Arabs & Arabian Records Aggregator. Chronicler. Milestones of the 25 Countries of the Arabic Speaking World (official / co-official). AGCC. MENA. Global. Ist's to Top 10's. Records. Read & Enjoy./ www.arabianrecords.org
I like the idea of making people dream through creation, says Ali.
Tunisian designer Ali Karoui is best known for his red carpet haute couture as the favoured creator for fashion icons such as Cristiano Ronaldo’s girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez.
He chatted to The Kurator exclusively about being at the zenith of the world of fashion.
What draws you toward the world of haute couture instead of ready-to-wear?
I like this idea of making people dream through creation… And the rarity and the mystery that surrounds the world of haute couture.
Your interest in fashion began at an early age – how did your upbringing in Tunisia inspire you to go into fashion design?
I was lucky enough to grow up in an environment where women are treated like queens. I was looking at the closets of famous couturiers when I was a child, especially that of my grandmothers and mother, and that’s what gave me the love that I have today for haute couture.
You now dress A-listers and celebrities all over the world – does this create additional pressure to impress and attract attention with your designs?
Yes, of course, it creates a bit of stress because the more we are known the more demand there is on us, and it means more work for me and my team, but it is so enjoyable to see your creations worn by celebrities on the world’s biggest red carpets. It is a consecration for each artist to see his work recognized.
How did you first start collaborating with Georgina Rodriguez and in a way creating her signature look for her?
I met the beautiful Georgina at the Cannes festival in 2019. Her stylist contacted me to try one of my dresses that she saw in a picture. As she said on Netflix, I’m not trying to change her, she fell in love with my work and since then we are inseparable.
Your style can be interpreted as somewhat risqué – has this affected your career early on and did you face resistance in the Arab world of fashion design?
In no case did it affect my career, on the contrary, my style has made me known all over the world. You must believe in your dreams and continue to move forward, that is the key to success.
What kind of influence did Azzedine Alaïa have on you?
Azzedine Alaïa was a visionary. I had the chance to meet him several times. He gave hope to young Tunisian fashion designers, and allowed us all to dream that for us too, it was possible…
Who are some other fashion designers that you respect or that you looked up to early in your career?
There are many… I was in love with the vision of Gianni Versace, Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, and the master, Alaïa. Legends!
Do you keep an eye out on young and up-and-coming designers from the North Africa and Middle East region?
Of course! Many of them have a very bright future
source/content: gulfnews.com
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Tunisian designer Ali Karoui is drawn to the “mystery that surrounds the world of haute couture”.Image Credit: Instagram @alikaroui
Project shines a light on the cultural exchange between Algeria, France and Italy during the 1960s.
Zineb Sedira has outlined plans for her presentation at the French pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale (23 April-27 November), revealing that the project will focus on Algerian cinema of the 1960s and 1970s and its links to the Italian and French film industries. The subject matter is timely as 2022 is the 60th anniversary of Algeria achieving independence from France. On 5 July 1962, Algeria became a sovereign state after an eight-year war which resulted in the deaths of at least 400,000 Algerians.
Sedira is the first artist of Algerian descent to be selected as the country’s representative. Sedira, who was born in Paris to Algerian parents, attended college in London, completing her undergraduate studies at Central Saint Martins school of art. She is now based in South London.
Sedira revealed her ideas for the cinematographic installation Dreams have no titles in an online press briefing held 18 February, outlining how she initially researched the history of Algerian film for an exhibition at the Jeu de Paume in Paris in 2019. Her passion for cinema was sparked by childhood trips to the local cinema in the 1960s in her home town of Gennevilliers outside Paris (these film outings were made with her father every Thursday when school was closed).
This interest developed further during her time as a student in London. “As part of postcolonial studies, I came across [the philosopher] Frantz Fanon and [the 1966 film] The Battle of Algiers. In France, I never came across those people because The Battle of Algiers was still censored in France [in the late 1970s and early 1980s],” she said. “There were no intellectual role models to me of Algerian origin; in England, I discovered there was a wealth of [Algerian] men, women and filmmakers.”
