The Big Picture

The Big Picture

by Middle East Eye

Society & Culture

Season 1

How Israel uses architecture to exert control | Eyal Weizman

On the frontlines of technological leaps are often people in power - governments, police, intelligence agencies and militaries - trying to use new research to advance the ways in which they operate. But what happens when these powers aren’t used for good? Who can keep the powerful in check in a global digital age?In this episode of The Big Picture, we sit down with architect and investigator Eyal Weizman to talk about how Israel uses urban planning to expand its control of the West Bank and why he decided to start a crime-fighting team of architects, journalists, and coders called Forensic Architecture to hold governments to account.Producer & Audio Editing: Houda Fansa JawadiFilming & Recording: Hossam SarhanGFX: Anas Alaa www.middlleeasteye.net We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at mh@middleeasteye.org or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

The history of Kurdish liberation movements | Zeynep Kaya

Kurdish political groups and militias have been fighting for independence for more than a century, pitting them against the governments of four countries: Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq. These groups rallied around the idea of a ‘Greater Kurdistan’, though critics say this romanticised homeland never really existed and that modern Kurds should accept their place in their adopted nation-states.In this episode of The Big Picture, we speak with lecturer and historian Dr Zeynep Kaya about the ‘Kurdish question’, the upcoming Turkish elections and how war, terrorism and economics have changed the way Kurds see themselves.Producer & Audio Editing: Houda Fansa JawadiFilming & Recording: Hossam SarhanGFX: Anas Alaa www.middlleeasteye.net We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at mh@middleeasteye.org or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Western Muslims and the Culture War | Dr Yasir Qadhi

Do Muslims have a place in the so-called ‘cultre war’?In many Western countries, a battle has waged between progressives and conservatives jostling in the political sphere and online. Many young Muslims have found themselves embroiled in these same conversations on gender, sexuality and tradition, creating a schism that threatens to divide their communities.In this episode of The Big Picture, we speak with American theologian and public speaker Dr. Yasir Qadhi about the role of Muslim scholars in the debate and Islam’s answer to the question of modernity.Audio Editing: Houda Fansa JawadiFilming & Recording: Hossam SarhanGFX: Anas Alaa www.middlleeasteye.net We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at mh@middleeasteye.org or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Christchurch Mosque Attacks: Keeping my brother’s story alive | Aya al-Umari

Four years after the Christchurch terror attacks, Aya al-Umari is fighting to change her brother’s story from ‘victim’ to ‘hero’.Hussein al-Umari was killed on 15 March in an act of white supremacy that claimed the lives of 51 Muslim worshippers in New Zealand. Despite local and international attention shifting elsewhere, the survivors and families at the centre of the attacks continue to struggle with grief, pain and new beginnings.In this episode of The Big Picture, Aya al-Umari shares her own journey of grieving her brother and why the world needs to know his story.Audio editing & mixing: Houda Fansa JawadiCredit: Movespace www.middlleeasteye.net We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at mh@middleeasteye.org or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

How UK counterterror laws ‘criminalise’ British Muslims | Layla Aitlhadj

After nearly four years of delay, the independent review into the UK’s counter-terror programme ‘Prevent’ has been published. The highly controversial strategy has been slammed by Muslim groups for creating an environment of fear and suspicion around ordinary citizens, who have been questioned in their workplaces, schools and medical facilities as a result.Instead, the review by William Showcross praises Prevent, highlighting instead the need to counter what he calls ‘bad faith’ actors trying to undermine the programme.In this episode of The Big Picture, we sit down with Dr Layla Aitlhadj, the director and lead campaigner of Prevent Watch, a Muslim-led initiative representing those impacted by the Prevent programme, some as young as four years old.Producer & Audio Editing: Houda Fansa JawadiFilming & Recording: Hossam SarhanGFX: Anas Alaa www.middlleeasteye.net We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at mh@middleeasteye.org or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Talking to young men about Andrew Tate | Zahara Chowdhury

Andrew Tate’s sudden and meteoric rise as a men’s rights influencer has captivated the attention of young men all over the world and shocked many others, including teachers and parents, about why their children are drawn in by his mix of misogyny and self-help guruisms. Despite his arrest on sex trafficking charges by Romanian authorities, his loyal followers continue to stand by him, including a large group of Muslim men.Educator, teacher, podcaster and speaker Zahara Chowdhury has made a career from talking to young people and their parents about difficult topics - diversity, inclusion, toxic masculinity and social media. As a teacher and parent, her unique perspectives on how to listen, engage and challenge young people on a variety of views have made her a popular speaker across the UK. In this episode of The Big Picture, we sit down with Chowdhury to talk about why Tate and other right-wing influencers appeal to young men and how parents can dispel his most harmful ideas.Producer & Audio Editing: Houda Fansa JawadiFilming & Recording: Hossam SarhanGFX: Anas Alaa www.middlleeasteye.net We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at mh@middleeasteye.org or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Trauma, memory and hope: The story of Syrian refugees | Waad al-Kateab

Syrian activist, revolutionary and filmmaker Waad al-Kateab gave birth to her daughter Sama under siege in Aleppo, sheltering in a makeshift hospital while Bashar al-Assad’s forces bombed the city around them. As a new mother, she decided to pick up her camera and document what she imagined were her last moments alive.Three years after her landmark documentary For Sama toured the world, al-Kateab continues to campaign for the rights of Syrians, those displaced and those still facing persecution and violence at home. She is also raising two daughters now in her family’s new home in the UK.In this episode of The Big Picture, we sit with the filmmaker at the opening of her new exhibit, ‘We Dared To Dream’, to talk about displacement, new beginnings and unfinished fights.Filming: Hossam SarhanGFX: Anas Alaa Audio editor: Houda Fansa Jawadi www.middlleeasteye.net We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at mh@middleeasteye.org or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Ben Gvir, Smotrich and the end of the peace process | Daniel Levy

After four years of political turmoil, Israel's far-right Zionist agitators have emerged victorious, seeking to expel Palestinians, implement Jewish loyalty laws and tear up the peace process once and for all.With the help of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have dominated Israeli politics and are set to take over the most powerful positions in government, despite the alarm of the international community.Daniel Levy is a former Israeli peace negotiator who was instrumental in the 1993 Oslo Accords. He now heads the US Middle East Project and advocates for Palestinian rights at the United Nations and other international bodies.In this episode of The Big Picture, Levy breaks down the rise of Israel's far-right and what their electoral victory says about Israeli society today.Filming: Hossam SarhanGFX: Anas Alaa Audio editor: Houda Fansa Jawadi www.middlleeasteye.net We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at mh@middleeasteye.org or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Women's liberation, minority rights and revolution in Iran | Dr Kat Eghdamian

In our first in a series of long-form interviews with great minds, we speak with human rights advocate Dr Kat Eghdamian on why the fight for women's liberation in Iran is not about religion but control.Dr Eghdamian explains how the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman, inspired a nationwide movement built on Kurdish traditions and slogans and what we can learn from the young people putting their lives on the line for a better future.Filming & Recording: Hossam SarhanGFX: Anas Alaa Audio editor: Houda Fansa Jawadi www.middlleeasteye.net We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at mh@middleeasteye.org or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

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