Art and the Arab Spring

Art should have a prominent position in revolutionary politics, but as “signposts, not as overt political manifestos”.

Doha, Qatar - Cai Guo-Quiang’s exhibit in Doha was exquisite. Incorporating techniques from Islamic artistic heritage such as miniature paintings, Saraab (“mirage”), the celebrated artist’s inaugural solo exhibition in the Arab world creatively synthesised the hitherto unexplored historical and cultural dynamics of the Arab Gulf and China.

For instance, through controlled gunpowder explosions, he produced a dazzling canvass of 99 horses that simultaneously highlighted the symbolic nature of the number 99 – a reference to the 99 names of God in the Islamic tradition, and a symbol for infinity in Chinese culture – and of the horse more generally, with the majestic steed featuring prominently in both cultural milieus.

One small problem, though: in my several hours of marvelling through the Mathaf, the Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, I counted fewer than ten other patrons there to take advantage of Cai’s exhibit. Even more disappointing, every one of those vagrant visitors looked foreign, without a Qatari (or Arab, for that matter) in sight to savour the fruits of Cai’s labour.

Even the plethora of advertisements for the exhibit prominently plastered around the city, it seems, were insufficient to generate serious interest.

For an institute whose stated mission is to present “a unique Arab perspective on modern and contemporary art”, its reception was less than encouraging.

Indeed, Professor Hamid Dabashi made precisely that observation on these very pages, shortly after his visit to Doha for Saraab’s opening on December 5. Marked by a spectacular outdoor exhibition held on the outskirts of the museum, the opening expo – dubbed “Black Ceremony” – staged a thunderous spectacle of dynamite explosions, producing colourful blossoms of ink across an open-sky canvas.

Art aficionados from around the world were drawn to Doha to celebrate the momentous occasion, happily noshing on complimentary salmon and beefsteak hors d’oeuvres as the internationally renowned Chinese artist made his debut performance in the Arab world.

But as Dabashi astutely cautioned, the euphoria produced by this opening extravaganza has limited staying power, and by itself says very little about the viability of the exhibit as representative of a greater Arab public sphere. And as he predicted, once the cameras and art critics moved on to their next exhibit, public interest quickly dissipated.

For however admirable Cai Guo-Quiang’s efforts were at subtly forging links between the cultural and historic milieu of the Arab region and his native China, the exhibit failed to sufficiently address the Arab world’s historic moment: the heightened and rapidly transforming Arab consciousness embodied in the Arab Spring.

Artistic Arab public sphere?

Unencumbered by the revolutionary sentiment presently engulfing the rest of the Arab world, and bolstered by enormous material wealth, Qatar is in a unique position to creatively channel the Arab world’s great historical moment into a vibrant arena of artistic expression. Such a forum, properly situated in the lived reality of this renewed Arab consciousness, could stand to inspire the entire region. But alas, one cannot simply buy a cultural public sphere, as Dabashi pointed out.

The extent to which Gulf states such as Qatar gloss over the grounded realities of the Arab Spring – namely, the underlying call for human dignity undergirding each of these movements – is the extent to which its aesthetic output becomes reduced to lifeless commodities, no matter how extravagant.

Opulent displays such as Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art – designed by none other than the renowned Chinese architect IM Pei – or the Doha Film Festival simply cannot stand on their price tags alone, but must respond to the region’s organic impulses in order to gain serious currency as part of an Arab public sphere.

That said, even in Doha, amid the nihilism Dabashi aptly inveighs against, there nonetheless exist nascent pockets of precisely the artistic Arab public sphere he clamours for. I refer in particular to an exhibit I recently visited in the Al Markhiya gallery in Doha’s Souq Waaqif aptly titled Isharat, or “Signposts”, featuring artists from around the region, whose work fully embodies the Arab Spring’s clarion call for liberation.

Al Markhiya is certainly a much smaller and boutique operation than the more glitzy and flamboyant Mathaf, but is nonetheless highly respected in Qatar and boasts a significant patronage. It is thus somewhat disappointing that a renowned intellectual and cultural critic such as Professor Dabashi was not informed about an exhibit in the city embodying the very aesthetic impulse he yearns for.

Granted, Dabashi was a guest in the city for only a few days, and as such can be excused for not having attended. But the problem is much more systemic than an innocent overlooking of this or that artistic or cultural exhibit. Rather, avant-garde artists in the Arab world have been neglected and undernourished – not only by the curators of Gulf’s most opulent museums, but by the region’s very patrons whom these artists ostensibly seek to inspire.

Especially in the Palestinian context, the artistic scene in the Arab world has all too often become obsessed with the lachrymose: emancipatory impulse is cast aside in favour of an inordinate focus on struggle, loss and dispossession – with Handala at least partially superimposed over the canvass.

