The *FREE ARAB VOICE*
June 18, 1999

In this issue of the Free Arab Voice (FAV) We Present:

1) ADC: A Stylistic Critique of Mainstream Politics.
   Fadia Issam Rafeedie writes on crossing the fine
   line between appealing to and appeasing the mainstream
   in the light of ADC's most recent convention.

2) Stereotypes and Polygamy: A Fresco from the Life of a
   Second Wife in Syria, by Rim Zahra.

3) Action Alert: Sign the Petition on the Recent Sectarian
   Clashes in Nassrah, Palestine, by Ziad Shaker el-Jishi
   of the Palestinian Arab American Progressive Coalition
   (PAPC).

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Correction: In the last issue of the FAV, we mistyped that
the aggression on Yugoslavia began on 24.04.1999. In fact,
it began on 24.03.1999.
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1) ADC Recent Convention: A Stylistic Critique of Mainstream
   Politics by Fadia Issam Rafeedie

I have to admit that it felt odd to watch an Arab-American
sing Frank Sinatra's "My Way" last Friday night at the 16th
annual ADC convention held in Washington DC. The ambiance of
the dim lights, well-dressed guests, gleaming dance floor,
and live performance seemed to tear me away from the Arab
context in which I tried to place myself by going to the
convention with hundreds of others of my brothers and sisters.

The exciting annual event was about more than singing, of
course. My objective therefore is not to write a critique
of the way in which Arab-American organizations locate their
own balance between promoting our rich Arab cultural heritage
on one hand, and succumbing to the inevitable and necessary
need to recognize the beauty of the lived experience of the
Diaspora on the other. Still, I think since this balance remains
in part elusive, it is necessary to discuss alternative or
complementary strategies to celebrating our Arab identity even
as we find ourselves caught in a mainstream Western atmosphere.

For example, although many may not have understood all of the
lyrics of one of Marcel Khalifeh's classic Arabic songs had
that young man chosen to sing one instead, something tells me
that it just would have felt more *right* if he did. The large
screens present in the banquet hall could have been used to
provide line-by-line translations so that the beautiful essence
of the Arabic music could have been celebrated, and so that we
could have had a reminder of (or in some cases exposure to) the
fruits of our own linguistic and artistic talent from the Arab
World. By the third day of the convention, the extensive CD
collection featuring Marcel's music was conspicuously sold out.
In other words, our community knows what it likes, and it does
not have to be American-esque.

By the same token, both movies featured at the convention by
film-maker Simon Bitton -- one about Palestine and the other
about the life of Mahmoud Darwish -- would have been better
served had they been followed by an intelligent and moderated
discussion of the *implications* of a non-Arabic-speaking
Moroccan Jew telling us a story about ourselves. Her romantic
portrayal of Darwish's exiled existence, touring the cities of
Europe and choosing to "carry his nationality in his suitcase,"
stands in marked contrast to the horrific experience of the
majority of Palestinian refugees, for example. Would an Arab
film-maker have de-emphasized the Nakba in the same way, giving
it less air time than a paltry discussion of Darwish's sexual
stirrings, as she did? The films were entertaining on many levels,
and the translated clips of Darwish's poetry carried their own
self-contained beauty, but our passive reception of Bitton's
words and ideas is bothersome. The question has to be asked:
to what degree do we authenticate accounts of our own people
and history based on the intoxicating impressiveness of a
well-made technical production, or conformity to Western
standards of "good art"?

The truth is that this affinity toward American protocols of
organization and presentation sometimes cloud our ability to
judge whether or not we are consciously clinging to our Arab
roots, as we should. The speeches at the convention, all given
in English rather than in the native language that identifies
us as Arabs, are a case in point. Indeed, one of the most
stirring moments of the banquet night was when Ramzi Abou
Zeineddine, a student who helped liberate the Southern Lebanese
town of Arnoun from Zionist annexation, concluded his speech in
Arabic, relaying poetic slogans that were met with enthusiastic
whistles and cheers from the crowd. The audience appeared to
reclaim their language, which carries a force and beauty that
even translation sometimes defies.

More examples abound about how certain "given" authority figures,
propped up by their exalted positions of power in the West, should
be problematized or replaced with our own experts. The panel led
by Mariam Said about multicultural education ironically featured
three self-congratulatory _white_ people who appeared not to have
a clue about the specific issues facing Arab Americans in schools.

