Arabology: Pop Culture in the Arab World

Submission Call-Out ---Submission Call-Out --- Min timeh: Arab Feminist Reflections on Identity, Resistance, and Space

2012-02-18T17:33:00.000-08:00

INANNA PUBLICATIONS is seeking SUBMISSIONS for a new anthology:

Min timeh: Arab Feminist Reflections on Identity, Resistance, and Space

Edited by Ghadeer Malek and Ghaida Moussa

Deadline for abstract submissions: February 28, 2012

Completed submission deadline: April 30, 2012

Anticipated publication date: Fall of 2012

Description:

This anthology is a meeting space for Arab feminist womyn living in the Arab world and the Diaspora. While physical and metaphorical distances and borders lie in between us, deep founded connection and intertwined roots seem to transcend these divisions and connect us to one another. Our grounded experiences and our reflections as Arab womyn living in Canada, as well as our relationships with communities of feminists in the Arab world -- from Lebanon, to Egypt, Syria, Palestine and the Gulf -- have served as a testimony to these connections, and to the evolution of our shared identity characterized by our often shared struggles, burdens, and questions across various geographical locations, genders, ages, classes, races, religions, and the experiences we live based on these political categories.

Simultaneously, in a world that has increasingly found monolithic and one-dimensional ways of perceiving and imposing stereotypes of Muslim, Arab and Arab womyn identities, we feel that it is imperative to highlight Arab womyn’s voices in constructing and articulating their own identities. Creating alternate spaces to mainstream oppressive discourse is part of reclaiming our voices and resisting the gaze of the “Other”. While we may meet at some intersections, we diverge at others, our identities spreading and molding into a wide spectrum of experiences, knowledge, struggles, and so forth. It is this double reality of sameness and difference that this anthology will bridge, celebrating our multiple voices and honoring our self-determination, as well as meeting our need to find community and belonging on our own terms.

Submissions:

Through this anthology, we are hoping to reflect Arab womyn’s perspectives through personal critical narratives, academic essays, and written and visual arts, on subjects such as homeland, exile, arrivals and departures, feminism, queerness, borders, national struggles, solidarity, and (de)colonization.

We are particularly interested in and highly encourage receiving submissions that explore and document various forms of Arab feminist organizing from the women’s marches happening in Egypt to social media campaigns and setting up feminist organizations. We especially encourage submissions that make the links and draw comparisons between Arab womyn organizing in the ‘Arab World’ and the Diaspora.

Guiding Questions:

Below are some questions that we are hoping to answer by putting together this anthology. Please note that we are keen on accepting a wide variety of submissions -- spanning various topics and issues outlined above - that are not limited to the questions below.

The questions below are only meant to provide suggestions for some of the themes and topics that we are interested in exploring in more depth through the anthology:

- What are some of the physical, metaphorical, and political connections and distances in Arab womyn identities and issues across the Arab world and the Diaspora?

- How have Arab womyn built and developed their identities?

- What role does identity play in shaping Arab feminist struggles and organizing and how does it change with time and context?

Criteria for Proposals:

Proposals should be approx. 500 words (1 page) and sent in no later than February 28, 2012.

While we welcome academic texts, we highly encourage creative productions, whether written or visual, including poetry, analytical self-reflective or community-reflective stories, images, paintings, graffiti photographs, etc.

We are committed to representing a diversity of Arab womyn voices and especially highlighting underrepresented voices, identities, and issues. We are excited to receive proposals from Arab womyn from all walks of life and especially encourage submissions from Arab womyn living in the Arab world and those in between ‘back home’ and ‘over there’, particularly since one of the major themes we are exploring is what unites and divides Arab womyn living in the Diaspora and the Arab world.

The anticipated date of publication is the Fall of 2012.

Completed submissions must be sent in by April 30, 2012.

Please send proposals to arabfeministanthology@gmail.com no later than February 28, 2012.

For questions and more information, you can contact us at arabfeministanthology@gmail.com

Podcast from 5th Episode of Arabology (aired Feb 16) Available in 3 Parts

2012-02-17T13:18:00.000-08:00

The fifth episode of 'Arabology' (2/16/12) features my interview with Lebanese-American Stanford student and cheerleader Alix Farhat who discusses her Arabic classes at Stanford, her Lebanese heritage, and her role as a Stanford cheerleader.

The show also features songs by Tania Kassis, Mashrou' Leila, Fareeq El Atrash, Rayess Bek, Tania Saleh, Rim Banna, Omar Offendum, Arabian Knightz, Darine Hamze, May Nasr and others.

To Listen/Download

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/57800

TO LISTEN to PART 1 CLICK HERE

TO LISTEN to PART 2 CLICK HERE

TO LISTEN to PART 3 CLICK HERE

Playlist for Arabology	Thursday, 16 February 2012 4pm - 7pm	DJ: Ramzi S.

Artist	Track	Album/Label
YAS	Arabology	Arabology PID
Kassis, Tania	Ounchoudat Bayrout (Hymn Of Beirut)	Oriental Colors Magnum Records International
Mashrou' Leila	Imm El Jacket	El Hal Romancy Mashrou' Leila

Diab, Amr	Tagrua Wa-'addet (Trial And Error?)	Banadeek Ta'ala (I'm Calling You, Come) Laser
Saleh, Tania	Tmanta'sh Moulaya	Wehde Forward Music
Jadal	Bye Bye Azizi	Arabic Rocks Forward Music

Fareeq El Atrash	Demoqrati	Fareeq El Atrash Fwd Music
Rayess Bek (Ft. Tamer Nafer from DAM)	Rap Remix	Hip Hop Republic Forward Music
Arabian Knightz	Rebel	Arabian Knightz Arab League records
Toot Ard	Kl El Nas	Nuri Andaburi Island Def Jam Digital Distribution

Ancient Future	Alap	Planet Passion Bmi
Mathlouthi, Emel	Houdou'on (Calm)	Kelmti Horra World Village
Ajram, Nancy	Sallim 'alayha (Greet Her)	Sahret Tarab (A Night Of Ecstacy) New Sound
Elissa	'a-Bali Habibi	Al-Rawa'i (Greatest Hits) New Sound

