YEMEN : From Ocean to Gulf: Heritage Music of The Arab World – Music of Happy Yemen (20th Century)

‘From Ocean to Gulf: Heritage Music of the Arab World’ is a series by Ahram Online, in partnership with the AMAR Foundation (Foundation for Arab Music Archiving and Research). In this article, we explore the rich music legacy of Yemen.

‘From Ocean to Gulf: Heritage Music of the Arab World’ is a series by Ahram Online, in partnership with the AMAR Foundation (Foundation for Arab Music Archiving and Research).

In this article, we explore Yemen’s rich music legacy.

After featuring the Sultana of Tarab Musicthe Prince of Arabic Violinthe Master of Buzuq, Hajja Zeinab El Mansouria, the rich music of  Happy Yemen (8th Century BC-19th Century AD), we proudly present to you the rich music of Happy Yemen in the 20th Century.

Music is a powerful force for healing and reconnecting us with our roots and shared humanity in a world of numerous challenges.

‘From Ocean to Gulf: Heritage Music of the Arab World’ is a new series by Ahram Online, in partnership with the AMAR Foundation (Foundation for Arab Music Archiving and Research). Focusing on the early years of recording in our region, which reflected a modern cosmopolitan repertoire and coincided with the Renaissance era that flourished in Egypt between the mid-19th Century and the 30s of the twentieth Century, this initiative aims to introduce our audience to the iconic figures of Arab music whose contributions have enriched our intangible cultural heritage and inspired generations worldwide.

Yemen, a country on the Arabian Peninsula, is one of the world’s most beautiful and historically rich nations.

Often referred to as Al-Yaman al-Sa‘īd (Happy Yemen), it has long served as a centre of discovery for travellers and a research subject for historians, social scientists, natural scientists, and others.

In the second episode on Yemen, we highlight the music scene from the beginning of the 20th Century to the present. 

Music in 20th Century Yemen 

The beginning of the 20th Century was difficult in Yemen because of the wars between the Zaydī imams and the Ottoman occupiers. During these wars, the artists swung between the Ottoman authority, which encouraged music, and the Zaydīn, who did not.

Thus, their social, religious, and political position was difficult, as described in the biography of Sa‘d ‘Abd al-Lāh, who, as an artist, was accused by Aden’s jurists and fundamentalists of contravening the religious system of drinking alcohol.

His ‘ūd playing was also subject to accusation. A beautiful legend tells how he faced these accusations and how, thanks to his art and his mastery of religious qaṣīda, he regained the respect of the imam by performing religious qaṣīda and even some religious prayers accompanied by the ‘ūd.

This allowed him to resume his art under the rule of Imam YaḥyaḤamīd al-Dīn. Yet his position remained complicated, and fundamentalists probably killed him in the early 20th Century. We do not have any recordings of him, but some of his numerous students do. Some remained in Sanaa and practised the art of singing.

Music scene in Aden 

In contrast, others travelled to Aden, which was under English rule, including famous ‘Alī al-‘Aṭṭāb and MuḥammadẒāfir, who fled from the fundamentalist Zaydī rule and moved to Aden in their early 20s.

In the southern provinces, a vibrant group of artists emerged during the British occupation of Aden (1839 – 1967), with singing and music becoming widespread among Yemeni artists. Professor Muhammad Murshid Naji noted that Lahji singing before the era of Ahmed Fadhl al-Qumindan was influenced by the Sana’ani style. Lahji singers would perform Sana’ani songs, and the singer Hadi Sabit al-Nubi developed his oud-playing by drawing on the techniques of a northern artist whose name remains unrecorded.

Naji attributes the emergence of the first Lahji melody to the poet, composer, and singer Fadhl Mater, who was credited with inventing the initial melody set to the Lahji rhythm. This innovation led Hadi Sabit to sing in the Sana’ani style over one of Al-Qumandan’s poems. It is worth noting that instrumental music is not widespread in Yemen, where it exists under one form whose origin is said to be Turkish, called firtāsh: it is a muwaqqa section, yet it allows variation and improvisation by the artist.

Sanaa singing was divided into two parts: a part in Aden and a part in Sanaa, and the Aden part is the one we have recordings of. Their recordings date back to the late 30s, while those made in Sanaa started later than the 50s. The first recording made in Sanaa in Historical Yemen was made by German orientalist and music expert Hans Helfritz who visited Yemen in the late 1920s and early 1930s to study Yemeni Music in this fundamentalist religious atmosphere, which aroused the suspicion and caution of the pious and religious in particular, and he was accused of being a spy.

Upon the First World War outbreak, the German Odeon Records company had to stop its commercial and recording activities as Yemen was under English occupation. Local record companies started right away, including the major “Aden Crown Company” that took over from Odeon and resumed recording Sheikh ‘AlīAbū Bakr Bāsharāḥīl, as well as Sheikh Ṣalāḥ ‘Abd al-lāh al-‘Antarī and Sheikh Muḥammad al-Mās, who died in the 1950s. They had recorded with the Aden Crown Company in the 1940s.

Listen here to Ṣāliḥ ‘Abd al-Lāh al-‘Antarī performing qaṣīda “Riḍāk khayr min al-duniā wa-mā fī-hā” accompanied by the big ‘ūd as he did not play the qanbūs from the archives of Dr Jean Lambert.