Meanwhile, artists such as Abdulrahman Katanani, whose work was featured in the Isharat exhibit at the Al Markhiya gallery, receive scant attention in comparison. A Palestinian sculptor born and raised in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, Katanani insists on using raw materials from the camps themselves in all his sculptures.

Only by doing so, he argues, can he keep the spirit of freedom and hope alive amid an environment that seems diametrically opposed to those impulses. Under this rubric, the artist can transform an otherwise desiccated piece of scrap metal into a captivating exhibit of camp children flying kites: the chain-linked fencing wire previously used to sequester and ensnare them has been reconstituted as the kite’s drawstring, inextricably connecting them to their soaring vessel and the limitless freedom it symbolises.

All politics?

Katanani’s sculptures embody precisely the emancipatory potential Dabashi envisions, yet he is woefully underappreciated. Not only did a visiting critic such as Professor Dabashi not receive adequate word of the showing, but even the Palestinian ambassador in Doha, despite having gotten numerous invitations – in person, via phone and via SMS – has to date not attended any of Katanani’s exhibits.

The artists of the Arab Spring do not need to be found, as Dabashi suggests at the end of his essay: indeed, they are already among us, even in the Khalij. Their discovery is proving elusive, I submit, because of a misplaced expectation of art’s role in the revolutionary moment in the first place.

What distinguished the Isharat exhibit at the Al Markhiya gallery in particular was its decidedly non-political focus: each artist, while wholly committed to the Arab Spring, offered no specific political message in his or her aesthetic interpretation of that event. The patron in the Arab art scene, it seems, all too often expects to find explicit political messages in a piece of art, and judges the work on that basis. Artists such as Katanani, it follows, are neglected for failing to sufficiently inform our political impulses.

This is the cardinal mistake. It is beyond the purview of the artist to provide a detailed blueprint to guide a political movement to fruition, be it through the motif of exile or otherwise. Indeed, it would have been naive for the social movements of the 1960s to have expected Bob Dylan to offer a detailed understanding of how society operates at its most visceral level.

Art’s role, as Dabashi correctly describes, is to imagine the emancipatory politics of our impossibilities. To imagine is not to chronicle in minute detail. The artists of the Arab Spring are tasked with simply igniting a spark, of reinjecting the radical imagination into Arab society, through envisioning the utopian possibility of hope and a better life, undergirded by the basic dignity of the Arab people as non-negotiable and sacrosanct.

Their aesthetic impulses must lead our revolutionary politics, as Dabashi describes, but as signposts, not as overt political manifestos. Only under this rubric can the legions of brave Arab artists, painters and sculptors inspired by the Arab Spring truly make sense as purveyors of the region’s renewed collective consciousness, and the Arab public sphere Dabashi envisions finally come to fruition.
Daanish Faruqi is the editor of the recent book From Camp David to Cast Lead: Essays on Israel, Palestine, and the Future of the Peace Process (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, April 2011), and is currently a research fellow based in Doha.

Follow him on Twitter: @daanishfaruqi

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

2011 Young Leaders Government Delegate

The Muslim public Affairs Council has made a huge impact on how I’ve developed as a leader in theMuslim community. Before MPAC, I was hesitant, one may even say intimidated, to voice my opinions and make change in my local Muslim community. Oddly enough, this hesitance and intimidation, was present even though I had leadership experience outside the Muslim community. For some reason the complicated issue of gender relations within the Muslim community (be it stereotypes or the unfortunate truth), prevented me from having the courage to make a stand for what I believe in.Alhamdulillah I was accepted into MPAC’s young leaders program and this all changed for me.

Before attending the summit, I made an effort to at least be present at the Masjid, even if it only meant physically being there (more often than not, that’s what my presence came down to, simply being there). I hoped this would encourage other women to stick around instead of simply praying and slipping out unnoticed. Although, I had my random bursts of mild courage, I still didn’t have what it took to rise and make a stand without being intimidated. While attending the young leaders program,not only was I exposed to the ins and outs of how our government is ran, but I was exposed to an environment of equality, where I was able to see beautiful Muslim women act as leaders alongside the men, without there being any kind of tension. Being exposed to this was so refreshing! At the Masjid back home, there was a time where women having such a presence in the decision-making of our community, was unheard of. Because of MPAC’s attitude of equality and participation of all Muslims,regardless of gender, I became comfortable voicing my opinions and making sure the men knew I meant business. Attending the summit and being introduced to MPAC’s stance on equality, made a huge change in me. Now I am able to speak my mind without the fear of people questioning my credibility because of my gender.

