New Website For RNW

Radio Netherlands Worldwide (or Radio Nederland Wereldomroep) put a new effort to their website. This media organization is considered the best and only source of Arabic news in the history of the Netherlands. The new layout is different from the old in its more friendly and readable sections. It is not by any means the same compact news I used to see in a list soft of columns as before.

In the past months I noticed that the website administrators are focusing more on the media by attaching sound and video clips with most of it coverage of news in the Netherlands and abroad. This is another evidence of an emphasize on providing interactive experience for the reader, instead of just reading like any newspapers. I personally see that many steps forward for providing services for the visitor to the website.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide is not just about news. In fact one of the most interesting elements on the website are the reports and analysis about the different events and personalities living on the globe.

The only thing I noticed, which I wish the team working on the website should pay attention to is the font size of the Arabic letters, which I find it a little small compare to the overall page size and the pictures attached with each headline.

But that would not stop me from visiting this site, the important thing to me is the content, the information, the message that this organization seems to put an effort to keep it professional, to the point, and enjoyable all at the same time.

Arabic Broadcast From Amsterdam

A number of weeks back I created a new discussion thread on Facebook on the Iraqi Community In the Netherlands Group. I was seriously eager to know or to see how appealing the idea of having an Arabic Radio station in the Netherlands, like other Arabic speaking internet and FM radio stations, such as Orient Radio (France) and ABS (Australia) - there is another one in Belgium which I heard about recently, but forgot the name.

However, the good news for Arabs living in the Netherlands came to me today: Radio Netherlands Worldwide resumed its broadcast in Arabic language from the 15'th of last month under the name "Here's Amsterdam". The broadcast can be received on radio, satellite, as well as on the internet on different times of the day. Information in Arabic and in English are also available on the site on times of broadcast. It is worth mentioning that Radio Netherlands Worldwide used to broadcast in Arabic for more than four decades but stopped in 1994. In addition, a number of professional presenters from various Arab countries, such as Iraq, Morocco, Libya, Sudan are working for this broadcast, to whom I personally wish them all the best with their work and effort.

Elissa

Her name is Elissa, a very famous singer from Lebanon. People started to know her when she appeared on a duet with super star Lebanese singer, Ragheb Alama, in 2000 – according to Elissa, she was already reached fame before appearing on that white linen video clip. She made 6 albums, appeared in different advertisements and commercials, such as for Pepsi a couple of times, and for a jewelry business. In addition, she held a performance at the pyramids of Egypt as the opening act for British superstar Sting. She was also the only Arabic artist to perform in front of the former U.S President Bill Clinton at the Stars Charity show in Dubai, where among other guests present were Queen Rania of Jordan and the Crown Prince of Dubai, Cheikh Mohamed Bin Rachid al Maktoum. Her stardom reached to another level at the end of 2002 when she inaugurated the opening of Kuwait's Virgin Megastore with Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the famous stores. Finally, the success of Elissa has been included in the book '100 Pioneers of Lebanon' alongside Lebanese music legends such as Fairouz and Wadih el Safi, according to Wikipedia.

A couple of days ago MBC satellite channel broadcast showed a concert of Elissa from 2007, but before talking about that I want to give some background information on Arabic music nowadays: Most of, if not all Arab musicians/singers record their albums using digital (or virtual) instruments in addition to live musicians, and with the advanced technology of synthesizers they can make great quality mixed and produced albums. For that reason, to me, watching a live concert of any singer is like going through the ultimate test: either that singer proves to be good on stage and deserve the title of a super star; or to consider that singer pathetic, where he or she would have no option but to keep failing musically and on stage in front of their fans or those watching him on TV. Some of those horrible performers (shame to call them singers in the first place) create a sort of a status que to let the audience accept them with such failure. With a lot of money being poured on such people, by consider them some commercial product that would gain a lot of profit through their image rather than their musical quality, they would remain to be seen on TV talk shows, their songs would be played every single hour daily on Radio stations, and their photoshop-manipulated pictures would be on the covers of magazines for years to come. Elissa is one of those samples.

I watched Elissa live on TV a number of times before… two conclusions: First, Elissa does not know how to sing; second, Elissa does not have any presence on stage.