Indian influences 

In the 1920s and 1930s, Indian musical influences became prominent as numerous musical and theatre groups and films were introduced in Aden and Hadhramaut, which had long been under the administration of the British Viceroy of India. By the 1940s and 1950s, Yemeni musicians had adapted these influences to create an “Arabized” Indian style, in which tunes from Indian films were reinterpreted with texts set in classical Arabic rather than colloquial language.

The acclaimed artist Muhammad Juma Khan, known for his mastery of the Hadhrami style, became one of the foremost practitioners of this hybrid form. The distinctive features of Adeni singing developed during the twentieth Century due to the convergence of multiple Yemeni and foreign musical elements, especially from India. Though a large portion of Aden’s pre-independence population was of Indian origin, the evolution of Adeni song was notably influenced by Egyptian melodies, and some musicians even incorporated Western rhythms such as the waltz.

Yemen Radio 

Imam YaḥyaḤamīd al-Dīn, who feared openness and foreign interference, forced the Turkish Ottomans out and defended the independence of Yemen, yet within conservative and fundamentalist restrictions. As a consequence, the Yemeni Radio was only launched in 1955. It was a reaction to the launching of the Ṣawt al-‘Arab Radio, which had started broadcasting from Cairo, notably liberalist political ideas. Imam Aḥmad, the son of Imam YaḥyaḤamīd al-Dīn, who took his reign in 1948, consulted with theologians who refused the launching of the Radio. Still, the Radio was launched, and only news was broadcast at first.

They also recorded Qāsim al-Akhṭash, a Yemeni artist in Sanaa. He recorded using reels that existed then, allowing a longer recording duration. Yet recordings were made in Aden before Sanaa Radio’s recordings. They were commercial recordings of Sheikh ‘AlīAbū Bakr Bāsharāḥīl made in the late 1930s, in 1939, by the Odeon.

Singing post 1962 Revolution 

After the 1962 revolution, Sanaa singing prospered, yet without the qanbūs or ṭarab, but with the kabanj’ūd played by talented artists such as MuḥammadḤamūd al-Ḥārithī, Aḥmad al-Snaydār, and ‘Alī al-Ānisi among others who became famous and served the Sanaa song with the big ‘ūd and a style inspired a little from Egypt and Syria, while preserving the main form or style.

On the other hand, some other artists did not become famous in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. They are: Ḥasan al-‘Ajamī, Yaḥya al-Nūnū, ṣaḥn player Muḥammad al-Khamīsī, as well as Muḥammad ‘Ushaysh, and they all preserved the old style and preserved the ṭarab as well and revived the old style and methods, considering that many elements, such as the firtāsh and the muṭawwal, had been neglected by the other artists. They continued to play the ṭarab and the ṣaḥn.

Women singers in the public domain 

This period also witnessed the rise of women singers. Traditionally, singing was by men, and emerging women performers challenged dominant societal norms. Among these names is Nabat Ahmed (b. 1955), who has appeared in the Yemeni music scene since the early 1970s. Other names presented in the recently published book entitled “Women’s Lyrical Voices in Yemen 1950-2000” by researcher Yahya Qassem Sahel include: Raja’ Basudan, Nabiha Azim, Mona Ali, Taqiya Al Taweelah, Fatima Bahdela and Fatima Mansour Al-Shatri (Habbaniyah).

The rise of the tape cassette 

The tape cassette became a dominant and accessible music dissemination format in the 1970s. It also helped a wider circulation of songs within and outside Yemen—the evolution of music in Yemen in the 20th Century and the advent of recording somewhat settled things. Today, we know that, for example, a certain qaṣīda was sung to a particular melody by a specific artist in 1940, recorded by Odeon on a specific date. Still, we do not know how it was before the recording era. This is an essential characteristic of the oral heritage: it is not fixed and settled when transmitted from generation to generation. The sea flows from generation to generation with all its forms, types and variations.

ūd vs Qumbus 

The ‘ūd was not used in Yemen before Islam, yet there are indications of its existence there after Islam. Additionally, vocal forms such as the Sanaa singing, including ḥumaynī poetry, are a form of classical poetry influenced by the local colloquial language. It has existed in Yemen since the Medieval period (Middle Ages), i.e. at least since the 12th Century or the 13th Century during or after the Ayyubid dynasty.

The ‘ūd used in Yemen until the beginning of the 20th Century was strangely not the ‘ūdkumaythrī known in the Arab culture since the drawings of Al-Ḥarīrī’s maqāmāt, or even the drawings of the Alhambra showing the ‘ūd with wooden cover. Instead, the Yemeni ‘ūd called ṭarab in Sanaa has a unique pre-Abbasid body covered with goatskin or sheepskin that produces a distinctive sound, maybe softer, that is difficult to describe, yet undeniably distinctive. It is thinner and smaller, and thus can be played standing up, which is very practical to accompany dancing.

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ṭaḥḥān describes the ‘ūd in “Ḥāwī al-funūnwa-salwat al-maḥzūn” that dates back probably to the first half of the eleventh Century and is considered one of the most important and oldest references about ‘ūd making. He mentioned the ‘ūd that existed before his era, described it as having an animal skin cover, and detailed the contemporary ‘ūd with a wooden cover. Before that, he talked about the ‘ūd with the animal skin cover and called this ‘ūd “barbaṭ”. The name barbaṭ is derived from Persian and Arabic: “bar” means chest in Persian, and “baṭt” means duck in Arabic. Indeed, the shape of this ‘ūd from head to body resembles the shape of a duck’s chest.