For the pavilion piece, Sedira carried out research at the Cinémathèque in Algiers, discovering that many films financed by the state of Algeria at the time were also co-produced with Italian and French filmmakers. “So when I was asked to propose an idea for the French pavilion, I thought of the Mostra [Venice Film Festival]. I thought it was interesting to do something around the three countries,” she said. Sedira wants to focus on the cooperation between France, Italy and Algeria— and the solidarity between the trio of nations—though her Venice “project goes beyond that”, the artist stresses.
Sedira visited numerous film archives in Algeria, France and Italy as part of the research process. “In Italy, [we visited] Venice, Turin and Bologna. We discovered a film that had disappeared,” says Yasmina Reggad, the co-curator of the French pavilion, referring to Les Mains Libres made by the Italian director Ennio Lorenzini in 1964.
“It was the first international film collaboration between Algeria and another country [Italy],” said Sedira, but after 1966 Les Mains Libres was lost. She eventually found the forgotten work in a small archive in Rome. “It is an important film for anyone interested in post-1962 Algerian history,” she adds.
The French pavilion project aims to be a starting point for discussions on other topics such as colonialism, collective and individual histories, national identity and the fight against racism. “The notion of a nation begs to be critiqued and challenged. What is a nation at the end of the day? It is a big fiction to believe that when you draw a certain line, everyone who happens to be behind this line is of the same mentality and culture,” said Sam Bardaouil, the co-director of the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin along with Till Fellrath (the duo have also co-curated the French pavilion).
“In a sense, a pavilion is an attempt to give a physical form to a fiction, so to use fiction in the language of cinema as a way to critique nation and belonging is such an intelligent and timely way to discuss these issues,” Bardaouil said.
The three pavilion curators will participate in a film to be shown in the pavilion. “We’ll be turned into actors and actresses,” said Reggad. Bringing together an artistic community was paramount, added Sedira, who relished the opportunity “to work with friends, to be surrounded by friends”. The film production will also include members of the crew and her son. “I was playing on the aesthetic and structure in cinema in the 1960s in low-budget films when one would play many roles,” she said
The pavilion project will also include a “conversation” with the UK pavilion artist, Sonia Boyce, and the Swiss representative, Latifa Echakhch. “Sonia was my neighbour for many years and she taught me at one point when I was studying art in London,” said Sedira.
At the briefing, the curators also discussed the three accompanying journals linked to the pavilion project. Each issue refers to a city—Algiers, Venice, and Paris—that has played an integral part in Sedira’s practice. “The journal is an extension of what the project entails inside the pavilion. The cities mark the phases of Zineb’s life, they become entry points to questions that are related to the themes that will be discovered in the film and installation in the pavilion,” said Bardaouil. Contributors include the French artist Laure Prouvost and the actor Nabil Djedouani.“The journal has allowed for a diversity and plurality of voices,” Bardaouil added.
The journal design is based on film magazines of the 1960s and 1970s, added Reggad, and also borrows from militant leaflets of the era. The journals are “doors to an intellectual horizon [with] texts, images and playlists”, said Eva Nguyen Binh, the president of L’Institut Français which is supporting the pavilion. Other sponsors include Arts Council England and the dealer Kamel Mennour who represents Sedira
The aspiring fashion designer, who lives in Dubai, says she cannot wait to represent her country at the global pageant, to be held in Israel.
Fashion design student Manar Nadeem Deyani, 25, will make history next week when she becomes the first beauty queen from Bahrain to represent her country at the Miss Universe 2021 pageant.
A Dubai resident, Deyani was named on Monday night as her country’s representative at the global pageant, the winner for which will be crowned on December 12 in Eilat, Israel.
“I may be the shortest candidate in the history of Miss Universe, but I stand tall representing a country of love, peace and kindness – your first ever Miss Universe Bahrain,” the 155cm tall Deyani posted on Instagram, announcing her participation.