The concert I watched on MBC a couple of days ago did not make any change in opinion: As it is the case with most of her live concerts; Elissa came out from back stage wearing a long elegant party dress with an eye-popping cleavage (her ultimate weapon – well, maybe this time it was a bit bigger than previous times!) She walked with the same look on her face: absorbed, lost in some thoughts far away from time and place… or shall I better describe it as a look of a dump? She stopped in the middle of the stage, nervous, maybe worried? Suddenly, as if she remembered something and before it was too late she turned her head to the right to greet the maestro who was conducting the group of musicians playing her songs on each side of the stage. During the whole concert Elissa did not have any interaction with the public, except for a few cold smiles here and there. She was most generous with the bearded maestro where she exchanged smiles and gestures. Oh yes, to be entirely fair: she exchanged smiles with the chorus standing in the dark at one end of the stage.

On every intro of every song she bursts into a deafening “aaaaaahhhhh” with eyes closed and mouth wide open – is she trying to tune her voice with the music melody played in the background? Or is this became another dump habit of hers? It can happen once, twice, but not with every intro on every song she begins whining and moaning loud as if to give a fake impression of being deeply emotional when hearing that melody.

I don’t think that having the flu made me so agitated by Elissa’s voice that night, because all who were sitting in the same room with me were became extremely upset with such joke.

Truth hurts: Her face was not of a very happy person (or shall I say hidden rage) during an interview on MBC’s celebrity talk-show, Al Arrab (The Godfather) when asked by host, Neshan Der Haroutiounian, when he told her “According to critics, when someone listen to an album by Elissa, it is depicted as some gorgeous bride on her wedding day; all pretty with the most beautiful dress and everything, and people listen with joy to your voice … on stage it is another story… after some half an hour of singing live some critics put your voice in the category of those singing out of tone, and other critics refer this to some poor or limited ability to sing in the first place.” Elissa’s admitted that “in the past I used to sing because I like to sing, and I used to go out-of-tone… I do that because I couldn’t listen to my own voice when singing… and it is not only me, all singers do that” A super star, as she claims, the second richest female signer in the Arab world (from sales of her albums) is saying that she is still learning how to get over the fact that she is tone deaf?

A lot of critics I read on the Internet or while watching TV about the deteriorating status of Arabic music, compare to the old days when the focus on music as a prestigious art used to be the highest priority, rather than focusing on the boobs and curves of female singers. Again, don’t want to be misunderstood, there are good female singers around, take Yara, for example, I didn’t like her last album but still love to attend her concerts or watch her on TV, why? I watch her and enjoy her music, because I feel that Yara is righteous to her music, and to her fans, to say the least. If Elissa can read this post, maybe it is useful to take a look and learn from this guy, how to stay on the same melody without going out-of-tone.

I started this post mentioning Ragheb Alama, just for the information; there is a guitarist in his band, a big man with light beard and moustache playing a red and white Fender Stratocaster. That guitarist plays very good, my compliments goes to him. He used to be the guitarist in Elissa’s band some years ago, and I watched him beautifully playing Elissa’s songs in different live performance on TV. Speaking of TV, would like to thank MBC, because since the end of Ramadan and on every night the past week, this TV station gave me the opportunity to watch a number of concerts of different Arab singers and musicians. I liked the concert of Lebanese female singer, Nancy Ajram. I can’t say that I enjoyed it 100% because the overall sound of the band playing (except for Nancy’s microphone) was extremely low and too much echoed. I don’t know if the acoustics on that venue was the right place for music shows, or is it the fault of those filming the show: no experience on how to mix the sound well and bring it right for TV viewers! However, I am not a fan of Ajram, but her new band, led by the great Basim Rizq (this man is a genies) did a wonderful and enjoyable performance.

Back to Elissa, in 1992, Elissa was still seeking for fame, so she participated under the name “Allisar” in Studio Al Fan, a sort of Super Star broadcasted on Lebanese TV in the 1990s. Elissa was asked about the most important factors for a singer to be always remembered by his fans. Her answer was “first of all the voice; second is good presence when going live on stage; third is good performance; finally musical knowledge. “ This is very sad; because I don’t see any of the four apply to this singer in a way or another. My suggestion is to focus and stick to one sort of performance; she did that on the Mission Fasion 2007 show. Another suggestion: I beg you, Elissa, please don’t sing covers of old Arabic songs; you butchered the whole melody from start to end.

