Will the Real ‘Carrie Bradshaw of the Middle East’ Please Come Forward?

August 24, 2010 By Guest Contributor

This post was written by M. Lynx Qualey and originally appeared on her blog Arab Literature (in English).

Last Friday, the Independent reported that poet Joumana Haddad has been called the “Carrie Bradshaw of Beirut.”

Abdel Aal's book; Dar el Shorouk cover.

Yesterday, National Public Radio said that Ghada Abdel-Aal, blogger and author of Ayza Atgowaz (now a Ramadan TV series), is “Carrie Bradshaw in a headscarf.”

I certainly don’t object to analogy: It’s how we humans structure knowledge. And, while Haddad found the characterization of her “rather inaccurate” (perhaps she would prefer “a sexy Adrienne Rich”), Abdul-Aal embraces Sex and the City while telling NPR:

“Some people call my show Sex and the City, but without the sex. It’s just the city,” she says with a hearty laugh.

(I think emphasizing her “hearty laugh” is to underline that she’s a humor writer.)

Abdel-Aal’s blog is now rarely updated, although it’s inspired other blogs and facebook groups and become a cultural phenom. And now it’s a Ramadan TV series! The book is also making its way around the world: It’s already out in Italian, and will come out in English this October from University of Texas Press.

And: While we’re on the subject, why hasn’t Rajaa Alsanea been called the “Carrie Bradshaw of Saudi Arabia”? There is apparently an Arab (American) Carrie Bradshaw, or at least she’s called that by her friends.

Although, of course, what I’d really like to hear is someone being called “the bare-headed Ghada Abdel-Aal.”

Filed Under: Books/Magazines, News, Web Tagged With: , , ,

Nothing is worse for a Saudi man than imagining himself a woman

August 16, 2010 By Guest Contributor

This post was written by Eman Al Nafjan and originally appeared at her blog Saudiwoman’s Weblog.

Every Ramadan for the past sixteen years a show called Tash Ma Tash, which means something in the literal lines of “splash what may,” is closely watched by almost every Saudi household. The show is a satire of Saudi society and it’s funny, to say the least. It’s also been prohibited by several sheikhs as un-Islamic, especially due to the actors’ portrayal of those very same sheikhs.

Yesterday’s episode was even more controversial than usual–an episode that had the majority of Saudi men, both conservative and liberal, shocked to their bone marrow. In it, a Saudi woman marries four men because she’s “financially and emotionally capable and therefore can’t see a reason why not.” Those very same words we hear over and over again from polygamist Saudi men. However, when it’s a woman talking, even the most rational Saudi man turns rabid.

The expressions of disgust and revulsion were all over the place. One commenter wrote that he lost all respect for them ever since one of the lead actors wore a woman’s dress last year. As if that was the most degrading thing a man could do. We are so inferior as a gender that wearing our clothes, even as part of a comedy show, will demean you as a person.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Technology/Science Tagged With: , , , ,

Playing the Victim: Media Coverage of Marwa el-Sherbini

July 27, 2010 By Guest Contributor

This was written by Beverly M. Weber for Muslimah Media Watch.

“She became a victim of Islamophobia and xenophobia.  She responded with dignity and exemplary civil courage.” – Plaque in memorial to Marwa el-Sherbini, located in the foyer of the Saxony Provincial Court

The murder of Marwa el-Sherbini in July 2009 sparked an intense, long-overdue discussion about Islamophobia and racism in Germany.  These discussions have often included critical attention to the media’s role in creating negative images of Islam in Germany and Europe.

However, at the first anniversary of el-Sherbini’s death, these discussions continue to fall short of truly challenging the gendered constructions of Islam in Germany. The official memorial in honor of el-Sherbini acknowledges her civic courage, a concept that evokes a particular commitment to democratic participation and human rights in the German context.  Yet the dominant discussions relegate el-Sherbini to a victim position, obscuring the important work done every day by Muslim activists to challenge the wide range of violence experienced by Muslim women in Germany today.

While El-Sherbini’s murder quickly gained international attention as an example of growing European Islamophobia, the national German press did not react to the case for nearly a week.  The Central Council of Jews in Germany and the German Central Council of Muslims gave public statements condemning the crime, but Christian organizations and federal and local officials were slow to react publicly to the murder.  By the time German officials and media did respond, el-Sherbini had been dubbed a “hijab martyr” in Egypt and Iran, and her death declared the first Islamophobic murder in Germany.

Media coverage a year after el-Sherbini’s death continues to portray her almost exclusively as a victim.  [Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Politics Tagged With: ,
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