“We are honoured to appoint an empowering woman like Manar ‘Jess’ Deyani who embodies the grace, passion and inspiration of a modern and respectful queen,” a spokesperson for Miss Universe Bahrain told The National.
“Manar, also known as Jess, wants to raise awareness on issues like mental health, equality and inclusivity by using her platform to inspire many people to be more comfortable on their own skin and to show that beauty standards are here to be changed,” Deyani’s description on the Miss Universe website reads.
“Nowadays people have a concept of what a beauty queen is, but she is here on the international stage as the first Bahraini representative to show the we are a generation that breaks stereotype.”
A student at the American University in the Emirates, Deyani tells The National she is “excited for this opportunity”.
“I cannot wait to represent Bahraini women in a platform that empowers women and promotes global understanding,” she says.
The aspiring fashion designer, who says she suffers from a disorder that causes anxiety and depression, says she will use her title and the global platform to raise awareness about the negative stigmas associated with mental health.
“A lot of people are suffering from it in their daily lives, but are ashamed of asking help just because they do not want to be identified as someone ‘insane’. This has to change, we need to normalise the discussion about mental health. It is a disease that doesn’t show any symptoms,” she says.
“I am currently using my social media platform to connect with people who suffer from the same challenges and I hope with my new title as Miss Universe Bahrain, I will be able to expand my reach and impact to create a world that truly understands the mental health issues.”
Israeli authorities on Sunday said the Miss Universe pageant would go ahead as scheduled, despite a travel ban on foreigners in an effort to stave off the Omicron coronavirus variant. Participants would be granted waivers while undergoing PCR testing every 48 hours, along with other precautionary measures, the country’s tourism minister said.
On Monday, organisers revealed a contestant had tested positive upon arrival and was taken to a government-run isolation hotel. The Miss Universe Organisation did not identify the contestant who tested positive, or her nationality, but said most of the 80 contestants have arrived ahead of the finals next week.
To those who think beauty pageants are outdated, Deyani says it’s all about perspective.
“I am a modern Bahraini woman who has a globalised mindset while celebrating my rich heritage and culture. I think pageants are a great platform to celebrate our differences and unite as a one,” she says. “I see pageants as a conference, but done is a very fashionable way where we learn from each other, share knowledge and interact with like-minded people.”
The award recognises AUC’s Rare and Special Books Library as a leading institution in the preservation and restoration of Arabic historical documents.
The American University in Cairo’s Rare and Special Books Library was awarded UNESCO Jikji Memory of The World Prize. This prestigious award places the American University in Cairo next to some of the world’s leading history conservation entities. The award ceremony is set to take place this coming September in Cheongju-si, South Korea.
Founded in 1992, the AUC Rare and Special Books Library plays a fundamental role in restoring and preserving Egyptian history. Starting with just a few collector’s items, the RBSCL then developed to contain historic maps of Egypt, archives of oral recordings, historical magazines and periodicals, and historical AUC archives.
The UNESCO Jikji Memory of the World Prize is a USD 30,000 grant, given every two years, that honours institutions that have made notable contributions to the preservation and accessibility of documented history. The prize also pays close attention to the degree of expertise in treating said documents and the presence of special circumstances in procuring them.
Funded by the Republic of Korea, the prize was created to commemorate the inscription of the ‘Buljo jikji simche yojeol’, the oldest movable metal print in the world.
Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh on Sunday attended the ceremony of Irbid: the Arab Capital of Culture for 2022.
During the event, held at Al Yarmouk University, Khasawneh conveyed His Majesty’s greetings and thanks to those who put efforts towards making this national event — the launching of Irbid as the Arab Capital of Culture for 2022 — successful, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The premier, who is also head of the higher national committee for celebrating Irbid: The Arab Capital of Culture for 2022, highlighted the Kingdom’s efforts to “embrace the culture and intellectual elite”, as well as “supporting innovators towards instilling a serious national culture”.
