This dataset contains the Arab-West Report special reports that were published in 2006.
This dataset mainly contains the writings of Cornelis Hulsman, Drs., among other authors on topics related to Muslim-Christian relations and interfaith dialogue. The writings in this dataset are mostly reports concerning Coptic Christian culture, Muslim-Christian dialogue, and the state of the Christian faith in Egypt.
Some of the articles address the controversial book \"The Da Vinci Code\" and the debates that ensued after its publication surrounding its historicity and freedom of expression.
Additionally this dataset contains recommendation for the work of Arab-West Report by other social figures and the development of its affiliated NGO, the Center for Arab West Understanding. Furthermore, this dataset contains commentary and critique on published material from other sources (media critique).
Some of the themes that characterize this dataset:
Development of the Center for Arab West Understanding (CAWU) and recommendations of the work of Arab West Report:
- Recommendation for Arab-West Report and the Center for Arab-West Understanding from Dutch musician and entertainer, Herman van Veen, Pastor Dave Petrescue ( Maadi Community Church in Cairo, Egypt) and Lord Carey of Clifton, former archbishop of Canterbury. Additionally, this dataset contains special recommendations of the work of Corneliss 'Kees' Hulsman and Sawsan Gabra by Dr. Jan Slomp, member of the Advisory Editorial Board of the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs in Jeddah. Dr. Slomp acknowledges that Arab West Report’s use of reliable information is working towards strengthening Muslim-Christian relations by providing source material for cultural, educational and religious dialogue and cooperation.
-Another report mentioned that the Former Dutch Prime Minister Andreas van Agt visited Egypt to support the foundation of the Center for Arab-West Understanding.
-A report about NGO Status of CAWU, “After Three Years of Struggle”. This report came as a result of the February 18 ruling of the Egyptian Council of State that granted the Center recognition as an NGO under Egyptian law.
-Annual report: Arab-West Report presents the annual report for 2005.
-Arab West Report’s American intern writes about 220 years of religious freedom in the U.S., arguing that one standard must be applied to all.
-A discussion of homosexuality and Egyptian law taken from a bachelor’s thesis on Egyptian law.
-Book review of Jamal Al-Banna’s \"My Coptic Brethren\".
-“Christian Minorities in the Islamic World, an Egyptian Perspective”: A paper presented at the annual interfaith dialogue meeting of the Anglican Communion and the Permanent Committee of the Azhar al-Sharif for Dialogue with the Monotheistic Religions. This paper prompted criticism from Metropolitan Seraphim for the portrayal of Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt.
Media Critique:
-An author criticizes an article by the German magazine Der Spiegel about Christians in the Middle East. She claims that the article distorts the reality of the situation in the declining Christian communities in the region.
- Interview with Egyptian artist Farid Fadil, , including discussion of his views on Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt, ’Christian art’, Leonardo da Vinci and the controversial book, The Da Vinci Code.
-Excerpts from the speeches of Mr. Ahmad Māhir, former foreign minister of Egypt, Sir Derek Plumbly, British ambassador to Egypt , Mr. Tjeerd de Zwaan, Dutch ambassador to Egypt, Mr. Lasse Seim, Norwegian ambassador to Egypt, and Cornelis Hulsman, Drs., director of the Center for Arab-West Understanding, on ’Freedom of expression and respect for the other. How to respond if one is offended.’
- Highlights of the meeting held at El-Sawy Culture Wheel on May 7, 2006, to launch the CAWU website. Highlights include a welcome address by Mr. Muhammad al-Sāwī, comments from former ministers Dr. Mamdouh al-Biltājī, Mr. Ahmed Māhir, Dr. Ahmad Juwaylī, head of the Protestant Community Council, Dr. Safwat al Bayādī, and former prime minister of the Netherlands, Prof. Van Agt.
- Aran West Report asked our former intern Maria Roeder, a student of media science at the University of Jena in Germany, to summarize a study commissioned by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Interior. This study is a comparative study concerning Austrian media reporting on Muslims and media from countries with Muslim majorities reporting about the integration of Muslims in Europe.
-A review of the media coverage following the Alexandria church stabbings concludes that both Muslims and Christians condemned the attacks and spoke of the need for change in the citizenship rights of Christians.
-Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt, Archbishop Fitzgerald, responds to polarization following the Regensburg lecture of H.H. Pope Benedict XVI.
-Cornelis Hulsman, Drs., presented a text at the recent roundtable discussions of the European Institute of the Mediterranean, concerning “Journalism and freedom of expression in the Mediterranean; responsibilities and limits.”
-Coptic Orthodox Church member and businessman Kamāl Zākhir Mūsā speaks out about internal problems in the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church.
-“Disappearing Christianity in the Middle East”; transcripts of a lecture at the American University in Cairo.
-Hulsman, Drs., provides a detailed description of Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt, and a history of Coptic problems, stemming from their own actions and outside influences.
The authors featured in the dataset are:
Cornelis Hulsman, Drs., Nikolas Grosfield , Serena Tolino , Herman van Veen,ʿAyyād Musʿad, Munir Hanna Anis Armanius, Dave Petrescue , Elizabeth Yell, Fawzī Fādil al-Zifzāf , Ahmad Māhir , Tjeerd de Zwaan, Lasse Seim, Khalīl Ibrāhīm al-Thawārdī, Hasan Muhammad Wajīh, Dr., Lord George Carey of Clifton, Maria Roeder, Naji Bihman, Jan Slomp, Rev. Dr., Rāʿid al-Sharqāwī, Sebastian Kohn, Richard Donk, Ben van de Venn, Mia Ulvgraven, Farshād Muḥammad-ʿAwalā, William Dalrymple, Amīn Makram ‘Ubayd, Muhammad Hasan, Sjoerd Haagsma, Melanie Erlebach, Wisām Muhammad al-Duwīnī, and Mary Picard.
"}},{"dsDescriptionValue":{"typeName":"dsDescriptionValue","multiple":false,"typeClass":"primitive","value":"All reports are written in English, though some reports feature Arabic text or cite Arabic sources.
Team including job titles:
Sparks, MA M.R. (Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT))
Grosfield, N. (Intern-Center for Arab West Understanding (CAWU))
Tolino, S. (Intern-Center for Arab West Understanding (CAWU))
van Veen, H.
Mus‘ad, 'A. (Arab-West Foundation)
Hannā Anīs Armanius, Bishop M. (Episcopal Church)
Petrescue, D. (Maadi Community Church)
Yell, E. (Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT))
al-Zifzāf, Sheikh F. (Azhar University)
Māhir, A.
Zwaan, T. de (Dutch Embassy, Cairo, Egypt)
Seim, L. (Norwegian Embassy, Cairo, Egypt)
al-Thawārdī, K.I. (Bahrain Embassy, Cairo, Egypt)
Wajīh, Dr. H.M. (Azhar University)
Carey, Archbishop Ld. G. (Episcopal Church)
Roeder, M. (Intern-Center for Arab-West Understanding (CAWU))
Slomp, Dr. Rev. J.
Bihman, N. (Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT))
al-Sharqāwī, R.
Kohn, S. (Intern-Center for Arab-West Understanding (CAWU))
Donk, R. (Reformatorisch Dagblad)
van de Venn, B. (Katholiek Nieuwsblad)
Ulvgraven, M. (Intern-Center for Arab-West Understanding (CAWU))
Muḥammad-ʿAwalā, F. (Intern-Center for Arab-West Understanding (CAWU))
Dalrymple, W.
Haagsma, S. (Kerk in Actie)
Erlebach, M. (Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT))
Muhammad al-Duwīnī, W. (Intern-Center for Arab-West Understanding (CAWU))
Picard, M.
Hulsman, Drs. C. (Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT))
This Thematic Collection contains links to the datasets of the Stichting Arab-West Foundation (AWF), in The Netherlands in close cooperation with the Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT). These datasets cover the period 1994-2016. The data consists of the reporting of Dutch sociologist Cornelis Hulsman, reporting supervised by him, full-transcript interviews, audio recordings and summaries of these audio recordings.
The Arab-West Foundation was established in 2005 to support the work of Cornelis Hulsman and his wife Eng. Sawsan Gabra Ayoub Hulsman-Khalil in Egypt. Cornelis Hulsman left The Netherlands for Egypt in October 1994. Sawsan Hulsman followed suit in 1995. They focused primarily on the study of Muslim-Christian relations and the role of religion in society in Egypt and neighboring countries, while obtaining their income from journalism.