Interview with Sean Dobson	Interview	Arabology KZSU
Sophia Marikh	Tahwak	Kelmet Hobb Melody Hits
Fairuz	Ahwak	Chante Zaki Nasief Voix De L'Orient
El Mansoury, Hiba	Ahwak	Sah El Nom Murr Television Lebanon
Khoury, Suhail	Raqs (Dance)	Al-Quds Ba'd Muntasif Al-Layl (Jerusalem After Midnight) Edward Said National Conservatory Of Music & Birzeit University
Rouhana, Charbel	Hi, keefak Ca Va	Hi Keefak Ca Va EMI

Interview with Alix Farhat	Interview	Arabology KZSU
Dalida	Salma ya salama	Dalida in Egypt Laser
Shakira	Ojos Asi	Donde Estan Los Ladrones Sony


Blitz The Ambassador	The Oracle	Native Sun Fat Beats
Offendum, Omar	Damascus	Syrianamericana Cosher Ink, Llc
Nasr, May	Baytik ya Najwa	Lil Ghali May Nasr
Diab, Amr	Youm Ma 'itabelna (The Day We Met)	Banadeek Ta'ala (I'm Calling You, Come) Laser
Banna, Rim	Karmal Al-Ruh (Wind Of Karmel)	Al-Rawa'i (Greatest Hits) Laser

Taha, Rachid	Rock El Casbah	Rock El Casbah: The Best Of Wrasse Records
Atlas, Natacha	Kidda	Arabic Groove Putumayo World Music
Hamze, Darine	Ya zahratan fi khayali	Beirut Hotel LFP Les Fims Pelle'as
Murkus, Amal	Hulum	World 2002 Narada

Arabic Fusion with Dennis O'Neill Ft. Bushra El-Turk, Tala Tutunji, and Others.

2012-02-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

Tala Tutunji (Piano) and Bushra El-Turk (Composer) are among the many talents who are included in this special event/concert which takes place concert on the 20th of Feb, 2012 in England. See details below the poster.

OPERA AND ARABIC FUSION
Dennis O'Neill tenor
Toby Purser conductor
Bushra El Turk composer

Join legendary tenor Dennis O'Neill and a host of leading young Middle Eastern and Western operatic talent for an inspirational evening of music from the Western and Arabic Worlds.

The concert also features the premiere of a classical, contemporary work by young composer Bushra El-Turk.
Tickets:
£30, £25, £20, £15 (British Pounds)

Available online by clicking here,
or by phone from Cadogan Hall Box Office:, England. (020) 7730 4500

The evening is presented by the Peace and Prosperity Trust to raise funds for the ‘Patient Relief Fund’ for St John's Eye Hospital in Jerusalem, and to promote aspiring young artists.

Podcast of Episode 4 of 'Arabology' Available Featuring Guest Ebtisam Abbasi Najork

2012-02-11T06:14:00.000-08:00

Ebtisam Abbasi Najork was my special guest Arabology which aired on Feb 9, 2012

The fourth episode of 'my radio show Arabology (aired live on Feb 9, 2012) features my exclusive interview with Jordanian-American philanthropist Ebtisam (Sam) Abbasi Najork who talks about Jordanian cuisine, Arabic music and her involvement with the Global Fund for Women.

The show also features exciting tracks by Charbel Rouhana, Tania Saleh, Nancy Ajram, Suhail Khoury, May Nasr, Toufic Farroukh, Rim Banna, Toot Ard توت ارض, Emel Mathlouthi. Amr Diab and others.

TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW

PLEASE CLICK HERE

TO DOWNLOAD GO TO http://radio4all.net/index.php/program/57643

For more, see Sam's own Facebook Page/Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fromsamskitchen/

Playlist for Arabology	Thursday, 9 February 2012 4pm - 6pm	DJ: Ramzi S.

Artist	Track	Album/Label
Toot Ard	Ruh Bladi	Nuri Andaburi Island Def Jam Digital Distribution
Diab, Amr	'aref Habibi (You Know My Love)	Banadeek Ta'ala (I'm Calling You, Come) Laser
Mido Zahair (Feat Maryam Saleh)	Islahat	Beirut Hotel LFP Les Fims Pelle'as

Rouhana, Charbel	Ya Ghosna Naqa	Art of the Middle Eastern Oud Arc Music Inc.
Hamze, Darine	Ya zahratan fi khayali	Beirut Hotel LFP Les Fims Pelle'as
Mathlouthi, Emel	Ma Lkit (Not Found)	Kelmti Horra World Village
Ajram, Nancy	Ma 'andaksh Fikra (You Have No Idea)	Sahret Tarab (A Night Of Ecstacy) New Sound

Interview with Ebtisam Abbasi Najork	Part 1	Arabology KZSU

Nancy Ajram	Ah w Nos	Ah w Nos Megamax/relax-in
Farroukh, Toufic	Lili S'en Fout	Sahara Lounge Putumayo World Music

Interview with Ebtisam Abbasi Najork	Part 2	Arabology KZSU

Banna, Rim	Karmal Al-Ruh (Wind Of Karmel)	Al-Rawa'i (Greatest Hits) Laser
Nasr, May	Baytik ya Najwa	Lil Ghali May Nasr
Banna, Rim	Ma Lik (What's With You?)	Al-Rawa'i (Greatest Hits) Laser
Saleh, Tania	Wehde (Unity)	Wehde Forward Music

Khoury, Suhail	Raqs (Dance)	Al-Quds Ba'd Muntasif Al-Layl (Jerusalem After Midnight) Edward Said National Conservatory Of Music & Birzeit University

Complete Playlist available at http://zookeeper.stanford.edu/index.php?action=viewDJ&seq=selList&playlist=22775

All I Wanna Do: A Documentary about a Moroccan Father, His Son, and their Dreams of Being Singers

2012-02-08T13:03:00.000-08:00

In her latest documentary, All I Wanna Do, Casablanca-based filmmaker Michelle Medina follows a Moroccan father and son as they chase their musical dreams.

Simohamed, impoverished and uneducated at age 48, guards parked cars for a living and is missing teeth. His teenage son gets around on crutches, having been born with only one leg. But they share a love of rap music and a wish to make an album of their own.

