Check out Narcy's Blog!

Just want to give a shout-out: be sure to check out Narcy's Blog...will put you in the know for what is going on in the Arab hip hop scene. 'Shek it out: http://www.illuminarcy.blogspot.com/

Muslim Comics Coming of Age

A recent post by one of the funniest Arab-American comics around, I hope you get a chance to watch this documentary on PBS. I certainly will be. I'll try to include a YouTube video of his comedy at the bottom of the post. Enjoy!

Hey friends- I just wanted to let people know about a great one hour documentary airing nationally on PBS on May 11, 2008 at 10:00 PM about the rise of Arab-American and Muslim American comedians. Its part of PBS's critically acclaimed series "America at a Crossroads" and its entitled: "Stand Up: Muslim American Comics Come of Age." It was shot over the past three years and it features Ahmed Ahmed, Tissa Hami, Azhar Usman, Maysoon Zayid and myself. Here is the link to the show's webpage on the PBS website: http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/show_standup.html
The 2005 and 2006 NY Arab-American Comedy Festivals and Comedy Central's The Watch List" taping are also featured in the special so many of you who attended those shows are in the audience shots.They also uploaded some short clips on Youtube including this one with me and my Sicilian mom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CiG6H9Kb4o.This documentary presents us being very funny and getting a chance to tell our own story (which we must do!) Obviously its rare to see a full hour on American TV that portrays us in a positive light.I hope you will check it out!
Thanks!Dean

Seminar on Cultural Diplomacy

Recently I attended a Seminar on Cultural Diplomacy at George Washington University in honor of Dave Brubeck, one of the first musicians to conduct cultural diplomacy tours around the world. Dr. Marc Lynch spoke about the parallels between Hip Hop and Jazz and the importance of listening to that which reaches those audiences that we want to see America in a more positive light, particularly in the Arab world. Now, I'm not in support of exporting Nelly or 36 Mafia, but instead, I argue we should foster the growth and development of those indigenous hip hop artists already in place. Perhaps we could provide productive hip hop mentors such as Talib Kweli and others who write and sing about social justice, equality and those issues which parallel the experience of many Middle Eastern youth who struggle to harness their emotions into a vehicle of song and spoken word. I believe that we really have a golden opportunity to reach those youth that so desparately need their voices to be heard. Arab rappers and hip hop artists have very important things to say--they are politically and socially conscious and are not singing about those things which the American public look to as frivolous and materialistic, but rather those concepts which America's historical experience has grown through and from. Exporting American culture is not necessarily the goal, but rather providing a public space for the growth and maturation of a culture already in place. We don't need to transplant American values onto populations (and the youth) in the Middle East; those values are already there. Instead, I argue we should work to enhance those characteristics which are already there that we too identify with: equality, social justice, freedom and happiness. I think we'll find that by fostering the opportunities for young voices to be heard, particularly in the Middle East (whether through hip hop, jazz, art, rock any artistic form) we will find a much more successful long-term cultural diplomatic strategy. I've been told that this is all well and good, however the Arab youth are so "angry" and "passionate"--well I say, right on! Isn't that what socially conscious music has always been about? What we see as muscially and socially acceptable may not be wrapped up in an Enya-like package, but instead, may be found in the emotional and angry poetry which comes from the hearts of the oppressed and are shouting at the rest of the world to pay attention. It would behoove us to listen. Hala.

Cultural Diplomacy

If you're a fan of cultural diplomacy and music and are near the DC area, this is a panel discussion not to be missed!

http://www.elliottschool.org/events/calendar.cfm?fuseaction=ViewMonthDetail&yr=2008&mon=4#640


TuesdayApril 8, 2008 6:00 PM - 7:15 PM Lindner Family Commons, Room 6021957 E Street, NW

Cultural Diplomacy and Dave Brubeck

David Grier, Associate Dean of Academic Programs, Elliott School of International Affairs; Associate Professor of International Science and Technology Policy and International Affairs, GWU
Hugh Agnew, Associate Dean of Faculty and Student Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs; Professor of History and International Affairs, GWU
Ambassador Karl Inderfurth, John O. Rankin Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, GWU
Marc Lynch, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, GWU

Please send RSVP to: rsvpesia@gwu.edu
Sponsored by The Elliott School of International Affairs

Palestinian Hip Hop and Social Justice

(Photo Separation Barrier artwork by Banksy)

I want to share with you the words of one of the best (in my opinion, the best) Palestinian Hip Hop groups today, DAM. As I've said before, the Arab youth, especially Palestinian youth have some very important things to say and have chosen the artistic vehicles of spoken word, rap, hip hop and other forms of music to express them. Hip Hop (and any music for that matter) is a very powerful way to present protest which communicates the forces of perceived (and real!) injustices to those experiencing similar life situations (regardless of geographical location) and to those who are guilty of perpetrating them. It is through this form of art that Palestinian and other Arab youth are able to break out of the prisons of poverty, seclusion, violence and suppression and express their hopes and wishes for the liberty from those who have built walls, real or imaginary around them.

