"The Haifa Wehbe Defense"

The next part of my "On to Baghdad" series is coming later tonight. Meanwhile: Amid the worsening situation in Syria it may be worth offering a lighter topic. You may recall that last summer Egypt arrested and jailed two belly dancers for "inciting debauchery."

Well, now CairoScene reports, the two dancers, sentenced to six months, have had their sentences reduced from six months to three months, using for their appeal videos of Lebanese singer/actress/diva/superstar Haifa Wehbe. The appeal was successful.

This was apparently one of the Haifa Wehbe videos. Apparently the court was persuaded by "the Haifa Wehbe defense." Judge for yourself. I don't get the space imagery, either. But I must hand it to her, as Lebanese grandmothers go (and she now is), Haifa does it better than the tacky dancers who were jailed for nothing more than dubious taste.

Craziest Denial of the Week: Haifa Wehbe Did Not Marry Hassan Nasrallah

Or maybe of the year: "I didn't marry Hezbollah's leader, Lebanese sex-icon says."

Did Not Marry Hassan Nasrallah

"Lebanese super star Haifa Wehbe denied on Thursday reports spread earlier saying that she was married to Hezbollah’s secretary general Hassan Nasrallah during her adolescent years.

"Haifa criticized media outlets that carried the alleged rumor, saying: “Next time they will make me marry Obama,” as quoted by the official website of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation.

Did Not Marry Haifa Wehbe

"Several local news media outlets quoted Haifa telling the Voice of Russia radio station that she was married to Nasrallah when she was an adolescent."

I really can't make any snarky comments that could surpass the headline itself. So I won't.

In Other Lebanese Diva News, Haifa Wehbe Has Had a Busy Week

Having started the day with the news of the death of Sabah at age 87, it seems only appropriate to check in with the current generation of celebrity superstar Lebanese divas. Haifa Wehbe has been in the news at least three different ways in the past week or so.

• Egypt's State Radio announced that  her songs will no longer receive airtime on State Radio because she is "unlicensed," invoking a 1934 law requiring singers to undergo a voice test. Resurrecting  this old rule may be an attempt to provide cover for the banning the day before of the music of Hamza Namira, who is a critic of the regime. The ban applies only to State Radio, not Private stations.

• On the other hand Egypt's Administrative Court reversed a ban on the showing of her movie Halawat Ruh; Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb banned the film last spring without its having even been submitted to the Censorship Board. He argued that it was obscene.

• Haifa also came under fire for wearing a revealing dress on the competition show Arab Star Academy. Parts of the dress appeared see-through under the bright studio lights. In fact, her strategic areas were opaque and she has worn far more revealing outfits in her concerts and movies, but this program is broadcast across the Arab World and so the dress seemed shocking in countries more socially conservative than Lebanon. (American actresses and entertainers routinely appear on television in more revealing outfits, of course.)

But in true diva style, Haifa Wehbe managed to appear in headlines for three different reasons in under two weeks' time. A clip of the Arab Star Academy broadcast is below.

Hassan Nasrallah Health and/or Death Rumors

The last Hassan al-Nasrallah rumor I ran here  was Haifa Wehbe's denial that she'd once been married to the Hizbullah Secretary-General, or as one great headline put it, "‘I didn’t marry Hezbollah’s leader,’ Lebanese sex-icon says."

Extremely fundamentalist Shi‘ite cleric that he is, I'm sure Nasrallah would have take a "death before dishonor" approach to those rumors, given Haifa Wehbe's low-cut dresses and tendencies for certain parts of her to pop out while cameras are rolling. But the latest round of rumors suggest Nasrallah is in ill health. Hizbullah denies them all,  insisting he's OK and still in Lebanon,  but the rumors, most of which have shown up in the Israeli and/or Turkish press, say he (choose one or more) 1) was flown to Iran suffering from cancer, for treatment; 2) was flown to Iran for treatment of wounds received in an attack by Syrian rebels; 3) is dead of either of the above or something else.

The surest way to prove you're not dying or dead would seem to be a public appearance. Of course he never provided proof he wasn't married to Haifa Wehbe, but ... no. I don't think he needed to. But a public appearance seems essential right now.

As the Ramadan TV Series Season Approaches, Anticipation and Controversy

Ramadan starts Friday, and with it comes the much anticipated Ramadan TV season for this year. Historically the Muslim month of fasting is a time for families reading the Qur'an, one-thirtieth per night for a month, and holding family gatherings after iftar, the moment of breaking the fast after sunset. Fotr the past thirty years or so, it has also been a time for watching soap operas that run nightly for a month, or musical extravaganzas known as fawazir Ramadan or Ramadan puzzles, because they include riddles for the audience to solve.