The purpose of this work was to foster greater understanding between Muslims and Christians in Egypt and to show non-Egyptians that relations between the two faiths in Egypt cannot be described in reductive black and white terms, rather they are diverse and complicated. Working towards mutual understanding of different cultures and beliefs helps to reduce tensions and conflicts. Too often, parties present themselves as the victim of the other which results in biased reporting. Sometimes this is done deliberately to gain support. What is lacking in cases like this, is an in-depth understanding of the wider context in which narratives of victimization occur. Hulsman found several patterns that are key to understanding Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt such as
- the impact of a culture of honor and shame and
- aversion in traditional areas for visible changes in public (which includes church buildings and making one’s conversion to another religion public).
The datasets also include material on the place of Islamists in society, as well as wider information about Egyptian society since this is the context in which religious numerical minorities in Egypt live (the term minority is widely rejected in Egypt since all Egyptians, regardless of religion, are one. But in terms of numbers Christians are a minority).
It was Hulsman’s ambition to obtain a PhD but the challenges of making a living in Egypt prevented him from accomplishing this goal. Up until the year 2001, Cornelis only had an income from traditional media reporting. After 2004 he became largely dependent upon working with Kerk in Actie (Netherlands), Missio and Misereor (Germany).
Hulsman was dedicated towards non-partisan Muslim-Christian understanding. This began starting with a large number of recorded interviews, followed by research into why so many Christian girls convert to Islam (1995-1996). This work in turn led to the creation of an electronic newsletter called Religious News Service from the Arab World (RNSAW) and a growing number of investigative reports. In 2003 the RNSAW was renamed Arab-West Report. In 2004 they attempted to establish an Egyptian NGO but since no answer was obtained from authorities, the procedure was taken to the Council of State who ruled in 2006 that the request for NGO status was valid. This in turn resulted in a formal registration of the NGO with the Ministry of Social Solidarity in 2007. Because the outcome of this process was insecure in 2005 the Hulsmans established the Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT) . CIDT was established as a tawsiya basita (sole proprietorship) on the name of Sawsan Gabra Ayoub Khalil since it was extremely complicated to do this on the name of a non-Egyptian. In the same year friends of the Hulsman family established the Arab-West Foundation (AWF). CIDT tawsiya basita was closed in 2012. A new company was established under the same name but now as limited liability company and again it was not possible for Cornelis Hulsman to become a partner.
As a consequence the Hulsmans have been working since 2005 with an Egyptian company and a Dutch support NGO. Since 2007 they have also been working with an Egyptian NGO. This was important, since Egyptian law prohibits companies from receiving donations and carrying out not-for-profit work. NGOs, on the other hand, need to request permissions from the Ministry of Social Solidarity for each donation they receive. Such permissions are hard to obtain.
CIDT functions as a thinktank with funding from Kerk in Actie (Netherlands), Missio and Misereor (Germany) and at times projects with other organizations. CIDT produces the electronic newsletter Arab-West Report and has built the Arab West Report Database based on these data. Publication of this data is accomplished through the Arab-West Foundation since it turned out to be extremely hard to register Arab-West Report in Egypt. CAWU became the prime organization hosting student interns from Egypt and countries all over the world, which was possible since CAWU does not charge student interns for its services and neither pays them for any work carried out. Student interns have been contributing on a volunteer basis to the database of Arab-West Report, writing articles and papers and being engaged in social media under the supervision of Cornelis Hulsman. Other student interns contributed to summary translations of Arabic media, always supervised by a professional translator of CIDT.
CAWU has been promoting intercultural dialogue through a variety of programs including meetings and forums with community members, religious leaders and politicians from Egypt and the West. CAWU's aim is to bridge the gap of misunderstanding between Arab and Western communities by exposing biased media reporting and informing the public and important persons on complicated issues.
- Availability -
AWF's datasets are available to researchers upon request. Please go to the dataset you wish to download and request permission via the button 'Request Permission' on the tab 'Datafiles'. AWF will respond to your request.