The following words have been translated, but to get the true feel of the lyrics, I would highly recommend listening to (and purchasing!) them on DAM's Dedication album. (the link will take you to the page where you can order it). Personally, I feel the third segment is the most powerful and really expresses the pride and strength among many of the Palestinian youth today. And now, the words of DAM (Tamer Nafar, Suhell Nafar and Mahmoud Jreri):



Nghayir Bukra (Change Tomorrow)

This is for the small kids in
this big world
Lost, don't know what is happening
Barely opened your eyes, you saw tears
Barely opened your heart, you felt pain
Barely joined us, you saw that we are separated
Jews, Christians, and Muslims

None of these sides wants to
understand the other
Every side thinks they're
better than the other
Claiming that he's the only
one going to heaven
Meanwhile, making our lives
hell
But, you're different from us,
your heart is still pure
So don't let our dirt touch it

Keep asking for a life full of
equality
And if someone asks you to
hate, say no
I am the child of today, the
transformation of tomorrow
We want education, we want
improvement
To have the ability to change
tomorrow
We want education, we want
improvement
To have the ability to change
tomorrow

The path to equality is a long
road to travel
On the way you'll meet people
with bitter hearts
They'll try to make you feel
that they're above you
If that's what they think, then
they are beneath you
You're not a terrorist, You're
not a beast
You're a human being, and
what ruins your reputation
Is something called politics,
takes the good from you
For greedy reasons, and some
people walk with you
Because they feel sorry for
the 'pitiable' Arabs
Hell noooo, erase that word
from your mind
A pitiable man accepts his
poverty and you will not
Don't feel weak, whatever
We failed, yet you stand on
your feet
We cried, yet you wipe our
tears
Children of today, raise your
heads

We want education, we want
improvement
To have the ability to change
tomorrow
We want education, we want
improvement
To have the ability to change
tomorrow

So we can change tomorrow
I wanna make it easy for you

You wanna reach the future?
Then study your past
Know the meaning of
occupation in your mind
And know the meaning of
independence in your heart
And now, repeat after me:
In the WHITE & the RED (in
the white and the red)
The GREEN & the BLACK
(in the green and the black)
We will paint our culture, we
feel it even though we can't
see it
The ones who erased it, still
didn't erase us
They torture us?! Ohhh, if you
can't take it
Don't grab a gun, but grab a
pen and write
I'M AN ARAB like Mahmud
Darwish did
I'll never kill the others just to live
My heart is screaming, we are
human beings
My head is held high, in the
name of Palestine
My hand will never abandon
my abandoned brothers
Their hopes will cross my
heart, near the Handala
(Wait, wait, wait, if you don't understand
What I'm saying, go and ask
your parents)
And if no one has the answers,
study it alone
So you can answer your kids
We want education, we want
improvement
To have the ability to change
tomorrow
We want education, we want
improvement
To have the ability to change tomorrow.

***

Salaam alaykum il a kul asdiqahi. *Riyah al Layl*
(Peace be unto you all of my friends) Riyah

Commanding Culture through Rhyme (NPR)

Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88110225&sc=emaf


From NPR:


Scroobius Pip, Commanding Pop Culture in Rhyme
By Guy Raz
Listen Now
[8 min 17 sec] add to playlist
'Thou Shalt Always Kill'
add
Video: 'Thou Shalt Always Kill' (YouTube)
'The Beat That My Heart Skipped'
add
Video: 'The Beat That My Heart Skipped' (YouTube)
'Letter From God To Man'
add
"[Scroobius Pip] is kind of a metaphor for when I realized that I could kind of do spoken word and hip-hop and have indie influence and punk influence and jazz influence [in my music] -- it didn't have to be one specific thing."Scroobius Pip All Things Considered, March 11, 2008 - Scroobius Pip is an unlikely hip-hop phenomenon. He's beanpole-thin, about 6'2" tall and white. He dons skinny ties, speaks with a nasal north London accent and wears his beard as long as a Hasidic Torah scholar.
And yet his self-released track "Thou Shalt Always Kill," with its accompanying video, already has taken the British music world by storm.

"They're not manufactured," says Phil Alexander, editor of the British music magazine Mojo. "They're refreshing and there's no doubt that there's a lot more to come from them."
From nearly the moment Pip and his collaborator, DJ Dan le Sac, posted the song to their MySpace page last year, it became a hit. In the video, Scroobius Pip tears down a narrow flight of stairs, out the door and onto a London street, where he recites a litany of pop-cultural commandments.

"Thou shalt not worship pop idols," he says. "Thou shalt not take the names of Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer, Johnny Hartman, Desmond Dekker, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix or Syd Barrett in vain." The video is a literal illustration of the rhyme. When Pip commands "thou shalt not shake it like a Polaroid picture" — quoting OutKast's hit "Hey Ya" — he shakes a Polaroid. When he says "thou shalt not read NME," he snatches the famous British music magazine from the hands of a man in a park.