Get A Life!!!

I met him for the first time at a birthday party two years ago, when he told about his first visit to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I met him again last weekend at some friends and to my surprise DID tell the same story again. The frustration was very clear on the voice and face expressions of that 50 something years old Dutch man. He is extremely bitter about everything over there! this is the impression I can get. He is against the fact that Pakistani and Benglaishi building workers are under the burning sun for more than (according to him) 60 hours a week working. He is not happy with people enjoying the air conditioning everywhere they go. He is against the fact that families have nanies and people working as servants in gardens, car drivers, cooking...etc He is against the pay standards for labour in that country...

This time I didn't say anything but watching him talk and talk. I didn't have the mood to repeat what I said to him during the first time meeting. I am not going to address my point of view about what is wrong and what is right on this issue, because this is not the subject of the matter now! Further more, I am not against someone talking about the same subject on two or more occasions, BUT I AM AGAINST, and it makes me extremely mad when someone talk negatively about certain culture by comparing it to his own; by fully condemn many aspects in other people's culture, because in the Netherlands it is dealt with differently.

I don't want to be misunderstood here that I am against Dutch culture (or defending Dubai's culture), nothing like that! I adore the fact that in this world there are different countries, heritage, religions. I respect fully other cultures, even if they would contradict or might conflict with my own, as long as it won't force itself on me as a person!

The thing is that that man went to Dubai a number of times, not only once. He didn't pay a cent for a hotel or residency or anything else, except for his cigarettes, maybe, because of some relatives or close friends living there for years now! While he was talking I was wondering if he would ever think of visiting Dubai in the first place and worry about those poor men working under the burning sun, if it wasn't for his relatives living there!

The only conclusion is that this man either jealous of his relatives living in Dubai - there are who act and say bad things about people and countries if they are jealous, that's a fact! or it was an attempt to play the role of the ultimate protector of people's rights on a spot somewhere on this planet! or he is out of words and decided to initiate some kind of hot topic!

Image courtesy of VIPwnt

Arab Comics

This website rocks!! it is as simple as that!! It is excellent work to revive old comics translated from the likes of Marvel, DC, even Manga (Japanese comics art) and other. The effort done by the men and women on that website is extraordinary, by taking time scanning old comics or translating original ones, and above all assisting each other to put these comics in a very elegant and professional way on the website. The phenomenal effort and time taken from the members of that site to do all that voluntarily without seeking commercial profit or something deserve big applause.

Many people visited the site acknowledged something of a dream come true reading their old favorites and own them digitally after all these years.

Some poeple from non-Arab countries thought that "arabising" comics published by Marvel and DC, for example might ruin the feel and essence of the story. Some mention that giving comics characters Arabic names itself is a bad idea. On the contrary, a lot of people from the Arab world enjoyed the characters of "Klark Kent" named "Nabeel Fawzi", or "Jimmy Olsen" named "Nadeem Hilmy", or "Louis Lane" named "Randa" in the Arabic versions. By the way, due to public demand and success of such book-reading, the translation of famous comic books extended to included other European languages, such as French and Dutch, where Tin Tin (or Kuifje in Dutch - Belgian) were enlisted among many other comics characters.

The translation of known comic books is not new to the Arab world - I mean it is not part of the reforms George Bush is pressuring Arab governments to pursue. Lebanon and Egypt have been the leaders in such for many and many years back. On Arabcomics.net I read one of the first Batman comics that has been translated back in 1966. They were some ups and downs with the publishing of Arabic comics, especially in Lebanon, because of the Civil War and political situation, but it remains to this day loved by many. Recently a Kuwaiti private sector company has contracted with Marvel to translate their comics and re-introduce them to the Arab world in a new look.

The work on Arabcomics.net regarding translation and scanning is considered by myself as first class work by first class artists. It is not only a hobby by some men and women who wanted to re-live their childhood through exploring forgotten translated comics

I bow my hat for you, guys!

