All posts for October 2013

Syria Beyond Binaries: A Critical Discussion

October 24th, 2013 | Posted in Other

Join us for a discussion on Syria hosted by Tadamon!

syria-building

    Wednesday, October 30th @ 7pm
    Graduate Students Association (GSA) Lounge
    Concordia University
    2030 Mackay
    Metro Guy-Concordia

Tadamon! invites you to a critical discussion surrounding the Syrian revolution, aiming to generate a greater understanding of developments on the ground. This event will examine internal and external actors, their sources of funding, and the interests they serve. Above all, it will endeavour to move thinking and debate about the current context in Syria beyond the limitations of rigid dichotomies – such as jihadist opposition vs secular regime; western proxies/insurgents vs forces of resistance – to see the complex and changing dynamics of the revolution as it continues to unfold in Syrian cities and towns. Discussion will then turn to the role of international solidarity, and how allies can move forward in supporting the Syrian people’s struggle for self-determination.

Featuring presentations from:

* Brian Aboud, researcher, activist, and educator

* Ramy Nakache, social justice and solidarity activist

For more information:
Tadamon!
Tel: 514-664-1036
E-mail: info@tadamon.ca

Facebook Event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/573961775987145/

Tadamon! against the Charter

October 20th, 2013 | Posted in Other

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Tadamon! stands firmly against the Quebec Charter of Values proposed by the Parti Québécois. The Charter, announced in detail on 10 September 2013, seeks to eliminate select religious symbols from government services and organizations, in particular by banning public sector employees from wearing “conspicuous” religious symbols. The Quebec public sector includes workers in hospitals, courtrooms, municipal offices, schools, daycares, and universities, among others. In effect, this bill — if passed — will preclude anyone who wears the hijab, niqab, turban, kippah and “large religious pendants” from acquiring or keeping jobs in a massive segment of the workforce. Furthermore, Muslim women who wear the niqab will be prevented from receiving government services.

Tadamon! (Arabic for “solidarity”), is a Montreal-based collective working in solidarity with struggles for self-determination, equality and justice in the ‘Middle East’ and in diaspora communities in Montreal and beyond. We oppose all systems of oppression whether based on gender, sexual orientation or class and we reject racism in its various forms, including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. Furthermore, we reject nationalism: its exclusions and its tendency to exploit, rather than challenge, oppressions based on class, gender, “race” and ethnic or religious affiliation. We do not support any government or political party.

On this basis, we reject the xenophobic Charter of Quebec Values and the racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and sexism it propagates. If passed, the Charter will undoubtedly increase the precarity of already marginalized communities: it prescribes economic repression, inequality, and injustice for specific faith groups by (further) limiting the opportunities available in our already unequal society. Moreover, it has already inspired increased verbal and physical violence against Muslim women.

We must be clear about the intent and consequences of this proposed legislation: through the Charter, the Parti Québécois is actively sanctioning discrimination and violence, creating a platform for virulent racism and xenophobia.

The State’s fixation on the hijab and niqab, in particular, is a reminder of Quebec and Canada’s legacy of colonialism, and calls to mind the politicization of the veil in French-colonized Algeria. The Charter rests upon a similar colonial logic and political opportunism, promoting egregious stereotypes of Muslim women as being without agency. We reject this characterization, and support Muslim women in their struggles for self-determination.

Moreover, we reject the disingenuous discourse the Parti Québécois has promoted in their framing of the Charter as “feminist”. Telling people — and particularly women, so often the subjects of such attention — what to wear or what not to wear is unacceptable on any grounds. Indeed, the great irony is that the State, while accusing pious men of forcing items of clothing upon pious women, is deploying precisely the same paternalistic logic in telling women what not to wear.

This “Charter of Values” — whose values? — must not be allowed to pass. To this end, we stand in solidarity with all those who struggle against poverty, precarity, racism and exclusion.

Tadamon! endorses the October 20 demonstration and march organized by the ‘Ensemble Contre les Chartes Xénophobes coalition’.

Political Prisoner Struggles in Palestine- Workshop-17 Oct. 2013

October 15th, 2013 | Posted in Other

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Political Prisoner Struggles in Palestine

    Wednesday October 17, 2013
    6pm-8pm
    Lev Bukhman Room
    3480 MacTavish, 2nd Floor
    Montreal, Quebec
    (Metro Peel)

This roundtabe discussion is part of Culture Shock! A co-presentation by the SSMU and QPIRG-McGill. For the full schedule, visit http://qpirgmcgill.org/culture-shock/

Join Tadamon! for a workshop exploring the struggles of political prisoners in Palestine. The historical context of political imprisonment in Palestine will be charted, the realities faced by prisoners will be reviewed, and administrative detention discussed. The workshop will also highlight resistance to political imprisonment both inside and outside of prisons, including the recent hunger strikes and mass demonstration. Discussion will then turn to the global BDS campaign against G4S and its complicity in securing Israeli apartheid.

For more information:
* QPIRG McGill
Culture shock

*Tadamon!
www.tadamon.ca
Tadamon!
Tel: 514-664-1036

E-mail: info@tadamon.ca

https://www.facebook.com/events/167920273402077
Facebook event

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