Djamila
Bosnjakinja
I'm going to share two completely different stories from two corners of Europe, both that depict a growing frustration with the status quo and the character of the war on terror, and Europe's reaction to it.
The first comes from the United Kingdom.
Hammasa Kohistani, a 19-year-old British Muslim, is anything but a fundamentalist. In fact, she's Miss England - and is perhaps one of the most despised and ridiculed figures in Britain's Islamic community.
From the Agence France Presse:
LONDON -- The first Muslim to be voted Miss England hit out at British Prime Minister Tony Blair Thursday, accusing him of fueling hostility toward Islam following last year's London bombings.
Hammasa Kohistani, 19, born in Uzbekistan after her parents fled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, said that the lethal attacks had united British communities, but added that the government had created "negative stereotypes" of Muslims in the wake of the blasts.
Kohistani was speaking as she returned to resume her studies at Uxbridge College in West London after a year of traveling the world appearing in newspapers and magazines.
She said that the July 7 bombings, which killed 56 people including the four British Muslim suicide bombers, was a "reality slap" for those who thought that such attacks would never occur in Britain.
"I think in a sense it brought communities together," she told Britain's domestic Press Association news agency. But at the same time "there is this hostility," which comes "mainly from the government."
"Tony Blair addressed Muslims in particular, telling them that they need to sort out the problem within. That was a huge stereotype of the Islamic community.
"Even the more moderate Muslims have been stereotyped negatively and feel they have to take actions to prove themselves."
Kohistani's coronation as Miss England in 2005 sparked anger among some highly traditional Muslims who felt that she and other Muslims should not have competed.
Kohistani said that she would be selective about her modeling work as she completes the A-Level examinations that should enable her to study for a politics degree at university, with an eye on a political career afterwards.
She speaks several languages and will study A-Level politics, sociology, and media studies. She has already passed in English literature.
Kohistani said that she sometimes got annoyed about being asked about Islam and politics, given her coronation two months after the London bombings.
However, she admitted that it separated her from the pack.
"At first it was quite rewarding and I enjoyed it. But after the first 200 interviews, I realized that it was all about me being Muslim," she said.
"No one wanted to know my favorite movie or favorite food and other usual Miss England questions."
Alma Prsic is a 23-year-old Bosnian Muslim, and is also anything but a fundamentalist. She's the spokeswoman for a popular brand of Bosnian beer and has posed almost nude in several Bosnian men's magazines.
The first comes from the United Kingdom.
Hammasa Kohistani, a 19-year-old British Muslim, is anything but a fundamentalist. In fact, she's Miss England - and is perhaps one of the most despised and ridiculed figures in Britain's Islamic community.
From the Agence France Presse:
LONDON -- The first Muslim to be voted Miss England hit out at British Prime Minister Tony Blair Thursday, accusing him of fueling hostility toward Islam following last year's London bombings.
Hammasa Kohistani, 19, born in Uzbekistan after her parents fled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, said that the lethal attacks had united British communities, but added that the government had created "negative stereotypes" of Muslims in the wake of the blasts.
Kohistani was speaking as she returned to resume her studies at Uxbridge College in West London after a year of traveling the world appearing in newspapers and magazines.
She said that the July 7 bombings, which killed 56 people including the four British Muslim suicide bombers, was a "reality slap" for those who thought that such attacks would never occur in Britain.
"I think in a sense it brought communities together," she told Britain's domestic Press Association news agency. But at the same time "there is this hostility," which comes "mainly from the government."
"Tony Blair addressed Muslims in particular, telling them that they need to sort out the problem within. That was a huge stereotype of the Islamic community.
"Even the more moderate Muslims have been stereotyped negatively and feel they have to take actions to prove themselves."
Kohistani's coronation as Miss England in 2005 sparked anger among some highly traditional Muslims who felt that she and other Muslims should not have competed.
Kohistani said that she would be selective about her modeling work as she completes the A-Level examinations that should enable her to study for a politics degree at university, with an eye on a political career afterwards.
She speaks several languages and will study A-Level politics, sociology, and media studies. She has already passed in English literature.
Kohistani said that she sometimes got annoyed about being asked about Islam and politics, given her coronation two months after the London bombings.
However, she admitted that it separated her from the pack.
