Another Haifa Wehbe controversy, this time Bahrain

Thanks to a comment on an earlier post, I've been alerted to the latest Haifa controversy--in Bahrain, where MPs want her performance banned. An excerpt from the BBC report, dated April 30:

A raunchy Lebanese singer is causing controversy in Bahrain, where she is due to perform for the first time.

All but one of the members of the Gulf kingdom's Islamist-dominated parliament have approved a motion urging the government to ban Haifa Wehbe's show.

They objected on the grounds that the pop superstar's performance would be sexually provocative, violating Islamic conventions and Bahrain's traditions.

Organisers had earlier promised she would dress modestly during the show.

And just to remind hawgblawg readers what the MPs are objecting to:



More Haifa posts here, here, here, and here.

Hizbollah Supporter

Presumably, at the ongoing sit-in in downtown Beirut, at Le Grand Serail, against the Fuad Sinyorah government. (And I'm guessing: that this woman is a Maronite, an Aoun backer, who is showing solidarity with Hizbollah by wearing the Hizbollah flag. Or is she a cousin of Haifa?) Courtesy Remarkz.

Addendum: a Lebanese friend of mine adds the important note that this is not an unusual sight in Beirut, as many, many Beiruti young women have tattoos. In addition, the young woman pictured is probably not Haifa's cousin, as the orange belt indicates she is a supporter of Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement. (I'm learning, slowly, to read the semiotics of Lebanese clothing...)

Tags: Lebanon, tattoo

Haifa: Hizbullah Supporter

And I quote from The Angry Arab:

You know that sectarian polarization in Lebanon has reached a high point when Arab super star, Haifa Wahbi (a Shi`ite from the village Mahrunah in South Lebanon) declares her support for Hizbullah. She said on New TV that her heart beats for Hasan Nasrallah when she sees him. My mother tells me that her family in South Lebanon are all Hizbullah supporters. The sectarian system of Lebanon forces every Lebanese to identify with her/his sect. The system gives no secular alternatives, and secular parties have done a lousy job of making their case in recent years.