Thus, the ‘ūd that reached the Arabian Peninsula and the Ḥijāz coming from Persia during the early Islamic era and the Umayyad era is the same that reached Yemen, settled there, and kept its shape with all the changes that affected the ‘ūd later on in the Arab Levant.

We do not know when it reached Yemen, yet there are indications that it existed there in the 13th Century along with the ‘ūdkumaythrī. So, both co-existed in the same place during the same periods, in Yemen but also in other regions of the Arab World, such as Andalusia and Morocco, where it still exists under a different shape, the rabāba played with a bow, whose shape is very similar to the ṭarab instrument, also called qanbūs in Yemen, a name probably derived from Turkish, since in the History of Turkish Music there is an instrument called kūbūz that probably was Arabized into qabūs then qanbūs.

Most theories in books on Arab music and the Arabic musical system until a late period presented the ‘ūd as the instrument onto which the theory could be applied. This also applies to Yemen. The Yemeni ‘ūd, i.e. the ṭarab or qanbūs, has four strings, unlike the oriental ‘ūd, which was known in the 20th Century and has five strings.

The four strings are similar to those of the oriental ‘ūd except for the fifth string, i.e. the first, the second, and the third strings are Do, Sol, Re, which is from the jawāb to the qarār. The qarār is the fourth string, but it is tuned to Do, not to La like the big ‘ūd. It is the jawāb of the first string. The three strings are double strings, and the upper is single. Considering these four strings, the Do can be a qarār to the rāstmaqām, and the third string can be a qarār to the bayyātīmaqām, and the third one, plucked, would be a Mi / sikāh.

The strings of the Yemeni ‘ūd have names: the first one is the ḥādhiq (energetic); the second one is the awsaṭ (as it is approximately in the middle), and the rakhīm. The beautiful  name rakhīm came from some qaṣīda that tells about the ṣawtrakhīm (melodious voice) of the birds or the ‘ūd. The fourth string is called jarr or yatīm (orphan). The yatīm may be because it is a single string.

Jean Lambert – pioneer ethnomusicologist 

Jean Lambert is a research professor in anthropology and musicology who has dedicated his life to the study, preservation, and dissemination of Yemeni music. He has been associated with the Musée de l’Homme in Paris since 1991 and is the director of the French Centre for Archaeology and Social Sciences in Sanaa (Yemen). Lambert was also the Director of the Centre for Research in Ethnomusicology (CREM-LESC, UMR 7186), CNRS, Université de Paris Ouest Nanterre.

Listen here to Jean Lambert playing Yemeni ud

Focusing on the Arab world, particularly in Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula and Lebanon, Jean Lambert’s works explore the relationships between local musical practices and global meanings of Arab-Islamic culture: performance context, ritual practices, mythological representations, and the formation of contemporary identities. His current research focuses on zajal in Lebanon and the 1932 Music Conference in Cairo. Dr Lambert has published several books, more than forty scientific articles, and thirty CDs of traditional music from Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq and North Africa. He is also a consulting and management board member of AMAR.

Lambert published his book “Ṭubb al-nufūsfī al-ghinā’ al-Ṣan‘ānīfī al-mujtama‘ al-Yamanī” (“The Medicine of the Soul: Music and Musicians among Urban Dwellers in Sanaa (Republic of Yemen)”) in 1997. He invited several artists to France to record CDs at the Institut du Monde Arabe and French Radio, among others. In his lifelong mission to archive/document the endangered Yemeni heritage, he collaborated with UNESCO in 2000 to inscribe the Sanaa heritage on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. He worked on supporting this art through a project that lasted from 2006 to 2009.

For More on Yemeni music, tune in to AMAR Podcasts:

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)

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YEMEN

YEMENI – UAE : How the fragrance empire, Swiss Arabian Perfumes was built

Celebrating 50 years of growth and success.

In the world of fragrances, few names evoke as much resonance and admiration as Swiss Arabian Perfumes Group. Established as the first perfume manufacturer in the UAE, this year marks a significant milestone for the renowned UAE-born perfume house as it celebrates its golden jubilee – 50 years of crafting perfumes with luxury and elegance.

The beginning was in 1974 when Swiss Arabian seamlessly blended Arabian perfumery techniques with modern innovation. Hussein Adam Ali, Founder and Chairman of SAPG, came from Yemen to the UAE in 1974 with a dream. A man driven by an insatiable passion for perfumery and a deep appreciation for the art of scent, he laid the foundation for what would become a global fragrance empire.

Over the past five decades, Swiss Arabian has gained global recognition and taken pride in representing the art of perfumery to the rest of the world. As we reflect on five decades of fragrance mastery, it’s a story worth exploring about how this fragrance empire was built. Hussein Adam Ali’s keen understanding of the nuances of fragrance, coupled with an unwavering commitment to excellence, drove the brand to new heights.

“When I first moved to the UAE, I walked in the sun to save on taxis. This country became my home and turned my dreams into reality.” 

“I was 30 years old when I came to UAE to set up my business here. This country became my home and turned my dreams into reality. With an investment of half a million dirhams, 5,000 square feet perfume factory had been set up in Sharjah and became fully operational in six months. I was my own boss and drew a minimum stipend to cover my expenses. Today, SAPG has over 1000 employees and global business operations,” says Hussein Adam Ali, Founder and Chairman, SAPG.

