“Youth stand up to Violent Extremism” Training Course in Jordan

“Desert Bloom” United Religions Initiative (URI) Cooperation Circle (CC) conducted “Youth stand up to Violent Extremism Training Course” in cooperation with EUROMED EVE Polska – Poland in Jordan, from 12-16 February 2022, – reports Mamoun Khreisat, Regional Coordinator of URI Middle East & North Africa.

The training aimed at building the capacity of youth workers in the field of the prevention of violent extremism while reinforcing global competence and universal morality that promotes values of respect, cultural diversity, continuous improvement and self-confidence to advance a shared respect for human dignity.

The training achieved its main objectives of:

1.      Supporting the professional development of youth workers in the field of P/CVE through non-formal and informal methodologies, tackling the Root Causes of violent radicalization, Radicalization Process, Intercultural Citizenship, Digital & Media Literacy, critical thinking and effective communication.

2.      Fostering youth civic engagement in public life (economic, political and socio-cultural participation), through:

a.      Economic empowerment by building youth entrepreneurial competencies)

b.      Enhancing young people’s engagement in political and public life by developing youth advocacy skills to develop effective youth policy, improve youth access to service, defend youth rights and challenge horizontal inequality.

The project was coordinated by EUROMED EVE Polska (Poland) and hosted and implemented in Jordan by Desert Bloom for Training and Sustainable Development (Jordan). is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

Thirty youth workers/leaders participated in this training representing the following 9 organizations, out of which are 5 URI CCs:

1.      EUROMED EVE Polska- Poland

2.      Desert Bloom- Jordan (URI CC)

3.      Have A Dream- Egypt (URI CC)

4.      ASSOCIAO MEDESTU – Portugal

5.      BRIDGES-Eastern European Forum for Dialogue- Bulgaria (URI CC)

6.      Beit Ashams for Self-Development – Palestine (represented by Volunteering for Peace CC)

7.      Moroccan Youth Forum for Cultural Exchange & Scientific Research – Morocco (URI CC)

8.      Kalamáris Egyesület- Hungary

9.      Association Euro-Med EVE Tunisia- Tunisia.

The participants along with 5 URI members in Jordan attended the World Interfaith Harmony Week celebration in Madaba, a city well-known for churches, Byzantine and Umayyad-era mosaics, and archeological complexes. We listened to inspirational stories of the deep-rooted cohabitation between Muslims and Christians in Jordan by distinguished religious leaders. Then we visited religious sites the city including the Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist, the mosque of Jesus Christ, St George’s Greek Orthodox Church (which has the oldest mosaic map of Palestine and other biblical sites and important places such as Jerusalem, Gaza, Dead Sea or Nile Delta, it goes back to the 6th century) and Mount Nebo (famous pilgrimage site).

The participants will continue working on PVE, they agreed to develop a practical and user-friendly Toolkit to serve as a guide on building youth resilience to PVE. Also, they launched a Facebook page under the name “United Against Violent Extremism” to serve as a Social Media platform dedicated to preventing violent extremism (VE) through raising awareness of the root causes of VE, and counter extremists and terrorists’ online propaganda.  Please like the page.

Feedback from some participants:

        Even though the topic was harsh, I enjoyed the workshops and we’ve discussed some very important and interesting topics. I liked that we talked and brainstormed about things we don’t usually talk about at home with our friends and family. Here we learned new perspectives and we could share our thoughts with each other.

        The content of the course is quite interesting. I learned a lot.

        I like the diversity of activities and the diversity of participants and their perspectives. I learnt a lot of new information, and got new experiences.

        I liked the activities, the cultural diversity of the group as well as teamwork

        I enjoyed expressing our identities in painting. Also, I liked the religious leaders’ presentations on the occasion of the World Interfaith Harmony Week.

        Interesting and useful course content which opened my mind to a variety of issues in the Middle East and Europe, mobilized me to work and thinking about solving problems that lead to Violent Extremism in a peaceful way through understanding the roots of various problems. I like the diversity of participants and making new friends as well as the accommodation and the delicious local food.

        The training opened many opportunities for developing further projects.

        I appreciate the fact that this training was not only based on lectures, we had hands-on practices and activities

        I liked everything about the course. It was great. I loved the diversity of activities, experiences, culture and getting to know new people from whom I learned a lot.