At one point in the video, Pip stands in a stairwell, holding a stack of legendary rock albums and begins to toss each one aside. "The Beatles: Were just a band / Led Zeppelin: Just a band / The Beach Boys: Just a band / The Sex Pistols: Just a band," he recites.
"It was just kind of pointing out that although the music is important and changes people's lives, the people who've made it are just regular people like everyone else," says Scroobius Pip. "I mean, their job is important and touches people's lives, but it's not as important as, like, your nurses and your care workers and things like that, so they are all just bands and they're just blokes making music."Scroobius Pip, whose real name is David Meads, took his stage name from an Edward Lear poem. The Scroobious Pip (as Lear spells it) is a creature without an identity, but who is happy to relate to all the other animals in the jungle.

"[The name] is kind of a metaphor for when I realized that I could kind of do spoken word and hip-hop and have indie influence and punk influence and jazz influence [in my music] — it didn't have to be one specific thing," Pip says. Scroobius Pip and Dan le Sac started collaborating a few years ago, when they worked together at an HMV record store outside London. Le Sac would take recordings of Pip's poetry and set it to sampled music and beats. The result is a sound that combines electronic beats and sounds, occasional vocals, catchy riffs and compelling spoken-word poetry. There's a whimsical quality to much of Pip's writing, but he also struggles to find the right language — words he can actually say. Since the age of 4, he's had to work around a debilitating stutter.

"If anything, I feel it's been a benefit," he says. "It's allowed me to grow. I was restricted with what words I could use because of certain [ones] I'd stutter on. I had to think a sentence or two ahead, and I'd be thinking, 'I'm gonna stutter on that word' so I'd be replacing it. So it kind of allowed me to widen my vocabulary without being much of a reader but more out of necessity."
Scroobius Pip and Dan le Sac's five-city U.S. tour starts Tuesday in New York and includes a stop at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.

Hip Hop Saturdays in Amman

If you like Arab Hip Hop/Rap then listen to Radio Amman (92.4 in Amman, Jordan) (listen online at: http://www.ammannet.net/) on Saturday at 8pm Jordan time, or 1pm EST. It's a mix of Arab hip hop and American hip hop, with discussions and interviews sprinkled throughout by DJ Niz-R (Nizar Samarrai). Most if not all of the programming is in Arabic (Lahijey Philistini au lahijey Sooriye) but you will hear some English. The program is one hour long. Enjoy--Hala!

(Press photo of DAM, a Palestinian Hip Hop Crew)

Sling Shot Hip Hop Update!

From info@slingshothiphop.com:

Hi EveryoneFresh from its world premiere as part of the Sundance Film Festival, Slingshot Hip Hop will have it's NYC premiere at MoMA's NewDirectors/ New Films.Tickets are on sale this Friday, March 7th, at 11:30am, and they will sell out quickly.

Showtimes:Saturday, April 5 at 9:00pm at the Walter Reade Theater, LincolnCenterSunday, April 6 at 4:30 at the MoMATicketshttp://http://www.filmlinc.com/ndnf/ndnf.html http://www.filmlinc.com/ndnf/ndnf.html http://www.filmlinc.com/ndnf/program.html

Check out the new VIBE magazine (with De Niro and 50 cent on thecover)Slingshot Hip Hop got a 4 page spread by Harry AllenOther screenings:SXSWMarch 15th, 12:45 pm - 2:00 pmAustin, Texashttp://2008.sxsw.com/carver/There will be a NEW Slingshot Hip Hop website up in the next coupledays. www.slingshothiphop.com so please check it out!

Thanks for all the support,
The Slingshot Hip Hop team

An Israeli and a Gazan Blog for Peace

An Israeli and a Gazan blog for peace

The Christian Science Monitor

By Josh Mitnick Thu Mar 6, 3:00 AM ET

Sderot, Israel - It's a friendship that spans the poles of the Israeli-Palestinian war zone – this southern Israeli border town and a Gaza refugee camp about 10 miles away. The two men have not seen each other in about a year. But they are now reunited in the blogosphere, writing a joint diary to stave off their own despair and prove that a dialogue is still possible across the divide.
Titled, "Life must go on in Gaza and Sderot," the pair rants in (uneven) English about the seeming futility about the Hamas-Israeli hostilities, the daily stress of surviving the violence, and the loneliness of optimists.

"Peace man," an unemployed bachelor who resides in Gaza's Sajaiya refugee camp, blogs between Gaza's power outages and complains of insomnia from the constant overflights of Israeli attack helicopters. "Hope man," a software programmer whose Sderot house has been buffeted on all sides by Qassam rockets, worries about being away from his kids – who are at school – when the next rockets fall.