Football Match

I am not a big fan of football (soccer for those who mix it up with American football), but this match is unique! Supporters are not that much; there are some but a lot left the stadium looking for more interesting things to do! The remaining supporters can be sighted easily, because they shattered sitting here and there among the empty seats. Some of them are focused on the game beneath; others show emotions from sadness to despise, because of the foul play and the very obvious cheating among players. One can easily observe that no single honesty in that match. The first team consists of players from different countries: there is the Iranian player who wants to score at any cost, taking advantage of having his Iraqi co-player on different positions on the fields to pass the ball to him so he can get deeper in and score; the Iraqi player, though, has no chance of either to keep the ball or to score – they must pass the ball only to the other players; There is also the American player! like a bulldozer, run heavily and aggressively, always want to keep the ball to himself, never want to pass the ball to anyone, not even to his British (who play left and right wing) or European players! There are other players in that team but with a less tempo, such as the Turkish player, but when time comes (according to their evaluation it seems) they display fantastic energy and effort! This team does not show some harmony among its players, there is some feud, such as the player with a beard who seems to have a problem with his American co-player! They are both playing in the same team, but they don’t like each other… It happens, you know. There are other players from different backgrounds and countries playing in this team, but I thought it's worth it mentioning the toughest among them.

It is a tough game, the team is fully prepared, they had training, best equipments and facilities to ensure they are fit and have victory.

But wait, what about the other team? Yes, they are doing great, they are trying their best compare it to the humble training and facilities. They can be easily recognized, because each one of them is wearing a three striped colors T-Shirt: red on top, white, and black! When they stood next to each other before the start of the game, they formed the Iraqi flag. The interesting thing is that each Iraqi player is originally from different cities and villages' allover Iraq. They also come from entirely different ethnic, social and religious backgrounds! Despite that, they illustrated most amazing harmony during their play.

The more the Iraqi team defends his goal, the more the other team becomes more aggressive, and as I mentioned earlier, many foul plays took place but the referee seems to be in a different reality. He just whistles and warns players not to do this or that, but no red cards, not even a yellow card.

The match goes on and on and honestly there were some Iraqi scores that made the public sitting at the benches jump and dance with happiness, but they were very little! Some of the Iraqi team supporters were carrying crosses, others carrying their holy books and praying, many others just watch with tears mudding their eyes, shouting endlessly with tired voices words of encouragement, all hoping that the Iraqi team will come out victorious.

Don't Bomb Us - A blog by Al Jazeera Staffers

I might be a little bit late in finding this, but it is interesting to know that some employees from Al Jazeera network are blogging.

The link is above, and can also be found here

I am not doing some kind of a propoganda here, I just thought the blog worth some reading.

What made me like “Yacoubian Building”??

The question popped up when I was reading the comments posted by my new friend, aNarki about the movie “Yacoubian Building”. I thought: “why not write about that movie?” It’s worth it! But before I do that, I want to thank aNarki for his kind words about my blog, especially regarding Iron Maiden. They are the best… and their new album, “A Matter of Life or Death”, is just another masterpiece of music!

OK, let’s talk about movies, about the movie ““Yacoubian Building””. I didn’t have the chance to watch the movie in theaters, simply because no single theater showed it, or not? So finding the movie on the internet and download it was the best alternative. Every person I know was busy searching on the internet, trying to get a proper copy – For some time, the only “proper” copy can be found on the internet was missing more than half an hour from the total time! However, I had the chance to watch the movie at my best friend’s a month ago. His family and mine share passion for watching movies, and we are used to arrange a specific date from time to time on a weekend to meet and watch a movie. This time they suggested “Yacoubian Building”… They managed to get the full version.

Did I like it? Yes, very much – otherwise it won’t be in my profile’s favorite movies list. Why did I like it? Because it was not like any movie! I will come to that later, so keep on reading. Was it a very long and boring movie? Yes, it was a VERY long movie, but far from considers it boring for a bit. Should I tell more about the story? No, better watch it, and if you want to have some overview, check the movie tralier. Word of advice, don’t look for articles on the internet if you didn’t watch the movie yet, it contains many spoilers. Is it true that the movie was considered the most expensive movie made in the history of Egyptian cinema? Yes, it cost more than $3 million. Is it true that the movie contains a number of adult scenes, which are considered not appropriate for some viewers? Well, the answer is yes, maybe one of the reasons why censorship in many Arab countries chopped off many scenes from the movie, if not totally banned in other countries! Did the film reached out to the level of international standards in movie making? I guess so, I hope so! Otherwise it wouldn’t be enlisted into the Oscar nominations for next year for the category of ‘best foreign film’!

