Naeem Jeenah
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/ 10 February 2006

This is not about freedom of speech

That the real issue surrounding the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad is hate speech and incitement to violence, rather than freedom of expression, is clear when the intent behind their publication is understood. The cartoons were meant to be inflammatory, showing disrespect and lack of moral maturity.

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/ 1 November 2005

Bowing to one God

When foreign Muslims, including from some conservative Muslim countries, visit South Africa, they are usually stunned that there are so many mosques with no women’s facilities. That some mosques do have women’s facilities does not placate them. And when visiting some mosques that accommodate women, they become despondent to see torn carpets in tiny rooms that pass off as ”women’s sections”.

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/ 1 September 2004

Meaning beyond slogans

Last week’s picket against Israel’s apartheid wall, organised by Jewish Voices (JV) and the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC), is significant for more than the slogans on placards.Many Palestine solidarity activists in the picket had debated the joint action. Not because JV is a Jewish organisation, but because some positions held by certain members were disconcerting.