"We decided we wanted to come out to the world, and to show that there other types of relationships between Palestinians in Gaza and Israelis in Sderot, not only rockets and violence," says the Sderot blogger. "Even though things are really awful, it's to show there can be a true connection."

On Wednesday, under pressure from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced he would resume talks with Israel after a suspension earlier this week in protest over the killing of more than 100 Palestinians in Gaza.
On the eve of Ms. Rice's visit, Hope Man said he had low expectations that her talks would yield a permanent halt to the cross-border violence. "I don't think anyone has a clue about how to get out of this bind."

Started in January, the Israeli-Palestinian blog team (http://gaza-sderot.blogspot.com/) posts about every other day and they try to steer clear of political debate. The entries include first-person accounts of dodging Qassam rockets, shopping for scarce goods in Gaza's markets, the frustrating search for like-minded Israelis and Palestinians, and a mantra-like appeal for a stop to the violence. Afraid their public conversation may be seen as disloyal by their countrymen, they assiduously guard their true identities. The Gaza blogger says in a phone interview that some of his friends who know about the blog have expressed concern for his well-being.
The fighting of the past week, some of the worst in years, has made it almost impossible for Gazans to openly speak of peaceful relations with Israelis, even if it's only in cyberspace. "They say it's dangerous and that some groups don't like this," says Peace Man. "In Gaza, nothing is clear."

In Israel, too, where the firing of hundreds of Qassam rockets resulted in one fatality last week, there is hostility toward those who openly talk to Palestinians. "Who's that traitor that's writing that damned blog," Liron Amir, an Israeli sitting at a pizza restaurant in Sderot, replies when asked about the blog. "He should go live with them. We don't want any connection with them."
The bloggers met about two years ago through an Israeli-Arab dialogue group sponsored by the Center for Emerging Future in Boise, Idaho, which obtained Israeli army permits for Peace Man to cross into Israel to attend dialogue meetings in Jerusalem and Sderot.

Danny Gal, the Israeli coordinator for the center, said the group encourages Israelis and Palestinians to set up joint peace ventures. They originally hoped to establish a joint summer camp for kids from Sderot and Gaza, but since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, Israeli border permits have become very difficult to obtain unless it's for medical care. Though they continued to speak on the phone frequently, the frustrated pair decided to take their conversation online.

In the same way that blogs have experienced popularity as an alternative to mainstream news reports, a desire to "correct" the portrayal of the conflict in both Israeli and Palestinian media is another purpose of the blog, says the Sderot blogger. "If you turn on Channel 1 in Israel, you will not see a balanced picture. That's understandable. I'm not blaming anyone. We're just trying to represent our reality," says Hope Man.

"There's a tendency of the media – especially when there's an escalation – not to say things that are against the mainstream or the policy of the government. They try to show solidarity with policy." Talking by cellphone from his Gaza home, over the background thump of Israeli helicopters, Peace Man says that hope for peace among Gazans has nose-dived ever since Middle East leaders gathered in Annapolis, Md., to announce the resumption of peace negotiations.

Desperate for a respite from the violence, the blogging pair recently started calling for a one-month truce in the fighting, which they say will give a chance for the anger to ease on each side and for leaders to think creatively about searching for a solution. "We just need a breather," says Hope Man. "We may be a little naive, but its better than sitting around and waiting for everything to destruct around us."

Palestinian hip hop rapped at Sundance

Great article!! It's good to see coverage of Jackie Salloum's work!! Yay!

Jackie Salloum, director of 'SlingShot Hip Hop' Photo by: AFP

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080120/wl_mideast_afp/entertainmentusfilmfestivalsundancemusicmideast

PARK CITY, Utah (AFP) - Palestinian hip hop group DAM, which has spawned a cult following and a small army of imitators, was featured here in a new film at the Sundance Film Festival on the emerging Middle East music scene. "Slingshot Hip Hop" by director Jackie Salloum offers a peek into contemporary life in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, as well as the Middle East hip hop culture inspired by the political rants of US rappers such as Public Enemy, Tupac Shakur and Eminem. Rapper Mahmoud Shalabi from the village Akka, is featured in the documentary, as is female hip hop duo Arapeyat. The movie also highlights the work of the group Palestinian Rapperz (PR) among others.

In the film the Palestinian rap groups offer an alternative form of resistance against "Israeli occupiers," however reinforcing entrenched Palestinian views of pre-1948 history.
Their message has left audiences and critics wondering if the new music might not simply reinforce longstanding cultural differences. But Salloum offers a different take.
"Palestinians are steadfast and a very proud people," she said in an interview with AFP.
"When I visit my family in the West Bank, the situation just gets worse and worse. But these rappers gave me hope," she said. The filmmaker said the rap groups often bring positive messages to youths, encouraging them to express their anger through rhymes, not violence.
And although they are not topping the charts in Israel, they have attracted a small, leftist Jewish fan base. "It's still underground, but it's getting through," said Salloum.