Each year, the Ramadan offerings are a matter of anticipation. Egyptian and Lebanese production companies produce most of them, but Syrian soap operas hit it big a few years ago, and Turkish soap operas in translation are also popular.

Since many of the soap operas focus on sexual or other taboo themes to ensure ratings (though others have pious religious themes), and many of the musicals involve singing, dancing, and scanty clothing, many Islamists do not consider them appropriate Ramadan fare. Some social scientists have dubbed the fawazir and soap operas the "Christmas-ization" of Ramadan.

Well, it's almost time again, so we're seeing lots of talk about the new "season" of Ramadan TV. Here, for example, is a preview of Lebanon's TV offerings this Ramadan; while this report from Al-Arabiya speculates on whether the rise in the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt will deter that country's usual enthusiasm about Ramadan offerings.  Meanwhile, there's a Gulf effort on Twitter to promote a boycotting of the Ramadan shows,

And of course, it wouldn't be Ramadan without controversy over at least one show, and celebrity gossip about the stars.

In the first category, a series called ‘Umar al-Faruq, dealing with the second Muslim Caliph, and therefore involving portrayals of many of the most prominent companions of the Prophet, has aroused the ire of Islamists and religious conservatives who oppose the portrayal of any religious figures. The program, produced by Middle East Broadcasting and expected to be aired in most Arab countries and Turkey, has come under fire in Saudi Arabia, where Prince Abdel Aziz bin Fahd, son of the late King Fahd and with an interest in MBC, has warned:

"I swear to God that I disown and distance myself from MBC's work, especially Umar Al Farooq.I will do my best to stop this series.Qatar must accept God's will otherwise, we will go to court," he told Saudi newspapers.

God's will or the lawyers.

And then there is the celebrity news, since Lebanese singer and Superstar Celebrity Diva Haifa Wehbe announced she was pulling out of her anticipated series because there was insufficient time to complete production before Ramadan due to production delays. The plot sounds fairly typical:

A Cinderella-like tale, Haifa initially plays a poor woman who earns a living on the streets by dancing for passersby. Her character’s fortune changes, however, after an encounter with a wealthy man who falls deeply in love and seeks her hand in marriage.
At some stage during the show, Daher told The Daily Star, Haifa’s character is thrown in jail on false charges fabricated by members of her lover’s family.

Wehbe, not in Cinderella character

Haifa Wehbe (left), who tends to be known, in addition to her singing,  for her frequent display of her generous cleavage, certainly seems ideally suited to the role of a poor Cinderella type. But she ably provides the celebrity gossip quotient for this year's Ramadan series run-up.

Some Things Never Change: Lebanese Diva Rivalry

A little Monday morning superficial celebrity news: Lebanon may be suffering spillover violence from the Syrian civil war; Egypt and Tunisia may be undergoing multiple debates about women's role in society, but some things never change: we still have the Arab entertainment pages filled with catty rivalries between Lebanese celebrity divas.

From Al-Bawaba:

Lebanese double-talent singer-actress Cyrine Abdel Nour has come out and said that she is not threatened by Lebanese queen of pop Haifa Wehbe. Cyrine, who does not consider the sultry beauty her competition insists that she is concerned with being a good actress and a success in her trade, while Haifa focuses more on her looks and putting on a good show. . .

In a further comparison of herself with her 'non-arch-rival', Cyrine firmly denies rumors of being on the plastic surgery bandwagon, adding that she is not against cosmetic improvements or touch-ups if a person feels that enhancement would make them a happier person. No doubt, the diplomatic celebrity would describe Haifa as a happy woman. Miaowww!

Cyrine Abdel Nour

Haifa Wehbe

While both ladies sing and act, and both are big in the Arabic equivalent of the tabloids, no one seems to confuse them with earlier generation singers like Umm Kulthum or Fairuz. Cyrine's catty remarks that Haifa "focuses on her looks" and her remark about plastic surgery (and I don't think she meant a nose job) is indeed a bit snarky given the fact that, as these two publicity photos suggest, neither diva is exactly shy about displaying her considerable, um, forward-deployed assets. While both may be welcome exceptions in an era of hijab and niqab, as these photos show, the "double talent[s]" the article refers to may not mean singing and acting.

