Author Archives: Arab America

We write today from a place of love, as well as hurt, for an art world to which we in part belong. We write for and with our community of friends, colleagues, and mentors — as a Palestinian artist and activist, a British-Jewish Asian professor, and an Indian artist and PhD student, who have been … Continued

  Khaled was speaking at a fundraiser for the lobby group, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions in Durban’s Overport area last night. She believes Palestinians will experience freedom like South Africans one day. Drawing similarities between Palestine and apartheid South Africa, Khaled says boycotts are needed to stop Israeli aggression. “We consider ourselves freedom fighters and … Continued

The Arab world needed a superhero, and so swooping into the Middle East in the 1960s – faster than a speeding bullet – was Krypton’s sole survivor: Nabil Fawzi.

Better known to the world as Clark Kent, or Superman, the Arab comic version of this superhero, which was first published by DC Comics in 1938, spoke Arabic, romanced Randa (Louis Lane) and battled evil for the sake of good.

He would be joined by other superheroes, Sobhi and Zakhour, or Batman and Robin.

He was further Arabised in an Iraqi version in the 1980s, where we see the superhero with a moustache and a lantern-like design on his chest.

But decades before the Arabisation of famous comic figures, there was Jamil and his dog, Farfour.

Readers followed the adventures of Jamil, who wore the Ottoman-era truncated-cone felt hat with its tassel on top, and his friends (some wore a turban and had a cat) in Al-Awlad (The Boys) – the Arab world’s first serialised comic, published in Egypt in 1923.

“I should stress that the start date was not only early for the region, but globally comics were really in their infancy at the time,” said Nadim Damluji, an Arab comic scholar.

“This fully realised Arab comic magazine for children was coming out seven years before Herge started making Tintin,” he said.

Published by Dar al Lata’if al Musawwara, Al-Awlad came out weekly and was filled with completely original comic creations until 1932.

This comic, along with dozens of others, including Abu Dhabi-based comic magazine Majid (published by Abu Dhabi Media, which also owns The National), will be featured in an exhibition called Arab Comics: 90 Years of Popular Visual Culture.

Said to be the first of its kind in the United States, the exhibition opened earlier this month at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and runs until March 15. By the end of this month, a video of the exhibition will be posted on the main event’s website. There will also be a live stream of a symposium on Arab comics on February 26.

The exhibition will travel to other US universities and gallery spaces throughout the year.

Mr Damluji, an Arab American, along with his sister Mona, a Mellon postdoctoral fellow in visual culture at Wheaton College, are the visionaries and curators of the exhibition, which features 34 covers and panels starting with Al-Awlad and continuing with original characters from the Arab world, as well as adapted comics from Europe and the US that were Arabised, such as Mickey Mouse (who was featured in traditional Arab clothes, including a kandura and ghutra) and Hammam, otherwise known as Tintin.

“For me Al-Awlad is symbolic of what this whole exhibition is about. Here we are displaying a witty and playful uniquely Arab creation that is completely left out of the discussion of comics creation,” said Mr Damluji.

“While other parts of the exhibition go on to look at how publishers translated European and American comics in the ’40s onwards, the heart of it for me is that we had this original creation being made long before many of the western comics that would eventually be translated.”

The exhibition is organised to highlight three aspects of comics in Arab countries – original, adapted and contemporary.

The first two were primarily made for young audiences, but the more recent work by Lebanese comic artists and writers deal with various adult themes.

One of the goals behind the exhibition is to bridge understanding between different cultures through their common love for comics.

“In the current political and media climate, it is crucial that students, faculty and the larger community have the opportunity to engage with storytelling that highlights the diversity of talent and perspectives expressed artistically throughout the region,” said Mona, who for several years has been connecting and bringing artists, scholars and filmmakers from the Middle East to American university campuses.

“Comics are a popular art form that is loved by avid readers, illustrators and storytellers around the world, and particularly in the Middle East,” she said.

Quoting the late intellectual and leading literary critic Edward W Said, she said: “Comic books seem to exist in all languages and cultures, from East to West … all of them are easy to read, to pass around, store and throw away.

“Yet the history of comics in Arab countries is still not well documented,” she added.

Inspired by her brother’s work on comics, which included travelling in the footsteps of Tintin, the exhibition is based on his research and the extensive collection of covers and issues that he and his colleagues at the American University of Beirut Sawwaf Comics Initiative have assembled. The initiative was launched last year.

