Articles
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, May 2004, pages 56-57
Northern California Chronicle
Zawaya Presents “Arab Artists: Their Words And Works”
By Elaine Pasquini
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ABOVE: Zawaya members (l-r) Alice Nashashibi, Fayeq Oweis, Haya Shawa Benhalim, Denmo Ibrahim, James Asher, Nabila Mango and Khalil Bendib (staff photos E. Pasquini).
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ALWAYS A national leader in the fields of art, music and literature, San Francisco is home to an abundance of talented Arab-American artists, writers and performers. A Feb. 15 reception at the Catharine Clark Gallery on Geary Street provided Bay Area residents a unique opportunity to meet several of these artists and view their work.
San Mateo-based Zawaya, a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting Arab arts and culture, sponsored and organized the show, entitled, “Arab Artists: Their Words and Works.”
Arab cartoonists were well represented at the event. Algerian-American Khalil Bendib discussed his latest editorial cartoon book. Egyptian artist, illustrator, and cartoonist Hassan Fedawy displayed his “Cartoons of the Middle East,” while in a small side gallery Fayeq Oweis gave a Power Point presentation on the works of the late Palestinian cartoonist Naji Al-Ali.
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Lebanese-American artist Yasser Dib (staff photos E. Pasquini).
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Beautiful watercolors titled “Old Doors with Calligraphy” by artist Nahda Balaa adorned the walls of the gallery, along with “Fusion of Arabic and Far Eastern Spirituality” acrylics by Lebanese-American artist Yasser Dib.
Performance artists Denmo Ibrahim and James Asher entertained the crowd with their interview-based work, “In the Shadows of 9/11.” And as the afternoon lapsed into evening, Yusra Benhalim read poetry and Saed Muhssen and Vince Delgado played classical Arabic music on the oud and percussion instruments.
Alice Nashashibi displayed and offered for sale beautiful Palestinian embroidery made by women in rural Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank to supplement their family income. The craft has been handed down for generations from mother to daughter.
Zawaya’s board of directors is a virtual who’s who of the vibrant Northern California Arab-American community. Officers and board members include Nabila Mango, Haya Shawa Benhalim, Shahdan Shazly, Jess Ghannam, Ferial Kardosh, Duraid Musleh, Maher Sabry, Margaret Titus, Fayeq Oweis, Youmna Chlala and Alice Nashashibi.
Zawaya president Nabila Mango has been one of the Bay Area’s most energetic and leading activists for many years. In 1999, the professor of Arabic at San Mateo College founded ASWAT, the San Francisco Bay Area’s only community ensemble performing classical and folk Arabic music. The Palestinian-born Mango is a recipient of the Arab Educational and Cultural Award for outstanding contributions in arts and education. For more information visit the Web site <http://www.zawaya.org/> or e-mail < This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. >.
Thousands Celebrate Eid al-Adha
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| Children at San Francisco’s Eid al-Adha festival (staff photo P. Pasquini). | |
Bay Area Islamic groups celebrated Eid al-Adha (The Festival of the Sacrifice) on Feb. 1 at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland. More than 5,000 people from around the Bay Area attended the all-day event. Festivalgoers browsed information booths featuring Islamic books and publications, as well as booths offering clothing, jewelry, health and personal care products. Delicious food, including home-cooked dishes, was also available.
Following the khutbah (sermon) and prayer service, the prayer rugs were rolled up to make room in the large auditorium for children’s activities. Huge slides and a plastic fire truck were inflated as scores of children lined up to jump and slide on the giant toys.
The Eid al-Adha service and activities were a special treat for nine-year-old Iraqi Saleh Khalaf, who arrived in Oakland on Nov. 10 (see March 2004 Washington Report, p. 24). Still recovering from the wounds he suffered from an explosion in his schoolyard in Nasiriyah and awaiting further surgery at Oakland’s Children’s Hospital, Saleh was able to join in the children’s activities, with his anxious father keeping close watch over him.