His sons, Nabeel Adam Ali and Nader Adam Ali joined the company at a young age as well, and through their leadership, shaped Swiss Arabian Perfumes Group into a multinational award winning perfume house.

Swiss Arabian’s growth strategy is their product. Constantly innovating, creating and ensuring customer satisfaction is the core of their business. The brand’s continuous efforts at striving for perfection is evident in every aspect of its operations, from sourcing the finest raw materials to the meticulous craftsmanship that goes into creating each bottle of perfume.

Despite the evolving trends and preferences in the perfume market, the brand has stayed true to its roots while embracing modern techniques and ingredients. This dedication to both tradition and innovation has earned Swiss Arabian a loyal following and global expansion. The Group also expanded to more brands such as Sapil Perfumes, Shirley May, Shirley May Deluxe and Alta Moda.

As Swiss Arabian Perfumes Group commemorates its 50th year, it is a celebration of longevity and a testament to hard work. Looking ahead, the company remains committed to pushing boundaries and creating fragrances that resonate with the diverse tastes and preferences of its clientele.

source/content: gulfnews.com (headline edited)

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YEMEN / SHARJAH, U.A.E

YEMEN: Prof. Najla Al-Sonboli : Heroine’s mission to save wartime Yemen’s children. Recognised as ‘Heroine for Health at the World Health Assembly’ meeting in 2018 Geneva

Heroine’s mission to save wartime Yemen’s children.

How can one focus and work without a salary? Or when bombs are exploding nearby? Or when you worry that your staff won’t make it home? Or that a cholera epidemic could compromise your hospital?

For the past six and a half years, LSTM alumna, Prof. Najla Al-Sonboli has dedicated her life to helping some of the most vulnerable victims of war-torn Yemen, the children. Every day she sees innocent children come through the doors of her hospital, victims of a war that has ravaged her home country.  “I see children suffering and dying right in front of my eyes, I needed to do something to help.”

While at LSTM, Prof. Al-Sonboli initially studied for a Masters in Tropical Paediatrics graduating in  1999. She then later went on to complete the Diploma in Tropical Child Health. Following that she completed her PhD in paediatric health at LSTM with supervision from Professor Luis Cuevas and research in her home country of Yemen.

Now a leading paediatrician and researcher, Prof. Al-Sonboli is the head of the Paediatric Department at Al-Sabeen Hospital for Maternity and Children in Yemen’s largest city of Sana’a.

“I love kids, I can’t bear the thought that anything could hurt them. So, I decided to study paediatrics and help children in Yemen. Because of war, they are dying from diseases, hunger and cross fire. They are suffering too much; many have lost their parents, and many are displaced and separated from their families and their homeland.” 

In the face of war and grave personal risk, Prof. Al-Sonboli and her team work tirelessly providing essential and much needed medical care to thousands of children, whilst organising staff to provide voluntary services with minimal resources and coping with new challenges her paediatric department faces.  “Every day brings new challenges. We are facing the spread of many epidemics and diseases such as measles, cholera and severe malnutrition.”

 “We are admitting cases even on the floor, on chairs, inside their cars with IV stands to prevent them from getting shocked. It is a real disaster”.

“At times we have had to work under fire. Parts of our hospital have been  destroyed, and once, one of the rockets hit inside the hospital. This meant our medical staff couldn’t come to work.”

After years of brutal conflict, many of the doctors and nurses are tired. For years, staff have received no salary, many being left without enough money to feed their families. “Some of my colleagues are struggling to buy food for their own children.  When this happens, we all come together and make sure we can support them by collecting small amounts of money to help them”.

For some time now staff at LSTM and the broader Liverpool community have been raising vital funds to support colleagues to provide essential medical care to save children’s lives in an incredibly difficult situation. This has since seen the formation of the ‘Liverpool Friendship Group’ which has  supported six voluntary nurses, two doctors and extended the Paediatric Intensive Care unit (PICU) and Emergency services for children, bought equipment and developed a new cardiopulmonary resuscitation point.

“The toughest challenges that I faced are to work without salary, if it wasn’t for the generosity of LSTM alumni, staff and the Liverpool community, we don’t know what we would do”

Outside from her day-to-day work, Prof. Al-Sonboli remains a close research partner of LSTM and together with Dr Nasher-Al-Aghbari (another LSTM alumnus); Profs Cuevas and Theobald have held awards from TB REACH on strategies to enhance case findings amongst vulnerable groups.

When asked for the best advice she has ever received, she said “To be a good leader, you have to lead by example – you have to become a symbol”. Prof. Al-Sonboli is a living example of true leadership. Her work and determination have inspired her hospital staff to persevere when things become ugly and simultaneously inspired the international community to recognise her achievements.

“For me, I had the chance to fly out of Yemen as many did but I preferred to stay and help my people. I thought “if I run away and I am the head of the department, then who will stay? No one will come to work.” So, I decided to go to my hospital under fire and to try to encourage my colleagues to come, too.” 

In 2018, Prof. Al-Sonboli was recognised as a Heroine for Health at the World Health Assembly meeting in Geneva, for her tireless work in her home country of Yemen.

Nominated for the award by LSTM’s Professor Sally Theobald, Prof Al-Sonboli was recognised by Women in Global Health in association with GE, who celebrated the contribution of nine Heroines for Health, presenting each with an award for leadership in their communities. Unable to leave Yemen, Professor Theobald accepted the award on her behalf.