“Each of the comics featured in the exhibition shows us something different about the cultural context and political moment in which they were produced, whether it is Mickey dressed as an Egyptian soldier or a Palestinian, or the cover of Samandal by Lena Merhej that depicts a portrait of the energy and imagination carried forward by women on the forefront of the Arab uprisings. Each one is a gem,” said Mona.

Readers in the UAE read and grew up on the same comics as all Arab children across the Middle East and North Africa. “Everything made in Beirut and Cairo starting in the 1950s, like Sindibad, Samir and Bissat Al-Rih, was being distributed to children in the Emirates. It really emphasises that many of the original comics in the region were aimed to highlight a common Arab experience,” said Mr Damluji.

The UAE got involved in publishing comics in 1979, with the creation of Majid.

“Majid was founded by Ahmad Umar, an Egyptian artist living in the UAE, and the incomparable Ahmed Hijazi did much of the art,” said Mr Damluji. “Hijazi’s art is very recognisable and iconic. Hijazi has been involved with so many of the Arab comics. He started drawing for Samir in the late ’60s and early ’70s. He created the characters Thnablet El Sibian (The Lazy Boys),” he said.

Source: www.thenational.ae

After his first day at the NOLA Motorsports Park circuit on Tuesday where he completed 91 laps, Graham Rahal took the opportunity to praise what he feels will be one of if not the fastest road courses on the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule.

“It is fast. It’s gonna be a cool place to race,” Rahal said in an interview with 1070 The Fan’s “Trackside” program in Indianapolis, with NBCSN IndyCar pit reporter Kevin Lee and the Indianapolis Star‘s Curt Cavin.

“(Juan Pablo) Montoya and I were talking. He was struggling to hold his head up end of the day. It’s a physical place. It should be the highest average speed of any road course we do. The Indy GP may or may not be there.”

Rahal, who raced at the old Edmonton and whose father Bobby was a regular winner at the old Cleveland airport courses, compared the track to both of those in that its wide-open nature will allow fans to see all of the circuit at once.

“There is a lot of grip in the surface,” he said. “There’s good top speed. The front straight is very bumpy. So it will be hard to manage that.

“It should be a great show. You can see everything. Every corner you can see from one spot. They’re building grandstands. You can literally see all 13 corners, no problem.”

Rahal didn’t give away any details on the new manufacturer aero kits other than to call the Honda kit “extremely radical looking.”

He did, however, take the opportunity to reflect upon the new engineering staff in place for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 2015. Rahal will work with engineer Eddie Jones, Mike Talbott on vehicle dynamics program and Martin Pare, head of the vehicle ride control development program.

“We take responsibility for everything… but it was a difficult working environment (last year),” Rahal said. “Dad felt it was very important to take it into his hands and make a difference.

“After 2013, we threw a bunch of spaghetti at the wall and hope it stuck… and we were worse off. We rebooted. I haven’t worked with Eddie directly, but he was good with (James) Jakes. Martin was my lead engineer at Newman/Haas. Mike Talbott worked with me at Newman/Haas, and then went to HPD.

“All of these guys have worked together before which is the key. I’ve had relaitonships with all of them. Finally the guys wrenching on the car have a smile on their face.”

Rahal seeks to improve upon a 19th place finish in the 2014 standings, with a single second place at Detroit his best result.

Source: motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com

February   11, 2015 It is with great sadness and human brokenness; we heard of the Chapel Hill massacre and saw the lives of three young people knocked away by the hand of an outraged man. I do not understand the reason, but whatever the reason is, he had no right, not on heaven nor on … Continued

The committee assigned to investigate the death of the late President Yasser Arafat knows the identity of those who poisoned him, however the investigations need to be verified before the details can be revealed, member of the Central Committee of Fatah, General Tawfiq Tirawi said. During a recording for the Ma’an satellite channel, Tirawi said … Continued

WASHINGTON (AFP) — At least two US senators, including the chamber’s longest-serving lawmaker, will skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress next month, deepening a partisan fissure over the controversial address.

In a blunt statement Tuesday, Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy accused Republican leaders in the House of Representatives of “unilaterally” arranging and politicizing Netanyahu’s planned address before a joint meeting of Congress on March 3.

Leahy, a seven-term senator, said that by scheduling the speech without input from the White House, Republicans “have orchestrated a tawdry and high-handed stunt that has embarrassed not only Israel but the Congress itself.”

