperse for many days. Citizens have the ability to communicate with each other faster than the government through the internet and cell phones. The people need to create an atmosphere which makes it clear that we are not happy; we need change and we will not leave. We are even willing to die for our freedom. The Arab Spring is not a conflict between nations. It is a conflict between the people and their own government. The Arab Spring took the regime by surprise. Governments have chosen to use the army against civilians rather than negotiating with their own people, resulting in unnecessary loss of life.

International action

It is unfortunate that the international community has chosen to take military action. This decision has resulted in Arabs start killing Arabs and Moslem killing Moslems. Many have accepted the roll that the UN can play in the Arab world. This is a missed opportunity for spiritual Moslems leaders from different regions and countries to form a peace team to help the Arab region before the intervention of outside forces from Europe and the United States. The UN, NATO and the United States do not think in a timely manner and give enough time for the tribes to resolve conflict using the culture, local tradition and religious tolerance. They quickly jump to use force and end the conflict immediately. But this does not address the issues roots and so the conflict will continue for many years because of the causality on all sides. Unfortunately this has happened time and time again in Islamic and Arab countries.

The state of protest 

Today Syria is experiencing a full-scale civil protest between the government and opposition forces. Civil uprisings continue against the government of Bahrain despite government changes. The countries of Kuwait, Lebanon and Oman have begun implementing government changes in response to protests. In Morocco and Jordan, constitutional reforms have been implemented in response to civilian pressure. Protests are ongoing in Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Mauritania among other countries.

Effect of the Arab Spring

The Arab Spring is young. Its effect will begin to show 10 years from now. It is a light, a warning. An inspiration for new generations to find themselves free from their parent’s mentality of accepting corruption and living free, accepting each other as human being without consideration for sex, religion or race.

As a new resident of Washington, D.C., I set out on an adventure to attend a vigil in honor of Rachel Corrie. Rachel, a U.S. citizen, was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer as she protested the demolition of houses in Rafah, Gaza in 2003. After seven years in a civil lawsuit filed by the Corrie family, the Haifa District Court rejected accusations that Israel was to blame for Rachel’s death. Upon hearing the court’s ruling I was struck with a bitter sadness for Rachel’s family and for the plight of all those killed as a result of the occupation. Citizens gathered at the State Department demanding justice for Rachel, a credible investigation into her killing, and protection for US citizens’ rights abroad.  In solidarity with the Corrie family and victims of the Israeli occupation, I strapped on my Palestine bracelets and set out to attend the vigil.

 It took me two hours to not get there.  I was a bit ambitious in thinking I could figure out the DC bus system and not experience mishaps. Fate, combined with two missed buses, rush hour traffic and a faulty GPS system on my phone kept me from my destination. These two hours of chaos led to exchanges with a number of people about the woes of DC transit, the unbearable heat of August in the mid-Atlantic region, and most importantly, Rachel Corrie.

I ended up sharing her story with three people: a friend, a sister, and a very benevolent stranger, none of whom had ever heard of her before. I felt a part of a much larger human community as I saw the shock and sadness on the faces of those learning of Rachel’s fate for the first time.  I am somewhat desensitized to the tragedy of the Israeli occupation but was struck by their incredulous responses to this injustice. With three people that day, I grieved the lack of justice for Rachel and Palestine. I didn’t realize the beauty of accidental activism then, but today I thank the D.C. Metrobus system and the GPS that betrayed me for allowing me these very special exchanges.

For those who are interested in learning more about Rachel’s death and trial, visit Foreign Policy in Focus to read Stephen Zunes’ article at http://www.fpif.org/articles/us_shares_responsibility_for_rachel_corries_death