At the fundraising workshop, one of the main speakers claimed,
"I don't know much about ya'll aside from what I've read on your
website", and admitted in no uncertain terms that ADC's political
campaigns against home demolitions and saving Iraqi children would
not bode well for his company had we approached him to ask for a
donation. Do we lack our own experts in this field, who have more
cultural and political sensitivity, and who could serve as more
inspirational role models to a community that is badly in need of
some?

Neither should we give too much political or social credit to
figures such as the Associate Attorney General, who dismissed
our worries about the potentially racist effects of the Supreme
Court's ruling in the LA 8 case, just because he carries an
esteemed position on Capitol Hill. Michel Shehadeh, a member
of the LA 8 and an articulate activist in the ADC, certainly
would have had a more empowering speech to make than him, and
more legitimacy to give it, too.

It was Edward Said who highlighted the importance of educating
Americans about Arab culture as a more rooted way of attacking
discrimination than the typical (reaction) action alerts.
The prerequisite to this vision is, of course, our own familiarity
with our culture.

The ADC, a self-named grassroots organization, takes the lead in
promoting such awareness, so a critique of its 'style' (in addition
to content) is certainly necessary. My criticisms, however, are always
tempered by a deep respect for the ADC because of the fine work it
does in the area of promoting civil rights, combating discrimination,
making a name for Arab-Americans in this country (the USA), and serving
as the glue to a widespread national community that needs and desires a
vehicle for activism.

Part of recognizing the multiple facets of "dual identity" for Arabs
living in the Diaspora means conceding to (and even appreciating) the
new cultural values and ethos to which the United States exposes us.

However, the extent to which we allow American customs, "officials,"
styles, and moderate ("safe") positions to cloud the Arab essence of
our identity in our less-than-admirable attempt to fit into the
mainstream, is up to us. We should promote our language, put the
spotlight on our people, reject the temptation to glamorize political
losers simply because they are considered "important" by this country's
status quo standards, and search for innovative ways to preserve our
beautiful culture. Only then can we accomplish what Sinatra's song asks
us to, "our way."

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2) Stereotypes and Polygamy: A Fresco from the Life of a Second
   Wife in Syria, by Rim Zahra.

"I have only recently understood why I feel more peaceful when I am
cleaning, ironing or cooking than I do when I am reading or writing,
" says Bouthaina Shabban, a Syrian professor, editor and writer.
"…Over forty five years after Virgina Woolf's death, we women are
still the prisoners of the stereotyped 'normality' molded to us by
men," continues Shabban.

Stereotype normality, I believe, is also evident in the way most
Syrian women deal with polygamy. When Tawfik, a forty-five year
old businessman took on a second wife, Seereen, his first wife's
was devastated.

After twenty years of marriage, she and Tawfik had five grown
children and Seereen's family had helped finance him before he
succeeded. After enormous bursts of anger, Tawfik divorced Seereen
and agreed to take her back several months later. Seereen, on several
occasions showed my mother and other neighborhood women some of the
new exotic lingerie she planned to wear for the nights Tawfik spent
with her.

Instead of learning to live independently, she resumed a polygamous
relationship and reverted to enhancing her sexuality, stereotypical
role expected of women.

Other women, who would listen to her pain, would later pinpoint
Seereen's negative characteristics as a woman, housewife and mother.
By doing this, they were preventing themselves from acknowledging
that they could, one day, be in Seeren's position. With this, most
would somehow find themselves siding with the man, who was surely
unsatisfied to have resorted to what they called, 'his rightful
convenience, a right granted to him by God.'

Although a Syrian legislation and religion gave women the right to
divorce, many refuse it as an option. Some women explain that it's
for the good of the children and remain because they don't want to
be accused of deserting their children and abandoning their roles
as a mother. Others remain married because they've been dependent
on their husbands to choose and support them that they don't believe
they can make it on their own.

When Tawfik was caught smuggling and was incarcerated for seven years,
Seeren had to find her inner strength. Her sense of freedom and relief
could not be denied as she lived independently. Yet, she resumed her
role as a loyal wife, regularly visiting Tawfik, cooking for him and
providing him with clean clothes. This inner strength I observed in
Seereen has dissipated since Tawfik was released. She was forced to
accept the fact that his second marriage resulted in two children and
repress her anger, which surfaces with sudden bursts of tears in social
gatherings and rage at some of her children's choices or her friends'.

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3) Sign the Petition on the Recent Sectarian Clashes in Nassrah,
   Palestine.

For more details contact Ziad Shaker el-Jishi:
ziad_s@yahoo.com
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