This is your cheesecake, double-entendre and gossip quota for the week.

Aswany on Belly-Dancing in Egypt Today for NYT

Alaa Al Aswany, the novelist (The Yacoubian Building) and critic, has a piece at The New York Times on attitudes towards belly dancing in Egypt today. Much of what he says is familiar ground: despite socil disapproval it is highly popular. He cites the famous Tahia Carioca (see my posts here and here for videos)

He notes:

In just one recent month, a video by the Egyptian-Armenian dancer Safinaz was viewed by Egyptians more than four million times. The Lebanese star Haifa Wehbe’s dance video got more than 10 million hits. Oriental dance evidently provides light relief from the general state of tension, but there is more to it.

Oriental dance has always been controversial in Egyptian culture. Egyptians love belly dancing, as it is commonly known in the West. Tahia Carioca, a legendary belly dancer, declared to the newspaper Al Hayat in 1994, “Go to any wedding party and once the music starts up, you’ll see all the girls in the family suddenly get to their feet and dance like crazy.”

The NYT may provide "All the News That's Fit to Print," but it didn't post the videos. Where the NYT fails, I step in. I believe the Haifa Wehbe video is this one (the movie from which it comes, Halawet Rouh, is banned in Egypt at the moment (the censors cleared it vut the PM stepped in), doubtless fueling the popularity of the video:



I'm less confident about which Safinaz video he's referring to, as there are many this year to choose from, but I rather suspect it may be this one, which is, shall we say, one where her, um, bouncy parts, are very bouncy:

Egypt's Latest "Inciting Debauchery" Case is About Words, Not Videos

Amid widespread reports of low turnouts in the first two days of the current Parliamentary elections, pro-government columnist Dendarawy al-Hawary, writing in Youm 7, lamented:

It is the bitter truth that Egyptian society, across all its sectors, was more concerned with discussing pornographic films... and everyone forgot the most important parliamentary election in Egypt,

That is almost certainly an exaggeration, and there may be far deeper reasons for the lack of turnout,  but it's true that the latest instance of someone being hauled into court on charges of "incitement to debauchery" (التحريض على الفسق) is not, as previously, a case of belly-dancers being charged for YouTube videos, but a talk-show host being charged with expressing an opinion. That opinion was to express concern about the poor (nonexistent) state of sex education in Egypt, and perhaps less wisely, to suggest that watching pornography might be a good way to educate oneself before marriage. Now she must appear in court.

Now, I've posted studies of the lack of sex education in Egypt, even among medical students,and there's little room to debate that there is little opportunity to learn factual, as opposed to fantasy, information about sex. I rather doubt that most pornography offers a realistic depiction of real human sexuality, but I don't think you should face jail for expressing an opinion contrary to mine.

An Egyptian TV personality and actress who goes by the single name Intisar and two fellow talk show colleagues started the fuss. Ahram Online's English language account:

Egypt's prosecutor ordered Tuesday the investigation of TV host and actress Entsar after complaints were submitted accusing her of lewdness, debauchery, and blasphemy in the way she discussed porn on her show, which aired on Al-Qahira Wa El-Nas channel.

The prosecutor also ordered investigations into Entsar's co-host, actress Heidi Karam, along with businessman and owner of Al-Qahira Wa El-Nas channel, Tarek Nour.

In the three police reports filed, complaints said Entsar, who is known for her daring TV roles as an actress, "called on her audience to watch pornography as it is very beneficial to educate youth before marriage."

During the nightly show, Nafsana (roughly meaning rancour) that focuses on women and social issues that aired last week, Entsar said that she herself watches pornography, a statement that many criticised and ridiculed on social media.

Entsar also said that sex education should be introduced in schools.

A third host in the show, Hoda, opposed the opinions of Entsar and Karam, saying that porn should be banned.

While there was no rush to support pornography, many commentators did support the idea of sex education in schools.  Social media also jumped into the controversy (link partly in Arabic.) As one blogger put it, as part of a post titled "Audacious? Yes, But High  Time":

The program “Nafsana” i.e. “Venting,” though an exact synonym may not exist in English, has three women stormily contradicting one another’s views on air. It has Intisar, Heidi, and ٍShaima bouncing ideas off one another about various Egyptians attitudes and issues. Intisar, the most outspoken, has ventured where no Egyptian woman, or man for that matter, has in the history of Egyptian television. She approves of porn as a way to calm young men, makes fun of the hijab and the many layers women choose to add on their heads, and allows herself to speak as she would privately amongst friends in the cosiness of her own living room, hardly ever an option on public TV.