"At first it was quite rewarding and I enjoyed it. But after the first 200 interviews, I realized that it was all about me being Muslim," she said.
"No one wanted to know my favorite movie or favorite food and other usual Miss England questions."
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Alma Prsic is a 23-year-old Bosnian Muslim, and is also anything but a fundamentalist. She's the spokeswoman for a popular brand of Bosnian beer and has posed almost nude in several Bosnian men's magazines.
From the Muslim Voice magazine:
Buzim, Bosnia and Herzegovina - The old, wooden mosque in Buzim has been buzzing with more activity than usual this summer.
The reserved and conservative inhabitants of this isolated village have a woman long described as a devil in silk lingerie in their midst. Alma Prsic, of Preminger fame, has adopted Buzim as a summer resident while she puts the finishing on touches on a new book about sexual liberation and the never spoken but universally known talent Muslim women have for sexual seduction and the experience of pleasure.
"We are the women who brought sex to life," Prsic explained in her signature, thick Travnik accent.
"If not for us, non-Muslim women would still know nothing more than platonic Germanic folk dances and country line-dancing."
And its that willingness to differentiate so easily and so completely between Muslim and non-Muslim that has placed Alma Prsic squarely in the sights of the Interfaith Council. Jewish and Christian representatives of the Council have condemned Prsic for public comments they claim incite hatred and fuel nationalism among Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In an official letter printed in Liberation News, the Council cited a June 2005 speech to the Muslim Women's League in which Prsic allegedly compared Christian women to "frozen, surrogates raising an androgenous race of fools all too eager to pick up a gun but terrified by the sight of a woman's nipple".
"She is as careless with her words as she has been with her body," the letter, also signed by Islamic representative Elena Hodzic, read.
"We urge Ms. Prsic to recognize the error of her ways and, more importantly, issue a public apology for the baseless offenses she has caused."
Prsic, who refused comment, has also come under fire from Islamic organizations, opposition she has labelled in the past as the "background music" of her life. In Buzim, opinions are torn, but most will not lose too much sleep once Prsic is gone.
"I think she's a sort of role model," said Samir Osmanovic, 32.
"Celebrities need to be extreme in order to have an impact and she has raised the bar such that ordinary Muslim women are able to live more liberally in rural communities like ours. They always can say 'think what you want, at least I'm not Alma Prsic'."
Buzim, Bosnia and Herzegovina - The old, wooden mosque in Buzim has been buzzing with more activity than usual this summer.
The reserved and conservative inhabitants of this isolated village have a woman long described as a devil in silk lingerie in their midst. Alma Prsic, of Preminger fame, has adopted Buzim as a summer resident while she puts the finishing on touches on a new book about sexual liberation and the never spoken but universally known talent Muslim women have for sexual seduction and the experience of pleasure.
"We are the women who brought sex to life," Prsic explained in her signature, thick Travnik accent.
"If not for us, non-Muslim women would still know nothing more than platonic Germanic folk dances and country line-dancing."
And its that willingness to differentiate so easily and so completely between Muslim and non-Muslim that has placed Alma Prsic squarely in the sights of the Interfaith Council. Jewish and Christian representatives of the Council have condemned Prsic for public comments they claim incite hatred and fuel nationalism among Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In an official letter printed in Liberation News, the Council cited a June 2005 speech to the Muslim Women's League in which Prsic allegedly compared Christian women to "frozen, surrogates raising an androgenous race of fools all too eager to pick up a gun but terrified by the sight of a woman's nipple".
"She is as careless with her words as she has been with her body," the letter, also signed by Islamic representative Elena Hodzic, read.
"We urge Ms. Prsic to recognize the error of her ways and, more importantly, issue a public apology for the baseless offenses she has caused."
Prsic, who refused comment, has also come under fire from Islamic organizations, opposition she has labelled in the past as the "background music" of her life. In Buzim, opinions are torn, but most will not lose too much sleep once Prsic is gone.
"I think she's a sort of role model," said Samir Osmanovic, 32.
"Celebrities need to be extreme in order to have an impact and she has raised the bar such that ordinary Muslim women are able to live more liberally in rural communities like ours. They always can say 'think what you want, at least I'm not Alma Prsic'."
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The world is becoming weirder every day. 
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