Medina discovered her subjects in a Casablanca neighborhood popular with rappers. Simohamed writes lyrics about his country, his mother, alcohol abuse, and his violent father; Ayoub sings. They form a rap duo called Jumrah, or Hot Coals, because, as Simohamed says playfully, they’re “always on fire.” With a little help from Medina—who was able to get musicians from the United States, Morocco, and France to offer recorded instrumentals for the duo to use as music—they record and promote an album. “Poor people have always dreamed to become artists,” Simohamed says on camera.

All I Wanna Do has been screened at more than twenty film festivals around the world and has collected half a dozen awards, including a best-director award for Medina at the 2011 World Music and Independent Film Festival in Washington, DC, and the Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker at the 2011 Harlem International Film Festival in New York City. “That was very encouraging because it’s the first time that I’ve gotten an award like that,” Medina says of the former prize, which she accepted in person. She admits to some surprise that the film has netted as many honors as it has. “It’s been very humbling.”

Medina majored in Afro-American studies at Smith, where a visiting professor from Rabat piqued her interest in Morocco. She spent part of her junior year in Rabat and wrote her thesis on Moroccan women in cinema. After graduation she returned to the country on a Fulbright. While there she met a Jewish-Moroccan rapper—“very famous” she said—and the pair had a daughter, who is now 3. The couple split up, but Medina decided to stay in Morocco. She lives with her daughter in the center of Casablanca in an apartment just big enough for the two of them.

“Everyone asks me, ‘What are you doing in Morocco? You’re crazy! Who would want to live there?” Medina says. But sometimes those seeking roots find them in the unlikeliest places. “Even though it’s not my country by passport, it’s not my country by birth, I really have adopted this country,” Medina says. “I can’t quite explain it, but I am connected to this place.”

18 Days in Egypt: A Documentary

2012-02-07T22:39:00.000-08:00

This project was started by Jigar Mehta to create a platform for Egyptians involved in the revolution to tell their stories using the media they already create (Facebook posts, Flickr photos, Youtube videos). For more info see 18daysinegypt.com and http://vimeo.com/35368376

Here is a brief preview of the project:

Messages from Lebanon: Clever Video Clips Courtesy of myTV (Lebanon/USA)

2012-02-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

A series of lively video clips titled 'Messages from Lebanon' are being featured as part of a very clever marketing campaign for myTV--a service that brings you your favorite TV Channels from Lebanon through exclusive deals with major broadcasters in the MENA Region.

The video clips feature everyday people from Lebanese society speaking, in colloquial Lebanese, about their country, their traditions, etc. The clips are beautifully shot and are often humorous. Each clip comes with optional English subtitles (Turn 'English Captions' ON or Off via YouTube).

Here is a sample of these video clips for you to enjoy. For more on myTV, see http://www.my-tv.us or see their Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/myTV.us or check out their YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/myTVus

For more on myTV, see http://www.my-tv.us or see their Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/myTV.us or check out their YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/myTVus

My Last Valentine in Beirut: First 3-D Lebanese Film

2012-02-04T18:31:00.000-08:00

Musicvid helmer Salim El Turk's "My Last Valentine in Beirut" is credited as the pioneer 3D film in Arabic and chronicles a Lebanese prostitute's final days.

A T Group Prods. production. (International sales: T Group Prods., Beirut.) Produced by William Harb, Salim El Turk, Assad Tarabey. Directed, written by Salim El Turk.

With: Lorraine Kodeih, Ziad Said, Aziz Abdo, Shady Hanna, Paul Matar, Ghassan Khairallah, Mohammad Hijazi, Toufik Khreish, Joseph Azouri, Sergiu Zaiat.

Here is a scene from the the film:

For more on this film , including its screening at Cannes Film Festival, see http://www.mylastvalentineinbeirut.com/

Palestinian Music - Sounds for a New State

2012-02-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

Original Article: http://www.worldmusic.net/guide/palestinian-music/
(All Rights Reserved for http://www.worldmusic.net/guide/palestinian-music/)

Nov 09, 2011

Despite the precariousness of the peace that exists in the region, the last fifteen years have seen music in Palestine rise from being the sound of struggle to a celebration of emerging statehood. And, as Palestinian music reaches a wider audience internationally, it is still as much a statement of national identity as ever.

Rural Songs: Dabke and Qawwali

Although the great city ports of Jaffa and Haifa were already sizeable commercial centres in the first half of the twentieth century, most Palestinians were rural people who had either settled to become felahin (farmers), or who still pursued a nomadic, Bedouin lifestyle. Besides the functional songs of the felahin, there were also epic songs about old heroes and legends sung by itinerant storytellers or improvisers – zajaleen. The most important occasions for music and merrymaking were weddings and their associated feasts. The dances were collectively known as dabke, which literally means “foot-tapping”.

The singers who practise the art of the qawwali or zajal engage in a kind of musical debate, each participant often representing one of the families at a wedding. These punning, rapping, word-tussling sessions were always sung rather than merely recited.

Songs of Partition

The tumultuous events of the late 1940s which led to the partition of Palestine and the creation of Israel in 1948 did not destroy the culture of the felahin. Both the many thousands of Palestinians who fled to the refugee camps, and the Arabs who stayed behind and continued to live in the new state of Israel, clung tenaciously to their heritage. In the new climate of fear, anger and alienation, the gist of the improvised lyrics began to reveal a harder edge: the newly dispossessed sang about the power of the gun and the dream of nationhood, heroes and martyrs of the struggle were lauded in popular song.

The first singer to score a hit with a collection of essentially Palestinian songs was Mustafa al-Kurd in the early 1970s. Among the most renowned pop acts of the 1980s was Al-Ashiqeen, and later Sabreen became the most internationally successful Palestinian group.

The Intifada

The energy devoted to music-making intensified in the mid-1980s, especially among the youth of the occupied territories. The intifada uprising fuelled the desire to express political woes in song, and groups like El-Funoun and Sabreen carried the hard-edged sentiments of revolt to a receptive audience.