This program may have gone too far since the reviews on social media are mostly condemning. We will have to wait and see how much heat can Tarek Nour, the owner of the TV channel, Al Kahera Wal Nas, take. It does sound as though Nour gave the presenters of Nafsana free reign to tackle any topic and its presenters have taken the bull by the horn on this one.

A clip in Arabic will be found at the end of this post.

Not only were complaints filed; Intisar will face the court on November 10, unusually quickly for Egypt's sometimes sluggish court system.  The Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) issued a statement that said:

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) has condemned the frequent complaints filed against artists for allegedly inciting debauchery, as well as the rapid referral of these complaints to courts.

Nasr City Misdemeanor Court has fixed November 10 for considering the first trial of Intisar, an actress, over an accusation of inciting debauchery, in a rapid response to the complaint filed against her on October 8, on account of her statements on Kahera we Nas (Cairo & People) satellite channel in connection with watching pornographic movies.

In that way, the name of singer “Haifa Wehbe” appeared again in the prosecution of artists. Al-Agouza prosecution, yesterday Monday, ordered the urgent probe of Decencies Investigation Department regarding Haifa Wehbe, owing to accusing her of inciting debauchery through the videos she is posting on the social networking websites and the TV channels,; according to the complaint filed against her last May. Also, a complaint was filed against two belly-dancers “Pardice” and “Shakira”, and accordingly, they were sentenced, last September, to 6 months in prisons, after convicting both of them of the same charge.

The Arabic Network has expressed its surprise over the rapid referral of the complaint brought against the actress “Intisar” to the court, while the referral of several cases and complaints to the competent courts are delayed, particularly the cases related to prisoners of opinion.

“The continual attack on actors and actresses for allegedly breaking with customs and traditions, and spreading immorality etc entrenches an anti-creativity freedom climate, and return us to the Inquisition era,” ANHRI said. “We should not separate this incident from that incident of upholding the verdict against Islam Al-Behairi, a researcher, due to his views contrary to the state’s official view of Islam. All these cases of crackdown waste the citizens’ right to freedom of expression and opinion- the right that is mainly established to protect the differing views prevailing in the society from predominance of the majority,” ANHRI added.

ANHRI calls on Egypt’s public prosecution not to give attention to those complaints, whose complainants are only seeking fame and media appearance; it rather urges the prosecution to do its main role in defending the citizens’ interests over cases need much attention than those.

Also, ANHRI calls upon the Egyptian authorities to review Article 269 bis of Egyptian Penal Code, since this vague article is used in most charges concerning inciting debauchery and spreading immorality.

ANHRI's English is a bit awkward; if you prefer, you can find the statement in Arabic here.

And finally, for those who can follow colloquial Egyptian dialect spoken very rapidly, judge for yourselves from the clip below:

Sorry to Be Late on the Really Important News

You know, I'm just one blogger. When Egypt is plunging again into political violence, when Bashar al-Asad is mixing his Sarin precursor chemicals, as Damascus is burning, when Israel is opening up settlement in the E-1 corridor and so much else is happening, it's little wonder I miss some of the major stories. I know I was late on such really important stories as Kim Kardashian's Excellent Bahrain Adventure, but I feel particularly remiss that I dealt with an American tabloid star famous for, well, being famous, and have failed to comment for a month about the major news of the Arab world's reigning tabloid queen; Lebanese singing diva Haifa Wehbe. A month ago she announced that she and her most recent husband, an Egyptian, had divorced. We've mentioned Haifa here before, and of course regret the end of any marriage. Nor do we believe the story that her husband has political ambitions and found her the wrong sort of wife for the Muslim Brotherhood era. I mean, Haifa reportedly recently became a grandmother for the first time. How could even the Muslim Brotherhood object to a Lebanese grandmother?

OK, it's true she's not everybody's Lebanese grandmother.

Nor will we give any credence to gossip about semi-nude videos or curious behavior with the King of Bahrain,  since scurrilous rumors should not be spread about Lebanese grannies.

Tomorrow.we will return to the world of revolutions, oppression, Sarin gas warheads and the imminent expiration of the Mayan Calendar.

