Voices of the (arab) nation : Arabism, songs and linguistic adaptability

In the days of the triumphant Arabism, when Cairo was not only the unchallenged political capital of the area but also its cultural one, there was no question about it: Arab stars had to express themselves in colloquial Egyptian even if classical Arabic was used from time to time for “higher” (or less popular) forms of cultural expression.

It was thus a real symbolic turn when the famous Abdel-Halim Hafez decided in the late 60’s, dressed in the local garment, to sing various pieces from the Kuwaiti traditions (see this interesting article, in Arabic, in the daily Al-Quds al-arabi.)

Today, it’s nobody’s surprise when an Arab singer, from whatever country of the area, uses another variety of colloquial Arabic: Egyptian stars sing in a so-called “Arabic of the Gulf” (a mere fiction as there is of course a fair amount of local variations), Lebanese or Iraqui starlets whisper in Egyptian colloquial, to say nothing of many popular voices from the various Maghreb countries who sing either in Egyptian or or forms of colloquial arabic.

During the three or four last decades, the Arab linguistic map has greatly changed thanks to the always growing cultural industries with their transnational media. Indeed, the new generations have probably lost some proficiency in “classical” Arabic, but they have developed new linguistic skills, especially an unprecedented adaptability to cross-over boundaries of all local variations of the Arabic language.

Many times, this linguistic ability is a mere gimmick in order for a singer to gain the favours of a special audience. But the shifting from a vernacular to another can also be used in very conscious way, as a political gesture. Latifa for instance was born in Tunisia and has worked, among others, with the Lebanese composer Ziad Rahbani and the Iraqi singer Kadhem al-Saher, after she has become a panarab star when she left her country for Egypt.

She is now promoting her new CD with songs in “Arabic from the Gulf,” a decision in line with the political stand she took in various circumstances, for instance at the 2004 Music Awards in Los Angeles when she declared that her happiness wont be complete without the liberation of the Palestine and the Iraqi people. When asked about the issuing of her new record with songs in the colloquial Arabic used in the Gulf area, Latifa explained, according to the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar), that singing in another vernacular than you native one, when you are from the Maghreb or whatever other part of the Arab world, is a way to brake the borders drawn between the Arabs by colonialism (أحبّوا ذلك أم كرهوا، لا بدّ من كسر الحدود المرسومة بين العرب جغرافياً، فنياً وفكرياً. لأن هذه الحدود من ركائز الاستعمار).

And with the usual link to the original post in French, a rare video of the “brown nightingale” in a Kuwaiti song.

About Marriage and Divorce in the Arab World

Four posts about related questions dealing with marriage and divorce in today’s Arab societies (links to the original ones in French).

In the first one, mention was made to Urîdu hâlan (I want a solution), a movie with (and largely thanks to) Faten Hamama. An interesting example of an art production which has had a real impact on the Egyptian society. After years of discussions, the Egyptian law finally gave the women the right – under certain circumstances – to divorce their husband.

Today’s Egyptian women publicly speak not only of their legal right to divorce but of the personal satisfaction they may find living as single, after a divorce or ever-postponing a socially expected marriage. Examples of this new attitude may be found in the writings of two bloggers whose writing have been published in books. In both cases, the colloquial form for “I want”, in Ghada Abdelal’s (غادة عبد العال) I want to get married (عايزة اتجوز) and Mahasen Saber’s (محاسن صابر) I want to get divorced (عايزة اطلق) is a clear reference to the classical verbal form used by Faten Hamama’s point, thirteen years ago.

The second post was about the rising number of unmarried young people (9 millions adult above 35 years in Egypt for instance). The cost of the wedding ceremony may explain this situation, probably connected to the growing phenomenon of sexual harassment in Cairo streets and which is exploited by all sorts of crooks using internet phishing sites. It is also linked to the rising number of non-official unions with the resulting issue of thousands of children born from such unions without any legal status as women does not have the right to declare a birth according to the actual Egyptian law. Considering the great number of students who are engaged in such “unlegal” unions (almost 20% of them according to various studies), one has to think that the sexual practices of many young Arabs are undergoing a radical transformation.

An evolution which is probably conformed by the rising number of divorces in many Arab countries (data in the original post in French from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Arab Emirates and even Gaza. Even in this last case, local analysts emphasize the fact that economical difficulties only cannot explain the breaking of so many unions – and the rising number of unmarried young people. On the contrary, for a growing number of young Arabs, the need to reach personal/individual fulfilment probably becomes more important that the necessity to obey the social requirement of a “family arranged” marriage.

