Occuper Tahrir en chantant

Music from the Egyptian revolution. Eskenderella, Ramy Essam, rapper Mohammed el-Deeb. Shaikh Imam and Sayyid Darwish. Ahmad Fouad Negm. Great stuff, courtesy France 24. French subtitles.

Interview with the poet Ahmad Fouad Negm

This is quite wonderful. Negm talks about his poems, his career with Sheikh Imam, and about the January 25 revolution in Egypt. We see a number of contemporary Egyptian artists (including Eskenderella) interpret his and Sheikh Imam's songs. Subtitled in French. From the France 24 web documentary, "Tahrir, je chante ton nom" (http://tahrirmusique.france24.com).

The People Rose in Cairo (kufiya content)

On The Daily Show last night, Jon Stewart gave a recap of the Egyptian Revolution/Counter-revolution to date, interviewed the host of the popular comedy Egyptian TV show Al-Bernameg, Bassem Youssef, and -- promoted (correctly) a vision of the Egyptian revolutionary as garbed in a kufiya. View it here.

SCAF, Council of Bastards

Given the current state of affairs in Egypt, with the Supreme Council announcing its revisions of the constitution, which grant it much more power, and as the Egyptian public awaits the announcement of the victor in the presidential elections...this song, chanted by the Ahlawi Ultras (fanatical fans of the Ahli football/soccer club) at the Parliament sit-in in April 2012, seems only appropriate. This is no "Kumbaya." It's very useful for English speakers, because it comes with subtitles. (I'm looking for the Arabic.)

Oh SCAF you bastards. How much money is a martyr's blood?

PS: for a great analysis of the current disarray of Egypt's political system, please check out this article by Nathan Brown.

The Songs of Tahrir Square: Music at the Heart of the Revolution

Torie Rose Deghett (check out her blog here) reviews a multimedia documentary from France24 on Egypt's revolutionary music. (I found the doc itself a bit hard to navigate, but well worth a look.)

Egyptians mark revolution, Jan. 25: yes, kufiyas

Demonstrators atop post at Tahrir Square, marking 1st anniversary of the launch of 

the Egyptian revolution, January 25, 2012 (Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images).

Yes, I know this is a bit late. I'm not paid to do this. Sometimes I fail to keep it up to date. This is for the record. (Photo is from an article in the LA Times, Jan. 26.)

Clashes Continue in Cairo (and Kufiyas Help Mitigate the Tear Gas)

The New York Times reports on Sunday's clashes. More walls go up near Interior Ministry. And kufiyas are still in evidence.

Moises Saman, New York Times

Protester (kufiya'd) faces near Interior Ministry, Cairo, Feb. 3, 2012

Source: Egypt Independent.

Tahrir Traditions

On the 1st anniversary of January 25, the day that the uprising against Mubarak was launched, I posted a piece on Sayyid Darwish and the Egyptian revolution(s), at the Merip blog. See it here.

Elliott Colla on "The Poetry of Revolt" in the New Egypt

This was broadcast back on February 15, 2011, just 4 days after the toppling of Mubarak. Although so much has happened since then, this is still a very valuable document, since it is based on a deep historical knowledge of the literature and social movements that fed into the Egyptian revolt. Please listen.

Tahrir/Cabinet Kufiyas

Here are some Egypt kufiyas, that date from the events around Tahrir and the Cabinet offices, around the weekend of December 16-18, when Egyptian military and security forces killed 17 protesters and wounded over 500. I have lost track of where I originally found all these photos, but I've given the photographers, or at least the agency, where available.

Ahmed Ali/AP

I believe this kid was one of the youngsters arrested. If I can find more info about him I will post it later. I worry about what happened to him.

Associated Press

This is one of the better-known photos of the events around the Cabinet sit-in, a photo of one of the several women who were badly brutalized by the military police, who appear to love to wield their long batons in a sadistic manner.

Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

I love this photo. One of the protesters, with his improvised head protector, takes a moment to read the Qur'an.

Dia/Associated Press

One of the many wounded revolutionaries, helped by a kufiya-clad comrade.

Ali al-Malky

These are protesters saving documents from the library of  L'institut d'Egypte, which burned to the ground. The source is al-Masry al-Youm, where you can read about this calamitous event.

Rana Khazbak

This is a photo Sheikh Emad Eddin Effat, secretary general of Dar al-Iftaa, the body that issues Islamic fatwas (edicts), and one of the most famous martyrs of the protests, killed by a bullet to the chest on December 16. According to al-Masry al-Youm, Effat was considered one of Al-Azhar's moderate and progressive sheikhs. Effat's final fatwa forbade voting for parliamentary candidates affiliated with the Mubarak regime and former members of the dissolved National Democratic Party, who are known colloquially as the feloul. Effat based his ruling on the fact that regime remnants aspire to subvert Egypt’s post-revolutionary future through bribery and patronage.