After the summit, I went home with a new attitude, and felt ready to take on the world. MPAC has inspired me in so many ways to be active and make a difference in our community. I truly believe in the values of freedom, equality, civil rights, and women’s empowerment which happen to be shared values MPAC promotes. The impact MPAC has had on me, can easily be seen by the things I have been able to accomplish because of the experience I had in D.C. Because of MPAC, I gained the courage and the confidence to make a difference in my community. With this new-found confidence, I became more active in the Muslim community. My presence became more significant than simply being there, and I started to gain respect as a leader from both men and women. People began to recognize a real change in me. So much so, they began to trust me as a leader. Not only did my community nominate me to become a board member of the Islamic center, they elected me to office. The change in me that allowed my community to view me as a leader would not have been possible without the help of MPAC. Really hat goes off to you MPAC. I would not be in the position that I am right now without your help!Thank you for the amazing experience and thank you for impacting my life forever!

Iesha Kincaid Secretary of Education Islamic Society of Lawrence

Lupe Fiasco’s Newest Single  - Words I never Said ft Skylar Grey

Lupe Fiasco is one of the fastest rising stars in hip hop music today.  Lupe Fiasco, a devout Muslim is of South African descent and is unusual among rappers as his music focuses on inspiration and achievement.  Like many famous Muslim Americans, Lupe Fiasco often speaks about issues facing the faith today.

Early Years

Born in Chicago in 1982, Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, was the youngest of 9 sons born to Shirley, a gourmet chef, and Gregory, an engineer.  Gregory was a Black Panther, prolific African drummer who also owned karate studios and army surplus stores while “Lu”, as his mother nicknamed him, was growing up.  Lupe Fiasco’s parents divorced when he was 5, and he remained with us mother until he was around 9, when he moved in with his father.  He says that his life was a constant contradiction, as his father and mother stressed knowledge while still requiring that Lu learn how to protect himself.  For example, his parents would not subscribe to cable television, but subscribed to National Geographic magazine.

Early Career

Lupe Fiasco originally disliked hip hop music due to the vulgarity and degradation toward women depicted in the majority of the songs.  He originally preferred jazz until he began writing his own rap songs and realized he could promote a more positive message.  Famous rapper Jay-Z eventually took Lupe Fiasco under his wing with Lupe’s debut album which helped promote the success of the album.  Like other famous Muslim American’s Lupe Fiasco does not drink or smoke.  He does not wear heavy gold chains, not due to his religion, but due to the fact that it interferes with his skateboarding.

Religion

Lupe Fiasco is a devout Muslim, yet does not want to be the “poster boy” for Islam.  He states that he has his flaws and does not want his flaws to become thought of as the flaws of Islam, yet he is very open about his faith.  In fact, the front of Lupe’s album, “The Cool,” is styled to look like Persian calligraphy.  He opens his album “Food & Liquor” with an Islamic prayer, which translates to:  “I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the rejected.  In the name of Allah, the most Gracious.  Ever merciful.”  He also discusses the fact that there are many in the entertainment industry who are Muslim, yet the Islamic faith doesn’t necessarily have its own music like other religions do.

“Superstar” Album

In 2007, Lupe Fiasco released “Superstar” which critics felt had a much darker feel than his previous albums.  Lupe has since admitted that while creating this album, several tragedies occurred, making him a write music with a less upbeat feel.  His father and a close friend, Stack Bundles, died in 2007.  In addition, his business partner, Charles “Chilly” Patton went to prison, forcing Lupe Fiasco to take over as CEO of 1^st and 15^th Entertainment.

Other Commercial Enterprises

Righteous Kung Fu and Trilly and Truly are 2 clothing lines owned by Lupe Fiasco and he has designed sneakers for Reebok.  In addition, under his real name, Lupe Fiasco is the front man for a post punk band called Japanese Cartoon.

Lupe Fiasco is part of a growing number of famous Muslim Americans who are vocal about the problems facing Muslim in America today.  He has expressed his views on the mosque near Ground Zero and often gives interviews regarding the beliefs of Islam.  For more information on famous Muslim Americans, visit www.mpac.org.

“We cannot be complacent.  We have to be as aggressive as possible, and aggressive in a positive way.  Not all projects are going to go your way, but we need to push through and not let all of that affect our core so that we do not become demoralized.  We need to make sure we are out there and doing the things others are doing. Keep going forward.  Start creating your own project because in the end that is how we are going to promote and push a more complete picture of who we are,” Tahir stated when giving advice to aspiring Muslim actors.

MPAC’s Young Leaders Hollywood Summit assists Muslim American college and graduate students with opportunities to develop successful careers in entertainment.  The summit explores film and TV roles, as well as other areas of the arts.  The focus of the event is to help shape public opinion and provide practical tips for transforming talent into a successful career.

In addition to the Young Leaders Hollywood Summit, MPAC is conducting summits in NYC for the media industry, and D.C for the government and policy making.

For more information about the MPAC’s Young Leaders Summits connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

The Quran is clear on the rights of men and women. Islam gives men and women different roles and equity, but sees women as individuals. Women have the right to dispose of property and earnings, to attend school and educate themselves, work outside the home and inherit just like their male counterparts. Muslim leaders are working to change this falsely represented image of women in Islam. .

