exploring muslim identities in europe & north america

British Palestinian Shadia Mansour began rapping in 2003 and her work has been revolving around the themes of Palestine and the Israeli occupation. She has been maintaining that she considers herself to be part of a "musical intifada" against the occupation of Palestine, conservatism and oppression of women. Mansour has recorded music with producer Johnny "Juice" Rosado and with artists like Iraqi rappers Lowkey and The Narcicyst , and Palestinian hip-hop group DAM . She has toured with Existence is Resistance , an organization supporting hip-hop shows in Palestine, and is part of the "Arab League" of Hip Hop. Her first single, "Al Kufiya Arabiya" (The Kufiya is Arab) was written when Mansour discovered an American made blue-and-white colored Arab scarf with Stars of David on it. Emphasizing the symbolic importance of the  kufiya  in Arab Palestinian struggle,  Mansour introduced her song on stage in New York by saying: "You...

July 1, 2013      by Harris Beider       Open Society Initiative for Europe In May, two young British men of Nigerian origin murdered a British soldier named Drummer Lee Rigby on the streets of Woolwich, in southeast London. The event made national and international news. Photos and videos in which one of the men explains his actions were captured by bystanders and circulated widely on social media. The perpetrators, who were born in the UK and had grown up in stable, devoutly Christian homes before converting to Islam, justified the killing as retribution for Britain’s military engagement in Afghanistan and other Muslim countries. In many ways, the response to this event has been predictable. The British government has started a review of its strategy on violent extremism, which could focus on curbing the activities of “hate preachers,” working with schools to save young people from drifting into extremism, and increasing the powers of surveillance on ...