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not arab nationalism, but europeans of arab descent - born, living and staying in europe
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==Foundation==
==Foundation==
AEL was founded and is led by [[Dyab Abou Jahjah]], a Lebanese-born [[Shi'a Muslim]] living in [[Belgium]]. Jahjah, a former member of [[Hizbullah]], left Lebanon in 1991 to begin university studies in Belgium. [http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0516/p06s01-woeu.html]
AEL was founded and is led by [[Dyab Abou Jahjah]], a Lebanese-born [[Shi'a Muslim]] living in [[Belgium]]. Jahjah, a former member of [[Hizbullah]], left Lebanon in 1991 to begin university studies in Belgium.<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0516/p06s01-woeu.html 'Belgian Malcolm X' seeks office], Christian Science Monitor, 16 May 2003</ref>


==Activities==
==Activities==
AEL's creed can be described as [[Nasser|Nasserite]], [[Pan-Arabism|Pan-Arabist]] and [[Arab nationalism|Arab Nationalist]]. While not [[Islamist]], and eschewing violence itself, the group is of an avowedly anti-Zionist nature [http://www.arabeuropean.org/article.php?ID=49], expresses support for the actions of Islamist resistance against the occupation of [[Iraq]] [http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=13222&name=AEL%3A+every+Dutch+soldier%27s+death+is+a+victory+].
AEL's creed can be described as [[Nasser|Nasserite]], [[Pan-Arabism|Pan-Arabist]] and [[Arab nationalism|Arab Nationalist]]. While not [[Islamist]], and eschewing violence itself, the group is of an avowedly anti-Zionist nature,<ref>[http://www.arabeuropean.org/article.php?ID=49 Zionism is Racism: AhmadiNajad said it, but we mean it], AEL, 28 october,2005</ref> expresses support for the actions of Islamist resistance against the occupation of [[Iraq]].<ref>[http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=13222&name=AEL%3A+every+Dutch+soldier%27s+death+is+a+victory+ AEL: every Dutch soldier's death is a victory], Expatica, 25 October 2004</ref>


[[Salon.com]] reports that the group issued public approvals for the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] [http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/06/14/panther/index_np.html] and the organization's rallies have been reported by the [[Christian Science Monitor]] to end in chanting "jihad" and "Osama Bin Laden" [http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0516/p06s01-woeu.html]. However, the group's English-language website has been critical of [[Al Qaeda]], referring to the September 11 attacks as "horrifying" [http://www.arabeuropean.org/pressreleasedetail.php?ID=27] and condemning al-Qaeda for alleged terrorist acts committed in [[Jordan]] [http://www.arabeuropean.org/article.php?ID=51].
[[Salon.com]] reports that the group issued public approvals for the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]]<ref>[http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/06/14/panther/index_np.html The Arabian Panther], Salon.com, 14 June 2004</ref> and the organization's rallies have been reported by the [[Christian Science Monitor]] to end in chanting "jihad" and "Osama Bin Laden".<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0516/p06s01-woeu.html 'Belgian Malcolm X' seeks office], Christian Science Monitor, 16 May 2003</ref> However, the group's English-language website has been critical of [[Al, Qaeda]], referring to the September 11 attacks as "horrifying"<ref>[http://www.arabeuropean.org/pressreleasedetail.php?ID=27 The Arab European League (AEL) condems rage in the west against Arabs and Muslims, announces picket 16 September to commemorate victims of terror], AEL, 13 September 2001</ref> and condemning al-Qaeda for alleged terrorist acts committed in [[Jordan]].<ref>[http://www.arabeuropean.org/article.php?ID=51 Self-Destruction: Mustafa Al Akkad killed by Al Qaida], AEL, 11 November 2005</ref>


The AEL strives to develop an Arab Muslim communalist movement in Europe. The group participated in the federal elections in Belgium in [[2003]] under the umbrella [[RESIST]] with the [[Workers Party of Belgium|PVDA]] (''Workers Party Belgium'', a leftist political party). The party gained 0.15% in the election of the [[Belgian Chamber of Representatives]][http://polling2003.belgium.be/electionshome/uk/result/chamber/table_top.html] and 0.27% in the Dutch electoral college of the [[Belgian Senate]].[http://polling2003.belgium.be/electionshome/uk/result/chamber/table_top.html]. These electoral results were too low to win a seat.
The AEL strives to develop an Arab Muslim communalist movement in Europe. The group participated in the federal elections in Belgium in [[2003]] under the umbrella [[RESIST]] with the [[Workers Party of Belgium|PVDA]] (''Workers Party Belgium'', a [[Maoist]] political party). The party gained 0.15% in the election of the [[Belgian Chamber of Representatives]]<ref>[http://polling2003.belgium.be/electionshome/uk/result/chamber/table_top.html Elections 2003 - List results - Chamber of Representatives - The Kingdom]</ref> and 0.27% in the Dutch electoral college of the [[Belgian Senate]].<ref>[http://polling2003.belgium.be/electionshome/uk/result/senate/table_top.html Elections 2003 - List results - Senate - The Kingdom]</ref> These electoral results were too low to win a seat.