Most of the intifada music was unsophisticated – usually based on well-known folksongs – but it carried great power in spreading the feeling of opposition. One of the most important tapes was Doleh (Statehood), produced in 1988 during the first year of the intifada. The key figure behind it was Thaer Barghouti, and it was a collection of songs by various singers recounting deeds of the Israeli soldiers and everyday events of the rebellion.

Beginnings of a State

In 1993, a Declaration of Principles was signed by Israel and the PLO, and in May 1994 the Palestinian National Authority was set up in the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank with the late Yasser Arafat as its president. As the turmoil of the intifada subsided and the situation stabilized, it became easier for musicians to work.

The post-intifada music scene expressed the optimism felt by many Palestinians at the time. Continuing the political theatre tradition that grew up during the intifada, El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe synthesizes traditional music and dance with more contemporary ideas. The former lead singer of Sabreen, Kamilya Jubran has been based in Paris since 2002 and, although the music she now performs is very much more experimental, she continues to push Arab song into new areas.

The son of one of the finest oud makers in the Levant, Samir Joubran has now been joined by his two younger brothers, Wissam and Adnan in Trio Joubran. Although ouds are rarely heard playing together, the trio have pioneered their own sound that shows off the instruments’ richness and colour to great effect.

The ongoing difficulties of daily life for Palestinians have, inevitably, caused some musicians to leave and seek their fortunes abroad. Oud player and violinist Simon Shaheen has forged a successful career in America, while singer Reem Kelani has done much to popularize Palestinian traditional music in Britain.

Lebanese Film "Stray Bullet" رصاصة طائشة Stars Nadine Labaki

2012-02-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

An Abbout Prods. production. Produced by Georges Schoucair. Directed, written by Georges Hachem.

With: Nadine Labaki, Takla Chammoun, Hind Taher, Badih Bou Chacra, Rodrigue Sleiman, Patricia Nammour, Nazih Youssef, Pauline Haddad, Nasri Sayegh, Joelle Hanna, Lamia Merhi, Mireille Badran, Celine Tannous, Leila Issac, Rajaa Ghannam, Antoine Khadra, Inaam Germanos.

PLOT:

End of summer 1976, Northern suburb of Beirut. Noha is getting married.
Her family is relieved for she's taking her last chance before she becomes an old maid like her elder sister.
Everything is going for the best. Still, on that Sunday, fifteen days before the wedding, Noha changes her mind.

For more info see http://www.youtube.com/user/StrayBulletLebanon

Director Georges Hachem Interview - Stray Bullet

OTHER FILMS STARRING NADINE LABAKI:

Where do we go now?

Where Do We Go Now? the second long feature film by Lebanese director and actress Nadine Labaki, the 2011 Lebanese film

wikipedia

Stray Bullet

Stray Bullet (رصاصة طايشة), the first long feature film by Lebanese director Georges Hachem, is a 2010 Lebanese film

website wikipedia

Caramel

Caramel (Arabic:سكر بنات Sukkar banat), the 2007 Lebanese film, the first feature film by the lebanese director Nadine Labaki

website wikipedia

Bosta

Bosta (English: The Autobus Arabic: Bosta - بوسطة), the 2005 Lebanese film by the director Philippe Aracti

Wael Ghonim at Stanford on Tuesday Feb 7

2012-02-04T16:07:00.000-08:00

As Part of Islamic Awareness Series 2012- "Islam and Revolutions" the Muslim Student Awareness Network (MSAN) and Islamic Society of Stanford University (ISSU) present.

Podcast of Episode 3 of 'Arabology' Available Featuring Guest DJ Raj-i-Sab

2012-02-03T03:06:00.000-08:00

The Feb 2, 2012 Podcast: Arabology (Season 1 Episode 3) is available for free listening/downloading. This episode includes my exclusive interview with DJ Raj-i-Sab, a spotlight on the Ateek Music Ensemble and witty commentary by the ever present Ahmad Q who shares his views on controversial Syrian singer Sarya El Sawas.

TO LISTEN: Click HERE

TO DOWNLOAD: Click HERE

DJ Ramzi, DJ SunShine and DJ Raj-i-Sab @ KZSU Stanford

DJ Raj-i-Sab at the Studio of KZSU

DJ Raj-i-Sab with Ahmad Q

Review of Emel Mathlouthi's New Album 'Kelmti Horra' (2012)

2012-01-31T01:02:00.000-08:00

Emel Mathlouthis's new album released in 2012

Emel Mathlouthi Kelmti Horra 2012

-- All Tracks are FCC CLEAN --

Emel Mathlouthi is a young Tunisian singer, songwriter, composer and guitarist whose songs often address freedom. She sounds like a blend between Joan Baez, Sister Marie Keyrouz, and the Lebanese diva Fairuz. . On this album, titled “Kelmti Horra” (My Word Is Free), she has recorded many songs in Arabic, French and English addressing themes of freedom that seem undeniably influenced by the Tunisian uprising. The last 3 tracks on this CD are only available on this special issue.

1. Houdou’on (Calm) Chant in Arabic followed by drum beats, dreamy vocals 5:31

**2. “Ma Lkit” (Not Found). Strong vocals crying out about life’s obstacles and the rarity of friends. Starts slow then builds up to symphonic level with drums. 3:58

**3. “Dhalem” (Tyrant) Starts out like a lullaby then almost operatic vocals in classical Arabic. Nice harp sound 3:55

4. “Stranger” Sung in English. Oriental beat set to whispery dreamy back vocals.4:12

5. “Ya Tounes Ya Meskina” (Poor Tunis). A lamentation. A sad song for Tunisia set to seemingly patriotic beats.4:47

6. “Ethnia Twila” (The Road Is Long). Sung in Arabic and set to an interesting beat that fuses eastern and western sounds and rhythms. 8:24

**7. “Kelmti Horra” (My Word Is Free) The title track shows off Emel’s strong vocals, almost operatic in nature, singing with heartfelt passion about freedom. 6:30

8. “Dfina” (Burial). Haunting vocals, sad rhythm with strong guitar sound.6:23

9. “Hinama” (When) Sung in classical Arabic. Sounds like poetry set to music. Slow with many intentional pauses.5:28

10.“Yezzi” (Enough) Classical Arabic, about the Tunisian uprising. Freedom is in the streets.7:15

11.“A L’Infini” (Infinity) Sung in French, melancholic song, about a tortured soul.4:09

12. “Liberta” (Freedom) Mixes Arabic with different languages, haunting song, sounds like a chant. 4:56

13. “14 Janvier”. Commemorates the date in 2011 when the President of Tunisia fled 3:37

My picks: 2, 3, & 7 Ramzi Salti

Global Fund for Women: Women’s Rights Amidst Arab Revolutions

2012-01-28T17:19:00.000-08:00

On the anniversary of the uprisings in Tahrir Square, Global Fund for Women and the Arab Cultural and Community Center presented a special event to reflect on women’s rights amidst Arab revolutions. It took place on Thursday January 26, 2012 in San Francisco, California.