Leahy noted the unwritten rule of Congress speaking and acting “with one voice” on foreign policy whenever possible, with US national interests the paramount concern and “with caution about the unintended consequences of unilateral actions like this.

“They have diminished that valuable precedent,” he said.

Vice President Joe Biden, symbolically the president of the US Senate, is the most high-profile official yet to announce he will not attend Netanyahu’s speech.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, is also staying away.

“The president of the United States heads up our foreign policy, and the idea that the president wasn’t even consulted — that is wrong and not a good thing for our country,” Sanders said at the Brookings Institute Monday.

“I may watch it on TV but I’m not going.”

US lawmakers are traditionally united in their support of Israel.

But the speech that House Speaker John Boehner invited the prime minister to give, in the midst of crunch negotiations between Iran and world powers over restricting Iran’s nuclear program, has triggered divisions in Congress.

Israeli officials mounted a charm offensive last week, sending Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein up to Capitol Hill to contain the damage, as House members from both sides reportedly considered boycotting the Netanyahu speech.

Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi, in meeting with Edelstein, emphasized the “value all members place on the US-Israel relationship in a non-partisan way,” her spokesman said.

“The leader expressed her concern that casting a political apple of discord into the relationship is not the best way forward given the formidable challenges our two countries are facing together.”

Source: www.maannews.com

The killing of young, promising college students would normally be a pretty big story.  Shootings on or near campuses are usually a hot topic for cable news outlets.  The horrific execution of three young Americans would ordinarily dominate our televisions.

This morning I woke up to the tragic news of the murders of Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, Yusor Mohammad, 21, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.  Deah and Yusor were recently married, and Razan was Yusor’s sister.  They were a family.  And they were killed by a white man, 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks.  I learned about their killings through a text message as I was just waking up.  Then I did what I always do each morning.  I turned on CNN.

CNN would give me more info, right?  It had to be the top story, right?  This must be hot news, right?

As I switched to CNN, I felt a weird sense of anticipation.  Arabs and Muslims are always in the news, but not like this.  I was wondering how CNN might cover this.  Would they call it terrorism? Would they profile the victims?  Would they bring on experts?

It didn’t take me long to see exactly what CNN would give me… Nothing.  That’s right. I watched CNN for an hour.  I saw Brian Williams.  I saw Jon Stewart.  I saw Kayla Mueller.  But I didn’t see Deah, Yusor, and Razan.  I turned to MSNBC.  Deah, Yusor, and Razan weren’t there either.  But Bobby Kristina was.  And so was snow in Boston.  In a desperate, last-ditch effort, I even turned to Fox News.  Maybe, in some weird twist, I would see Deah, Yusor, and Razan there.  Nope.  All I saw was “Breaking News” coverage of ISIS.  I should have known better.

Let’s be clear on what occurred.  A middle-aged white man shot three young American Muslims.  In their apartment.  In the head.  Deah was a student at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry.  His wife Yusor was to join him there soon.  Razan was a student at North Carolina State University.  And CNN was unfazed.

According to Hick’s Facebook page, he once wrote, “When it comes to insults, your religion started this, not me. If your religion kept its big mouth shut, so would I.”  It seems from early news report that Hicks was anti-religion.  And he found convenient targets in his Muslim neighbors, two of whom, Yusor and Razan, wore Islamic headscarfs.

Some will undoubtedly argue that this murder had nothing to do with the victim’s particular religion, as Hicks apparently hated all faiths.  You can engage in that nonsense if you wish.  But if his neighbors were young religious Christian students, would he have executed them in this manner?  My mind says, “I don’t know.”  My heart gives a different answer.

Amazingly, however, I am more disgusted by the news coverage (or lack of it) than I am by the murder itself.  It really is a sort of sick testament to the state of American media that CNN, MSNBC, and Fox could anger and insult me this morning more than Hicks himself could.

The media has disregarded Deah, Yusor, and Razan.  There is no argument here.  And in a world where these young American Muslims’ lives are bypassed by our television news outlets, I am left to ponder.

I imagine what sort of wall-to-wall news coverage we would see if white victims were gunned down around a college campus.  I imagine how much I would be hearing the word “terrorism” if a middle-aged Arab man murdered three young white Americans in their own home.  I imagine how many “experts” would be dominating CNN right now if Hicks last name were Mohammad and Yusor’s last name were Hicks.