The selection of Irbid as the Arab Capital of Culture is a national event that is being celebrated by the whole Kingdom, he added.
He noted that nominating Irbid as the Arab Capital of Culture for 2022 and Madaba as the Arab Tourism Capital for 2022 coincides with the bicentennial to celebrate the Kingdom, as well as is accompanied by Jordan’s efforts towards a new start titled as “moving towards future” through three paths: Political modernisation, economic modernisation vision and upgrading the public sector.
The selection of Irbid is in line with the Kingdom’s modernisation and reform trends, which consider the cultural scene among its key pillars, he said, noting that the selection of Irbid is a source of pride for Jordanians and is aligned with the northern city’s nature as well as its historical and cultural status.
He also expressed hope that the event would contribute to uncovering the innovative capabilities in Irbid and across the Kingdom, as well as offer an opportunity to feature the qualitative value of the local and Arab cultural and intellectual scene.
The event was attended by a number of ministers, Arab culture ministers, guest delegations, and senators and deputies, among other officials.
Culture Minister Haifa Najjar said that proclaiming Irbid as the Arab Capital of Culture for 2022 by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO) illustrates confidence in Jordan and the country’s intellectuals, noting that the selection requires scaling up efforts to bring further innovation through joint action.
Mohamed Ould Amar, director general of ALECSO, said that Jordan’s comprehensive cultural renaissance under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah has contributed to Irbid’s well-deserved status, noting that the organisation is following up the activities of Irbid: The capital of Arab Culture for 2022, Petra added.
He also commended the participation of figures from Jerusalem, describing the holy city as the eternal capital of Arab culture at the 2022 Irbid event, highlighting that their participation is of special character, as Jordan has shown historical stances in defending Jerusalem and its cultural components.
At the end of the ceremony, Palestinian Culture Minister Atef Abu Saif handed over the banner of the Arab Capital of Culture to Najjar, marking the selection of Irbid as the Capital of Arab Culture for 2022 following Bethlehem, the Capital of Arab Culture for 2021.
source/content: jordantimes.com (headline edited)
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Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh attends the ceremony of Irbid: The Arab Capital of Culture for 2022 at Yarmouk University on Sunday (Petra photo)
Tunisian-French Nadia Dhouib has been named the new General Manager of Paco Rabanne. The former Galeries Lafayette Champs-Elysees managing director succeeds Bastien Daguzan, who served in the role for five years.
Dhouib will report to Vincent Thilloy, chief brands officer of Paco Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier, another fragrance brand owned by Spanish firm Puig.
Dhouib, founder of RethinkRetail Advisory, has aided designers in their shift from Galeries to RethinkRetail.Advisory. “Retail isn’t dead – it’s boring,” she explained to Vogue Arabia at her Galeries appointment, saying that she wanted to create an experience for clients. Keep an eye on this place to observe the transformation she brings to Paco Rabanne’s property.
The maison was founded in 1966 and rapidly developed an avant-garde and current identity. Its Spanish founder, Francisco Rabaneda y Cuervo, was the son of Balenciaga’s head seamstress. He fled Spain’s Civil War for France, where he took the name Paco Rabanne. He began his career as an architect before transitioning to avant-garde accessory design and creating one-of-a-kind pieces for haute couture houses. In 1966, he started his eponymous label, which featured outfits comprised of moulded plastics, hammered metal, aluminum jersey, and knitted fur. His eponymous chainmail gowns—as worn by Françoise Hardy—remain emblematic of the house to this day.
In-person and virtual festival showcases films from Arab world and diaspora.
The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, will kick off the Arab Film Festival on Friday.
Home to one of the largest Arab-American communities in the country, some consider Dearborn to be the “Arab capital” of the US and the museum has been devoted to documenting, preserving and presenting the history, culture and contributions of the community since 2005.
The annual festival will run from August 12 to 21, with a line-up featuring comedy shorts and documentaries tackling America’s Israel bias.