The event included three leading Arab women for an evening discussion on advancements and setbacks faced by women’s movements in the region. Speakers included Global Fund grantee partners, Nadia Sraieb-Koepp from Tunisia and Nawla Darwiche from Egypt, and Zeina Zaatari, Global Fund’s Middle East and North Africa Program Director.

This event was also co-sponsored by Middle East Children’s Alliance, Arab Resource Organizing Collective and Sunbula: Arab Feminists for Change. It was free and open to the public.

After the conversation, the Global Fund launched their newest book: Telling Our Stories: Women’s Voices from the Middle East and North Africa, with excerpt readings of articles and essays by women leaders from the region. Here are some reviews of this book:

“The euphoria of victory last February was palpable,” Global Fund for Women board member Hoda Elsadda writes us from Cairo, “but was soon followed by the sobering realization that you cannot do away with such a corrupt and brutal regime overnight.” While violence continues, women are working together to hold onto their newly won spaces of resistance, optimism and sense of empowerment.

To commemorate the challenges and success of women organizing in the region, Global Fund announces our newest book, Telling Our Stories. Written by key women leaders from the region, Telling Our Stories weaves together history, political analysis, and personal reflections about the rapid political transformations sweeping the Arab world.

Gloria Steinem has this to say about the book: "To discover real women behind headlines, YouTubes and Twitters from the MiddleEast, read Telling Our Stories. It's a gift of learning, new friends and knowing that all proceeds go to benefit a democracy that goes beyond patriarchy."

You can read excerpts from Telling Our Stories online and they would also be delighted to put you in touch with some of these inspiring women who contributed to the book.

The Global Fund for Women is a grantmaking foundation that seeds, strengthens and links women's human rights groups worldwide. For more info, go to http://www.globalfundforwomen.org

Podcasts from first TWO Episodes of 'Arabology' Available

2012-01-28T10:14:00.000-08:00

The Podcasts from the first and second episodes of 'Arabology' are available for free listening and downloading.

The show premiered on Thursday January 19, 2012 and the second episode aired on Thursday January 26, 2012. It will air every Thursday from 4-6 PM live on KZSU Stanford 90.1 FM and will stream live at http://kzsulive.stanford.edu

PODCAST FROM EPISODE 1 (aired Jan 19)

You can download by going to this link: http://radio4all.net/index.php/program/57249

To listen directly, simply CLICK HERE

PODCAST FROM EPISODE 2 (aired Jan 26)

You can download by going to this link: http://radio4all.net/index.php/program/57317

To listen directly, simply CLICK HERE

NEW 'ARABOLOGY' FACEBOOK PAGE

If you are on Facebook, please 'Like' my 'Arabology' Page at www.facebook.com/arabolgy.

DJ Ramzi

My New Radio Show 'Arabology' Premiered on Jan 19, 2012 on KZSU Stanford 90.1 FM

2012-01-27T12:56:00.000-08:00

After two successful seasons, My Hi, Keefak, Ca Va? Radio Show is done and, as of January 19, 2012, I will have a new weekly radio show titled Arabology and showcasing music from all over the Arab world.

The show will air on the same day and time as my old program: Thursdays from 4-6 PM (PST) on KZSU Stanford 90.1 FM. You can listen to the live broadcast every week by going to kzsulive.stanford.edu at that time.

If you miss a live show, then you can also find my previous podcasts at http://author32.blogspot.com/p/all-my-kzsu-podcasts.html

Many thanks to Ahmad Q for the beautiful logos and artwork for the show's Facebook Page which can be found at www.facebook.com

If you are on Facebook, then please go to the Arabology Page then click on 'Like.'

If you would like to write to me, then please email author30@gmail.com

Ramzi Salti, Ph.D. الدكتور رمزي سلطي

Lecturer, Author & Radio DJ كاتب،مذيع ومحاضر في اللغة العربية وآدابها

Stanford University جامعة ستانفورد
CA 94530-2006 ولاية كاليفورنيا
USA الولايات المتحدة الامريكية

Blog: www.author32.blogspot.com

Podcasts: All My KZSU Podcasts

Author: http://tinyurl.com/4zlooyk

The Middle East Project Presents Exhibit on Egyptian Revolution

2012-01-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

Canadian TV Program Highlights 'Sex in Lebanon'

2012-01-15T22:11:00.000-08:00

In collaboration with Canada's TV Channel 5, a TV series titled Le sexe autour du monde [Sex around the World] has recently dedicated an entire episode to the taboo subject of sex in Lebanon. In this program, several notable Lebanese figures were interviewed candidly about their differing Lebanese views of sex and sexuality.

You can watch the episode at the link below but please note that it is in French with occasional dialogue in English during some of the interviews. Click on the link below to watch.

http://video.tv5.ca/le-sexe-autour-du-monde-2/liban

NPR Report on Music Scene in Iceland and LEBANON!

2012-01-01T15:25:00.000-08:00

To listen to the report from the NPR Website (Dec 31, 2011) , go to this link then go to Minute 4:28: m=1445266http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=144444523&85

You can also follow the transcript below (NPR All Rights Reserved)

Now, to Beirut, where our local music critic Sam is on the scene.