To start with, I couldn’t hide my aggregation towards the dark and pessimistic view of most events and characters alike in the movie. What made me also little sad is the “concept of comparison” between past and present: by considering the past as very nice, and how Egypt from social perspective went gradually down hill in the last 30 years… hey, that was not a spoiler, for two reasons: first, we all know that this is the reality, unfortunately; yesterday is much better than today in most of Arab countries. Second, I am sure that millions of people watched the trailer of the movie tens of times on TV channels, especially watched the legendary Adel Imam’s rants: “we live in a mutant society…everything was better in the past…”

However, that did not spoil my enjoyment of watching the film, especially with the development of the story or pack of stories, minute by minute.

Everyone knows (by now) that the movie dealt with a number of critical (and for some sensitive) subjects in Egyptian society. Well, it is not fair to say this, because these subjects are also present in other Arab societies, and not limited to Egyptian. For instance, the movie is hit indirectly hard on the issue of government corruption: this theme has been dealt with in many Egyptian movies, but in this film it did not need a scientist to figure out the hints to certain high-level corrupted political figures in power from past and present Egypt!

Corruption was not only about money and power; the movie showed a wider aspect to corruption when very sensitive issues like poverty, injustice, homosexuality, and even Islamic extremism were related. In addition, showing the contradiction in the behavior and attitude of most of the characters was the most obvious (and dangerous) dilemma in society, by letting the viewer sees certain character believe in something, express his or her beliefs very loud, and then act to the opposite of these beliefs – and I am not talking about religious belief, only, it includes love, respect, successful career, even humanity and simplicity in dealing with each other!

It didn’t stop to that limit, the movie also showed how a person can play the role of a rebellion against his or her principles, by becoming something new, good or bad, resisting these principles they grew up with, and for some is influenced by the same people who preach these principles. On many occasions and with different characters in the movie, those people do the extreme just to take chances where he or she can hopefully see a blink of a light in a dark and somber reality.


Speaking of power and abusing power, this has been shown in the movie like in any recent movies criticizing the political system in Egypt. What differentiates this movie from other movies is how it showed those who seek power as tyrants, but at the same as victims of a bigger game. It didn’t limit this to certain characters of a particular life-style, but it included others in society from low and high classes, people from different faith and beliefs, residents from various locations and areas. They were either having been forced in participating in this bigger game or choose to do so for personal reasons.

Homosexuality as a topic in the movie did go further than the common theme (or what people think the common theme) when it showed unfairness for some due to a certain situation, even for some it has been used as a tool for terror! I don’t recall if there is a similar Arabic movie that showed this subject in the way this movie did. I thought of another Egyptian movie, I think it was called “A Cat on Fire”, starring the great Noor Al Sharief. That movie can be the only one I can think of to might compete in dealing with this subject.

I was not surprised to see terrorism and Islamic extremists have their share in this movie, especially in a film where Adel Imam plays in it. Check “Al Irhabi” or “Irhab we Kabab” and many more. Even in “Arees min Jiha Amnia”, you see the reference to this subject when the father was trying to stop the wedding of his beloved daughter by any means. Interesting to see the movie tackle the issue of religion and link it to other social elements in Egyptian society, such as poverty, and ambition. Both, especially in case of ambition, many people believe (some of them are right with such an opinion) that the first step to make their dreams come true is by joining certain group or community. This is natural instinctive behavior for humans to feel that way - anyone heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? In the movie, this has been tackled beautifully when it shows someone with a target in life, trying his best to reach that target and find that joining a particular group will help making his dream come true. Interesting, though, is when that person finds himself being rejected by this group or community, look for another group, the result became disastrous, then to another group and so on and on and on. More interesting when we see the dreams of that person take another direction, and with same motivation he pushes himself in order to fulfill that dream. This topic was not only emphasizing on the young boys and girls who are looking for a chance in their cruel world, and where their chances in more than one occasion shatter, it also shows middle-ages men and woman, divorced or widows, single or married, all searching for their dreams with dust from brutal reality almost blinding their eyes.

