Occidentalism : the other face of Orientalism

In Beirut, two galleries run an exhibition of art works by the well-known Lebanese film director Jocelyne Saab. In the first one, called Soft Architecture, pictures of abstract patterns taken from the local traditions are displayed at the Agial gallery. In the second one, Sense, Icons and Sensitivity, the artist uses neo-pop art icons objects of mass production and of popular culture like Barbie dolls to express the hidden thinking of Arab society towards changes in cultural taste and habits due to globalization.

Some of those last works have been deemed unsuitable by Solidere, the company which which owns the venue where the exhibition opened. Among the most controversial pictures was a photo entitled "American-Israeli playground" where Christ is on a crucifix surrounded by images of Nasrallah and two Barbie dolls in the background. “French Can Can in Bagdad,” with Barbie dolls wrapped in Iraqi currency bearing the image of former dictator Saddam Hussein has not been very much welcomed too!

Even if the Agial gallery has agreed to host, not in a too noticeable place, the pictures expressing “the popular anger in the face of Israeli-Lebanese conflict,” Jocelyne Saab’s last exhibition shows how politics and religion remain two very sensitive issues.

As usual, links to articles in Arabic or English with the more developed post in French.

A stop to Metro: more banished pictures in Egypt!

Policemen paid a visit to Malameh Publishing house in Cairo last April 15th. It did not bother very much Mr Al-Sharkawi, the owner. He is already in jail because he is among those who called in the Internet for 15th April general strike (another one is programmed for Husni Mubarak’s birthday, the 4th of May).

The policemen targeted the remaining stock of Metro, a book published a year ago. According to the Egyptian law, an honest citizen had complained against an outrageous publication (using dirty colloquial words says more or less the accusation).

Metro is not an ordinary book. It is the first “graphic novel” in Arabic. Magdy El Shafee (محمد الشرقاوي) spent five years working on that detective story whose main character, Shihab, is a young Egyptian IT engineer who decides to rob a bank. The money being hidden in the subway, the real problem is to find the way out…

A question that many Egyptian ask themselves nowadays.

Little chance to find Metro now that the book has been confiscated! But some pages have been published (translated into English) on the Internet, and some other drawings.
Magdy El Shafee has a web site, and he wrote a post (in English) on his blog when his book has been confiscated.
He also links to Lebanese musician and artist Mazen Kerbaj work, who also writes a blog.
For articles (Arabic and English) about Magdy El Shafee’s, see links on the original post in French.

The Many Places of Censorship

Regulating Arab Satellite TVs.
According to Syrian actor Duraid Lahham, the only Arab politicians able to reach an agreement between us are… Home Secretaries! In fact, when repression is on the agenda cooperation can be expected even between Information departments of most Arab countries.

It has been the case a few days ago when a document “regulating” satellite broadcasting in the Arab world was signed by all the members of the Arab League, with the only exception of Qatar.

Indeed, the “Al-Jazeera Emirate” has nothing to expect from a document which calls for sanctions against satellite TVs in case of defamatory statements against heads of state or “national and religious symbols.”

Prepared in no more than six months, adopted in less than one hour discussions, the “regulating” document is already adopted by the Egyptian authorities for all new media projects, including in the so-called “free zone” of Media City.

The coming meeting of the Arab League, next June, should see the creation of an Arab official body in charge of the application of the adopted document whenever prosecution will be necessary.

And now, according to “well informed sources” a similar document is under study in order to “regulate” the Arab internet.


Press freedom in Palestine
One more problem with political cartoons... In Palestine for a change. Because of this cartoon (taken from the very interesting www.menassat.com), the pro-Fatah daily Al-Ayyam in Ramallah has been banned by a Gaza court for being “defamatory”. According to the general attorney, the cartoon was not only offensing to Hamas members of the Parliament but also to Islam.

Al-Ayyam distribution is forbidden in Gaza since February 6th.


Western Censorship too…Whenever he scores in a soccer competition, Muhammad Abu Trika, from the Egyptian national selection, does not only make the sujûd (to prostrate oneself to thank God) as seen in the previous post.

Being an “engaged man” in the actual meaning of the word, he can also express his sympathy for a cause like the fate of the Palestinians in the Gaza strip.

Many Arab bloggers and journalist have noted that when the Egyptian soccer star has been fined by the soccer federation because of this demonstration, other players in similar occasions, Brazilian (and Christian Evangelist) player Kaka by instance, did not get any sanction even when he expresses his faith in God.

More than that, Abu Trika’s photo has almost disappeared from the Internet. Searching for “Abu Trika” and “Gaza” on Google does not give you anymore access to a photo which has been published so many times…

Enough, even though Google denies it, to allow many people in the Arab world to think that Egyptian and/or Israelis authorities are behind the vanishing of a too popular picture…


Follow that link to read the original and more detailed post in French.