Eid al-Adha occurs on the tenth day of the Islamic month Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. It commemorates the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Isma’il in response to a command from God, and God’s mercy in substituting a lamb for Isma’il. Occurring at the end of the hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca), one of the five pillars of Islam required of all Muslims at least once in a lifetime if finances and health permit, this holiday is a happy time observed by sharing food with family and friends, and giving gifts to children.
The Alameda Center, Oakland Islamic Center, San Francisco Muslim Center, Berkeley Masjid Foundation, and Masjids al-Islam, Dar As-Salaam, Jamatus Salaam, Waritheen and al-Iman were among the sponsors.
Iraqi Cultural Evening
More than 100 people gathered at San Francisco’s Arab Cultural and Community Center Feb. 20 to hear an array of speakers discuss the current situation in Iraq and to enjoy delicious Iraqi cuisine.Iraqi-Americans Adnan Al Adeeb and Hisham Al Alusi discussed their trips to Iraq in October of 2003. Traveling separately, the two men only coincidentally were in Iraq at the same time, and for both men the trip was the first to their homeland in 23 years. Each described his reunion with family, friends and colleagues as a very emotional experience.
“Baghdad was very sad,” recalled Al Alusi. “The people are very tired. I felt a sense of a great accumulation of pain, although they are still optimistic and hopeful.”
“Everything was neglected and very little repaired,” explained Al Adeeb. “The electricity ran three hours on and three hours off.”
Al Adeeb and Al Alusi each said that, while everyone they spoke to was glad that Saddam Hussain no longer was in power, Iraqis were unhappy with the American-led occupation.
Basra-born Emanuel Ashoo discussed growing up in Iraq in the 1940s, and said that during his childhood his Christian family lived peacefully among Shi’i Muslims, Sunni Muslims, and Jews. “I see no reason why in the future Iraqis wouldn’t get along as in the past,” he said. “I have great hope for a united Iraq with freedom for all.”
Speaking in Arabic, special guest Raheem Khalaf thanked the large group for the wonderful support he and his son, Saleh, have received from the community since they left Iraq and arrived in California for Saleh’s medical treatment.
Phil Pasquini provided an update on Saleh’s medical condition, and on efforts to obtain political asylum for Raheem and his son, and to bring Mrs. Khalaf and two young daughters to the U.S. Pasquini also discussed the fund established to raise money for the family (see March 2004 Washington Report, p. 24).
Eighteen-year-old Ahmed Hashem, youth coordinator of the Iraqi Community Association which co-hosted the evening event, explained the organization’s activities, including employment assistance, English-language classes and special youth programs.
The evening ended with a slide presentation by American activists Peter and Meg Lumsdaine, who traveled to Iraq and Jordan last October.
Maad Abu-Ghazalah Loses Bid to Oust Tom Lantos
Despite running an energetic campaign and holding popular positions on major issues that appealed to the voters of California’s 12th congressional district, Democratic challenger Maad Abu-Ghazalah, 41, lost his second bid to oust Congressman Tom Lantos, 76, the district’s representative in Washington for the last 24 years.Nablus-born Abu-Ghazalah made his first attempt to unseat Lantos in 2002 as the Libertarian candidate. In that election, the attorney and software engineer placed second best of any third-party candidate in the entire country.
This time around, the Palestinian-American vied with 27-year-old Indian-American Ro Khanna, who garnered some 20 percent of the votes to place second in the three-way primary race in the heavily Democratic district, which includes Brisbane, Colma, Daly City, Foster City, Hillsborough, Millbrae, Montara, Moss Beach, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Mateo and the southwestern portion of San Francisco. In the November election, Lantos, pro-war, pro-PATRIOT Act, and a longtime staunch supporter of Israel, will face Republican Mike Garza.
Three weeks prior to the March 2 election, Abu-Ghazalah outlined his opposition to corruption, special interests, homelessness, the Iraq war, and the PATRIOT Act at a reception hosted by “Friends of Maad Abu-Ghazalah” at San Francisco’s Arab Cultural and Community Center. “Lantos supported and voted for the very unpopular PATRIOT Act and led the debate to invade Iraq,” Abu Ghazalah told the audience. “We are fighting for our constitution and for freedom.The PATRIOT Act is destroying our freedom, not protecting it.”
Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance photojournalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
