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The Layalina Review

VOL. V NO. 5, February 13-February 26, 2009

Arab Culture Acts as a Bridge to Understanding

Writer Mary Coons, author of "Culturally Speaking: Promoting Cross-Cultural Awareness in a Post-9/11 World," has just had her book named as a finalist for the "non-fiction, multi-culture" category in the 2008 Best Book Awards, notes a February 13 PRWeb article. According to Coons, the average American does not have a firm grasp on the true relationship between religion, culture, and values in the Muslim world.

These misconceptions induce hostile feelings in Americans towards Arabs and the Muslim religion as a whole, and the only way to remedy these common delusions is through impartial education. According to the author, the book "does not promote Islam or Christianity, or endorse one country's collective opinion over the other," but instead "inspires the reader to discover some of the differing perspectives of real issues."

Meanwhile, tensions have risen throughout the Middle East regarding the celebration of Valentine's Day. A Mount Holyoke News article, released on February 12, revealed that while the light-hearted observation of Valentine's Day has become more popular in Eastern countries such as India over the past couple of years, state authorities in the Middle East remain staunchly opposed to it. Saudi Arabia, in an attempt to preserve the "strong Islamic code that prevents the mixing of men and women," has deemed the day "un-Islamic" and banned "the sale of Valentine's Day gifts, including red roses."

Babylon and Beyond, A Los Angeles Times blog, reported that "the first-ever virtual version of the Muslim world was recently launched online." The computer game, Muxlim Pal, allows users to adopt an online character and intermingle with others in a "virtual world governed by the rules of Islam" in which you can partake in a variety of activities from shopping to praying at a mosque.

The program, used primarily by Muslims in the United States, "aims to foster understanding and communication between East and West" while bringing "Muslim communities worldwide closer, especially Muslim youth in the West." And, with approximately 1.5 million visitors a month, Muxlim Pal seems to be succeeding.

Throughout the Middle East, video games and comic books have been developed to "provide Muslim and Arab youth with homegrown heroes, something sorely needed as a bulwark against the trend toward radical Islam throughout the Middle East," reports the Associated Press.

Indiana University, as part of the school's Arts Week, hosted an "open-to-the-public panel discussion titled 'USA, Diplomacy, and the Arts'" on February 22, according to the IU News Room. This panel notably featured Karim Wasfi, a cellist who also serves as director of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra.

The discussion mainly covered proposals by the US State Department Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy on how to more effectively integrate the arts and diplomacy throughout the world, particularly the Middle East.

In Egypt, "Wahed Sifr," a soon-to-be-released film following the struggle of a divorced Coptic woman petitioning her church to obtain religious authorization to remarry "has triggered the outrage of many Copts, who criticized the film as an attack on one of the fundamentals of the Christian faith," reports Babylon and Beyond, the Los Angeles Times blog.

Lawyer Nabil Gobriel, a Christian, unequivocally asserted that no divorce should ever be legitimized except in cases of adultery and deemed the movie "an act of rebellion against the Bible." While opposition to the movie has garnered support from Muslim Lawyers as well, the star of the movie, Elham Shahin, contends that she is not trying to disrespect Christianity, but instead seeks to illuminate the suffering of thousands of Christian women who are barred from remarriage by their church.

Over the past couple of weeks, the eyes of the sports world have focused on an event in the Middle East: the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship. In a controversial decision, tournament officials refused to give a temporary visa to the Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer solely because of her nationality, reports The Scotsman.

Many, including Women's Tennis Association chief Larry Scott, have articulated great disappointment with the decision and are unsure of its possible implications. Despite Dubai spending billions of dollars in an attempt to establish itself as the Middle East's cultural and sporting gateway to the western world, questions have now been raised over "whether the Gulf states' rulers are capable of hosting these high-profile events" due to fears of censorship.

Others are not so pessimistic. Editor-in-chief of Al-Quds Al-Arabi Abdel Bari Atwan suggested that "we should encourage [Dubai] to be ambitions because they are opening up and they are really trying to modernize their society. And it comes step by step – it's not a switch on, switch off – it takes time."

In Washington, DC, the "largest-ever presentation of Arab arts in the United States" is being held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Islam Online reports. This event, running from February 23 to March 15, will feature many sorts of Islamic art such as music, film, and theater and will be given additional coverage on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Back to articles.