“Sadly, war and fragility are not going away. We need to recognise, honour and learn from Najla and all the heroes and heroines that work alongside her, in continuing their efforts to bring hope and save lives. This award reflects the respect and support from the global health community for all that they do.”

When interviewed for her Heroine of Health Award, Prof. Al-Sonboli credits her strong relationship with LSTM for keeping the hospital running, including providing much needed funds to rebuild destroyed wards and to treat increasing numbers of patients.

source/content: lstmed.ac.uk (LSTM) (headline edited)

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Prof. Najla Al-Sonboli Credit: UNICEF

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YEMEN

YEMEN / EGYPT: Amir El Masry to Star in Biopic of British Yemeni Boxer Prince Naseem aka Naz aka Naseem Hamed

The ‘Limbo’ star will be acting alongside Pierce Brosnan as they follow the story of famed boxer Prince Naseem.

Egyptian actor Amir El Masry is set to star in a biopic of legendary British Yemeni boxer Naseem Hamed, titled ‘Giant’. The movie will tell the story of Hamed’s humble beginnings in the English city of Sheffield, and his meteoric rise to becoming a world champion. Throughout his career, he is coached by former steel worker Brendan Ingle, who is played by Irish actor and ‘James Bond’ star Pierce Brosnan.

Also known as Prince Naseem or ‘Naz’, Hamed also became an icon of showmanship, with his inimitable southpaw boxing style and quick feet, his high rate of knock-out victories, and his elaborate ring entries, arriving on a ‘flying carpet’ suspended from the ceiling and often somersaulting over the ropes.

The casting of El Masry to play Hamed marks his first starring role in a major film production, though he has already landed several major parts in acclaimed series such as ‘The Night Manager’, BAFTA-nominated ‘The State’, and the fifth season of ‘The Crown’, in which he played a young Mohamed Al Fayed. He is also known for his award-winning role in ‘Limbo’, as well as his appearances in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ and Egyptian series ‘El-Brinseesa Beesa’.

source/content: cairoscene.com (headline edited)

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EGYPT / YEMEN

YEMENI AMERICAN: The long game: Football-loving Amer Ghalib wasn’t going to let political life pass him by

Once a migrant worker in a Midwestern car parts factory, the Yemeni healthcare practitioner is now Hamtramck’s first Muslim mayor. His secret? Never giving up on his goals.

mer Ghalib’s third day in an American high school was very nearly his last when he was given consecutive zero grades for not doing the set homework.

With cheeks burning as the maths teacher berated him in front of the other pupils, a despondent Ghalib, then 18, resolved to quit.

Back home in Yemen, he had been top of the class but 10-hour night shifts on the production line of a Midwestern car parts factory left little enough time for sleep and lessons, never mind extra academic work.

“Everyone was looking at me,” Ghalib, now 43, tells The National. “It was embarrassing. I only went to high school to learn English. That was my goal.

“But the Egyptian maths teacher, Abdul Salam, started focusing on me. He must have thought I didn’t care about school so he picked on me.”

There seemed little point in continuing but then Mr Salam wrote a complicated algebraic problem on the blackboard as a challenge for his cohort.

Ghalib volunteered to have a go, rose from his seat, picked up the chalk and solved the problem without uttering a word.

“After class, the teacher said in Arabic: ‘You’re smart and you know your stuff, why don’t you do your homework?’

“When I told him there was no time because I had to work in a factory for $7 an hour, he said: ‘If you finish college, you can make $70 an hour.’

“That was the moment that changed my life because before that I had decided not to come to school any more.”

The intervention put him back on track to achieve his childhood ambition of holding public office, a dream fulfilled when he last year became the first Muslim mayor of Hamtramck in the Great Lakes region of Michigan.

On reflection, though, Ghalib concedes that the route to get there was circuitous with a lengthy diversion by way of the field of medicine.

Born in Yemen, his was an idyllic childhood in the village of Al Awd in Ibb province in the rugged mountains of the country’s south-west.

He excelled in maths and science at the tiny Al Islah school in the neighbouring village of Nashawan, where Egyptian, Syrian and Iraqi teachers doubled up on subjects for children of every age from elementary to high school in a handful of classrooms.

In his spare time, young Amer played football in local leagues, becoming an Argentina fan after watching Diego Maradona’s record-breaking five goals and five assists in the 1986 World Cup, and wrote poetry.

So it was apt when he was inaugurated as mayor a year ago that he quoted translated lines about determination and persistence by one of his favourite Yemeni poets, Abdulaziz Al Maqaleh.

“The poem was about never giving up,” he says. “Poetry makes me feel great because I can express my feelings about anything.

“Some people think it’s odd for a healthcare practitioner and politician to write poetry but it’s a way of expressing what’s inside. I still write.”

Career inspiration was to come in the form of his great-uncle, Dahan Najar, on whose every word Amer would hang as the family was regaled with tales of his travels to the then Soviet Union and work as a diplomat.

“They would call him doctor,” Ghalib says, “and I wanted to be just like him. He was my role model.

“He had completed a doctorate in political science in Russia and worked in government — so, at that young age of five or six, I decided I wanted to be a politician.”

Fate, however, seemed to have other plans. As the eldest of 10 siblings, Amer was expected to leave his village to work in the US and send money home.

The path was well-trodden by friends, neighbours and Ghalib antecedents, whose earnings were vital to keep the farming community thriving.