Egypt Revolution 2.0 Music

Madu and Wa'il 'Amr (of Taxi Band) sing ("'Aalu magnoun", "They all said he's crazy") for the latest round of Egypt's revolution. I love that these guys are smiling so sweetly, at a time (last week) when a full-scale war was raging, around Tahrir. I love the kufiya (predictable). And I love the lyrics to the song. One great line among many: "'aalou magnoun illi yahlim, masr tib'a ahsan, min ghayr ma yiruh 'a tahrir" (they all said, he's crazy who dreams that Egypt can be better without going to Tahrir).



The song is a take-off on this ad, featuring major stars, for the Egyptian mobile phone company Itisalat. It starts off with the actress Yosra (who I adore, but who turned out to be one of Egypt's stars who sided with the Mubarak regime.) Mohamed Mounir, who has supported the revolution consistently, is shown bumping fists with Yosra at the end.



Here's a spoof they did of the ad before the revolution.



And another version, done during the revolution. "Everyone thought we were crazy, but here we are, millions in Tahrir."



Thanks to Nermeen for all this info.

I think Robin is correct, that the Itisalat ad is borrowed from this song by Fred Astaire, called, "They All Laughed." "They all laughed when Christopher Columbus said the world was round." Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald: many have covered it. Wonderful to see it get to Egypt Revolution 2.0.

and yes, even yet more Tahrir kufiyas

I got behind in my posting, due to Thanksgiving, and the misery of watching the University of Arkansas football team get "manhandled" by LSU. I'm now going to try to catch up.

Bernat Armangue/Associated Press

This is from the New York Times, Saturday, November 26. It shows a protester, injured in clashes with security forces, being carried away for medical care.

This photo, by Ali Garboussi, is from Al-Akhbar English. I love the way this gentleman has used the kufiya, and other scarves, to create a turban. This is from Tahrir, Friday, November 25.

This photo is also by Ali Garboussi, from Al-Akhbar English. Praying at Tahrir, Friday, November 25.

This photo, and the one below, are from an amazing photo album showing various ways that the fighters on Mohamed Mahmoud Street were protecting themselves. The photographer(s) is/are not credited.

From Maggie Osama's Photo Blog of Day 6 of the battle for Mohamed Mahmoud.

Mohammed Abu Zaid/Associated Press

This is a vendor on Tahrir, Thursday, November 24, selling gas masks to protesters. From the Brazilian newspaper, Folha.

Goran Tomasevic, Reuters

And from a photo album courtesy The Atlantic, showing a member of the security forces firing a shotgun at protesters, on either November 22 or 23. What's he doing in a kufiya?

AFP/Getty Images

Protester using kufiya to protect himself from teargas fumes. Tuesday, November 22.
From BBC Mundo.

Bahraini human rights activist Maryam Alkhawaja was on Tahrir Square in solidarity with the Egyptian democracy struggle on Saturday, November 26, and she tweeted this photo.

more kufiyas on Tahrir

I found this amazing photo via twitter on Thursday. It was posted by Rehab El-Bakry (@Rehab_Elbakry). She writes: "Don't know who this guy is but he was at front lines. Who says heroes need a cap?"

The original source appears to be Albaraa -- but I can't figure out, at this moment, what that is.

and more kufiya's on Tahrir

It turns out the three American exchange students at AUC who were arrested at Tahrir on Tuesday were wearing kufiyas, and gas masks, when apprehended. They were accused of throwing molotovs at the security forces. Here's the report on them from Egyptian State Television. And a report from CBS.



And here's another good shot from yesterday, by Mohamed Hossam Eddin, via Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Tahrir Kufiyas, November 21

Latest count that I've seen, 33 dead Egyptian civilians at Tahrir Square since the start of the fighting, on Saturday November 19. The revolutionaries refuse to retreat. Kufiyas are there too.

This photo is from Sarah Carr, posted today on Facebook. Here's her blog. 

Photo by JP Moore (Reuters), found here.

Photo by Tara Todras-Whitehill (AP), grabbed from here. This is from the 20th of November. The scene was much the same today, lots of people had to rest from the seemingly inexhaustible supply of tear gas that Egypt's security forces possess and are using very freely.

Cairo, Tahrir, Nov. 20

IMG_9120.jpg, a photo by Mosa'aberising on Flickr.

This guy has made his appearance at Occupy Wall Street too! Here. And here.

More Tahrir Kufiyas

Today was the second day of fighting between the pro-democracy forces and the Egyptian security forces, supporting the hated SCAF. Here is a great summary of what has been happening, from Jack Shenker of The Guardian.

And here are a couple photos, courtesy a photo gallery published today in The Guardian.

Khaled Elfiqi/EPA

Here, demonstrators are fleeing from the attack of the security forces. They retreated, but later, they were back, occupying the scare. Notice all the kufiyas.

AhmedAli/AP

Here are the security forces, the CSF, on the attack. Notice the guy on the right side of the photo, who has accessorized his uniform with a kufiya. Did he grab it off of a protester, I wonder?

Long live the extraordinarily brave people of Egypt. Down with the SCAF.

Kufiyas: from Tahrir to the NY Times Style Mag to Occupy to Sheets Energy Strips w/ Stoudemire

Two friends kufiyaspotted for me today, and I found some of my own. Here's the round-up.