Marriage

Muslim girls are not forced into marriage as many believe. Parents may suggest suitable husbands for their daughter, but according to Islamic law women may not be forced into marrying. Prior to the marriage, a gift is given by the groom for the bride’s personal use. In addition, women can keep their family name and are not required to take their husband’s name.

The Rights of Women

The Quran states that men and women are equal in terms of their religious duties, as well, as in creation and the afterlife. Muslims believe that men and women are created from one soul. Men are not superior to women, nor were women created for the benefit of man; rather, both were created to benefit each other.

Dress

Muslim men and women alike are directed by the Quran to dress moderately and in a dignified manner. This is not for the oppression of women but actually to protect women. Islam promotes the view of women as equals not as objects of sexual pleasure.

Many of the stereotypical beliefs about Muslim women are exactly that – stereotypes. However, women in Muslim countries are permitted almost the same rights and benefits of women who live in predominantly Christian countries. Muslim women are permitted to work, attend school and own property, just as their male counterparts.

For more information about women in the Muslim faith, visit the Muslim Public Affairs Council online on their website or find them on Facebook .

Did You Know highlights prominent Muslim Americans that have had an impact, from the designing of the Sears tower to an opening prayer in congress

The Young Leaders Hollywood Summit in Los Angeles will explore the role film, TV and the arts play in shaping public opinion and provide practical tips for transforming talent into a successful career.

Located in the capital of the entertainment industry, the Summit will give young Muslim Americans the opportunity to learn about the magic behind the camera from scriptwriting to acting to directing, as well as the opportunity to meet network and studio executives, talent managers and screenwriters. With more and more emerging Muslim American artists entering Hollywood, this is a perfect opportunity for young artists who want to explore, or break into, the “biz.”

In its 4th year, the Young Leaders Policy Summit will provide top college and graduate students an insider look at the inner workings of the nation’s capitol while simultaneously providing government officials and congressional leaders the opportunity to learn what is on the minds of young Muslim Americans.

Over the course of five days, delegates get a rare opportunity to meet with senior officials in federal agencies, members of Congress, directors of think tanks, and other prominent individuals and discuss current policy issues while also exploring career opportunities.

The Young Leaders Media Summit will give participants an exciting opportunity to learn about the ins and outs of the news media industry while experiencing the fast pace of life in the Big Apple.

Over four days, aspiring journalists and new media producers will get the chance to meet with prominent executives and reporters at top news outlets and get hands-on experience in telling stories. They’ll also explore how social media has forced news agencies to evolve and learn about the processes of covering worldwide events from elections to revolutions.

Recently, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) held a hearing titled “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and That Community’s Response.” These hearings upset Muslim leaders because King had expressed concern that the Muslim community was not showing sufficient cooperation in identifying and apprehending those Muslims who may be recruiting terrorists in the United States. The fact is that the majority of Muslim leaders do condemn the acts of terrorism committed in the name of Islam, and the hearings upset many because the implication was that Muslim Americans were passive enablers to radical Muslim extremists.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council’s (MPAC) “Post 9/11 Terrorism Database” found that Muslim communities helped U.S. security officials to prevent more than four out of every 10 Al-Qaeda plots threatening the United States since 9/11.

Self-defense, defense of religion or when persons are forcibly removed from homes are a few cases where fighting is permitted, and these rules are also present in other forms of religion.  Islamic law also has strict rules of combat and prohibits the harming of civilians and the destruction of crops, trees or livestock.

War is used as a last resort in the Islamic faith. The word Islamic Jihad has been used to describe the terrorist attacks of recent years. Jihad literally translates to “struggle,” and Muslims believe there are two types of struggle. One is the struggle from within; the other is the struggle to live a faithful life. Jihad was never meant to be used as a call to war. The Quran states “fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God doesn’t love transgressors.” (Quran 2:190).

The use of suicide bombers is another blatant violation of Islamic law as Muslims believe that those who take their own lives have committed the gravest of sins. Add to this the fact that most suicide bombers kill innocents adds to this transgression. Even those who do not actually kill themselves or others are violating Islamic law if they are spreading fear and terror.

Muslim leaders are clear on the fact that the majority of those practicing Islam in America, and throughout the world, do not condone the atrocities committed by a few radical extremists.

As Rep. Keith Ellison, D-F-L, stated recently, “Osama bin Laden no more represents Islam than Timothy McVeigh represents Christianity.” It is important for Muslim youth leaders to teach the peace of the Islamic religion and not the political views of the few misguided Muslims who commit horrible acts against innocents. For more information on the Muslim view on terrorism, please visit MPAC’s website at www.mpac.org or find them on Facebook.