Al-Ahram Weekly | Culture

		Al-Ahram Weekly Online 2 - 8 May 2002 Issue No.584
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

More artistic support
A GALA concert organised by the Egyptian Red Crescent Society, of which Mrs Mubarak is president, will be held tonight at the Cairo Opera House. All proceeds will go to humanitarian and medical relief projects for the Palestinian people. The programme includes participants from Egypt and beyond, including Iman El- Bahr Darwish, Latifa, Zikra, Asala, Angham, Amal Maher, Mohamed Tharwat, Ali El-Haggar and Hani Shaker, who will present new and traditional patriotic songs. Omar Khayrat has composed a new piece for the occasion which will be accompanied by a reading of the poetry of Abdel-Rahman El-Abnoudi.
More than 50 Egyptian and Arab artists will join together for the closing song Al- Quds Hatirga' Lina (Jerusalem Will Return to Us), (lyrics by Medhat El-Adl, music by Riyad El-Hamshari). The music will be performed by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and the Arab Music Ensemble with maestros Selim Sahab, Salah Ghubashi, Gamal Salama, and Khaled Fouad alternating, and the entire event broadcast live by 12 Arab satellite channels.

Hunger strike
THE HUNGER strike by Egyptian writers and intellectuals at the headquarters of the Lawyer's Syndicate in downtown Cairo entered its second week. The strikers are demanding that the Egyptian government expel the Israeli ambassador to Egypt.
Critic Ibrahim Mansour was forced to withdraw from the protest owing to ill- health. Writer Ahmed El-Khamisi and publisher Mohamed Hashim remain steadfast. El-Khamisi told the cultural weekly Al-Qahira that the strikers hope to expand the protest to other centres, including the Cairo Atelier and the various cultural palaces.

Saudi response
"WHAT We're Fighting For: A Letter from America," published in February by the Institute for American Values and signed by 60 American intellectuals defending and supporting the Bush administration's "war on terror," elicited a strong riposte from Saudi intellectuals.
Their joint statement, "On What Basis We Co-Exist," condemns the systematic media campaign against Islam and Muslims, particularly Muslim educational and cultural systems, according to Al-Jazeera satellite channel. The declaration also insists that the US frequently breaks UN declarations and human rights conventions within the context of its continuous support for Israeli aggression against the Palestinians. Radicalism should not, they go on to say, be tied to religiosity and the West must partake in an open dialogue with Islam.

Dramatic support
THE SECOND festival for Arab amateur theatre opened last Thursday in Cairo under the title "Palestine is Arab, Jerusalem is Ours." Ten Arab plays are participating, including Carthage Dreams from Tunisia, Memoirs of a Dead Man from Iraq, Zanj Revolt from Palestine, Solara from Sudan and The Taste of Death from Egypt.
Among the 12 artists honoured are Egyptians Youssef Shaaban and Rashwan Tawfik, Palestinian Mary Elias and Salah Al-Qasabi from Iraq.

... and conflict
MOHAMED Salmawy's novel Al-Kharaz Al-Mulawwan (Coloured Beads) is being adapted into a 30-episode TV series to be directed by Ahmed Khidr. Al-Kharaz Al- Mulawwan, a fictional narrative based on the life of late journalist Jaqueline Khoury (played by actress Athar El-Hakim), chronicles her childhood in Jaffa and Jerusalem and her move to Cairo after the death of her parents. Khoury's father, a mayor of Jaffa, was killed by Israeli forces. The series highlights Egypt's role in supporting the Palestinians even before the 1952 Revolution, offering a positive interpretation of the political role played by the ancien regime. Scriptwriter Mohamed El-Basousi has added scenes to the series highlighting the role of Palestinian priests and monks within the resistance movement, additions apparently inspired by recent events at the Church of the Nativity.
Special sets have been built at the Media Production City in 6th of October for the series, including replicas of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Arab quarter of Jerusalem.

Theatre history
US-BASED Egyptian academic Mona Mikhail has finished a documentary film -- the first to deal with the subject -- on the history of Egyptian theatre. Spanning 150 years of Egyptian cultural history the film was screened at the Egyptian Embassy in Washington in the presence of Mikhail and writer Gamal El-Ghitani, part of Ambassador Nabil Fahmy's cultural programme aimed at promoting Egyptian culture in the US.

Baalbek 2002
THE ANNUAL Lebanese summer cultural festival of Baalbek will open on 5 July. It will, as usual, contain the latest Caracalla performance, this year Alf Layla wa Layla, a musical take on Arab cultural heritage.
Also participating are the Irish dance company Lord of the Ones, the Lebanese Symphony Orchestra and -- on closing night -- actress Nidal Al-Ashqar in a improvised performance Kalmiat Ta'shaq Al-Nagham, a reading of Arabic poetry accompanied by music.

Book fairs
THE 20TH Tunis International Book Fair began last Thursday. Among the Egyptian participants, Al-Ahram is offering 3,000 titles by various Egyptian publishers including Al-Ahram Centre for Publishing, Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies and Al-Ahram Book Club.
Meanwhile, the 15th Tehran International Book Festival opened yesterday with 1,460 Iranian publishers participating. Among Egyptian publishing houses taking part this year are Dar Al- Shorouq, Dar Nahdat Misr, Dar Al-Afaq Al-Arabiya and Dar Al-Fadila.
Compiled by Youssef Rakha

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