This Week's Cultural Agenda in Amman

Theatre Performance: As someone crying...Death creates form
At Jafra Café and Restaurant, Downtown Amman (opposite the post office)
Date: Sunday June 22nd
Time: 8:30pm
Tel: 0795625496


Jordanian Art, Freshly Squeezed
An interesting exhibition of eight young Jordanian artists at Foresight Art Gallery, until June 28th; works include digital illustration, photography, computer art, installation, and painting.

eXPAND – An Exhibition by Faridon Abida

Faridon's work is really interesting. You can read Naseem's post about the exhibition, and check it out at Zara Expo. It runs until June 26th.



Fragments of Residency – a Photography Exhibition by Hiba Judeh

I personally love Hiba's work; you can check out some of it on her flickr. The exhibition opens on Monday June 23rd at 6:30 pm at the French Cultural Center, under the patronage of artist Mohanna Durra. A short film by Hiba will be screened on the opening day, and the exhibition runs until July 10th.


Book Launch: Palestinian Women Artists: the Land = the Body = the Narrative
At Darat Al-Funoun, on Tuesday June 24th, from 7:30 pm till 9:00 pm
Tel. 06 4643251

Music: Fete de La Musique
On Thursday June 26th, an open air show at the beautiful park by the National Gallery for Fine Art in Luweibdeh brings together Palestinian hip-hop and rap group Ramallah Underground, along with Orange Blossom, Tarweej, and Sotusura. It's at 7:30 pm.



Shu Hal Ayyam at Souq Jara
This coming Friday, June 27th, Jara theatre will host Shu Hal Ayyam live in concert. The show usually starts at 8:30 pm, but you should be there around 8:00. Tickets are for one JD and are available at the door.

Luweibdeh has its own Friday bazaar now, Al-Ba3ooniyeh Bazaar at the Paris Square from 10am till 10pm, every Friday until October. Check it out, and then walk down the street and grab a yummy man'oosheh at Ras Beirut.

Souq Al-Ard, Farmer's market every Saturday at Beit Al-Bawadi in Abdoun from 10:00 am till 2:00 pm (Tel: 593 0070)

If you feel like getting out of Amman and enjoying a summer evening in lovely weather, check out Al-Oyoun Festival in Ajloun this coming Saturday, June 28th, from 4:00 pm till 7:30 pm. Enjoy local food, music, and tradition at the hilltop sight of Tel Mar Elias in the mountains of Ajloun.

Checking In...

I got to the office early and was making myself a cup of green tea when I picked up Refugees Magazine, published by UNHCR, and started reading an article about the grim world of stateless people – people who, for different reasons, have no citizenship of any country.

It got me thinking about countries and nation states and birth certificates and nomads and humanity… for a few minutes, before I stopped myself because I had a stack of other important things to start working on.

My lack of blogging these past two weeks has not been because of laziness or self-censorship or writer’s block or any of the reasons that may have kept me away from my blog in the past few months. It’s simply because I’ve been overwhelmingly busy.

I wish this post can be about one of the myriad issues that have been occupying my mind; the media spokesperson at a government department who told me they don’t want to give specific information to the press and my ignorance of the access to information law which might have enabled me to file some complaint against him; the old man next door who washes the pavement using a hose every week when the water arrives, driving me insane at the sight of precious water trickling down the street; why there is no public transportation to get you to the Dead Sea; the new civil society law that’s being re-drafted after a disastrous draft from the previous government; the BBC debate on interactive media and user-generated content, and the total disconnect of journalist students in Jordan when it comes to New Media; youth in the Arab region spending their prime years in "waithood"; the young man who told me he’d burn his sister alive and turn her into coal for his arguileh if he found out she lost her virginity…


Perhaps this post can serve as a to-blog list that I might or might not come back to when I’m less swamped.

I’d also love to post a list of all the concerts and cultural events taking place over the coming week in Amman, but for now I’ll just remind that Sign of Thyme are playing live at the Jara theatre tomorrow at 8:30pm. You should be there at 8:00 am though, because the space usually fills up quickly, and this time it will be seated. Don’t miss it! They’ll be playing some of the songs from their second album “Zad” as well as others – with Yacoub Abu Ghosh on bass guitar, Ahmad Barakat on oud, Nabih Boulos on violin, Nasser Salameh on percussions, and Yazan Roussan on percussions as well.

Hasta Luego

Arabs on the List of Top 100 Public Intellectuals

The American magazine Foreign Policy and the British magazine Prospect had a poll to compile a list of the world’s top 100 public intellectuals – “They are some of the world’s most introspective philosophers and rabble-rousing clerics. A few write searing works of fiction and uncover the mysteries of the human mind. Others are at the forefront of modern finance, politics, and human rights.”



I skimmed the list looking for the Arab names. They were – not surprisingly – only four – if you consider Ayaan Hirsi Ali to be Arab because she’s from Somalia, although when you read her book you kind of wonder why Somalia ever joined the Arab league. But I digress. There’s also Tareq Ramadan, the grandson of Hassan Al-Banna, but I think he classifies as a European Muslim, not an Arab.


So you have Amr Khaled, Sari Nusseibeh, and Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.


Don’t you think it’s interesting that, with the exception of Sari Nusseibeh, they all have to do with religion? A couple of months ago I was invited to a session where some NGO was trying to map out youth work in Jordan, especially youth groups that are youth-led and not necessarily under some organization’s umbrella. There was a significant number of groups that had some focus or other on religion. Out of those, three were inspired by Amr Khaled or part of his network of youth action.


Anyways, here’s what was written on the FP list:

Amr Khaled, Egypt

Muslim televangelist

An entrepreneurial preacher and broadcaster, Khaled is an accountant by training but a born evangelical leader. The moderate Khaled, who preaches a message of tolerance and personal redemption through Islam, is wildly popular among younger Muslims in the Arab world.

Sari Nusseibeh, Palestine

Diplomat, philosopher

Nusseibeh is professor of philosophy and president of Al-Quds University in Jerusalem. A leading Palestinian moderate, Nusseibeh worked with former Israeli Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon in 2002 and 2003 to develop “The People’s Voice” peace initiative.

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Egypt/Qatar

Cleric

Perhaps the most influential preacher in Sunni Islam, Qaradawi hosts the weekly show Sharia and Life on the Al Jazeera satellite channel.

Tariq Ramadan, Switzerland

Philosopher, scholar of Islam

Born in Switzerland, Ramadan is a prominent advocate for a “European” version of Islam. A grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna, he was interviewed in the November/December 2004 issue of FP. His most recent book is In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad.



What do you think?? Is there someone else you would vote for to be on that list?

This question was posed for discussion on Post Global… so you can read what people thought of the whole list there.