“As a young Arab American myself, I never really saw my story, my family story reflected in the music I listened to or the films that I watched or the textbooks in my classroom,” said Dave Serio, curator of education at the museum.
“So our goal really is to kind of inspire Arab Americans to see their stories, their perspective, people that look like them, names that they might have, on the big screen.”
Beginning in 2005, it is one of the museum’s longest-running programmes and offers a range of windows into Arab cinematic creativity and storytelling.
One of the films in this year’s set is When Beirut Was Beirut from writer-director Alessandra El Chanti. The short is a “poetic hybrid documentary” that focuses on an imagined conversation between three famous buildings in the Lebanese capital and what they witnessed during the country’s civil war.
“I wonder what inanimate objects could say, because they also have stories, too,” Ms El Chanti, a Lebanese citizen who now lives in Doha, Qatar, told The National.
“I feel like we always go to Lebanon and we’re just passers-by — we recognise that there are war-torn buildings, you can see the bullet holes.
The film, which began production in 2020, was produced entirely over Zoom by an all-Lebanese team of six artists.
Many of the films at this year’s festival will be making their US or Michigan state debut, Mr Serio said.
Ms El Chanti hopes members of the Lebanese diaspora watching her film at the festival walk away feeling “there’s a lot that you should learn about your country that you don’t know about — it literally could be from the perspective of anything and everything”.
Yasmina Tawil, the director of film programming at the Arab Film and Media Institute — one of the festival’s sponsors — told The National that while Arab film festivals such as this are considered “niche” in the entertainment industry, they can build towards more inclusion in the mainstream.
“We’re not a Sundance, we’re not a Cannes.
“But when a distributor goes to pick up a film, [the festivals] will add to the credence and the hype of the film. And I would at least hope that distributors would look at that as a sign of one of their big audiences … already knows about and really likes the film enough to programme it in their festival.”
“They’ll get picked up for distribution in the Middle East, in Europe and then maybe not make it over here [to the US]. Or if a torrented copy does, it might not have English subtitles and things like that.”
She added that her institute’s mission is, in part, to serve as a “caretaker” for Arab films in America.
The museum has offered both virtual and in-person attendance options, opening its mission to viewers across state and national borders.
“The Arab-American community is ridiculously talented,” said Mr Serio. “And our film festival is just honoured to be able to showcase a fraction of the amazing work that the Arab-American community is working on.”
source/content: thenationalnews.com (edited)
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Poster for the 2022 Arab Film Festival at Dearborn, Michigan’s Arab American National Museum. All photos: Arab American National Museum
Arabic Calligraphy, the art of creating decorative handwriting or lettering, is one of the oldest art forms from the Arab region; one that has not only thrived with time but also evolved into a unique form of expression. It survived through several tumultuous periods that threatened its existence, from civil wars to an invasion by the Mongol Empire that destroyed Baghdad.
Even though the writing wasn’t as focused on in the past, with many Arabs preferring to memorize poetry and other forms of text and pass them down verbally, that changed significantly later. Calligraphy would flourish to include the preservation of the Quran, adorn mosques as well as the palaces of kings, and by royal scribes when writing decrees, among other things.
In celebration of World Calligraphy Day, we decided to dive into the past and look back at some of the most well-known and prominent calligraphers from the Arab world.
Ibn Muqla
One of the biggest names in developing and improving Arabic calligraphy, born in 885 AD in Baghdad, Iraq, during the Abbasid Caliphate, he started out as a tax collector before rising through the ranks and becoming the Caliph’s Vizier three different times.
At this time, the Kufi style dominated the calligraphy scene, but Ibn Muqla invented new art styles that superseded the previous ones. Ibn Muqla was the one who invented the Thuluth and Al-Mansoub styles, as well as the foundations and rules for others, such as Naskh. The Naskh and Thuluth got further development throughout the centuries that followed, and calligraphers still use them today.
While the Kufic style was rigid in its overall design, Naskh had a more cursive structure but wasn’t as popular and as used at the time, Ibn Muqla changed that by improving on it and using it in official decrees, and private correspondence.