Source: The United Religions Initiative – Middle East & North Africa Office | Zamzam Commercial Complex, Tela Al-Ali, Ar-Raafah Street, P.O. Box: 942140, Amman 11194 Jordan | Mamoun@uri-mena.org | info@uri-mena.org | www.uri-mena.org  | Follow URI MENA on Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/mena.uri

Why did Vikings have 'Allah' embroidered into funeral clothes?

Researchers in Sweden have found Arabic characters woven into burial costumes from Viking boat graves. The discovery raises new questions about the influence of Islam in Scandinavia, writes journalist Tharik Hussain.

They were kept in storage for more than 100 years, dismissed as typical examples of Viking Age funeral clothes.

But a new investigation into the garments – found in 9th and 10th Century graves – has thrown up groundbreaking insights into contact between the Viking and Muslim worlds.

Patterns woven with silk and silver thread have been found to spell the words “Allah” and “Ali”.

The breakthrough was made by textile archaeologist Annika Larsson of Uppsala University while re-examining the remnants of burial costumes from male and female boat and chamber graves originally excavated in Birka and Gamla Uppsala in Sweden in the late 19th and mid-20th centuries.

She became interested in the forgotten fragments after realising the material had come from central Asia, Persia and China.

Larsson says the tiny geometric designs – no more than 1.5cm (0.6in) high – resembled nothing she had come across in Scandinavia before.

“I couldn’t quite make sense of them and then I remembered where I had seen similar designs – in Spain, on Moorish textiles.”

Unlocking a puzzle

Larsson then realised she was not looking at Viking patterns at all but ancient Arabic Kufic script.

There were two words that kept recurring. One of them she identified with the help of an Iranian colleague. It was the name “Ali” – the fourth caliph of Islam.

But the word next to Ali was more difficult to decipher.

To unlock the puzzle, she enlarged the letters and examined them from all angles, including from behind.

“I suddenly saw that the word ‘Allah’ [God] had been written in mirrored lettering,” she says.

Larsson has so far found the names on at least 10 of the nearly 100 pieces she is working through, and they always appear together.

The new find now raises fascinating questions about the grave’s occupants.

“The possibility that some of those in the graves were Muslim cannot be completely ruled out,” she says.

“We know from other Viking tomb excavations that DNA analysis has shown some of the people buried in them originated from places like Persia, where Islam was very dominant.

“However, it is more likely these findings show that Viking age burial customs were influenced by Islamic ideas such as eternal life in paradise after death.”

Her team is now working with the university’s department for immunology, genetics and pathology to establish the geographic origins of the bodies dressed in the funeral clothes.

Historic first

Contact between the Viking and Muslim worlds has long been established by historic accounts and the discovery of Islamic coins across the northern hemisphere.

Two years ago, researchers re-examined a silver ring from a female tomb at Birka and found the phrase “for Allah” inscribed on the stone.

Again the text was Kufic, developed in the Iraqi town of Kufah in the 7th Century – one of the first Arabic scripts used to write down the Koran.

What makes Larsson’s discovery so interesting is that it is the first time historic items mentioning Ali have ever been unearthed in Scandinavia.

“The name Ali is repeated again and again beside Allah,” she says.

“I know Ali is highly revered by the largest Muslim minority group, the Shia, and have wondered if there is a connection.”

Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, having married his daughter Fatima. He also became the fourth leader of the Muslim community after Muhammad died.

Although both Sunnis and Shia revere Ali as an important companion of Muhammad, he has elevated status amongst the Shia, who see him as the Prophet’s spiritual heir.

“The use of Ali does suggest a Shia connection,” says Amir De Martino, programme leader of Islamic studies at the Islamic College in London.

“But without the phrase ‘waly Allah’ accompanying the name – meaning ‘friend of Allah’ – this would not be from mainstream Shia culture and might just have been copied wrongly from something that was,” adds De Martino, who is also the chief editor of Islam Today, a British Shia magazine.

“The pattern suggests Ali is being equated with Allah, and therefore there is a slim possibility it has some connection to very early, extreme, mystical fringe movements who believed in this

“But more likely it is a wrongly copied pattern.”

The names Allah and Ali are often represented in enigmatic patterns inside the tombs and books of mystical Shia sects such as the Alevis and Bektashis to this day, but always they are accompanied by the name Muhammad. These can sometimes include mirrored script. – Inscriptions on the ceiling of an Alevi mausoleum in Bulgaria feature – on the right – the names Allah, Muhammad and Ali written in legible, simple Arabic while on the left there is a blue mystic pattern with the three names interlocked

But unlike Larsson’s find, these examples usually include both the name depicted the correct way around and the reflection.