I agree that “Yacoubian Building” for some is an uncomfortable experience, but the movie did not generate all that fuzz only because of homosexuality or government corruption or social degradation, rather than it shows much sensitive social wrongness within Egyptian society in a complex and fully completed chaotic formula. In Arab countries, the movie was tabooed because it gave deep & open illustration in dealing with this subject. Some called it “crossed the line of social principles”. However, In the west, critics were very positive because they say that the movie has dealt with problems in Arab society in a very frank and open way. Some went further by saying that the director of “Yacoubian Building” is trying to change Egyptian society… I find it a little bit exaggerating … but wait… is he??? Is this true?? Or is it that the movie was just overrated… let’s says politicized by some of those who call for “political and social reform to Arab and Islamic world”?

Whom the pope should talk to?

Today early morning news headlines were focusing on two events: The first event was about Judge Muhammad Oreibi al-Khalifa ordering Saddam Hussain to leave after refusing his request to be let out of his metal cage. This is the second time that Saddam being thrown out of the court room by the new judge. The second event was of Pope Benedict XVI meeting envoys from 20 different Muslim countries where he expressed “total and profound respect for the Islamic faith”, and he emphasized on "strengthening ties between Catholic Christianity and Islam".

After reading the news about the pope meeting with the Muslim envoys, I was wondering about something: among all Muslim countries, whom the pope should talk to?

The pope represents the Catholic church, he is the figure where people and countries from other cultures and various religions all around the world can have a dialogue with. The puzzle is to look the other way around: if the pope want to address the Islamic world, whom he should go to? is there a leader or even a representative of the Islamic nation where he can initiate this "dialogue of civilization"? We all know that in the Muslim world there is no unity among its countries.

There is no single alliance that consists of a number of countries where we can point our fingers and say "ok, this can represent the majority of the Muslims, so the pope can start from there"
Lets not involve the Islamic Conference Organization, because everyone knows that it is just a symbolic gathering of Muslim countries from all over the world.

I might think of Saudi Arabia, with obvious reasons: Mecca. But what about Iran? The strongest and soon to be (if not already) the most powerful Islamic country in the region with its military might. If we start talking about either Saudi Arabia or Iran, then we are drawn into the Sunni / Shiá dilemma, oh no, not again!!! What about Egypt? will be the one who can be symbol for the Muslim country that the pope can have a conversation with? Especially if we take into account its status among the Arab countries! I thought of Morocco, especially that the king still carry the title "Amir Il Mo'meneen". This will give the traditional aspect of Islamic monarch and maybe legitimacy? will that be enough to qualify? What about Turkey? Maybe, considering its ties with Europe and Turkey’s appeal to join the European Union!

Wait a minute, Iraq would be the best candidate, yess!!! I am not joking, really! It is the country where Sunni and Shiá used to live with each other, marry from each other and do not despise each other.... they are the symbol of Islamic unity… but oh no, not anymore! for a fraction of a second I started dreaming of old modern Iraq.

Back to reality, what other country can qualify to be that representative country of the Muslim world that the pope can address in his attempt to "strengthen the ties between Christianity and Islam”??

Lets put the Arab world aside and go to non-Arab Muslim countries: Is Indonesia a candidate? Maybe, especially with its most populous Muslim-majority nation in the World. However, with the atrocities exchanged between Christians and Muslims every now and then, one can have second thoughts. However, will Malaysia or Pakistan be good candidates?

Before answering the question, there is another one, a bigger one, I consider it a very essential, in fact a dangerous one: What is the reaction of other countries when one country has been nominated? Will country A be happy for country B and back it up, or will country A consider it as a competition and will turn its back instead of backing country B up with all sorts of support?

It is either the pope aware of such a situation in the Muslim world and he is just playing it safe, or he is forgetting that the Muslim world is far from being united to let one individual country represent them, especially now.

In second case, I only wish the pope all success because he will really really really hard time, and I doubt that he will initiate this “dialogue of civilization” the way it should be.