Suchergebnisse

In the fall of 2005, the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten printed a dozen cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. During the ensuing debate, a group of Danish Muslims wrote a critical pamphlet on the affair & visited several Middle-Eastern countries where they presented their side of the story. Their actions helped trigger the wave of anti-Danish demonstrations that washed across the Middle East in the spring of 2006. Western commentators criticized the actions of the Danish Muslims, condemning the way in which the group had contacted authorities of alien states to bring pressure to bear on their own behalf. This, however, has long been common practice among Western groups - especially among liberal groups that seek to further individual freedoms & rights. Several lessons may be drawn from this so-called cartoon affair. One of them is that the tactics of these Western liberals can easily be adopted by others. In a globalized world, these tactics may even be used against liberal Western ideals. Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

In light of the dramatic events in the Middle East in the course of the spring 2003, it has become more & more important to focus the interest on the multidimensional relationship between the West & Arabic world. The Barcelona process or the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) is relatively purely known, but nevertheless an important aspect of the European Union's policy toward the Arabic countries. The EMP was launched in 1995 between the EU & 12 countries on the southern side of the Mediterranean Sea. The article gives a brief account of the content & the form of the project by Dec 2002 & explains at the same time the motive behind the European activities in the Mediterranean region. The three parts of the project (the political, the economical & the cultural partnership) are then analyzed focusing on the actual challenges. Problems are of financial as well as of cultural character, but the main responsibility for the slow progress characterizing the project is to be sought in the diverse interests of the member countries in important areas as trade & security politics. 24 References. Adapted from the source document.