For Larsson though, her discovery offers much promise for the future.

“Now that I am looking at Viking patterns differently, I am convinced I will find more Islamic inscriptions in the remaining fragments from these excavations, and other Viking era textiles.

“Who knows? Maybe they appear in non-textile artefacts too.”

Tharik Hussain is a London-based freelance journalist, travel writer and broadcaster who specialises in Muslim heritage.

Photo: Enlarging the patterns and looking at the reflection in a mirror revealed the word ‘Allah’ (God) in Arabic

Macron gets a request from NGOs around the world to have his anti-separatism bill reviewed by Venice Commission

On October 28, a letter has been sent to Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, asking for review of the future French “law on separatism” by the Venice Commission and the Office for Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE.

The letter was signed by several NGOs and individuals from all over the world, including the well-known Ligue des Droits de l’Homme, after it had been circulated by the Freedom of Religion or Belief Roundtable Brussels-EU, an informal group of individuals and organizations from civil society who gather regularly to discuss FoRB (Freedom of Religion or Belief ) issues. Writers raise several concerns about the law after the announcements made by Macron and members of his government.

See full letter here:

To:Mr Emmanuel Macron

President of the French Republic

Brussels, the 28^th October 2020

Copies to:

• Kishan Manocha, Head, Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
• Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
• Mr Gianni Buquicchio, President of the Venice Commission
• Mr Eric Dupont-Moretti, French Minister of Justice

Re: The announcements on the “Law on separatism”

Dear Mr President,

We write as an informal group of organizations and individuals who are scholars, religious leaders and human rights advocates. We are from many faiths or acting in a secular capacity, representing a high degree of diversity. While there is very little we agree on theologically, or politically, we all agree on the importance of religious freedom for all faiths and none.

We write to you following the announcements that you and members of your government have made regarding the bill on “separatism” that you plan to approve in the Council of Ministers meeting on December 9. While no draft of the bill has yet been circulated, to our knowledge, we have some concerns which have been highlighted by the announcements that have been made.

We acknowledge the cautious approach that you have taken during your official speech. We have noted your insistence on the fact that you are targeting radical Islam, and not Muslims, as well as the fact that you intend to respect freedom of religion or belief. We agree that terrorism is a real issue that needs to be tackled and that a strong response needs to be taken with regards to the dangers that are posed to the French Republic, and we deeply share the traumatisms that result from the recent tragic terrorist events which hit France.

Nevertheless, we are concerned that some of the proposals may lead to the opposite of what you intend. Furthermore, taking into account the statements made by members of your government after your speech, those statements reinforce the conviction that the measures being proposed will violate France’s international commitments towards freedom of religion or belief.

For example, you announced that you plan to ban home-schooling in order to protect children from illegal schools “often administered by religious extremists”. While we understand that these schools pose a threat, a global ban on home-schooling will affect the majority of parents that for many different reasons are using this freedom with satisfying results, regardless of their faith, or none. There is certainly sufficient provision in French law to organize controls and make sure that the children are effectively educated according to established educational programmes.

The “general concept” of the law was unveiled by your Minister of Interior, Gérald Darmanin, on Twitter. It explained that places of worship will be placed under increasing surveillance and “preserved […] from the diffusion of ideas and statements hostile to the laws of the Republic.” However, how will that apply to a priest or pastor criticizing abortion or same-sex marriage, which are part of the laws of the French Republic. What action will be taken against others who may speak out against certain “laws of the Republic” that penalize the poor and the immigrants? Or even if they criticize a law against blasphemy, as it existed still recently for Alsace-Moselle in France? Is anyone now criticising the law an enemy of the state?

Another announced provision that poses a problem is your statement and that of the Minister of Interior, where it is said that the law will allow religious and other associations to be dissolved directly by the Council of Ministers in the case of  an “affront on personal dignity” and “use of psychological or physical pressures.” These concepts are vague enough to allow the arbitrary targeting of groups that are acting quite legally and without any violent intent but are in ‘disfavour’ by the administrating body. Furthermore there is no guarantee of judicial process or oversight. 