They also participated in the Flemish elections in 2004 under the denomination [[Moslim Democratische Partij]] (''Muslim Democratic Party''), reaching their highest share of votes (0.27%) in the province of [[Antwerp]]. This electoral result was too low to gain a seat in the [[Flemish Parliament]]. [http://polling2004.belgium.be/en/vla/results/results_start.html]
They also participated in the Flemish elections in 2004 under the denomination [[Moslim Democratische Partij]] (''Muslim Democratic Party''), reaching their highest share of votes (0.27%) in the province of [[Antwerp]]. This electoral result was too low to gain a seat in the [[Flemish Parliament]].<ref>[http://polling2004.belgium.be/en/vla/results/results_start.html Elections 2004 > Flemish Council]</ref>


Following the murder of a 27-year-old Arab by a Belgian man in Antwerp in 2002, the Arab European League began patrolling the streets of Antwerp with video cameras to monitor police activity. The AEL claimed that Belgian police were engaging in a racist "manhunt" of the city's [[Morocco|Moroccan]] youth and that many police officers sympathized with the racist political party [[Vlaams Blok]] [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,849399,00.html]. The AEL patrols were stopped after the Antwerp public prosecutor's office began an investigation into whether the activities violated Belgian laws against the organization of private militias. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,849399,00.html] [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/11/29/wantw29.xml] On [[April 12]] [[2006]], Belgian justice announced that they would file a court case against Jahjah and ten others for allegedly organizing private militia.[http://www.hln.be/hlns/cache/det/art_193864.html]
Following the murder of a 27-year-old Arab by a Belgian man in Antwerp in 2002, the Arab European League began patrolling the streets of Antwerp with video cameras to monitor police activity. The AEL claimed that Belgian police were engaging in a racist "manhunt" of the city's [[Morocco|Moroccan]] youth and that many police officers sympathized with the racist political party [[Vlaams Blok]].<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,849399,00.html Arab murder sparks two days of riots in Antwerp], The Guardian, 28 November 2002</ref> The AEL patrols were stopped after the Antwerp public prosecutor's office began an investigation into whether the activities violated Belgian laws against the organization of private militias.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,849399,00.html Arab murder sparks two days of riots in Antwerp], The Guardian, 28 November 2002, and [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/11/29/wantw29.xml Arab racist sparked riot in Antwerp, say Belgians], The Telegraph, 29 November 2002</ref> The court however decided on 31 May 2006 that the patrols were not enough to prosecute the organization.<ref>[http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DMF01062006_027 AEL geen privé-militie] (''AEL not a private militia''), De Standaard, 1 June 2006.</ref> Three leaders of the AEL however will be tried for their leading role in the unrest and riots after the 2002 murder.<ref>[http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DMF01062006_027 AEL geen privé-militie] (''AEL not a private militia''), De Standaard, 1 June 2006.</ref>


==Controversies==
==Controversies==
The organization has been accused of [[anti-semitism]] by an agency of the Belgian government [http://www.tau.ac.il/Anti-Semitism/asw2001-2/belgium.htm] and by a Belgian newspaper, [[De Standaard]] [http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=GHENRDR2].
The organization has been accused of [[anti-semitism]] by an agency of the Belgian government<ref>[http://www.tau.ac.il/Anti-Semitism/asw2001-2/belgium.htm The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism]</ref> and by a Belgian newspaper, [[De Standaard]].<ref>{{nl icon}}[http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=GHENRDR2 AEL spot met holocaust] ("AEL ridicules holocaust"), De Standaard, 6 February 2006</ref>


Belgian prime minister [[Guy Verhofstadt]] blamed the group for inciting violence during street [[riot]]s in Antwerp in 2002 [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/11/29/wantw29.xml] and criticized it for creating patrols to shadow policemen with video cameras to monitor acts of anti-Arab racism. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,849399,00.html]
Belgian prime minister [[Guy Verhofstadt]] blamed the group for inciting violence during street [[riot]]s in Antwerp in 2002<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/11/29/wantw29.xml Arab racist sparked riot in Antwerp, say Belgians], The Telegraph, 29 November 2002</ref> and criticized it for creating patrols to shadow policemen with video cameras to monitor acts of anti-Arab racism.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,849399,00.html Arab murder sparks two days of riots in Antwerp], The Guardian, 28 November 2002</ref>


