Recently a piece of news from an otherwise internationally unknown college attracted the attention of social media, news, and created a huge twitter and blog response. The object of such (probably unwanted) attention is the South Puget Sound Community College where staff members decided to hold a 'happy hour' to 'build support and community' for 'people of color'... Continue Reading →
Burma, ethno-Buddhism, racism and religious persecution
I have written before about Burma (Myanmar) and its persecuted Rohingya population as well as the lack of interest both in the ASEAN countries as well as in the western mass media (see The other, invisible suffering of Burma, Rohingya Odyssey: a silent cultural genocide?, Rohingya Muslims and injustice: a security issue, Rohingyas: not solely a political problem, Selling... Continue Reading →
Gianluca Casseri: the Dracula of Florence? Making sense of racism and Muslim-phobia that kills
On the 13th of December, in my birthplace Florence, an Italian gunman killed two street vendors from Senegal, wounded another three, and committed suicide when the police reached him. The killing was racially-motivated and Gianluca Casseri, 50, was a writer for and member of CasaPound, a neo-fascist group. The Senegalese street vendors he killed (Samb Modou,... Continue Reading →
Singaporean Malay teen girls from disadvantaged backgrounds: between feelings of unfulfillable responsibility and self-stereotypes?
During my 3 years of research in Singapore, as part of a wider research on Malay youth in Singapore, I studied the social identity formation of Malay teen Muslim girls from socially and economically disadvantaged families. Methodologically, not only have I conducted in-depth interviews but also, thanks to organizations such as Clubilya, 4PM and Petrapis,... Continue Reading →
The danger of being black in a formerly green country: new Libya, old racism
"Hey Abid, why are you here? Do not take anything, okay? I know what your people do.” Aimed towards the ears of a black man whom had just entered, the hoarse voice of Lamin echoed throughout the mosque. The black worshiper left. I turned towards Lamin, an elderly Libyan migrant from Misrata whom I had... Continue Reading →
Fear, Muslims and Islam: reconsidering Islamophobia
Is it politically incorrect to say that one ‘fears’ Muslims? Does it deserve public condemnation? In other words, should have Juan Williams been sacked for his remark about fearing Muslims dressing in ‘Islamic garb’ on planes? Are these instances of Islamophobia? Let me start with an anecdote which took place in London in the aftermath... Continue Reading →
Selling lives: Rohingyas face deportation from Bangladesh
In any course of sociological theory we will meet Marx. Certainly his theory of society and economy seems, today, part of history. Yet Marx's analysis of 'commodity' has still some interesting aspects worth of thinking over. This is even truer in the case when instead of objects, the commodities are actually people; or better a... Continue Reading →
The three new ‘I’s of Italy: Ignorance, Intolerance and Injustice
As many of you know, I am in Singapore enjoying the multi-ethnic and religious diversity of this city-state. I have also enjoyed different styles of communities’ hospitality. All marked by respect for the guest (in my case an evident foreigner) and friendly smiles. Many people here dress in their traditional clothes, their religious symbols, and... Continue Reading →