The Minister of Citizenship, Marlène Schiappa, also stated in an interview that, “We will use the same measures against the cults and against radical Islam.” This shows that there is already a clear intent to deviate from the fight against terrorism and enter the realm of prohibiting religious associations on the basis that they do not please someone, simply because they are categorised as “cults” (sectes, in French). 

Legislation aimed at terrorism is not surprising. It is a challenge that many countries face. However, States that have chosen to draft laws with such vague concepts as those cited above are States that have totalitarian tendencies (or are in fact totalitarian). Russia, for example, has passed an anti-extremism law that is now used to prosecute and jail political dissidents as well as members of peaceful religious movements such as the Jehovah Witnesses or followers of Said Nursi on the basis of their definition of “extremism”. 

When the Venice Commission gave its opinion on law of the Russian Federation on Combatting Extremist Activity, adopted at its 91st Plenary Session, it stated: 

7.  The broad interpretation of the notion of ‘extremism’ by the enforcement authorities, the increasing application of the Law in recent years and the pressure it exerts on various circles within civil society, as well as alleged human rights violations reported in this connection have raised concerns and drawn criticism both in Russia and on the international level

(…)

28.  The only definition of ‘extremism’ contained in an international treaty binding on the Russian Federation is to be found in the Shanghai Convention [on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism of 15 June 2001, ratified by Russia on 10 January 2003]. In Article 1.1.1.3) of the Extremism Law, ‘extremism’ is defined as ‘an act aimed at seizing or keeping power through the use of violence or changing violently the constitutional regime of a State, as well as a violent encroachment upon public security, including organization, for the above purposes, of illegal armed formations and participation in them, criminally prosecuted in conformity with the national laws of the Parties’. The latter clause allows signatory states to prosecute such ‘extremist’ actions according to their national laws.

It made clear that the only definitions of ‘terrorism’ and ‘separatism’ that could be used to take action against individuals or organizations require that violence is an essential element (incitement to, or encouragement of, violence or actual violence). 

The European Court of Human Rights has already applied this approach to Russia, regarding a case that involved the prosecution of followers of Said Nursi accused of extremist activities, in IBRAGIM IBRAGIMOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA, which became a final judgment on April 2, 2019.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion of Belief, in the unedited version of his last report on the Elimination of all Forms of Religious Intolerance (October 12, 2020), stated: 

17.    A concerning number of mandate communications highlight the use of inchoate terrorist offenses that are disproportionately applied to religious or belief minorities. Harassment measures broadly linked to countering terrorism and protecting national security illustrate that in almost every region of the world religious minorities appear to be at particular risk of being designated “terrorist groups” and of having members arrested under “extremism” or “illegal activity” charges. A number of communications addressed the use of national security imperatives as the stated objective by some governments in criminalizing membership in and/or activities of certain religious or belief groups.  Such an approach amounts to targeting, and ultimately criminalizing, the peaceful expression of a person’s identity. 

19.    Numerous State authorities have arrested, detained (sometimes incommunicado) and sentenced members of religious and belief minorities for undefined charges such as intent to ‘disturb political, economic or social structures’ , to ‘disrupt state sovereignty’   or to  ‘overthrow the Government’.  Such vague provisions fail to fulfil the principle of legality as enshrined in article 15 of ICCPR and give worrying leeway to States to arbitrarily limit the exercise of freedom of religion or belief of certain groups.

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) recently released a new document called “Freedom of Religion or Belief and Security: Policy Guidance”. It states in its introduction: 

While OSCE participating States have adopted different strategies to ensure that their own security measures are fully compliant with their international obligations and commitments pertaining to freedom of religion or belief, certain laws, security policies and practices have placed freedom of religion or belief and other universal human rights under significant pressure. Such measures, especially those that are very broad or applied arbitrarily, are often enacted in the name of “national”, “state” or “public” security, or in the interests of preserving or maintaining “peaceful coexistence”, “social stability” or “social harmony”. Experience shows that such limitations can worsen rather than improve security.

There are many more international human rights documents that deal with this delicate issue, but for reasons of brevity we are unable to carry out a full review in this letter.

We are at your disposal to meet and discuss this issue further. In any case, we respectfully but strongly recommend that you submit to both the Venice Commission and ODIHR the draft of the law when it is ready, in order to get considered international legal expertise as to how the law meets established human rights principles. 