Salon.com states that an AEL official called for the death penalty for homosexuals prior to assuming a leadership position within the group. [http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/06/14/panther/index_np.html] In 2003, the political party [[Agalev]] (currently known as [[Groen!]]) attempted to place posters in Antwerp of gay and lesbian couples kissing while dressed in Islamic attire. The AEL considered it blasphemous and as an insult to Islam because according to them, the [[Qur'an]] explicitly forbids homosexuality. [http://www.homo-emancipatie.nl/overig/ael_boos_over_homo_affiche_vlaam.html].
Salon.com states that an AEL official called for the death penalty for homosexuals prior to assuming a leadership position within the group.<ref>[http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/06/14/panther/index_np.html The Arabian Panther], Salon.com, 14 June 2004</ref> In 2003, the political party [[Agalev]] (currently known as [[Groen!]]) attempted to place posters in Antwerp of gay and lesbian couples kissing while dressed in Islamic attire. The AEL considered it blasphemous and as an insult to Islam because according to them, the [[Qur'an]] explicitly forbids homosexuality.<ref>{{nl icon}}[http://www.homo-emancipatie.nl/overig/ael_boos_over_homo_affiche_vlaam.html AEL boos over 'homo-affiche' Vlaamse Groenen]] ("AEL angry about 'gay poster' Flemish Greens"), Kenniscentrum lesbisch en homo-emancipatiebeleid (Knowledge Centre lesbian and homo emancipation policies), citing from newspaper De Telegraaf 9 September 2003</ref>


In late September 2005, the Danish newspaper [[Jyllands-Posten]] published several controversial [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|Muhammad cartoons]] in which the [[Prophets of Islam|prophet]] [[Muhammad]] was associated with terrorism. In response, the AEL issued statements and posted cartoons on the subject of the [[Holocaust]] on its pages. The cartoons were called [[anti-semitic]] and [[negationism|negationist]] by [[De Standaard]], a Belgian newspaper.<ref>{{nl icon}}[http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=GHENRDR2 AEL spot met holocaust] ("AEL ridicules holocaust"), De Standaard, 6 February 2006</ref> A Dutch pro-Israel organization "Center for Information and Documentation Israel" filed a formal complaint in Amsterdam against the AEL following the publication of the cartoons.<ref>[http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/5663 Muslim European group posts anti-Semitic cartoons], European Jewish Press, 6 February 2006</ref> In response to the charge, the AEL stated not to "endorse any anti-Semitic, homophobic or sexist stands. All we are trying to do is to confront Europe with its own hypocrisy using sarcasm and cartoons."<ref>[http://www.arabeuropean.org/article.php?ID=102 Important points on the Cartoon riot], AEL, 7 February 2006</ref></blockquote>
===Response to Muhammad cartoons===
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:SenseOfHumorAEL.jpg|250px|thumb|One of the counter-cartoons of the AEL]] -->
In late September 2005, the Danish newspaper [[Jyllands-Posten]] published several controversial [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|Muhammad cartoons]] in which Muhammad was associated with terrorism. In response, the AEL issued statements and began posting cartoons on the subject of the [[Holocaust]] on its pages. The AEL website stated,

<blockquote>After the lectures that Arabs and Muslims received from Europeans on Freedom of Speech and on Tolerance. And after that many European newspapers republished the Danish cartoons on the Prophet Mohammed. AEL decided to enter the cartoon business and to use our right to artistic expression.

Just like the newspapers in Europe claim that they only want to defend the freedom of speech and do not desire to stigmatise Muslims,we also do stress that our cartoons are not meant as an offence to anybody and ought not to be taken as a statement against any group, community or historical fact.[http://www.arabeuropean.org/newsdetail.php?ID=98] </blockquote>

Dyab Abou Jahjah, a leader of the AEL, said further in a statement that<blockquote>"I am for the absolute freedom of speech everywhere, and that’s why I call upon every free sole ''[sic]'' among Arabs to use the Danish flag as a substitute for toilet paper. To illustrate every wall with graffiti making fun of everything Europe holds as holy: dancing rabbis on the carcasses of Palestinian children, hoax gas-chambers built in Hollywood in 1946 with Steven Spielberg’s approval stamp, and Aids spreading fagots. Let us defend the absolute freedom of speech altogether, wouldn’t that be a noble cause?" [http://www.arabeuropean.org/article.php?ID=97]</blockquote>

