TRACING OUR JOURNEY:
As we have been obtaining information about the locations of various mosques and synagogues that have seemed to be of interest to us, we have been tagging them on Google Maps (please note, only some of our locations have thus far been geo-tagged).
THE PLACES--places of worship, community centers, academic institutions, museums and libraries: (**Please note: the following are places we have visited. We have taken photos of the places, conducted interviews inside them, collected physical traces, and written down our observations**)
Islamic:
Djame Masdjied Taibah Mosque
Aya Sofia Mosque
Moskee Al Kabir
Fatih Moskee
El Mohammadi Mosque
Selected internet resources and reading material:
http://www.islamicfinder.org/worldIslamic.php?more=more&startPoint=0&endPoint=50&country=netherlands&city=Amsterdam&state=assen&lang= --> (database with all Islamic organizations in Amsterdam)
http://www.asfory.com/muslim_prayer_times/amesterdam_netherland.html
--> (prayer times for Amsterdam)
http://www.eumc.europa.eu/eumc/material/pub/RAXEN/3/emp/NL.pdf
--> (database with publications from the UvA's Institute from Migration and Ethnic Studies; see below for publication of particular importance are the following)
Other critical journal articles:
- Sunier, Thijl. "The Western Mosque: Space in Physical Place." ISIM Review (2006): 22-23.
Forums: http://www.maroc.nl/; http://www.forum.nl/
Jewish:
Jewish Community Center (known by the Dutch acronym NIHS; houses a central synagogue as well)
Beis Midrash Eitz Chaim
Ashkenazi Rabbinate of Amsterdam
Kehillat Yaakov
Portugees-Israëlietische Gemeente te Amsterdam (Portuguese-Sephardic 'Esnoga' Synagogue)
Ets Haim Bibliotheek
Jewish Student Organization
Selected internet resources, reading material, and other contacts:
http://www.jhm.nl/jhm/documenten/InleidingEvV%20cd.eng.pdf
http://www.jewishhistoryamsterdam.com/
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/netherlands.html
http://www.joodswelzijn.nl/ (specific contact: Chris Kooiman from Jewish Organization for Social Work for statistical information)
THE FACES (i.e. contacts...and, please note, the following is not an exhaustive list):
-Mirjam Scheiveld: provides insight into relevant UvA facilities (library resources, faculty, contact information)
-Harun Ildirim: scheduled Wednesday interview with imam of Aya Sofia and himself (as leader of the Muslim Student Assocation)
-Atef Hamdy: supplied "Home Grown Warriers” and bibliography of book, advice on approaching Mosques and migrant organizations in Amsterdam- East and Amsterdam- West, directed us towards relevant literature, contacts, and internet resources
-Abraham Rosenberg: head librarian of Esnoga synagogue; discussed existing Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities in the area and their history
-Gideon Simon and Yoni: Jewish youth leaders; will discuss Jewish student life and status of young Jewish adults in urban society
-Rabbi Daniel van Praag: access to Ashkenazi Amsterdam Jewish Community, resource for important contacts
-Rabbi Katz: openly discussed his role in facilitating the Amsterdam Jewish community and the development of this area in general
-Jan Rath, Dr. Jean Tillie, Froukje Demant, Anja van Heelsum, Marcel Maussen, Liza Nell, Marieke Slootman, Dr. Floris Vermeulen: researchers with the IMES focusing on Muslim communities
-Marlene de Vries: IMES expert on demographics of Amsterdam’s Jewish communities
--> In regards to the IMES, particularly pertinent literature and projects are the following:
Crul, M. and J. Schneider (2005),
Integration of Turkish second-generation men and women in Germany and the Netherlands. The impact of differences in vocational and academic tracking systems. Paper presented at the SSRC Working Group on Education and Migration, London, 11 and 12 February.Demant, F., M. Maussen and J. Rath (2007), Muslims in the EU: cities report. Preliminary research report and literature survey. The Netherlands, Open society institute. EU monitoring and advocay programme
Doomernik, J. (2005) The State of Multiculturalism in the Netherlands. Diversité Canadienne / Canadian Diversity, 4(1), 32-35. Association for Canadian Studies.
Lindo, F.(2003), Background report on the Netherlands and Amsterdam. Immigrants from Turkey and Morocco.
Penninx, R. (2005),`Dutch Integration Policies after the Van Gogh murder.’ Contribution to the Expert Panel on Social Integration of Immigrants, organized by The Metropolis Project, the European Commission, UNESCO and the Library of Parliament, held at the House of Commons on January 24, 2005 in Ottawa.
Penninx, R., B. Garcés-Mascareñas and P. Scholten (2005), Policymaking related to immigration and integration: a review of the literature of the Dutch case. Slootman, M. & J. Tillie (2006), Processen van radicalisering, waarom sommige Amsterdamse moslims radicaal worden, (Processes of Radicalisation. Why some Amsterdam Muslims become radicals), Amsterdam: IMES. English version.
Vermeulen, F. (2005), The immigrant organising process; The emergence and persistance of Turkish immigrant organisations in Amsterdam and Berlin and Surinamese organisations in Amsterdam 1960-2000, Amsterdam: PhD UvA
Vermeulen, H. (2001) Culture and inequality. Immigrant cultures and social mobility in long-term perspective. Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis.
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITY:
Context/Academic: We have reviewed relevant literature provided by aforementioned contacts, especially works produced by the IMES. We have been in correspondence with Dr. Hamdy and other experts on Muslim communities and have plans to personally discuss this issue with several. We have also gone to the Jewish Historical Museum and interviewed the head librarian of the Esnoga synagogue, who provided us with information about the history of the Jewish community. I think we have a fairly comprehensive understanding of the context in which we study both communities.
Fieldwork: We have been very proactive in terms of approaching mosques and synagogues in the greater Amsterdam area. We have attempted to penetrate El Tawheed, Al Kabir, El Fatih, and Djame Taibah mosques and the Kehilath Jaakov synagogue with not such great success (due to language barriers and security restrictions, as well as other reasons--like not being able to find the more inconspicuous mosques that aren’t mentioned here). However, we have had more success with the Orthodox Ashkenazi community in southern Amsterdam as well as the historically Turkish Aya Sofia Mosque. We have attended services at Beis Midrash Eitz Haim, stopped in to observe the synagogue's all-day learning center, explored community infrastructure (stores, centers, etc.), and talked to leading members of the community. Furthermore, we have explored resources in the Amsterdam Jewish Community Center, which houses its own synagogue, and had an interview with a rabbi there—whose own synagogue we will visit in the near future. We also attended services in the Portuguese synagogue of the old Jewish quarter and plan to attend the celebration commemorating its inauguration in 1672. More recently, we have been able to visit another active nucleus of the Orthodox Jewish community while interviewing the head rabbi of a synagogue and learning center, called the Kollel, that is situated in a historically crucial part of the city--halfway between the old quarter and the relatively new one in southern Amsterdam (this is the location, by the way, where Anne Frank lived). In regards to the mosques, besides having the privilege to talk to Harun Ildirim (the president of the largest Muslim student association in Amsterdam) and the imam of the Aya Sofia Mosque, we will conduct interviews with several academics on the topic from the IMES center and also plan to visit the student center that Harun runs. Furthermore, we will also be speaking with the leader of a large Jewish student organization.
No comments:
Post a Comment