I must admit my hopes are not high for this.
The publication concerned, Dysopia, recently published a special issue on anti-Semitism. It managed not to dwell on groups like the Muslim Brotherhood (and its various European offshoots), Hamas, or some of the violence faced by European Jewish communities, which increasingly comes from Muslim, rather than white fascist actors. The Toulouse murders in 2012, and the would be jihadists in Manchester convicted of targetting Jews in the city, being only two examples.
The call for articles below is extremely carefully worded, I suspect because Dysophia's editors have a very clear idea in mind exactly what articles they want - and what they should say- and exactly what they should not. Still here goes:
Dysophia, an independent anarchist zine, is planning a follow on from its successful look at antisemitism by exploring issues around Islam and anti-Muslim racism from an anarchist perspective. We are aware that, as UK-based activists, much is missing from the wider discussion and more nuanced analysis is needed.
In particular, we would like to explore how anarchists in the 'West' (that is, Christian-dominated societies) can:
* show solidarity with those experiencing anti-Muslim racism;
* show solidarity with comrades who live in places where Islam is a dominant ideology; and
* approach the challenges thrown up by Islamic fundamentalism without playing into current imperialist / racist tendencies that demonize Muslim communities in the West and underscore current imperialist warmongering.
We hope that this publication will open up critical discussion that can take the anarchist movement forward. Thus, we are soliciting articles from anarchists living in societies where Islam is a dominant force, which discuss all or some of the following issues:
i) how they relate to Islam itself and how the culture of their societym affects and shapes their approaches to anarchism;
ii) how they perceive Islamophobia and related racisms in the 'West';
iii) how anarchists in the 'West' can show solidarity with comrades in Muslim-majority countries (including, for example, during Western states' interventions in and portrayals of the 'Arab spring');
iv) how anarchists living in the West can demonstrate solidarity with Muslim communities here, while sustaining anti-discrimination politics such as that around gender, sexuality, etc. (for example, how could we respond to protests against sharia law, right wing focusing on fundamentalist elements of religion as an attack on all, demonisation of Muslim populations, cartoon images of the Prophet Mohammed).
v) how the 'War on Terror' has affected their political activity;
vi) anarchist perspectives on class, gender and sexuality in the context of Islam.
Secondly, we would like to hear from anarchists who identify as having a Muslim background who live in the West and would like to communicate their experiences and politics around islamophobia. We are also interested in hearing from anarchists who cultural identification is
Western, but feel they have a perspective they would like to contribute.
Finally, we are interested in hearing accounts from anarchist groups in Muslim-majority countries so that others can learn about their activities, as often those in the West do not get to hear about them. If there are enough of these, we will turn them into a separate publication.
Article size can be up three thousand words, and we are looking for pieces that are accessible to everyone rather than not jargon-heavy academic tracts. Images gratefully received. We will be publishing in English, though if you have writings in another language, or will struggle with English please get in contact first as we may be able to sort out translations. We will protect anonymity whenever requested and have secure forms of communication if desired, including pgp / gpg. We would like to get submissions in by 31st March if possible.
If you have any questions then do not hesitate to ask. Please feel free to forward on.
Dysophia editors (D O'D, SR)
dysophia@riseup.net
http://dysophia.wordpress.com
There are not many certainities in life, but I rather suspect my 2010 "British Islamism: Towards an Anarchist Response" is not the type of thing they are looking for.
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