The first cartoon the AEL issued, [http://www.arabeuropean.org/newsdetail.php?ID=97 "6000000?"] depicted [[Jews]] trying to falsely pad the number of [[Jewish]] [[Holocaust]] victims. The second, [http://www.arabeuropean.org/newsdetail.php?ID=95 "Hitler goes Dutroux"] depicted [[Hitler]] with [[Anne Frank]] in bed, presumably after sex, with [[Hitler]] remarking "Write this one in your diary, Anne." Next, [http://www.arabeuropean.org/newsdetail.php?ID=96 "Science Fiction"] depicts [[Steven Spielberg]] holding a paper called
"Holocaust Script". He is on the phone with [[Peter Jackson]]. Spielberg: "I need your help on this one, Peter". Jackson: "I don't think I have that much imagination Steven, sorry".

The cartoons were called [[anti-semitic]] and [[negationism|negationist]] by [[De Standaard]], a Belgian newspaper. [http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=GHENRDR2] A Dutch pro-Israel organization "Center for Information and Documentation Israel" filed a formal complaint in Amsterdam against the AEL following the publication of the cartoons.[http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/5663]

In response to the charge, the AEL explained its position further, stating:
<blockquote>"[W]e condemn the selective indignation of Europe’s intellectual elite and population. When [[anti-Muslim]] stances are made or published this is perceived as freedom of speech and cheered and supported but when other sensitive issues to Europe like the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, homosexuality, sexism and more are touched, Europe’s elite is scandalized.

[. . .] In our cartoon campaign we do not endorse any anti-Semitic, homophobic or sexist stands. All we are trying to do is to confront Europe with its own hypocrisy using sarcasm and cartoons. We will therefore continue our sarcastic campaign in the days to come and we will not be intimidated by the ridiculous law suite ''[sic]'' that was filed against us in the Netherlands." [http://www.arabeuropean.org/article.php?ID=102]</blockquote>


==External links==
==External links==
Line 49: Line 31:
* [http://users.skynet.be/diab/Belgium/Arab_panthers.htm Arab panthers and Flemish lions by Khaled Diab]
* [http://users.skynet.be/diab/Belgium/Arab_panthers.htm Arab panthers and Flemish lions by Khaled Diab]
* [http://www.newhumanist.org.uk/volume119issue4_more.php?id=826_0_31_0_C Interview] with the founder of AEL.
* [http://www.newhumanist.org.uk/volume119issue4_more.php?id=826_0_31_0_C Interview] with the founder of AEL.

==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>


[[Category:Politics of Belgium]]
[[Category:Politics of Belgium]]

Revision as of 16:50, 1 June 2006

File:Ael.jpg
Logo of the AEL

The Arab European League or AEL is an Arab nationalist and Pan-Arabist organization in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Foundation

AEL was founded and is led by Dyab Abou Jahjah, a Lebanese-born Shi'a Muslim living in Belgium. Jahjah, a former member of Hizbullah, left Lebanon in 1991 to begin university studies in Belgium.[1]

Activities

AEL's creed can be described as Nasserite, Pan-Arabist and Arab Nationalist. While not Islamist, and eschewing violence itself, the group is of an avowedly anti-Zionist nature,[2] expresses support for the actions of Islamist resistance against the occupation of Iraq.[3]

Salon.com reports that the group issued public approvals for the September 11, 2001 attacks[4] and the organization's rallies have been reported by the Christian Science Monitor to end in chanting "jihad" and "Osama Bin Laden".[5] However, the group's English-language website has been critical of Al, Qaeda, referring to the September 11 attacks as "horrifying"[6] and condemning al-Qaeda for alleged terrorist acts committed in Jordan.[7]

The AEL strives to develop an Arab Muslim communalist movement in Europe. The group participated in the federal elections in Belgium in 2003 under the umbrella RESIST with the PVDA (Workers Party Belgium, a Maoist political party). The party gained 0.15% in the election of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives[8] and 0.27% in the Dutch electoral college of the Belgian Senate.[9] These electoral results were too low to win a seat.

