By Toufic Machnouk
Structural violence is the effect of a systematic imbalance in society that prefers the interests of some over others. Its dynamics are less visible than that of direct violence, where the causes are generally easier to identify. In terms of global relations, the use of direct violence is mostly a state affair manifested in armed conflict. The participation of the general population is predominantly one of inaction. Structural violence, however, tends to involve the participation...
By Tarek El Diwany
Five hundred years ago, a person who attempted to lend money for a commercial gain in the City of London risked arrest for the crime of usury. On those same streets today the cream of our educational establishments vie for a share of the usurer’s pie, and in plush city boardrooms those who were once despised make decisions that affect the entire world of commerce and politics. Yet the wealth earned through usury is an illusion. The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said...