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5 - 11 May 2005
Issue No. 741
Al-Ahram Weekly
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/741/li1.htm
Today, the long awaited Arab-American Museum is finally open to the
public in Michigan. It stands tribute to art that reflects a new way of
life, reports Laila Saada
Ahmed Ahmed goes on stage in blue sweater and black pants. He grabs
the microphone, throws a menacing look at the audience, staring in
silence. Dark face,
piercing eyes, beard: he seems to embody an all too
familiar stereotype. "I'm an Arab," he says finally. "I'm a Muslim, and
I'm on the FBI's most wanted list." Describing the horrors of flying in
and out of the US these days, he mimics scared passengers, panicky
hostesses and hostile security guards. "It's a bad time to have one
Ahmed in your name," he laments. "And I have two..." Tension is released
as the theatre rings with laughter.
Ahmed is part of an emerging group of young Arab-American artists who
have channeled their talent in the service of a cause over and above
personal growth. They have politicised their art to address the
grievances of their ethnic community, dispel stereotypes and redress the
US image of Arabs as a diverse, fun-loving and peaceful people. A
35-year-old Egyptian- American born in Helwan and living in California,
with a track record of acting to his name, Ahmed finds stand-up comedy
to be the most effective medium. Others prefer music, but whatever the
medium, it may well be said that performing arts enthusiasts are
witnessing an emerging trend: Arab-Americans fusing their heritage,
American culture and political activism into a single concoction and
coming up with a new form of artistic expression that is unique to the
community but appeals to the curiosity and humanity of Americans at
large.
"When we make people laugh, they get comfortable with who we are --
it's easier to communicate our thoughts to them," said Dean Obeidallah,
35, a Palestinian-Italian who defines himself simply as American.
Obeidallah performs regularly in New York City and alongside Ahmed in
several shows around the country. "We use our comedy to help others
understand who we are and define our identity as Arab- Americans." Both
perform in schools and universities, where they uproot stereotypes
freshly seeded in the minds of the young. "I did a show in my sister's
high school once," said Ahmed. "The teachers came up to thank me and
said, 'You have humanised Arab- American culture for our students.' It's
like putting a mirror in front of my audience and forcing them to face
their racism." In recent years, indeed, the duo took the theatrical
comedy scene by storm. They have a show scheduled this month in Dubai,
Obeidallah had three successful shows in Lebanon and Ramallah, while
Ahmed conquered the comedy scene in Ireland this year, winning the first
Edinburgh award for minorities.
Aside from his hectic schedule, and a regular job at NBC, Obeidallah
co-organises the annual Arab-American Comedy Festival. He also co-hosts
a monthly radio programme called "Fenn Majnoun (crazy art) with Dean and
Maysoon", showcasing Arab-American artists, both established and
emergent, in various artistic fields.
"The Arab American community flourished in a way because of 9/11.
Before, being Arab only took up a minor segment of my show," said
Obeidallah, who grew up in a mostly Italian neighbourhood in northern
New Jersey. "Unlike my Arab audiences abroad, I have found that American
audiences tend to lump us all into one group. They want us all to pay
for the sins of the few. I feel obliged to showcase our diversity." The
tragic events of 11 September not only forced a traditionally complacent
community to acquire and develop a voice, but it unified the scattered
groups within, prompting them to support the endeavours of artists like
Ahmed and Obeidallah. At San Fransisco State University two months ago,
Hip-Hop emcee Will Youmans, "the Iron Sheikh", for example rapped Bush-
and Israel-bashing lyrics to a large, swaying crowd: "Condoleezza, you
look so good to me... Dick Cheney, why you so sexy? ... Wolfowitz, you
make my dreams come true, with those freaky things you do."
The 27-year-old Palestinian-American left his political science
teaching career to focus on writing Hip-Hop song lyrics about issues
such as: the Palestinian cause, the war in Iraq, growing up
Arab-American and... Fox News. "September 11 gave us visibility," he
said. "Suddenly all the cameras of TV channels here are turned on every
move we make." But recognition proved a double-edged sword, according to
the Sheikh. On the one hand, artists received immediate exposure. But on
the other hand, they faced the challenge of rectifying the kind of
misconceptions spread by TV channels like Fox News.
"My goal is not to entertain people as such. It's to educate them
about the reality of the world outside the US," said Sheikh, explaining
how he gave his Web site the title of Iron Sheikh: "The Iron Sheikh was
a professional wrestling character who served as the stereotypical
Middle Eastern villain. He wore a headdress, flowing robes, and the
curly Arabian Nights shoes. Growing up, he was a powerful icon
that taught me that Middle Easterners are the bad guys, and to be Arab
is to be evil," he said. "Now I want to reclaim that moniker and
redefine it in an empowering way. In short, my name is in itself
political commentary on the misrepresentation of Arabs in the popular
media, and what Arab-Americans can do about it through performance
arts."
With the release of two albums featuring song titles like Olive
Trees, About Baghdad and of course Fox News, Sheikh
has successfully borrowed from the classical Arabic songs and poetry of
such icons as Fayrouz, Umm Kulthoum and Mahmoud Darwish mixing them with
Hip-Hop rhythms and politically-charged lyrics. "I performed a show in a
high school once after an Israeli speaker finished his speech," he
recalled. "By the end of my show, I had a crowd of non-Arabs repeating
lines after me and singing about Palestinian refugees. My music reached
them more effectively than his long and boring speech. And they came
back afterwards wanting to know more. That's the idea."
Though the number of Arab-American freestyle performers is still
small, their presence is quickly gaining visibility in major media
outlets such as CNN, ABC, the Wall Street Journal and the New
York Times.
But perhaps no sign of this collective effort is clearer than the
newly erected Arab- American National Museum, the first community
endeavour that capitalises on this emerging scene. Today, an assortment
of Arab-American artists will celebrate as the long-awaited
Arab-American National Museum (AANM) opens its doors to visitors for the
first time. The museum, a 38,500- square-foot facility in Dearborn,
Michigan, houses a collection of Arab-American artifacts, an exhibit of
Arab achievements in fields like architecture and science, a history of
the community in the US and, most significantly, the contributions of
Arab- Americans to US culture and entertainment. Both Ahmed Ahmed and
the Iron Sheikh will be featured not only as performers but as actual
exhibits.
With around 15,000 museums nationwide and not one dedicated to the
documentation of Arab-American culture, the AANM lays the foundation for
the first landmark for a community of an estimated 4.2 million people,
490,000 of which live in Michigan -- the largest and by far the best
organised Arab-American concentration in the entire country. "The museum
hopes to become the leading resource on the growing field of
Arab-American studies, dispelling stereotypes and, more importantly,
operating as a source of pride for Arab- Americans everywhere," said
Anan Ameri, AANM director. Located across the street from City Hall,
where Mayor Hubbard once unashamedly expressed his anti-Arab-American
sentiments, the museum stands as a stylish and ethnically exuberant icon
of pride and patriotism. "It is kind of cool and ironic how the museum
stands today just across the street from a statue of the man who once
wanted us out of the city," said Ahmed. "It's like standing up to him
but in a classy, artistic and subtle way, like saying: we're here and
we're here to stay."
C a p t i o n
: The Arab-American National Museum is but the culmination of a new,
post-September 11 renaissance. It establishes the presence of Arabs in
America as an incontestable and largely justified fact, revealing
current policies for the acts of racism that they are
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