They also participated in the Flemish elections in 2004 under the denomination Moslim Democratische Partij (Muslim Democratic Party), reaching their highest share of votes (0.27%) in the province of Antwerp. This electoral result was too low to gain a seat in the Flemish Parliament.[10]

Following the murder of a 27-year-old Arab by a Belgian man in Antwerp in 2002, the Arab European League began patrolling the streets of Antwerp with video cameras to monitor police activity. The AEL claimed that Belgian police were engaging in a racist "manhunt" of the city's Moroccan youth and that many police officers sympathized with the racist political party Vlaams Blok.[11] The AEL patrols were stopped after the Antwerp public prosecutor's office began an investigation into whether the activities violated Belgian laws against the organization of private militias.[12] The court however decided on 31 May 2006 that the patrols were not enough to prosecute the organization.[13] Three leaders of the AEL however will be tried for their leading role in the unrest and riots after the 2002 murder.[14]

Controversies

The organization has been accused of anti-semitism by an agency of the Belgian government[15] and by a Belgian newspaper, De Standaard.[16]

Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt blamed the group for inciting violence during street riots in Antwerp in 2002[17] and criticized it for creating patrols to shadow policemen with video cameras to monitor acts of anti-Arab racism.[18]

Salon.com states that an AEL official called for the death penalty for homosexuals prior to assuming a leadership position within the group.[19] In 2003, the political party Agalev (currently known as Groen!) attempted to place posters in Antwerp of gay and lesbian couples kissing while dressed in Islamic attire. The AEL considered it blasphemous and as an insult to Islam because according to them, the Qur'an explicitly forbids homosexuality.[20]

In late September 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published several controversial Muhammad cartoons in which the prophet Muhammad was associated with terrorism. In response, the AEL issued statements and posted cartoons on the subject of the Holocaust on its pages. The cartoons were called anti-semitic and negationist by De Standaard, a Belgian newspaper.[21] A Dutch pro-Israel organization "Center for Information and Documentation Israel" filed a formal complaint in Amsterdam against the AEL following the publication of the cartoons.[22] In response to the charge, the AEL stated not to "endorse any anti-Semitic, homophobic or sexist stands. All we are trying to do is to confront Europe with its own hypocrisy using sarcasm and cartoons."[23]

External links

References

  1. ^ 'Belgian Malcolm X' seeks office, Christian Science Monitor, 16 May 2003
  2. ^ Zionism is Racism: AhmadiNajad said it, but we mean it, AEL, 28 october,2005
  3. ^ AEL: every Dutch soldier's death is a victory, Expatica, 25 October 2004
  4. ^ The Arabian Panther, Salon.com, 14 June 2004
  5. ^ 'Belgian Malcolm X' seeks office, Christian Science Monitor, 16 May 2003
  6. ^ The Arab European League (AEL) condems rage in the west against Arabs and Muslims, announces picket 16 September to commemorate victims of terror, AEL, 13 September 2001
  7. ^ Self-Destruction: Mustafa Al Akkad killed by Al Qaida, AEL, 11 November 2005
  8. ^ Elections 2003 - List results - Chamber of Representatives - The Kingdom
  9. ^ Elections 2003 - List results - Senate - The Kingdom
  10. ^ Elections 2004 > Flemish Council
  11. ^ Arab murder sparks two days of riots in Antwerp, The Guardian, 28 November 2002
  12. ^ Arab murder sparks two days of riots in Antwerp, The Guardian, 28 November 2002, and Arab racist sparked riot in Antwerp, say Belgians, The Telegraph, 29 November 2002
  13. ^ AEL geen privé-militie (AEL not a private militia), De Standaard, 1 June 2006.
  14. ^ AEL geen privé-militie (AEL not a private militia), De Standaard, 1 June 2006.
  15. ^ The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism
  16. ^ Template:Nl iconAEL spot met holocaust ("AEL ridicules holocaust"), De Standaard, 6 February 2006
  17. ^ Arab racist sparked riot in Antwerp, say Belgians, The Telegraph, 29 November 2002
  18. ^ Arab murder sparks two days of riots in Antwerp, The Guardian, 28 November 2002
  19. ^ The Arabian Panther, Salon.com, 14 June 2004
  20. ^ Template:Nl iconAEL boos over 'homo-affiche' Vlaamse Groenen] ("AEL angry about 'gay poster' Flemish Greens"), Kenniscentrum lesbisch en homo-emancipatiebeleid (Knowledge Centre lesbian and homo emancipation policies), citing from newspaper De Telegraaf 9 September 2003
  21. ^ Template:Nl iconAEL spot met holocaust ("AEL ridicules holocaust"), De Standaard, 6 February 2006
  22. ^ Muslim European group posts anti-Semitic cartoons, European Jewish Press, 6 February 2006
  23. ^ Important points on the Cartoon riot, AEL, 7 February 2006
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