WAHAB: The first band I'm going to talk about is Adonis. These guys are a folk rock band who sing in Arabic.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAW L BALADIYYI")

WAHAB: They just released a video of their single called "Daw L Baladiyyi," which means streetlight. And the good thing about the video is they take black and white photos of pre-civil war Lebanon and go to those exact same locations right now and they hold up the photo, and it's a nice contrast of where we were and where we are.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAW L BALADIYYI")

WAHAB: So the next band I'm going to talk about is a group called Zeid and the Wings. They're a band that started last year and have released an album just recently called "Asfeh," which means the storm, which is also the title track of the album which you're listening to right now.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ASFEH")

WAHAB: An interesting thing about Zeid and the Wings is when you check out their album, you'll see that it's got everything from Arabic folk to reggae to rock and to electro. And the vocal harmonies, seeing as you have three female backup vocalists, it's a really nice mix.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ASFEH")

WAHAB: The last band we're going to talk about is called Lazzy Lung. And these guys are Lebanon's new rock alternative.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ONSTANDBY")

WAHAB: So this Lazzy Lung track is called "Onstandby." Lazzy Lung is a really good radio-friendly pop band that actually has a message, and they sing in English. And that's very rare for most bands here in Lebanon.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ONSTANDBY")

LAZZY LUNG: (Singing) Well, I got this thing I can't fix, and I don't know why. Seems I can't recall any of the night, oh why. Time wasted (unintelligible) again, oh, who's this here beside me? Oh, here we go again.

WAHAB: So Lazzy Lung recently won an award, and they'll be making their way to Los Angeles to meet with Capitol Records and represent Lebanon sometime next year. And they're definitely an incredible live band that, you know, you should watch out for.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ONSTANDBY")

LUNG: (Singing) I got a girl got me going on, going on, going on...

SHEIR: That's the song "Onstandby" by Lazzy Lung, recommended to us by music writer Samir Wahab in Beirut, Lebanon.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ONSTANDBY")

LUNG: (Singing) Going on...

SHEIR: You can hear this song and more pop music from Iceland and Lebanon at our website, npr.org.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ONSTANDBY")

LUNG: (Singing) Left out again...

You can read the full article on the NPR site at this link.

Copyright © 2011 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Raafat Majzoub's Book Reviewed in Kalimat Magazine

2011-12-31T18:17:00.000-08:00

Original Post may be found in Issue 04 (Winter 2012) of Kalimat Magazine

Book Review of Raafat Majzoub's Book Fetish Systems

It was the writer Italo Calvino that suggested a writing that—rather than pointing at or recreating an object or character—envelops, surrounds like a fine mist. This
suggests their existence rather than attempts to simply recre- ate them, allowing the reader a measure of engagement and creation with the text. The writing in Fetish Systems, a new written work by multi-talented Lebanese author Raafat Majzoub, warrants this comparison. His bio alone which adorns this slim volume is merely suggestive: “he is trained as an architect, yet refuses the title – he is currently working on several construction projects, a few books, something that might be a painting, a table and would like this bio to end with an et cetera.”

“To live in Beirut, is to know that one must accept circumstance. We have become numb—all of us—numb—in a state of trance, where ‘elastic’ would describe our functional execution of our everyday...”

The work begins with curious jump-starts into a loosely shaped narrative that can be described as extremely subjective. There is no clear and formal introduction of characters or plot, but rather the text quickly makes it clear to the reader that this is more akin to the highly personal literary experiments of the past century than anything else. The language resembles somewhat the erotic poetic sketches of Georges Bataille, although more cohesive, more drawn out, but similar enough in near- destructive exploratory eroticism to draw the comparison. The fragmented flow of the narrative often times resembles poetry, with alliterative flurries of words provide rough outlines of occurrences that bring to mind a defective photography which only hints at shapes, colours and movement, with the Majzoub’s Beirut always vaguely in the background.

“It has become instinct to absorb, shock, absorb, trau- ma, react, trauma, shock, absorb shock. It is something, a trait that we contain—for so—we all are nothing...We claim that we have lost our identity, we claim the right to construct a holistic monotone remedy to unite us—to homogenize us.”

This work is certainly not for the casual reader; there is no quick drawing-up and resolution of characters and plot. Rather, this work has something intensely therapeutic, describ- ing personal relationships with mysterious “others” and places in intimate detail in a way that is, once again, acutely subjec- tive. One gets the impression that even the most innocent of exchanges between the narrator and a lover will show up on the page as darkly dissatisfied, anxious graspings for understanding and rejection of understanding, spiralling outward and inward simultaneously. Majzoub’s language, word choice, and cadence is curiously playful, vacillating within single sentences between the vulgar and the academic, sometimes with seeming deliberate focus on the rhythm and the sound of the passage rather than the written meaning, making it somehow visceral and physical and something that attempts to refuses rational deliberation.

“We are only afraid of our naked bodies in the mirror. We define our curves from our audience’s point of view, from their eyes, from between their eyelashes—so we struggle to title us, to make it easier for them to comprehend, easier for us to make them believe—for our actions and words—not the same.”

The success of Majzoub’s experiment is difficult to gauge. Yet as a text, the sustained formal and subjective effort makes this author one to keep an eye on in the coming years.

BUY THE BOOK HERE
http://tinyurl.com/7rqtbh3

List of Top 20 (alternative) Arabic Songs for 2011 at Stanford University

2011-12-17T16:50:00.000-08:00

The Season Finale of my radio show Hi, Keefak, Ca Va? counted down the Top 20 Arabic songs according to an unofficial poll by/with students at Stanford University. To hear the songs (listed below) and commentary about each, feel free to download the Podcast in 2 Parts at http://radio4all.net/index.php/program/56467

You can also Listen to Part 1 at http://tinyurl.com/7ce2dxx and Part 2 at http://tinyurl.com/86lsx7a

Playlist for Hi, Keefak, Ça Va?	Thursday, 15 December 2011 4pm - 6pm	DJ: Ramzi S.