A Bad Year for Belly Dancers as Egypt Charges Two More for "Inciting Debauchery"

 It's proving to be a difficult year for belly-dancers in Egypt,  two years after the Muslim Brotherhood lost power.. Late this week two more were charged with "incitement to debauchery" (التحريض على الفسق) (link is in Arabic; for English accounts see here), based on videos they had posted. Just a short time ago (though I didn't mention it here) another dancer and her manager were charged with the same crime, and earlier, the dancer Safinaz (also known as Safinar) was sentenced to six months in prison for "insulting the Egyptian flag"; that sentence was recently upheld by a court.

Safinaz' Flag Outfit

I had posted about the Safinaz case in March; be sure to read the two comments by commenter "anonymous," on the political context.) Insulting the flag is a crime in Egypt, and I guess incitement to debauchery must be, too, though I don't know what the legal definition may be. (American courts would call it "unconstitutionally vague," but in Egypt vagueness may be the intention.)

Earlier this month, dancer Reda El-Fouly was charged with incitement to debauchery, along with her partner Wael Elsedeki (who some reports say has fled the country), posted a YouTube video  that soon went viral; she's facing a year in prison. The video, Sib Eddi (Hands Off) is suggestive but pretty mild by Western music video standards; yes, she shakes her assets in a low-cut dress and teases the viewer, including closeups of bouncing cleavage, but nothing that couldn't play even on puritanical US broadcast TV:

بالصور.. القبض على الراقصتين شاكيرا وبرديس بتهمة التحريض على الفسق http://www.youm7.com/story/2015/7/22/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A8%D8%B6-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%B5%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%88%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%B3-%D8%A8%D8%AA%D9%87%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B6-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-/2273672#.VbKpPPmRbnf

بالصور.. القبض على الراقصتين شاكيرا وبرديس بتهمة التحريض على الفسق http://www.youm7.com/story/2015/7/22/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A8%D8%B6-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%B5%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%88%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%B3-%D8%A8%D8%AA%D9%87%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B6-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-/2273672#.VbKpPPmRbnf

OK, it's suggestive (and the still is focused right down her cleavage), and the cleavage closeups  are meant to titillate (pun intended), but there's no nudity. It's a tease. Mild by Western standards, but is this really a belly dance, or a shake-your boobs-at-the camera-dance? The true Eastern Dance or raqs sharqi is about controlled movement of the whole body, by all means including but not limited to the breasts.The video is not a crime punishable by law in my view (though Egyptian prosecutors disagree) but it may be a crime against a longstanding tradition of genuine artistry and control.

Now, before I discuss the two latest arrests, let me pause to note that to call this "belly dancing" in the land of Badia Masabni and Tahia Carioca suggests the debasement of the art in modern times. I've touched on the classical age of belly dancing before, and posted videos showing the classic works by great artists of the 1940s and 1950s such as Tahia Carioca and Samia Gamal (or even better, Tahia Carioca and Samia Gamal together) not to mention the masters of the 1960s through the 1980s such as Nagwa Fuad and Fifi Abdou, dancers who really put the belly in belly dancing with amazing muscular control, rather than dancing around bouncing halfway out of a low-cut dress. Reda El-Fouly is weak tea indeed, by those standards. Incitement of debauchery? Nah, not really. (If this is illegal, why is superdiva Haifa Wehbe, who regularly shakes her generous assets, not doing hard time?) El-Fouly is relying on a single (well, obviously double) asset rather than the coordinated skill of her whole body. Compare this video to the Fifi Abdou clips above. There may be a belly dancing Gresham's Law at work here. I don't think either the classics or El-Fouly clips "incite debauchery," but the former are erotic and the latter just suggestive unless you're a horny 17-year-old male, in which case you consider everything, including moss on a north-facing rock, somehow sexy and masturbate to it.

End of rant. The two arrests this week were of two dancers who go by the names of Bardis and "the Egyptian Shakira" (obviously to distinguish her from the international singing star). They were arrested at a club, or two separate clubs depending on the report, in the Giza neighborhood of Mohandeseen, but again for videos posted online. Here's a news clip of them being loaded into a paddy-wagon

They were initially ordered held for four days, but may be sentenced to much longer. It isn't clear what videos produced the objections in these two cases. Some of their dance videos can be found on YouTube, though I don't know if they're the offending ones. You can search for them if you like, but if you;re in it for the art search for Samia Gamal or the others mentioned earlier instead or check out the links above. I may not consider their dancing up to snuff, but I don't really think jailing young women for dancing what was once a respected (if now declining and somewhat debased) art form is really Egypt's biggest problem right now.