We have seen what happens on American news channels when Muslim criminals target non-Muslim victims in France, Australia, and Israel.  And now, we get to see what happens on American news channels when non-Muslim criminals target Muslim victims right here.

It is now the middle of the day, and CNN is starting to give the story a few minutes of coverage.  I’m not seeing condemnations, I’m not seeing “experts,” and I’m not seeing profiles of Deah, Yusor, and Razan.  I’m not seeing any of that.  Instead, CNN is telling me that they might have been killed because they were Muslim.  But they also might have been killed over a parking spot… a parking spot.  And you wonder why we get a little angry at the news every now and then.

After a few minutes of coverage about the execution of three young American Muslims, CNN moves on.  The next story? Chris Kyle…

Source: www.civilarab.com

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on law enforcement authorities to address speculation about a possible bias motive for the killing of three young Muslims who were shot in the head yesterday in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The alleged killer, 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks, has been arrested and charged three counts of first-degree murder. He is accused of shooting Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Ysor Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19. Both female victims are pictured online wearing Islamic head scarves (hijab). No motive for the shootings has been released.

On Facebook, Hicks describes himself as an “anti-theist” and has posted condemnations of all religions. One post, a picture from United Atheists of America, asks “why radical Christians and radical Muslims are so opposed to each others’ influence when they agree about so many ideological issues.”

Reports of the incident led to widespread speculation on social media that the killings were motivated by anti-Muslim bias.

“Based on the brutal nature of this crime, the past anti-religion statements of the alleged perpetrator, the religious attire of two of the victims, and the rising anti-Muslim rhetoric in American society, we urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to quickly address speculation of a possible bias motive in this case,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “Our heartfelt condolences go to the families and loved ones of the victims and to the local community.”

CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Source: www.cair.com

Over 2,300 lovers of Japanese animation, video games, cartoons, manga and just plain dressing-up in costume, gathered for the second annual Egypt Animé/Game convention on 7 February at downtown Cairo’s Greek Campus.

The stage hosted a professional cosplay group flown in from Japan, as well as karaoke performances of animé theme songs. There was also a band that performed rock cover versions in Arabic and Japanese, which the crowd sang along lyric-for-lyric.

Egyptians came disguised as their favourite characters from Bleach, Hunter X, Naruto, League of Legends, One Piece, Attack on Titan, and Full Metal Alchemist.  Niqabs mixed with Pokemon,  abeyas mixed with Batman costumes.

Most importantly, said Ahmed Shamy, one of the event’s main organisers, the convention offered fans of Animé, who sometimes face opposition from peers and parents for watching cartoons, a community to gather, interact, and feel welcome.

Source: www.dailynewsegypt.com

The Robert Bosch Foundation, one of the main partners of Berlinale Talents, has successfully grabbed the attention of high-profile Arab and German filmmakers through its Film Prize for International Cooperation edition between young German and Arab filmmakers. The festive dinner hosted by the Robert Bosch Foundation on Friday, February 6th, witnessed the presence of a slew of filmmakers and cinema professionals and further guests from the 65th Berlin International Film Festival (currently running).

The dinner gala was attended by several filmmaking figures including Alaa Karkouti, CEO and Co-founder of MAD Solutions; Maher Diab, Creative Director and Co-founder of MAD Solutions; Abdallah Al Shami, MAD’s Managing Partner for MAD’s GCC operations; Jane Williams, Arab Cinema Center Consultant at Berlinale; Emirati/Lebanese Producer Paul Baboudjian; Egyptian Producer Hani Osama, Co-founder of The Producers; Emirati Filmmaker Nawaf Al-Janahi; Shivani Pandya, Managing Director of Dubai International Film Festival ;Ahmed Shahm, Founder of the post production company X-Rated; Wagih Ahmed, Co-founder of X-Rated; Lebanese Director Myrna Maakaron; Egyptian Actor/Producer Ahmad Al Fishawy, Founder of Crystal Dog; George David, General Manager of the Royal Film Commission-Jordan; Josef Kullengard, Malmo Arab Film Festival Project Coordinator; Egyptian Filmmaker Marianne Khoury and Hania Mroue, Founder and Manager of Metropolis Art Cinema Association.

Source: blogs.indiewire.com

Three young Muslims, including a newly-wed couple, were shot dead in their home in a North Carolina neighbourhood in the US.

Source: news.yahoo.com