Artist	Track	Album/Label
COUNTDOWN 20-1

Fayrouz	El Bint El Chalabiya	Eh, Fi Amal (Yes, There Is Hope) Fbe
Jadal	Bye Bye Azizi	Arabic Rocks Jadal
Offendum, Omar	The Arab Speaks Of Rivers	Syrianamericana Cosher Ink, Llc
Le Trio Joubran	L'art d'aimer (shajan)	À l'ombre des mots (feat. Mahmoud Darwich) [Avec la voix de Mahmoud Darwich] Randana
Atlas, Natacha	Taalet (Zab Spencer Remix)	Mounqaliba Rising: The Remixes Six Degrees Records

Saleh, Tania	Wehde (Unity)	Wehde Forward Music
Ziad El Ahmadie	Organised Chaos	Chaos Forward Music
Aya Mitwali	Omrak Marakeb	Unknown Unknown

The Narcicyst	Hamdulillah(Feat. Shadia Mansour)	P.H.A.T.W.A ILM
Farroukh, Toufic	Only Lonely	Tootya Forward Music
Rayess Bek Orchestra	Schizophrenia	Hip Hop Republic Forward Music
Khaled Mouzanar & Mouzanar	Hashishet Albi	Et maintenant on va ou (Original motion picture soundtrack) naïve
Zeid and the Wings	Aasfeh	Zeid and the Wings Lebanese Underground
Rousan, Yazan And Autostrad	Mirsal (Searchlight)	Autostrad Planet Records

Kassis, Tania	Chou Ma Sar (What Happened?)	Oriental Colors Magnum Records International
Banna, Rim	Sarah	Al-Rawa'i (Greatest Hits) Laser
Sophia Marikh	Tahwak	Kelmet Hobb Melody Arabia

Wlad hara ft Abeer	Sawt El Samt	Sabreena Da Witch DAM
Khcheich, Rima	Falak (Orbit)	Falak (Orbit) Jazz In Motion Distributed Exclusively By Challenge Records International
Mashrou' Leila	El Hal Romancy	El Hal Romancy Mashrou' Leila

My Season Finale Podcast Counts Down Top 20 Arabic Songs 2011

2011-12-17T06:40:00.000-08:00

THIS WEEK (Season 2 Episode 11/ Dec 15, 2011): The Final Episode of my radio show Hi, Keefak, Ca Va? counts down the Top 20 (alternative) Arabic songs of 2011 according to an unofficial tally by/of Stanford University students. Download at http://radio4all.net/index.php/program/56467

Listen to Part 1 at http://tinyurl.com/7ce2dxx

and

Listen to Part 2 at http://tinyurl.com/86lsx7a

Lebanese Film Titled 'Beirut Hotel' Banned in Lebanon

2011-12-17T06:33:00.000-08:00

Beirut Hotel, the third long feature film by Lebanese director Danielle Arbid, is a 2011 Lebanese film. It has just been banned in lebanon. The film premiered during the 2011 Locarno International Film Festival.
Plot

One evening, a married young singer Zoha meets the French lawyer Mathieu in a night club in Beirut. Mathieu will become suspected of spying, while Zoha is trying to flee from her husband. Despite these problems, the two will witness a love story for few days mixed with violence and fear.

Cast:
Darine Hamze as Zoha
Rodney El Haddad as Hicham
Charles Berling as Mathieu
Karl Sarafidis as Rabih
Fadi Abi Samra as Abbas

Nominations: Golden Leopard during the 2011 Locarno Film Festival

Here is a note from the Director about the ban:

I JUST BEEN NOTIFIED THAT MY LATEST FEATURE FILM BEIRUT HOTEL CANNOT BE SHOWN IN LEBANON ! ITS RELEASE IN BEIRUT, ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR 19 JANUARY 2012, HAS JUST BEEN CANCELLED. THE CENSORSHIP COMMITTEE ARGUED THAT : "THE FILM WOULD ENDANGER LEBANON’S SECURITY."
PLEASE SPREAD THE NEWS AND MOBILIZE AGAINST MIDDLE AGES CENSORSHIP. I NEED YOUR SUPPORT…

To support Director Danuielle Arbid go to this Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/STOP-Cultural-Terrorism-in-Lebanon/194147200632663

Here is an article from The Daily Star about the movie and its ban in Lebanon:

Welcome back to spy central

December 17, 2011
By Jim Quilty
The Daily Star

DUBAI: Beirut’s reputation as a hub of international intrigue – a place populated by crafty spies, brutal intelligence agents and hapless journalists – has had a strong echo in the film made in, and about, Lebanon.

These genre pictures reached their apogee after the outbreak of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 Civil War, which inspired a whole range of thrillers to place foreign agents within Beirut’s confusing conflict – a-la Tony Scott’s 2001 blockbuster “Spy Game.”

Yet filmmakers, some of them Lebanese, depicted Lebanon as spy central long before 1975. Witness Mohammad Salman’s “The Black Jaguar.” With its muscle cars, smart suits, swinging, sex-drenched lifestyle and Stratocaster-driven theme music, this 1965 Lebanese feature looks like a James Bond rip off. This all makes it both awful and awfully fun to watch.

Echoes of the 60s-era Beirut spy thriller are evident in “Beirut Hotel,” the 2011 feature by Lebanese writer-director Danielle Arbid, which just screened as part of the feature film competition of the Dubai International Film Festival.

The film centres on the story of Zoha (Darine Hamze) a torch-song singer who – backed by Marc Codsi and soundtrack composer Zeid Hamdan – performs reworked Arabic-language classics in one of Beirut’s 5-star hotels. She’s estranged from her thuggish husband Hicham (Rodney El Haddad) who cheated on her after a few years of marriage.

One evening Zoha encounters a mysterious Frenchman, Mathieu (Charles Berling). She is both attracted to Mathieu and repelled by him but, as you might expect, they end up in each other’s arms soon enough and – once it’s been established that he’s divorcing his wife – enjoy healthy sex.

It turns out Mathieu’s a lawyer who’s nowadays in the employ of a French oil company negotiating a contract in Syria. A couple of years before, he worked for the French government, to rescue the son of a diplomat who’d been arrested with a cache of heroin in hand.

This assignment drew him into the Lebanese demi-monde, assisted by Abbas (Fadi Abi Samra). A member of a large drug-smuggling family from Lebanon’s rural Bekaa, Abbas is comfortable navigating the marchlands between legality and illegality.