His father, Mahmoud, and grandfather, Ali, had by turns lived in Hamtramck for many years, where work was plentiful and migrant labour in demand.

“They needed me to come here and support the family,” he says, of dutifully taking a job in the American car industry. “I was very upset because I thought my future was over.”

And there, on the industrial floor of the MES corporation, he, too, might have toiled for decades before returning to settle in Yemen but for his overriding desire to make something more of himself.

Unlike those who went before him, Ghalib was to become representative of the modern-day immigrants who see their future as proud Yemeni-Americans.

He is quick to point out, though, that their lives nonetheless have a firm footing in tradition, saying they are not so much the “sandwich generation” of their western counterparts but more like the sabayahpastry. “We support multiple layers of relatives and neighbours,” Ghalib says.

Six months into his job on the factory floor, he applied to enrol on an adult evening class to learn English. The cousin with whom he was living at the time was accepted but Ghalib, deemed to be too young, was not.

On the advice of co-workers, who gave the erroneous assurance that homework was not compulsory, he registered to complete his final year of high school, attending classes from 7.30am until 2.30pm, then catching a lift to the factory with a colleague to work until 1am.

Mr Salam soon encouraged Ghalib to scale back his shift so he could spend two hours in the cafe doing his homework but the pupil often put in even more time afterwards to spare himself any further humiliation.

“That teacher was an inspiration. He told me not to waste my talent.”

His graduation on the school’s football pitch in the summer of 2000 was captured in photographs taken by his cousin that were sent to his father in Yemen.

One of the first people to be consulted about Ghalib’s next step was his revered great-uncle Dr Najar but the response was not what the young man had expected.

“He said: ‘Politics is not going to feed you. You are smart, you can do something professional that will help you survive.’

“So I decided to do medicine because my second favourite thing was science.”

With his English language skills still lacking, Ghalib struggled to obtain entry to medical school after completing a degree in biological science at Henry Ford Community College, transferring to Wayne State University in Michigan after two years.

He returned to Yemen in 2005 to marry Iman, now 36, then enrolled at Ross University School of Medicine in the Caribbean and went on to do two years of clinical rotations at Sinai Grace hospital in Detroit.

These days, as he awaits an opportunity for a residency, the father of three daughters – Mayasm, 15, Ansam, 13, and Balsam, three – juggles work as an assisting physician along with a master’s degree in nursing online in the hope of opening a medical practice.

“I’m a multi-tasker,” he says. “I never give up on anything. If I don’t accomplish my goal one way, I try another.”

Which explains why, when conservative community leaders felt aggrieved at the relaxing of marijuana licensing laws in Hamtramck, Ghalib saw not only an important issue to get behind but a political opportunity.

“The people who used to run in local elections were the same every time and never solved any of the city’s problems,” he says.

“They did not represent us well, especially the Muslim immigrants. The leaders did not listen to the people and we were looking for someone to take over. I said I could do it and serve the people.”

He won an astonishing 68 per cent of the vote — more than double that of the long-time incumbent Karen Majewski, bringing an end to the city’s string of Polish mayors for the past century.

“When I registered, some people were sceptical and said: ‘He will lose, no one knows him.’ But there are a lot of Yemenis here in Hamtramck and they knew me very well.

“They knew I would be a strong candidate and that, even though I didn’t have much experience of public office, I had the skills to succeed.”

It hasn’t all been plain sailing since. Ghalib faces a mountain of woes, including ageing infrastructure, a city council budget deficit and replacing poisonous lead pipes in homes.

But one of the biggest challenges has been trying to unite a city long in the media spotlight for its diversity.

A welcome sign at the border sums up its reputation for being the UN in microcosm: “The world in two square miles.”

Polish shopfronts now sit side by side Yemeni restaurants and Bangladeshi shops, flyers are printed in Arabic, and the adhanis heard on street corners as large numbers of Arabs and Asians continue to make Hamtramck their home.

While some have seen his appointment — and that of fellow Arab American mayors Bill Bazzi in nearby Dearborn Heights and Abdullah Hammoud in Dearborn — as a celebration of growing multiculturalism in the US, there has been a backlash from some quarters.

Critics have scoured posts on Ghalib’s social media platforms to accuse him of bigotry but his response has been: “We try to represent everyone and make them feel this is their home, no matter what religion or background they have. I try to serve people equally.”

His inauguration followed Hamtramck becoming the first US city with a Muslim-majority council in 2015. The councillors are now all Muslim, and, for Ghalib, the ceremony held at the school where he set out to alter his own destiny marked just how far both he and his adopted home had come.

As he looked out over the auditorium, he recalled his school careers adviser saying: “I don’t think you’ll have any future in politics in this country. You’ll always speak English with an accent and your background will not be in your favour.”

With a wry smile, he told the audience: “I still do speak with an accent — but I have decided to come back and embrace my first love, politics.”

Almost a year into the part-time municipal role and nine Fifa World Cups after Argentina last lifted the trophy, Ghalib watched the first half of the 2022 final last month with a local Bangladeshi crowd before moving to another lounge to join fellow Yemenis for the rest of the match.

All assembled were agreeably cheering for the mayor’s favourite side — except for three fans belatedly exposed as France supporters when the second equaliser was scored.

On his Facebook feed once the tense penalty shoot-out was over, he wrote that the win for Lionel Messi’s squad, “after a lot of trouble, is what makes the victory more sweet and deserved”.