1. Amidst all the turmoil today on Tahrir Square, as the security forces attacked a few hundred camper-occupiers of the square, and in response, tens of thousands poured into the square to rescue it, to protest against the junta and its efforts to hijack the revolution and prevent the forward movement of democracy, and as battles erupted between the democracy forces and the thugs of the regime...

An enterprising salesman showed up in the evening to market his wares. It's autumn in Cairo, scarves are needed in the evenings, and especially, kufiyas, one of the insignias of the revolt, ever since January 25. (Here's the source.)

And there were plenty of photos from today of demonstrators in their kufiyas. Such as this one, courtesy The Guardian.

Khalil Hamra/AP

2. Then there is this, on p. 17, of the Sunday New York Times', The Winter 2011 Travel Issue of the Times Style Magazine. (A thousand thanks to Carolina for this.)

Interesting, no? Three designers (from Israel, Palestine, and the USSR), called threeAsfour, offering up designs from each of their respective traditions. Gabi Asfour (left, Palestinian) wears the Israeli design (based on the tiles of the floor of the Tel Aviv mayor's house), Adi Gil (center, Israeli) wears the Palestinian kufiya design, and Ange Donhauser (right, Russian, I guess) wears the Russian design. Although if you look closely you'll notice some kufiya patterns in the Israeli and that the Russian is wearing kufiya leggings. The line is called inSALLAm inSHALOm (pun on salaam and shalom and inshallah), and all the stuff is very, very, very expensive. (You can get a better view if you go to the link.)

Here is the website for threeAsfour, well worth checking out, and here is the very interesting video of their runway show, presenting the inSALLAm inSHALOm line at New York Fashion Week, September 2011. (They thank Sean Lennon at the end, so I suppose he had something to do with the soundtrack.)

threeASFOUR SS 2012 INSALAAM INSHALOM from threeASFOUR on Vimeo.

Check out the screencaps from the video:

This use of the kufiya in fashion has to be about the most interesting one that I've seen. It's telling that a Palestinian designer was involved. (And this, after I'd thought that the kufiya as high fashion phase had been over for at least a couple years. Is this the Tahrir effect?)

Notice that this uses the hand of Fatima, the khamsa (a symbol significant both for Muslims and Jews), and note the body suit and its kufiya pattern.

Note the blue evil eye symbols used cleverly here. And that under the sheer white dress the model is wearing, I guess, kufiya-patterned tights.

Kufiya patterned tights and hands of Fatima.

Red kufiya patterned dress over a kufiya patterned body suit on left. On right, more discrete black-and-white kufiya motif.

Here's a view from the back of that kufiya-patterned body suit.

Finally, the threeAsfour designers, after the show.

Finally, here's a piece from New York magazine on the emergence of threeAsfour from As Four (they lost the Tajik fourth awhile back). You learn that Angie once got into a fistfight with Cat Power (Chan Marshall). Nothing revealing about Gabi Asfour's Palestinian background, of course.

3. I've posted before about #Occupy kufiyas. Here's one from a demo I was at on November 17, to mark the 2 month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, and in DC, to focus on the lack of funding for infrastructure, by marching from McPherson Square (site of Occupy DC) to Key Bridge, which links Georgetown to Roslyn, VA, and which needs fixing up. There were several kufiya wearers out that day (including me). This is my best photo of one.

4. Finally, Andie sent me this one. It's a new add for Sheets Energy Strips. On the left is NY Nicks B-ball star Amar'e Stoudemire, on the right (in yellow kufiya), Celia, a graphic designer. I haven't found the actual ad, just this. If someone can help me source this better, please let me know.

Kufiya virus spreads....

Kufiya affectation, courtesy shirt woot vs. New York magazine's OWS kufiya

Shirt.woot launches a new original t-shirt design every midnight(central). This shirt design came in third in the Hipster Animals derby.

Along with a posted commentary (October 10), which included these lines:

"Personally, I’m sick of all these button-down mainstreamers giving me static about my scarf. “It’s September,” they say. “It’s basically still summer,” they say. “You can’t possibly be cold,” they say...“What’s wrong in your brain that makes a cheesy, affected fashion accessory seem more important to you than your physical comfort?”

Affected? Pshuh! “Dude,” I always want to say (before deciding to just sneer at them with silent disdain instead), “35% of the surface area of my body is neck. A scarf is essential for maintaining my core body temperature, OK?”

That’s right. Scarf life, y’all. Recognize.

On days when I wear a keffiyeh, though, that’s totally affectation, I’ll give you that."

More tongue-in-cheek hipster bashing. But then there's this. Is this "affected," shirt woot?!

Even New York magazine's cover story (October 24), which the image above thematizes, is much more positive than shirt woot, which tries to be cool. Although it does so in a kind of abashed, rather apologetic, but hopefully post-irony tone: "The Kids Are Actually Sort of Alright." Dude, seriously, let this sixties-era geezer tell you: these kids are way better than alright. Viva #ows.

I really, really, like that the person on the cover wears two, mixed-together scarves: an American flag scarf (we are reclaiming our country!) and a kufiya (we are inspired by the Arab spring and maybe, just a bit, by Palestine).