Eritreans are not arab!

That is what I thought. From what I know, they have a large number of their own indigenous ethnic groups and there is almost no where I saw where they identified as Arab. I was just confused by the question.

wtf does “50% of the population is muslim” have to do with who is an Arab anyway

I know, right? There are millions of Muslims in the world and a huge portion of them are not Arab? Like I was really confused by that.

And the whole “Having good relations with Arab countries.” That doesn’t mean they share a culture and ethnicity.

Many Iranians are Persian. But there are various other ethnic groups including, but not limited to, Azerbaijani, Kurds, Arabs, Balouchs, Turkmen and many others. 

These groups, like many Middle Eastern people, are labeled as “white.” But from what I know, you can be Iranian of any ethnic group AND of any race. For example, one person could be black, Arab-Iranian. But I cannot really speak on this as I am not Iranian and do not belong to any of the native ethnic groups. But there is a lot of confusion because people do not understand the difference between nationality, ethnicity and race nor care to look into the diversity present in Iran and the rest of the Middle East.

If any Iranian followers want to shed some more light, please do so. I only know so much from my research.

This depends on them. I cannot determine whether every person in the world is Arab or not.

From what I know, Eritrea has several different ethnic groups and most people don’t identify as Arab.

Being part of the Arab League and speaking Arabic does not automatically mean someone is ethnically Arab. There are millions of indigenous North Africans, South East Asians, etc. who have lived in the Middle East for years and speak Arabic, but do not identify as Arab because they do not identify with their culture.

And relations with Arab countries and being Muslim or not has nothing to do with ethnicity.

No one can really determine whether someone is Arab or not. They have to decide if they identify as Arab and are a part of Arab culture. So you really can’t just define other people what their ethnicity is (that is quite rude) unless you are actually from Eritrea. But from what I see that Eritrea has their own variety ethnicities and cultures.

All questions regarding the keffiyeh could be answered in our F.A.Qs.

I believe so. It is an iconic item from Middle Eastern clothing that is common in many cultures.

I mean, take that one scene from Doctor Who where Matt Smith wears a fez as a joke because “fezzes are cool.” I was really uncomfortable with that because Middle Eastern people were mocked and orientalized by wearing traditional articles like fezes. I do think it is appropriation and is largely used to exotify the Middle East in the media.

Hamsa is not exclusively part of Islamic or Arab culture. Rather many Christian and Jewish people also have their own versions of it i.e. hand of Mary or hand of Miriam just as Muslims call it the hand of Fatima. 

If you are part of those faiths and want to wear it, then I don’t see why not. Especially if it was given to you as a gift. Many American Jews use the hamsa within their faith, which I don’t think is a problem. But you also have to be aware of the symbols as well. There are different symbols that mean different things, so you might want to educate yourself on what they mean instead of just wearing it. Because then you will be just wearing it to exotify the culture/religion.

But otherwise, I do think it is cultural appropriation because it has such a strong attachment to Arab and Levantine culture.

Iranians are from Iran and can be of any ethnicity/race. There are Indo-Iranians, Afro-Iranians and Arab Iranians. It is a nationality, not an ethnicity or race.

Arab is an ethnic group that encompasses not just people who speak Arabic, but also refers to people who are a part of Arab culture. However, it is also a panethnicity, because of multiculturalism and differences among different Arab peoples.

Sorry for the big disappearance.

We have been very busy with school, life and other obligations. I am taking the LSATs in a few days, so I have been pretty preoccupied. 

I will try to answer some asks for now, but I won’t be back on consistent basis until next week.

Thanks guys!

-Iman

reallifedocumentarian:

texmexqwoc:

faineemae:

tajdeedofthesoul:

Kuffiyeh ‘Arabiyyeh (Arabic keffiyeh)

Mildly in love with Shadia Mansour.

Such a fierce and beautiful woman.

صباح الخير يا ولاد عمومنا

Good morning, cousins.

تفضّلو و شرّفونا
Come and honor us with your presence.

شو بتحبّو منضيّفكن؟ دم عربي ولا دموع من عيونا؟ 
What would you like us to offer you, Arab blood or tears from our eyes?

بَعتقد هيك تْأمّلو تستقبلوهن هيك تعقّدو لما أدركو غلطهن 
I believe that’s how they hoped we would greet them. Look how they grew confused when they realized their mistake.

هيك لْبسنا الكوفية البيضاء و السوداء 
That’s how we wear the kufiya, the black and white kufiya.

صارو يلعبو زمان يلبسوها كموضة
They began playing a long time ago by wearing it as a fashion accessory.

مهما يتفنّنو فيها مهما يغيّرو بلونها   
No matter how creative they become, no matter how they change its color,

كوفية عربية بِتظلّ عربية
an Arab kufiya will remain Arab.

حطتنا بِدهُن إياها ثقافتنا بدهن إياها
Our kufiya: they want it. Our culture: they want it.

كرامتنا بدهن إياها كل شيء اِلْنا بدهن إياه 
Our dignity: they want it.  Everything that’s ours: they want it.

لا ما راح نسكت لهن نسمح لهن
No, we won’t be quiet for them. We won’t permit them.

لا لا لبق لي
No, no. It suits me.

يسلمه الشغلة مش اِلْهم ما خسن فيه  
Thank you. The thing isn’t theirs. It’s got nothing to do with you.

قلّدونا بيلتبسو لبس وهالأض بيكفيهنش
They mimic us in how they dress. This land is not enough for them.

طمعانين على القدس قدس اعرفو كيف تقولو بشر
They’re greedy for Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Learn how to say “humanity!”

قبلما تلبسو الكوفية جينا نذكّركُن مين احنا 
Before you wear the kufiya, we have come to remind you who we are.