"Palestine's First Lady of R & B" Abeer, who is also in the film, established herself in hip hop singing on the song "Born Here" with DAM. She has collaborated recently with Los Angeles-based Palestinian-American rap crew The Philistines, and also is working on a solo album.
DAM meanwhile, recently launched a small record label to distribute Arab and Palestinian music. Salloum first heard Palestinian hip hop on the radio -- the song "Meen Erhabi" ("Who's the Terrorist?") by DAM -- which launched the group's stardom in the region.
She decided first to make a music video for the song, later to make her documentary "Slingshot Hip Hop," which shows scenes of rappers Tamer, Suhell and Mahmoud in their early, awkward recording attempts and their politicization during the Second Intifada.

By embracing rap "a form of music that is among the most popular around the world -- the music of the oppressed and the marginalized -- it's easier to sell their message to young Palestinians," Salloum said. "It's having a huge effect on the new generation," she said.
Salloum added, however, that some Palestinians do not agree with the music.
"There might be a tiny few who don't like it. Some say, 'Why are you dressed that way? You shouldn't wear baggy clothes.' At one show, some kids protested (on religious grounds)."
At one point in the film, a female rapper's family is threatened against appearing on stage again.
In the movie, the rap artists encounter crushing poverty, difficult cultural boundaries, daily border checkpoints, and other obstacles. "They're also always broke," Salloum said. "It took them five years to make an album, they're struggling financially, and there is no music infrastructure available to them," she said. "Hopefully, that will change."

The 10-day Sundance independent film festival opened Thursday and closes on January 27.

Forbidden Beauty

AP Photo

AP: Iraqi Hairdressers Forced Underground

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071226/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_secret_salons

By: Diaa Hadid



BAGHDAD, Iraq - Umm Doha cuts hair and waxes eyebrows in secret from her living room because making women look pretty can get a person killed in her Sunni-dominated Baghdad neighborhood.

Hardline Muslim extremists who believe it is sinful for women to appear beautiful in public have forced many beauticians to move their trade underground. Sunni and Shiite militants began blowing up salons roughly two years ago. They killed several stylists and bullied others into putting down their scissors and makeup brushes for good, all in an effort to stamp out what they view as the corrupting spread of Western culture. Besides beauty salons, militants have also targeted liquor stores, barber shops and Christian churches.



In the past year, most beauty salons in the Shiite-dominated southern city of Basra went underground, as they did in the Sunni-controlled neighborhood of Dora in west Baghdad.
To those outside of Iraq, the prospect of being killed just for frequenting a hair salon might seem a convincing reason not to go. But despite being targeted by militants, stylists say women here still want to look good — and stylish. Refusing to get a haircut or having their makeup done would be giving in to the violence and despair surrounding them.



"See this salon?" said the stylist Kifah, as she deftly lopped off a woman's dark hair into smart layers in her east Baghdad establishment. "It's never been empty, not through the Iraq-Iran war, the Gulf war or this war. Women are women, they always want to look good."
Despite her bravado, Kifah, like all the hairdressers interviewed, asked that her full name not be used because she feared retaliation by extremists.



The latest attack on a salon was Dec. 13, in the city of Mosul northwest of the capital. Gunmen stormed the home of a woman who was running a beauty parlor out of one room. They killed her.



Last year, extremists blew up 42-year-old Umm Doha's beauty parlor in west Baghdad after she did not heed their warnings to close shop. "They didn't want a ladies salon there," she said. Two other salons were also blown up. Umm Doha said hardline Muslims were offended by the sight of freshly made-up women leaving her salon, including brides heading to their weddings — even though they were conservatively veiled while outside. Days after her small shop was destroyed, she converted a room in her home into an underground salon. She said she had no choice: Her husband's low-paying clerk's job does not pay enough to keep food on the table for their three children.



It isn't known how many secret salons exist in Iraq, but many women bullied out of their shops work on customers at home. Such an arrangement cuts into profits because the beauticians will deal only with women they already know. Umm Doha said she has recently been earning only about $200 a month. The brides are the real salon money-spinners: They must be fully waxed, eyebrows shaped, have a fancy hairstyle and a makeover — all for about $65. Umm Doha now sees just two or three brides a month instead of every week.



While danger is rife for beauticians, those plying their trade in areas that have been secured by Iraqi and U.S. troops, or controlled by Sunni tribal groups opposed to al-Qaida in Iraq, seem to have more latitude to work. A few roads down from Umm Nour's place, the hairdresser Shams runs a salon in an area protected by a checkpoint separating her part of the neighborhood from the extremists who have forced her colleague into hiding. "I've been here for four years and I've never been threatened," Shams said.



Across town in a Shiite neighborhood in east Baghdad, Kifah's salon sits wedged between a mechanic's shop and a shuttered store. Inside, a cluster of women wait, wet hair wrapped in towels. One woman leans back on a chair as a beautician applies a white paste to her face. Another sits with a plastic cap on her hair, strands pulled out to be lightened. A table next to the window holds the ubiquitous pot of sweet Iraqi tea. Many of the customers in Kifah's shop said they were war-weary refugees from Sunni western Baghdad, from Shiite families, or Shiites married into Sunni families who fled into more secure eastern Baghdad.