We feel that there is a real risk that contrary to your intention, the proposed measures that have been announced will lead to the targeting of Muslims in general as well as other minority faiths, and that it may well lead to a series of human rights violations.

Respectfully yours,

Organizations

Advocates International, Advocates France, All Faiths Network, CAP Freedom of Conscience, CESNUR – Center for Studies on New Religions, EIFRF – European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom, FOREF – Forum for Religious Freedom Europe, HRWF – Human Rights Without Frontiers, International Christian Concern, Law and Liberty International, LDH – Ligue des Droits de l’Homme, LIREC – Center for Studies on Freedom of Religion, Belief and Conscience, ORLIR – International Observatory of Religious Liberty of Refugees, United Sikhs, UPF The Netherlands

Individuals

• Régis Dericquebourg, Président, Observatoire Européen des Religions et de la Laïcité
• Michael P. Donnelly, J.D., LL.M., Senior Counsel, Global Outreach
• The Most Reverend Joseph K. Grieboski, Senior Fellow, The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute
• Rimon Kasher, Prof. Emeritus of Biblical Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
• Nancy Lefèvre, Chairwoman, Advocates France
• Brent McBurney, President & CEO, Advocate International
• Kareem P.A. McDonald, Program Associate, Religious Freedom Institute
• Greg Mitchell, Chair, International Religious Freedom Roundtable 
• Scott Morgan, President, Red Eagle Enterprise
• Matias Perttula, Director of Advocacy, International Christian Concern
• Malik Salemkour, President, Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH)
• Frans de Wolff, Secretary, Dutch Network for Interfaith Dialogue

[you can read more about the initiative at

France: The “Law Against Separatism” Targets “Cults” as well as Islam

Anti-cultism is back in France. Media around the world have covered President Macron’s announcement of a new law against “separatism,” explaining it as a measure against radical Islam. It is surely true that Islam is targeted but, not for the first time, a law introduced to fight Islamic radical groups is then used against other religious movements. The Russian law against extremism is an obvious example.

The “general concept” of the law has been unveiled by the French Minister of Internal Affairs, Gérald Darmanin, on Twitter, as it is now increasingly common on world politics. We publish the document tweeted by Darmanin, to make it more easily accessible.

The draft announces the “end of home schooling” in general, “except in cases justified by medical conditions.” Obviously, this provision will target a number of Christian communities and not the Muslims only.

The draft also explains that places of worship will be put under increasing surveillance and “preserved […] from the diffusion of ideas and statements hostile to the laws of the Republic.” Again, the law cannot target Muslims only for obvious constitutional reasons. What about a priest or pastor criticizing abortion or same-sex marriage, which are part of the laws of the French Republic, but also claiming that certain “laws of the Republic” penalize the poor and the immigrants?

Hidden in a law ostensibly aimed at Islamic radicalization is a provision that allows religious and other associations to be dissolved (the Russian word “liquidated” is not used, but the substance is very much the same) in case of  “attacks on personal dignity” and “use of psychological or physical pressures.”

When reading this, and considering the French anti-cult tradition, I immediately suspected that the provision will be used against groups labeled as “cults,” and “psychological pressures” is reminiscent of the old idea of “brainwashing.” In Darmanin’s tweet the Minister of Citizenship, Marlène Schiappa, was copied.

On October 10, Schiappa gave an interview to Le Parisien confirming that “we will use the same measures against the cults and against radical Islam.” Last year, the official French anti-cult mission MIVILUDES was moved from being an independent structure under the Prime Minister to becoming a part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ anti-radicalization system. Anti-cultists protested that this may lead to the demise of the MIVILUDES, but Schiappa now explains that with the new law it will be reinforced and move from mere “analysis” to a more active role. The former politician and anti-cult activist Georges Fenech and the president of the largest French anti-cult organization, UNADFI, Joséphine Lindgren-Cesbron, will become members of the MIVILUDES. Anti-cult propaganda will be further promoted. Among the main aims indicated by Schiappa is identifying the “cults” that could be legally dissolved and banned because of “attacks on personal dignity” and “use of psychological or physical pressures.”

Much in the new draft law is constitutionally problematic, not to mention possible interventions of the European Court of Human Rights. These developments confirm, however, that anti-cultism is alive and well in France and that, as in happened in other countries, what is introduced as “a law against radical Islam” may end up targeting a wide variety of religious organizations.

Source: https://www.cesnur.org/2020/law-against-separatism-in-france.htm