Having overcome adversity to hit goal after goal, and making countless assists along the way, Ghalib knows exactly how that feels.

source/content: thenationalnews.com (headline edited)

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Yemeni-American Amer Ghalib made history last year when he was sworn in alongside three new councillors in Hamtramck, now believed to be the first city in the US with an all-Muslim council. Photo: Amer Ghalib

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AMERICAN / YEMEN

YEMEN: Yemeni Writer Ali Al-Muqri Conferrd with France’s Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters

France has made the Yemeni writer Ali Al-Muqri a knight of the French Order of Arts and Letters.

Al-Muqri recently received a letter from Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, the French minister of culture, telling him that he was among the honorees chosen as members of the order this year.

Al-Muqri has been living in France at the invitation of the Arab World Institute since 2015, after fleeing the war in his home country. He had lived in Sana’a, the capital, which is now controlled by the Houthi rebel movement. People close to Al-Muqri have warned him he risked being pursued by the Houthis if he returned to Yemen.

The Order of Arts and Letters, one of four “ministerial orders” in France, is awarded to people who have distinguished themselves through artistic or literary creation or by contributing to the influence of arts and letters in France and the world. It has three ranks: commander, officer, and knight (chevalier).

Al-Muqri said in a telephone interview with Al-Fanar Media that he had not been aware of his candidacy for this order and was surprised by the letter.

He believes that his being named for the prestigious French order is “a tribute to Arabic literature, and a reward for writing a literary work that has its own narrative and cultural characteristics.”

He said Arabic literature was marginalized because it was rarely translated and he hoped his award would shed more light on it.

Novels and Prize Nominations

Ali Al-Muqri began his literary career as a cultural editor for several Yemeni publications before beginning to write prose, poetry and novels himself. His works have been translated into French, English, Italian, Kurdish and Persian.

He has published more than ten books, among them the novels “Black Taste, Black Odour” (2008), “The Handsome Jew” ( 2009), and “Hurma” ( 2012), “Adani Incense” (2014), and “The Leader’s Country” (2019).

“Black Taste, Black Odour” and “The Handsome Jew” were longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2009 and 2011, and “Hurma”, in its French translation, won an honourable mention from the Arab World Institute Prize for Fiction and the French prize for Arabic literature.  “Adani Incense” was shortlisted for the 2015 Sheikh Zayed Book Award.

Between Home and Exile

Despite his years in self-imposed exile in Paris and his freedom to write, “far from the  guilt feelings that affected his literary works,” Al-Muqri said he still “experiences the hardships of alienation far from his homeland.”

“I live in double exile, and I miss every detail of my life in Yemen,” he said. “Where is the writing corner in my house in Sana’a, where I used to write my literary works, my books piled around me? I miss my habits and my rituals that were the primary motivator and the inspiration for my writing.”

Al-Muqri said that particular places in Yemen and the way of eating and drinking there gave a feeling of continuity that he misses.

The issues of Yemeni life inspired more than one of his novels, which he attributes to his constant endeavor to “explore the human self and evoke the causes of its anxiety through exposure to the problems facing people, whether they are in freedom of expression or because of discrimination against a person because of his colour, his sexual identity or because he was marginalized by a dictatorial authority.”

Al-Muqri said that he could write more in Yemen than he can in France. The war took him forcefully from his country and made him feel alienated and unable to get hold of the things that inspired and motivated him to write.

But that feeling has not prevented his ability to integrate with French society, he said.  Thanks to his personal experience and knowledge of European culture, he has been able to adapt and engage in his new life in the host country.

Yemeni Literature in Wartime

Al-Muqri said most Yemeni writers and authors had lost their jobs because of the war and many of them had resorted to other types of work so they could continue to live.

Most were no longer able to obtain the basic requirements of life, such as electricity, clean water, or a regular salary. Al-Muqri said the absence of these things “makes any writer or author unable to write and think.”

The war has greatly hindered literary life in his country, Al-Muqri said, but it remains active despite the restrictions and censorship imposed by the authorities.

Al-Muqri said he was working on a new novel. He hopes to continue writing “in freedom and safety” and to return to Yemen after the situation stabilizes.

Related Reading

source/content: al-fanarmedia.org

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Ali Al-Muqri has lived in France since 2015. He hopes the honour he has won there will draw more attention to Arabic literature in translation. (Photo courtesy of Ali Al-Maqri)

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YEMEN

YEMEN: Jewish Cemetery Reconstruction hints at Yemen’s True Form

It is in times of crisis and conflict that we reveal our character most clearly. This is true today in Yemen, where even the promise of a truce brokered largely by the UN, the US and Saudi Arabia has yet to cement peace or accelerate reconstruction. To do these things, Yemenis must also rebuild the bonds of faith and community that allow any society to thrive.

Within the context of these challenges, it is all the more remarkable that Yemenis recently started restoring a 160-year-old Jewish cemetery in Aden. What started as a volunteer effort has now garnered the support of local authorities and Yemeni institutions.

It amounts to a project of interfaith tolerance and embrace in a place where such sentiments have been in short supply. In the last couple of years, Yemen’s Jewish community — one of the world’s most ancient — has disappeared. Most of the remaining few fled to nearby countries after facing persecution and even arrest by the Houthi rebels. Just a century ago, they counted in the tens of thousands and could claim a lineage of almost 3,500 years.