و عصبان عن أبون ها حطتنا 
And whether you like it or not, it’s our kufiya.

CHORUS 
هيك لبسنا الكوفية (لأن وطنية) الكوفية كوفية عربية 
This is how we wore the kufiya (because of patriotism), the kufiya, the Arab kufiya.

هيك لبسنا الكوفية هويتنا الأساسية الكوفية كوفية عربية
This is how we wore the kufiya (our fundamental identity), the kufiya, the Arab kufiya.

يلا علو الكوفية علولي هالكوفية الكوفية كوفية عربية
Come on, raise the kufiya (Raise this kufiya for me!), the kufiya, the Arab kufiya.

علوها يا بلاد الشام كوفية عربية بتظلّ عربية 
Raise it, bilaad ash-shaam [Greater Syria, i.e. Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Palestine]! The Arab kufiya will remain Arab.


ما في بعض مثل الشعب العربي 
There is no group like the Arab people.

فرجوني إي أمّة في الدنيا أكثر مؤثّرة
Show me any nation in the world that’s more affected!

الصورة واصحة احنا الحضارة
The picture is clear. We’re the civilization.

تاريخنا و تراثنا هي الشاهد على وجودنا
Our history and our heritage are the witness to our existence.

من هيك لْبسنا الثوب الفلسطيني
In this way, we wore the Palestinian thawb.

من حيفا جنين جبل النار إلى رام الله
From Haifa, Jenin, Jabal an-Nar to Ramallah

خلّيني اشوف الكوفية البيضاء والحمراء
Let me see the kufiya, the white and red one.

خلّيني نعليها لفوق بالسماء
Let me raise it up to the sky.

أنا شادية العربية لساني بيغوظ غاظ
I am Shadia the Arab. My tongue stabs like a knife.

زلزالي بهزّ هزّ كلماتي حرف
My earthquake trembles uncontrollably. My words are a letter.

سجّل انا شادية منصور والحطة هويتي
Record it! I am Shadia Mansour and the kufiya is my identity.

من يوم ما خلقت و سيدي والشعب مسؤوليتي
From the day I was created, Sir, and this people is my responsibility.

هيك انا تربّيت بين الشرق والغرب
That’s how I was brought up - between the West and East,

بين لغتين بين البخيل و بين الفقير
between two languages, between the [rich] miser and the poor man.

شُفت الحياة من الشكتين 
I saw life from both sides.

أنا مثل الكوفية
 I’m like the kufiya.

كيفما لبستوني وينما شلحتوني بظلّ على أصولي فلسطيني 
No matter how you wear me, and wherever you take me off, I will remain as my origin: Palestinian.

CHORUS x2 
هيك لبسنا الكوفية (لأن وطنية) الكوفية كوفية عربية 
This is how we wore the kufiya (because of patriotism), the kufiya, the Arab kufiya.

هيك لبسنا الكوفية هويتنا الأساسية الكوفية كوفية عربية
This is how we wore the kufiya (our fundamental identity), the kufiya, the Arab kufiya.

يلا علو الكوفية علولي هالكوفية الكوفية كوفية عربية
Come on, raise the kufiya (Raise this kufiya for me!), the kufiya, the Arab kufiya.

علوها يا بلاد الشام كوفية عربية بتظلّ عربية 
Raise it, bilaad ash-shaam [Greater Syria, i.e. Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Palestine]! The Arab kufiya will remain Arab.

 

(M-1 finishes the song with a verse in English)

 

Big shout-out to Daydream and VivaPalestina at AllTheLyrics.com for the English translation.

Full Arabic and English Lyrics after the jump…

http://revolutionaryarabraptheindex.blogspot.com/2011/11/shadia-mansour-and-m-1-arab-kufiya.html

This hasn’t been on my blog in a while… Now with English lyrics ;-)

zuky:

First-ever Arab art show in Vancouver showcases diversity of the Middle East

[ Pictured above: Exhibition curator Dr. Fereshteh Daftari poses for a photograph with Palestinian artist Taysir Batniji’s “Hannoun” ]

From Vancouver Sun:

The collection of 16 contemporary Arab artists features visual art works from countries such as Egypt, Iran, Lebanon and Turkey.

The pieces, which will hang in two galleries from April to September, centre around the theme of “safar” — a word meaning voyage in Farsi.

Voyages represented aren’t always physical, Baird added [i.e. local co-ordinating curator Jill Baird]. Many of the artists reference spiritual, philosophical or emotional journeys as well.

Others make pointed political statements, like Egyptian-born artist Raafat Ishak, whose “Responses to an immigration request from one hundred and ninety four governments” is the first piece visitors see when they enter the exhibit.

Ishak’s work stems from immigration applications he sent to the governments of 194 nations. He painted a panel displaying each of the countries’ flags and the stylized, phonetic summaries of the responses given by bureaucrats. 

Further along, one encounters striking self-portraits by Tarek Al-Ghoussein, a Palestinian artist born in Kuwait. In one, he dons a Palestinian headscarf — made popular by politician Yasser Arafat — and walks by a plane.

While some might take Al-Ghoussein for a simple baggage handler, too many would immediately peg him as a terrorist in North America’s post-9/11 world, Baird said. It shows just how deep Western misconceptions can run, she added.

Baird has enlisted the help of an Iranian-born curator with a specialty in Middle Eastern art to choose the pieces and theme for Safar, an exhibition that’s been three years in the making.

“It’s about longing for a place — a site that is not reachable, not crossable. That is something that many people who have left home can relate to,” she said. “I didn’t want to dwell on stereotypical expressions such as calligraphy or repressed women because these ideas have, in a sense, hijacked the art of the region.”

More at the Museum website.