One of those women lay back in Kifah's chair. She asked not to be named, fearing identification by the extremists her family had fled. But the woman said the strife made her want to look her best. She said she could not stop the war, but she could boost her morale by looking good.
Iraq's violence, she said, was like a person suffering from a high fever. "The fever will break and Iraq will return to normal. But until then, we want to be stylish and look good," she said.
"Here, we give women hope," Kifah said. "They feel like women, even during the worst tragedy."



Kifah's own niece and nephew have disappeared. Another niece was kidnapped and later found dead, even after Kifah's family paid a ransom, she said. Still, her salon must stay open.
"If we give some hope here, it helps us carry on," she said, dusting off the salon chair to prepare for her next customer.

Christmas in Palestine

(flickr.com from AnomalousNYC)

As posted from BBC.com: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7154134.stm

Christmas under Hamas rule

By Katya Adler BBC News, Gaza City

Note: All photos in this story taken from story posted on BBC.com)

Earlier this year, the Islamist Hamas party took control of Gaza, home to a thriving Christian community now preparing to celebrate their first Christmas under Hamas rule.

Palestinian Christians are known as Nasserine - the people of Nazareth
Manawel Musallam - priest, headmaster and Gazan - is a rotund, avuncular man, fond of wearing berets. I have come to his office to ask how Christians in Gaza were faring on this, their first Christmas under the full internal control of Hamas. "You media people!" Father Musallam boomed at me when I first poked my head around his door. "Hamas this, Hamas that. You think we Christians are shaking in our ghettos in Gaza? That we're going to beg you British or the Americans or the Vatican to rescue us?" he asked. "Rescue us from what? From where? This is our home." Extended family The pupils at the Holy Family School, Gaza City, all call Manawel Musallam "Abunah" - Our Father in Arabic. His is a huge family of 1,200 children and, although the school is part-funded by the Vatican, here, as in all of Gaza, Christians are the minority.

Ninety-nine percent of the pupils here are Muslim. This is one of the reasons Fr Musallam says he does not fear the Islamists. "They should be afraid. Not me," he chuckled. "Their children are under my tutelage, in my school. Hamas mothers and fathers are here at parents' day along with everyone else." But there is more that binds Christians and Muslims in Gaza than their children's shared playground. After the bloody scenes of Palestinian infighting this year, it is easy to assume Gazan society is irreconcilably split - both politically and along religious lines.

There were those chilling incidents in June when men with beards were shot for looking like Islamists. Men without beards were shot by Islamist extremists who thought they were non-believers, even traitors. But actually the situation is far less clear cut. Take the music room-cum-prayer hall at the Holy Family School. Nativity play On one of the walls hang huge photos of what the irreverent might be tempted to describe as the Gazan Catholic's Holy Trinity - the Pope, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the (Muslim) Palestinian president. I found a group of 10-year-olds on stage, rehearsing their Nativity play, watched, with great enthusiasm, by a group of their Muslim friends.

Mary and Joseph squatted on stage. The girl playing Mary, clasped a tube of scrunched-up brown paper wrapped in a scarf, which, for rehearsal purposes, was posing as baby Jesus.
"You see," Fr Musallam told me, as he gazed indulgently at the goings-on on stage. "Our identity is a multi-layered one." "Of course, I am a Christian believer, but politically I am a Palestinian Muslim. I resist Israel's military occupation, obviously not with weapons. "The Jihad can never be mine but with my words, my sermons, I am a Palestinian priest." On stage, four wise men, instead of three (probably due to a casting struggle) were paying their respects to the paper bag. "We have lived alongside Muslims here since Islam was born," said Fr Musallam, waving his arm at the stage. "They have a special word for us, the Christians of Palestine. They call us Nasserine - the people of Nazareth. They recognise that we have always been here
"Even the more extreme Muslims see a difference between us and other Christians they regard as enemies and call Crusaders."

There is no evidence to suggest the Hamas government here officially discriminates against Christians but its takeover in Gaza - its military wing's leading role in armed resistance against Israel, along with the Islamic Jihad faction - have all led to the increasing Islamisation of Gazan society. And that has encouraged some extremist Muslims to take action. A Christian bookshop owner was killed here a couple of months ago. There was a kidnap attempt on another Christian recently. And a number of Christian families we spoke to say they had received death threats.
They question Hamas' willingness to take action to protect them. However, it was under Hamas armed escort that we met the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, on a special pre-Christmas visit to Gaza. It was quite a spectacle. The Patriarch, dressed in a purple cassock, stepped out of a black, shiny Mercedes at the Latin Church in Gaza City. 'God's creatures'
A crowd of police cars screeched to a halt all around him, lights flashing and sirens screaming. Bearded gunmen dressed in black jumped out to guard him. In previous years, the Patriarch's Christmas sermon has concentrated on the suffering of Palestinians under Israeli military occupation but this year he preached steadfastness in the face of intimidation by Islamist fanatics.