Nonetheless, local traditions remain very strong in many areas, as it is the case with child marriage. Here again (see last post), the increasing denunciation of this phenomenon in the Arab press can be interpreted as the sign of a change. Even if too publicized stories in the Western media like the one of the little Nojood Ali in Yemen (among Glamour magazine “women of the year” !!!”) seem to show the contrary, recent public discussions and legal decisions in Yemen Saudi Arabia or even Morocco are a clear indication that sexual habits, representations and practices in the Arab world are changing.

Arab Women in Politics: a Quite Revolution

Ten years exactly after they got the right to vote, four Kuwaiti ladies win parliamentary seats. Despite the well-spread clichés, the last elections in Kuwait confirm a trend already noticed for instance in Jordan when a lady won in November 2007, for the first time in the country’s history, a parliamentary seat.

In Arab modern history, women’s affirmation traces back to the end of the XIXth century, a political affirmation followed a few decades later by well-known political activists like the Egyptian Hoda Shaarawi or the Syrian Nadhira Zayn al-Din.

Independence has been, in many countries, the golden age for Arab women as their participation to the political life has constantly declined since, partly because this participation has been dictated by regimes which have lost any credibility to people looking for solutions from a Islamic dictated agenda.

But the trend toward the progressive vanishing of women’s participation in Arab politics could reverse as political “modernization” has became a “necessity” in the post 9-11 world, and with a ever-growing number of young educated women aiming at more individual identity and way of life.

In the Gulf states, often caricatured for its backwardness especially regarding women’s lib issues, some positive changes have already taken place as mentioned in a previous post about Saudi Arabia. After sheikha bint Nasser al-Missned, Qatar’s first lady, was named on 2008 Forbes magazine's list of the world's 100 most powerful women in the world, it was Nura Al-Faiz’s turn to appear in Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in the world, after she had been appointed Saudi Arabia`s first woman minister.


As usual, here is the link to the more developed post in French.

Jodhaa Akbar : far away form the Mediterranean sea

“Hindi movie”: used since a long time in a very pejorative way, will the expression take a very different meaning in the Arab world after the unprecedented success of the last serial aired by the Middle-East Broadcasting Channel?

The Dubai based and Saudi-financed channel has hit new record audience with Akbar Jodhaa, its hindi saga. Based on historical facts, it relates the story of Akbar, the muslim Moghol emperor, and Jodhha, his hindi wife, who remained an everlasting example of tolerance.

Questions raised in the Arab world after such a success: what is the reason for the lack of such works in the Arab world? If all the TV blockbuster are to be dubbed from Turkish or Hindi into Arabic, what is the future for the local productions?

But did MBC take a real risk airing a dubbed Hindi serial? Adding to the fact that a large number of Hindi speaking people already live there, many Arabs from the Gulf countries feel at ease with the cultures of the Indian Subcontinent, a place where they very often travel to for business or leisure.

At the time of the difficult launch of the ill-fated Mediterranean Union, it is worth seeing that this part of the Arab world has already started to look East, far away from the Mediterranean shores.

As usual, here is the link to the more developed post in French.

2008 : Women’s Year in Saudi Arabia?

Saqi, the UK’s largest publisher on Middle Eastern and Arabic titles made another success with one more “scandalous Saudi writer”. Although her short book (77 pages) has not being received as a masterpiece, Samar al-Muqrin’s Nisâ’ al-munkar (something like "Reprobate Women": the title alludes in Arabic to the famous local moral police) has become a best-seller in the Arab world.

Another success story which is obviously linked to the fact that the novel, like Rajaa Alsanea’s Girls of Riyadh before (see previous post), tackles important issues for many Arab women (and men).

Various decisions have been taken during the last months in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in support of the women’s rights like the opening in Riyadh of a hotel reserved to women, something which makes travelling easier for them. Going alone to an academic library has also become easier for female Saudi students.

In Western eyes, those little “victories” could even be misunderstood. For instance, the right for Saudi women to give finger prints instead of photography for their ID could be interpreted as another step back in order to comply with outdated traditions. But in fact the new regulation aims at helping women’s right especially in courts.

It is the same thing with the highly discussed legislation which asks every owner of a shop specialised in lingerie to hire female employees, a step toward larger job opportunities for women which is backed by local women associations which has raised the idea of boycotting the shops not compelling with the new regulation.

Recently, new professions have been opened to Saudi women in various professional fields. In fact, such a move from the authorities has become almost a necessity since the young Saudis women are more and more educated. In fact, many of them are already turning to neighbouring countries, like Kuwait and Bahrein, in order to find jobs in line with their professional skills.

Following the path opened by the first pioneers who have already taken high positions in some Gulf governments and administration, the Saudi women seem to be ready to “leave the man’s abayya” (the traditional masculine coat).

As usual, the link to the more developed post in French. Illustration from www.elmaqah.net, a very interesting site dedicated to literature (in arabic).