Ibn Muqla’s Thuluth style was new with its letters having long vertical lines with broad spacing. Its name translates to “one-third”, in reference to the maximum height for the letters on the same line must not exceed one-third of the ‘alif.
As for the Al-Mansoubstyle, it mainly focused on three measurements: the size of the period meaning the “Noqta”, the circle with a diameter equal to the height of the alif (the first letter in the Arabic language) and, and the height of the alif.
Little is known when exactly Ibn Al-Bawwab was born. However, we know of his existence and his body of work thanks to the survival of many of his manuscripts, Qurans, and texts referring to him by name.
With his name literally translating to “son of the doorman,” he didn’t grow up in a wealthy family and had to work to make a name for himself. He did so by learning about law and theology and working in several professions, such as a home decorator. However, he would later settle on working in book illumination and calligraphy.
Over years of hard work, he became renowned as a master calligrapher; fluent in six different styles in the field, perfecting the Al-Mansoub style and developing the Reyhani, Naskh, Tawqi, and Muhaqaq styles significantly.
Housed at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland, is the sole surviving Qur’an penned by Ibn al-Bawwab gifted to the country by Ottoman Sultan Selim I.
Originally from Syria, Mohammad Hosni Al-Baba was born in 1894 and is considered one of the last classical calligraphers. Al-Baba received his initial formal training with the Turkish master, Istanbul-based Yousef Rasa, who had renovated the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria. Al-Baba would later study under another renowned calligrapher, Mehmed Showki Afendi, author of the work “The Thuluth & Naskh Mashqs.”
He would later travel to Cairo, Egypt, becoming one of the leaders in Islamic and Arabic calligraphy, turning his home into a hub for artists, calligraphers, and poets. Al-Baba would be famous for improvements to the lettering in the Thuluth style, the linear structure of Arabic script, and was appointed by King Farouk as the first professor to be a master at the Royal Institute of Calligraphy.
His children would continue his legacy but in different fields since many grew up surrounded by artists when they visited Al-Baba’s home. The most famous of his children are actress Soad Hosni, dubbed “Cinderella of Egyptian Cinema,” and Najat Al Saghira, who became an actress and singer.
Born in 1944, Iraqi painter and calligrapher Hassan Massoudy continues to be one of the biggest inspirations for many modern artists today. French writer Michel Tournier even considered him as the “greatest living calligrapher” in 1989.
Massoudy grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, until 1969, when he fled to Paris, France, entering the École des Beaux-Arts, where he studied figurative painting. At the time, he looked for a job to pay for his studying, finally finding one as a calligrapher in Arabic magazines, writing their headlines.
While he wasn’t famous for a traditional calligraphy style, his distinct and elaborate designs made him stand out among the rest of the artists of his time. Massoudy would delve into the world of theater, collaborating with artists and choreographers, creating different productions focusing on the harmony of dance, calligraphy, and dance routines.
Studying abroad but seeking inspiration from his traditional roots, Tunisian artist and calligrapher Nja Mahdaoui invented the world of Arabic calligraphy as a graphic style, creating what was called “Calligrams.”
Born in 1937 in Tunis, Tunisia, he first started learning art history and painting at the Carthage National Museum. He later traveled to Rome, Italy, where he continued to study painting and learned more about philosophy at the Santa Andrea Academy. He also moved to Paris, France, where he went to the Cité Internationale des Arts and École du Louvre before returning to his home country in 1977.
His calligraphic style focuses mainly on the designs he creates as a whole rather than the composition of words since his “calligrams” resemble Arabic letters but have no literal meaning, leading to many naming him the “inventor of abstract calligraphy.” People can see Mahadaoui’s work on several materials used as a canvas, including jewelry, drums, leather, paintings, walls, glass, and so much more.
