Kamel Daoud at The Financial Times reviews a report by historian Benjamin Stora on France’s colonial war with Algeria Critical of the trend in Western academia that sees history in terms of guilty and victimhood, Stora writes: . . . being a “victim” prevents us from seeing how the memory of colonisation is manipulated by political […]
Can Victims Forgive?
Written shortly after the death of George Floyd, Marie K. Daouda at The Critic, considers the earlier, parallel case of Adama Traoré. She argues against a cultural narrative that presents a simplistic picture of victimhood at the expense of the actual and moral complexities involved: Public discourse has canonized George Floyd and Adama Traoré. […]
Laïcité and the Need for a Narrative-in-Common
Recently, DDU supporter and lecturer Marie Kawthar Daouda presented a thoughtful and thought-provoking essay which considers the historical development of Laïcité in legal and philosophical terms. She questions whether Laïcité is as universal as some claim, and if it is capable of providing the resources needed for French society to be able to integrate its […]
Is France’s Secularism Worth Dying For?
In the wake of recent Islamist attacks in France, John Lichfield at Unherd considers Macron’s attempts to create a buffer between moderate Muslims and Islamists. His verdict? Flawed, but what else is to be done? Mr Paty’s lone murder has struck a raw and angry nerve in France – and not just because of the […]