"They forget we are all God's creatures," he told a concerned-looking congregation. "But nobody can tell us Christians how to dress, how to live or how to pray". The patriarch called on the Hamas government to take responsibility and to protect the Christian citizens of Gaza, along with everyone else. As the crowded church was belting out hallelujahs, I stepped into the church courtyard for some fresh air.

The Muslim call to prayer was beginning to echo from the myriad of mosques all around.
I thought how this reflected the situation in Gaza in Christmas 2007 - that while the muezzin were on loudspeaker, the church bells here are played from a cassette tape. A nervous young nun adjusted the volume - loud enough to peel through the church but not to penetrate its walls - it might risk offending Muslim Gazans passing by.

Some more photos for perusing:

(the following photos were taken by Nayef Hashlamoun)

Christians light candles in the grotto of the Church of the Nativity

A Priest lights candles in the Church of the Nativity

A Priest opens a new door (given by the Vatican) to the Church of the Nativity)

A Greek Orthodox Priest cleans lanterns at the Church of the Nativity

Palestinians hold annual Christmas Bazaar in Bethlehem (photo by Iyad Atayat)

Palestinian women are shopping two days before Christmas celebrations in order to celebrate along with Christians, in the West Bank town of Ramallah December 22, 2005. (MAANnews/Charlotte de Bellabre)

Palestinian children play with Christmas decorations in a Christian shop two days before Christmas celebrations, in the West Bank town of Ramallah December 22, 2005. (MAANnews/Charlotte de Bellabre)

Eid Mubarak!

Photo from "Hajj in Pictures"

Sling Shot Hip Hop at Sundance 2008!

Good news! 'Slingshot Hip Hop,' a documentary about Palestinian hip hop groups will debut at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in January. This is great news and will give the film and the subject matter the exposure that they need. Hala!

الفلسطينية

Unknown source

More Hip Hop Diplomacy

Photo by Michael Luongo

From the Christian Science Monitor (25 Nov)

The art of (hip-hop) diplomacy

Cultural exchanges can help boost America's image abroad.

By John Ferguson
from the November 23, 2007 edition

Houston - The 15 teenage hip-hop dancers break into a sweat as the demands of Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation" take their toll. Despite the air conditioning in the sparkling new cultural center, the 125-degree heat finds its way inside. Dance teacher Michael Parks Masterson takes the students to task over a fumbled step. "You guys are awesome, but you must concentrate," he shouts.
There are only seven more days to prepare for the Unity Performing Arts Academy gala show. Hip-hop, one of America's newer cultural exports, is about to make a debut in northern Iraq.
In a leap of the imagination supported by the State Department and the US Embassy in Baghdad, this summer my small not-for-profit organization, American Voices, created a 10-day conservatory of artistic expression and learning for Iraqi performing artists. During that time, participants proved that Iraqi unity is not necessarily a myth – and that cultural diplomacy can work wonders, even in conflict zones.
In a country that has seen little, if any, cultural exchange with the US for decades, the hunger for knowledge was palpable. With a faculty of 10 Americans teaching ballet, hip-hop, musical theater, jazz, chamber music, and orchestra, the students were treated to a smorgasbord of learning previously unavailable to them.
There was extraordinary energy in the air as Iraqis put in 12-hour days studying "cool new things," as one of them put it, from Vivaldi's Baroque style to a choreography of George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm." With participating groups ranging from the youth theater of Irbil, Iraq, to the Iraq National Folk Dancers' more experienced artists, there was a unique blend of ages, ethnic groups, languages, and art forms.
While the program began with some mutual wariness among the groups from various regions of Iraq, by the end, there was strong camaraderie. Perhaps most remarkable was the Unity Orchestra, composed of 130 players from all four of Iraq's principal orchestras. It left an indelible impression of what united Iraqis could achieve in the realm of art.
Once back home, however, each orchestra faces unique challenges. Baghdad's Iraq National Symphony Orchestra braves rehearsals and performances amid terrible violence. Irbil's orchestra is still on informal strike after years of salaries not rising above $30 per month. Sulaymaniyah's two orchestras are younger, active, and relatively well trained; this summer a group of its members won second prize at a youth orchestra competition in Vienna.
At the gala concert, all of the orchestras came together to give a buoyant performance of music by Duke Ellington and Iraqi composers. At the final reception we danced till dawn – despite the awareness that for most, tomorrow would bring a return to the uncertainties of Baghdad or the isolation of the Kurdish regions.
Two months later, the faculty still gets almost daily messages from participants. Some are requests for help with a double bass bridge or advice on how to teach from a method book we donated. Many simply say thanks for offering a glimpse of a way forward and breathing new life into Iraqi conservatories and arts organizations. Many Iraqi performing artists tell me they have toiled for so long and in such isolation that they assumed the world either did not care or had forgotten them.
Repairing America's image and standing in the world will require a group effort. The US government cannot and should not do this alone. As someone deeply involved in the field of cultural diplomacy for close to 20 years, I would like to see cultural exchange written into the mission statements of America's arts organizations and places of learning: more effective exchanges, more scholarships, more hip-hop. In the case of Iraq, such programs not only help heal Iraq's deep-seated divisions but also give Iraqis much needed insight into the US and its culture, beyond foreign policy.
Fears that the US may be forcing cultural diplomacy programs upon an unwilling or indifferent public are, in my experience, unfounded. From Iraq to Vietnam to Venezuela, audiences are clamoring for more. Many Americans assume that our culture is as unwelcome abroad as our foreign policies often are, but we should not underestimate the sway our unique art forms hold over audiences deprived of cultural contact with the US.
In the post-9/11 world, nations must develop ways to not only understand but also embrace one another. Art, music, and dance can help facilitate such positive exchange. It is time for new visions of what is possible – even essential – in America's cultural relationship with countries emerging from conflict or isolation.
Pianist John Ferguson is executive director of American Voices.