A UNESCO Crafts Prize laureate, Mahdaoui, graced the Facebook campus in 2018 by painting one of their halls using Arabic calligraphy in his unique style as part of the “FB AIR program,” turning their hall into a vividly colorful masterpiece.
Egyptian artist and calligrapher Ahmed Mustafa was born in 1943 in Alexandria, Egypt, graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Alexandria University in 1966 before traveling to the UK on a scholarship to the Central School of Art and Design in London, England, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1989.
Inspired by his Islamic roots, his calligraphic works mainly focused on quotes from the Quran, among other sources. Working on several materials as his canvas, Mustafa has designs on glass and carpets, among others.
Mustafa also set up the Fe-Noon Ahmed Moustafa Research Centre for Arab Art and Design in London in 1983. He lectures and creates workshops globally as well as does commissions, one of which was presented by Queen Elizabeth II to Pakistan for the country’s fiftieth anniversary in 1997.
The following year, the Vatican invited him to do an exhibition at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. World media at the time announced it as the first achievement of its kind in the history of Muslim-Christian relations.
Back in 1729, the Parisian authorities introduced the French capitals iconic blue-and-green street name plaques, topped with a little “Napoleon’s hat” containing the number of the street’s arrondissement.
The plaques honor France and the world’s leading politicians, philosophers, artists, writers, and scientists, including a number associated with the Arab world. French President Emmanuel Macron has previously proposed renaming some of the capital’s streets to include more personalities from ethnic minorities, but that has not yet happened. Still, there are enough Arab names to comprise a walking tour around Paris — including a president, a poet, a pop star and more.
With a wonderful view of the Grand Palais, this large, peaceful stretch of greenery is named after independent Tunisia’s first president, Habib Bourguiba. The secular leader was in charge between 1957 and 1987, and was famously a supporter of women’s rights. Next to his plaque, there is a bronze bust of the leader looking towards the River Seine, with his name written in Arabic underneath.
An admirer of Bourguiba, Halimi was a Tunisian-born French lawyer, feminist, and former member of the National Assembly in France. She died in 2020, aged 93, and this sloping pathway was named after her last year. Halimi’s life of hardships shaped the respected career she had. When she was born, her father hid her — ashamed of her gender. She went on a hunger strike at 10 and, at 16, rejected an arranged marriage, going on to study law in Paris. Halimi is perhaps best known for a 1972 trial, in which she defended a minor who had an abortion after being raped. It was a key event that propelled the country into legalizing abortion in 1975.
Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe (second from right) and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas (second from left) unveil on June 14, 2010 in Paris the new Mahmoud Darwich esplanade named after the Palestinian poet who died Aug. 9, 2008. (AFP)
In 2010, just two years after the death of Palestine’s most famous poet Mahmoud Darwish, a square in Paris was inaugurated in his honor. Known for his writings on home, memory, and exile, Darwish spent many years outside of his native land. He lived in Beirut, Cairo, Tunis, and Paris. He had a special connection with the latter, describing it as the place where his “true poetic birth” happened. The plaque is situated in a district the poet reportedly liked, on the banks of the Seine and near the classical buildings of Institut de France and Monnaie de Paris.
A few minutes away from Notre Dame Cathedral stands an unassuming but sobering reminder of how an Arab collective suffered during the turbulent Sixties. In 1961, when Algeria was seeking independence, a group of Algerian protesters were attacked by the police and some of their bodies were thrown into the Seine. In 2021, to mark the 60th anniversary of this horrific event, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo inaugurated a memorial artwork, made of metal with silhouettes of heads carved out, in remembrance of those who lost their lives.
Between 1962 and 1987, the blonde bombshell diva Dalida, who was born to Italian parents in Egypt, lived in this four-story townhouse in hilly Montmartre, a quiet area outside of the bustling city center of the city that is historically associated with artists. Dalida sang in a variety of languages, including French, Italian, and Arabic. “Salma Ya Salama” and “Helwa Ya Baladi” are some of her most loved Arabic songs. Sadly, it was in this house that she committed suicide in 1987, as a result of tragedies in her personal life. The plaque on her house reads: “Her friends from Montmartre will not forget her.”