Jewish tradition holds that the cemetery in Aden is where the biblical Abel was buried millennia ago. He is part of the tradition of each Abrahamic faith and the collective memory of Yemeni tolerance remains despite the societal havoc of the last decade.

Each of the Abrahamic religions instructs us to act with kindness toward our brothers and sisters of other faiths. It should be inspiring to all of us to see Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the people of Aden acting in this spirit. I hope this renewed focus on a Jewish cemetery can demonstrate how faith and incremental action can help us overcome the tribulations and pitfalls of extremist politics, sects and conflicts of the past — real or imagined.

The Jewish community of Yemen is no longer, but Yemenis are honoring their own shared past and patrimony by preserving its memory. By respecting the role of Jews in Yemen’s long and storied history, Yemeni leaders are showing inclusivity and a will to protect minorities in the nation’s future as it emerges from this tragic conflict.

The contrast with the Houthi rebels and the racist ideology they propagate is stark. The Houthis prey on religious differences of doctrine and ritual to divide once-harmonious communities in Yemen. Children are drilled to hate in schools, while state workers must chant mantras of death for peoples, such as those in the US and Israel, whom they have never met and of whom they have no conception. Their celebration of innocent Yemenis or Saudis killed is reprehensible.

Analysts today speak of the truce in Yemen in terms of money, men and ideology. These things shift and change, but the need for a functioning society to incorporate people of different beliefs holds true.

The Houthis seem to hold a firm grip over large parts of Yemen. But in this land, with its rich and resilient tribal, religious and societal mosaic, intolerance makes any sense of “control” inherently fragile. The history of Yemen shows that cultish indoctrination does not change a people. Some of its most ancient buildings have crumbled and priceless literature has been lost, but the tolerant Yemen of yore remains alive in stories, poetry and prayer, as well as the hearts of its people.

The cemetery restoration effort is a microcosm of what will need to take place to return Yemen to its true form and traditions of tolerance. While some tear down history and desecrate places of worship and commemoration to create a vacuum to fill with hate for their own benefit, reconstruction efforts like the cemetery can remind all Yemenis of the primacy of tolerance in their culture.

We all pray for an end to the war in Yemen, continued peace and rapid reconstruction. Let us add to these prayers that Yemenis remain on the path to rebuild not just brick by brick, but to rebuild and restore the diversity of the Aden of old in the image of tolerance of our Creator.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited) / author below

• Rabbi Marc Schneier is president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and a noted adviser to many Gulf states.

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pix: Twitter @South24E

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YEMEN

Yemeni Engineer Hashem Al-Ghaili Unveils Nuclear-Powered Flying Hotel that can Accommodate 5,000 Guests

The structure could remain airborne for years at a time.

Yemeni engineer Hashem Al-Ghaili has unveiled his vision for the future of travel, and it wouldn’t look out of place in a film about the apocalypse.

Al-Ghaili posted a video on YouTube proposing a giant nuclear-powered sky hotel named Sky Cruise, which could accommodate 5,000 passengers. Like an enormous, winged, futuristic-looking cruise liner, it would be fuelled by 20 electric engines, with a small nuclear reactor using “highly controlled fusion reaction to provide the sky hotel with unlimited energy”.

As such, the hotel would never run out of power and could remain suspended in the air for several years, “without ever touching the ground”. Both supplies and passengers would be delivered to the hotel via traditional commercial jets. All maintenance and repairs would also be conducted mid-air.

Suspended high above the clouds, the sky hotel would feature a large “panoramic hall”, offering 360-degree views of the skies. A lift would connect this space to the main entertainment deck, which would be home to shopping malls, sports centres, swimming pools, restaurants, bars, children’s playgrounds, theatres and cinemas. A separate section of the airborne hotel would be dedicated to events and business meetings, as well as wedding halls.

Incorporated into the design are balconies and viewing domes attached to each side of the structure, where guests could indulge in some high-level stargazing. “Its sleek design combines the features of a commercial plane, while offering the epitome of luxury,” Al-Ghaili’s video explains.

Sky Cruise would also eliminate disturbance from turbulence, with its navigation systems featuring a state-of-the-art command deck that uses artificial intelligence to predict turbulence minutes before it happens. The system would respond by creating anti-vibrations.

The hotel would also be home to an advanced medical facility to keep guests “safe, healthy and fit”.

The concept was originally created by Tony Holmsten and then reimagined and animated by Al-Ghaili. But it has been greeted with scepticism by commentators: “If physics and aerodynamics didn’t exist, then this vessel might actually be able to take off,” wrote one YouTube user.“

Hashem Al-Ghaili is a Yemeni molecular biotechnologist,  science communicator, director and producer. He is best known for his infographics and videos about scientific breakthroughs.

source/content: thenationalnews.com (edited)

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YouTube.com

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YEMEN

Galal Yafai Wins Britain’s First Flyweight Olympic Boxing Gold : Tokyo : August 07th, 2021

Galal Yafai. Athlete. British Boxer.

Britain’s Galal Yafai, born of Yemeni parents, defeated Carlo Paalam to win the flyweight Olympic title , denying the Philippines a first boxing gold medal in the country’s history.

The 28-year-old Yafai, a former factory worker, won on split points in an enthralling contest to earn Britain’s first boxing gold in Tokyo.

source/content: arabnews.com

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pix: twitter.com/galal_yafai

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BRITAIN / YEMEN