Abbas wants to renew his business relationship with Mathieu. He says he knows a guy who was the friend of the suicide bomber who assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. He wants to sell this information to the French government in return for a visa to France. He isn’t a traitor, he insists, but finds himself being threatened by unspecified seedy elements, who accuse him of being a spy for Israel.

Mathieu insists he has no intimate connections with French intelligence, but he does speak to someone at the French embassy on Abbas’ behalf.

In no time at all Mathieu is carrying a double tail – being followed both by Hicham and by a pair of harmless-looking guys who turn out to be agents of Lebanon’s security apparatus (at times they seem to be from General Security, at others the Internal Security Forces).

In an inspired comic moment, one of these fellows pulls out his pistol to save Zoha from a Lebanese jagal (Karim Saleh), as Lebanese rakes are called, then orders him to do up his shirt buttons for good measure.

From this point forward Mathieu and Zoha’s romance, the real center of the film, is thrown into uncertainty as he is at various stages threatened by Hicham, Lebanese security agents and Abbas himself.

A co-production of Lebanon’s Orjouane Productions and the Franco-German television network Arte, among others, “Beirut Hotel” had its world premiere in the competition of the Locarno Film Festival earlier this year.

There is a strong element of genre in “Beirut Hotel” and, on balance, it’s more gripping than boring. The film doesn’t simply reproduce the genre formula, however, but unhinges it even as it works within its conventions. There is some precedent for this in Arbid’s previous works.

“In the Battlefields,” her debut feature, tells a story from Lebanon’s testosterone-driven civil war from an adolescent female perspective. Similarly, “Beirut Hotel” can be read as a contemporary update of the political thriller.

Arbid’s new film is more interested in its self-possessed female lead than it is in manly spies. Indeed, the foreigner who’s accused of being a spy isn’t a spy at all. Instead, the film works with the tropes of spy movie and film noire to mythologize Lebanon’s contemporary political realities.

Arguably, it’s a mark of Arbid’s success that Lebanon’s censor last week decided to ban “Beirut Hotel,” whose theatrical release was scheduled for next month. Arte is slotted to air the film on January 20, 2012, with, by producer Sabine Sidawi’s estimates, an audience of some 1.5 million viewers.

Based on Sidawi’s press release, General Security’s censorship committee argued that “The film’s depiction of the political situation would endanger Lebanon’s security” and that all sequences mentioning the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri should be removed.

For the record, in a tweet dated “12/15/11 8:27 p.m,” MP Saad Hariri, the son of the assassinated former prime minister and the present leader of his Future Movement, wrote that “I have nothing to do with [“Beirut Hotel”] being censored, and I believe its a crime against freedom what they did.

In an interview after the film’s Middle East premiere, Arbid stresses that her film was neither documentary nor reportage and that, as such, it contains no revelatory information about Rafik Hariri’s assassination.

“I wanted to make a genre film,” she says, a film that works with Lebanese realities. “It’s a paranoid film, a film about suspense and betrayal.”

The writer-director says that Lebanon’s censor wanted to delete parts of her film, a demand that she resists as a matter of principle.

“I refuse to allow my film to be cut after shooting,” she says. “This idea, which has become normal in Lebanon, doesn’t exist elsewhere in the world. Either you rate the film [PG, R, PG-18, etc] or ... you ban it. You don’t cut it.

“They aren’t producers, the people in General Security. They don’t give us money [and so have no rights] to the final cut.”

Arbid’s previous work has also run into problems with the censor. While her 2004 feature film debut “In the Battlefields” was rated PG-18, authorities demanded she excise several parts of “A Lost Man” (2007), her second feature, which consequently has never had a theatrical release in Lebanon.

“They wanted to cut and I didn’t accept,” Arbid says. “‘Okay we’ll cut this and this and this,’ they said, ‘so it can be released.’ They wanted to cut the sex scenes. I didn’t do anything about ‘A Lost Man’ because there were a few scenes that were heavy for the Middle East. So I said to myself, ‘This is a moral battle.’

“But for ‘Beirut Hotel,’ this isn’t a moral battle. It’s a battle of principle. There is nothing offensive in it. We don’t accuse anybody [of anything]. We don’t insult anybody. We don’t work for anybody. We don’t speak about religion. There are a few sensual scenes. If they want to rate them, okay, rate them. But cutting? No.”

“It’s important to note that the film is programmed to be broadcast on Arte at 8.30 p.m.,” says Sidawi. “That’s prime time. If there’s something in it that’s shocking for viewers, they wouldn’t slot it at 8.30.”

“The film is going to be screened theatrically in ten other countries in Europe, Turkey and Latin America,” Arbid continues. “There is a Middle East distributor too, though we don’t yet know where it’ll be sold.”

“Ten times they asked [Arbid] to come back to speak about the film,” Sadawi says. “Several times they said, ‘This is a very dangerous film.’ They think it may push people to do something like 7 May [2008].”

“The problem is that they’re not realising the difference between a film and reality,” Arbid continues. ... None of them have studied art. I want to talk to people who know cinema. I don’t want to talk to a guy who says, ‘Ah you said something about Hariri!’ Yes let’s take any newspaper today and see how many times the word ‘Hariri’ comes up.

“They have the right in Lebanon to put you as a laboratory rat and to serve you their bull**it. Any guy can go on television and say ‘I hate the other guy’ or ‘You should hate your neighbour’ because he’s different, because he’s from another religion, because he’s from the 8 March or 14 March.

“The way they express their hatred of people, this is allowed. You, the Lebanese people, should accept what they say. We should hear them on television and on radio and read them and give them two hours of your life every day to their bull**it.

“But when you make something of it, when you use it as material for art, they go crazy. If you [reflect] what they say back upon them like a mirror, they say, ‘How can you do this? You’re just the subject. You have to shut up and listen to us.”

“The problem is that the whole of General Security, they know more than the director,” Sidawi says. “They are more intelligent, more artistic. This is why they help the director make a better movie ... They treat us like dogs.”

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Film/2011/Dec-17/157121-welcome-back-to-spy-central.ashx#ixzz1gkR4P8un