The acclaimed Lebanese-born poet and philosopher — and author of “The Prophet” — Khalil Gibran is well-known as a member of the Arab diaspora in 20th-century America. But he also lived in France for a time. Between 1908 and 1910, Gibran, who was then in his twenties, studied painting at Académie Julian in Paris. His stay in the city was made possible by the financial backing of American philanthropist, editor and Gibran’s lover Mary Haskell, who was 10 years his senior.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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A memorial to remember the 1961 attack on Algerian protesters by the police in Paris. (Supplied)
Former hair-transplant specialist urges Iraqi women to ‘keep going until all your dreams are met’.
Balsam Hussein, a 26-year-old TV presenter and former hair-transplant specialist, has been crowned Miss Iraq 2022 at a beauty contest held in Erbil, capital of the northern Kurdish region.
Ms Hussein was among 19 contestants from across the country who were vying for the title and a chance to represent Iraq at the Miss World and Miss Universe events.
“I am highly motivated to participate in Miss World and Miss Universe pageants soon,” she said.
Ms Hussein’s win raises her public profile even higher, after starting work in April as host of a morning TV show for a private channel in Baghdad.
Speaking to The National, she said she had been hesitant to take part in the competition but decided to go ahead at the last minute after full support from her family and close friends, as well as from her followers on social media.
“My family have been happy and proud of me throughout my life, but they became happier and prouder when they watched me on TV being crowned Miss Iraq 2022,” she said. “I felt sorry that they were not able to come from Baghdad to Erbil as they were ill, but I never felt alone.”
Ms Hussein represented the Al Karakh district of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital where she was born and raised. She worked there as a hair-transplant specialist after training in Turkey before starting her TV job — something she said she had always dreamt of doing.
“I have a dream to improve the media and journalism field in Iraq, and of course, being a winner of Miss Iraq will help me to be closer to achieving that dream,” she said.
For Iraqis faced with uncertainty and instability as political groups squabble over forming a new government nearly 10 months after elections, the Miss Iraq pageant offered a window of hope for the future.
Ayman Hussein, 26, a resident of the southern province of Basra, said Ms Hussein’s triumph was “a win for Iraq and Iraqis”.
“It is a clear message that, in spite of political chaos, Iraq is able to hold such events,” he said. “Whenever there is war, there is life — this is our interpretation of life.”
Mr Hussein said he hoped to see Iraqi women take their rightful place in society. “Iraqi women experience hardship their entire life; it is the time to say ‘I am here’.”
Launched in 1947, the Miss Iraq contest was suspended for more than four decades in 1973 because of political upheaval and wars, and resumed only in 2015.
“From today, I represent all of Iraq,” Ms Hussein said. “I would like to send a message to all Iraqi women: do not give up, fight to get your goals, be patient. You have faced wars and difficulties; do not make the harsh conditions a rock in your path — destroy it and keep going until all your dreams are met.”
The judges declared Sarah Saad, from Baghdad’s Al Rusafa district, as the first runner-up, and Jihan Majid, representing Wasit, as second runner-up. Hind Akram, representing the Baghdad Belt, was the third runner-up, followed by Sarah Khaled from Mosul.
Kareem Rasheed, executive director of the Miss Iraq organisation, said: “Iraq is thirsty for such events like Miss Iraq. Year after year, we will do our best to develop it and make it reach people around the Arab world.
“The contestants represent about 90 per cent of Iraq — we covered the regions of south, middle Euphrates, west and north.
“This year, we decided to rate beauty at 50 per cent and inner essence, such as culture, education and so on, also at 50 per cent, while in years past we were focusing on beauty over essence.
“All women are beautiful and each one has a unique trait that makes her different from others.”
source/content: thenationalnews.com
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Balsam Hussein smiles after being crowned Miss Iraq 2022 in a pageant held in Erbil. Azhar Al-Rubaie for The National