Hijabi

I forgot where I snagged this photo from...but this picture is on the side of a building in San Francisco. She is somewhere near Chinatown off a block or two of the main street which runs from the center of the city to the wharf. I just love the picture...

Kiss the Camel

Photo by Ali Jarekji

Supplication

Photo by Ali Mansuri

Free the P!

If you liked 'I Love Hip Hop in Morocco' check out this album. Proceeds go to the new Palestinian Hip Hop Documentary, 'Sling Shot Hip Hop'. You can get the CD from Amazon.com.

Looking Good--in Afghanistan

I saw this excerpt from the program 'Witness' off of Al-Jazeera English some time ago, but it still brings a smile to my face. Ah...women and beauty. As much as feminists love to bash any and all wide generalizations about women, it is true that a woman loves to feel beautiful and there's nothing that beats the confidence felt when leaving a beauty salon after having been cut, styled, colored, primped and b-e-a-u-tified! I recentely read a wonderful book called Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez, which I would highly recommend, as well as a DVD documentary by the same name. It reinforced even more the need for post-conflict economic opportunities for women; especially in Afghanistan. I wrote a letter to Dove's Real Beauty Campaign hoping to secure more donations for the beauty schools in Afghanistan and to promote an international look at beauty and what it does for women in conflict zones--but didn't hear back.

Here is Deborah's website: http://oasisrescue.org/

I'm going to try to embed the You Tube video in the blog, hopefully it works--if not, I'll paste the link as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjeghnF2npQ

I Love Hip Hop--Diplomacy

I recently saw the West Coast premiere of 'I Love Hip Hop in Morocco' and spoke with the filmaker, Josh Asen. He received a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct reseasrch in Morocco and while he was working on his research, decided to film some of the local hip hop groups (Fnaire, Brownfingaz, H-Kayne, Fati Show, Pat de Mosse) and their efforts to organize a Hip Hop Festival in three different Moroccan cities. Money issues were one of the main concerns, but Coke and the American Embassy stepped up to help fund the efforts. The festival was a success and the shows were a great way to get the voices of some Arab youth heard.


Rap and Hip Hop is, at its very core, a method of resistance to oppression, real or perceived. Aside from the fact that much of the American hip hop today has morphed into a money, chicks, drugs, cars, bling and whatever else--hip hop used to be a way to express grievances within a different public space and create a dialogue from those who couldn't necessarily find an accepting public space to voice it from. If you look at other Arab hip hop groups, primarily the Palestinian ones (The Philistines, DAM, Ragtop etc) you'll see the lyrics centered around political resistance and actively pushing a dialogue for recognition of social, economic and political grievances. Jackie Salloum, another Arab filmaker, is working on a similar project to 'I Love Hip Hop in Morocco' called 'Sling Shot Hip Hop'. Although it's been in Post-production for what seems like forever, it promises to be a powerful documentary on Hip Hop in Palestine and Israel.


Hip Hop Diplomacy needs a serious look by Cultural Diplomacy advocates--it's a positive way to reach Arab youth and recognize their voices and resistance through music.

Salaam

احلاً أصدقئي

Hello my friends and welcome to my new blog. I am a writer and created this blog to post my thoughts, inspirations, poetry, short stories and anything that catches my eye and want to share. I love the Middle East--the food, art, language, history, culture and people so you will probably see a lot of blogs with these items as the theme. I hope you enjoy reading what I post. I welcome comments, but only those which are constructive. I will delete any comments that are intolerant or offensive. This blog is not meant to be political, but I will post pictures or writings which touch on political topics--feel free to comment, I just ask that you keep it polite and respectful. Welcome, and make yourselves at home.

From WAND.org