‘Al Khan’ the Egyptian And ‘Dry Bones’ the Israeli

 A month ago I came across the Egyptian newspaper “Daily News” and discovered the daily strip ‘Al Khan’ created by Tarek Shahin a young Egyptian cartoonist.I was stricken by  the fact that in a country were the Hesba lawsuits and other calamities my intimidate cartoonists to punch with their satiric fist in the face of the Egyptian society, ’Al Khan’ his satirical cartoons, appeared in the newspaper without harming the cartoonist.

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To day I found on Menassat an article about Tarek Shahin’s work.  Being asked by the interviewer if he is being censored Tarek Shahin says, I quote,

…”  ’No’, he says decisively. ‘I have never been subjected to intimidation.
‘Could it be that his choice of English makes him a lesser target than his colleagues writing in Arabic?
‘No, I don’t think it will protect me more than other journalists.’ “…

Many times seeing the difficulties of Egyptian and Arab creators in their respective countries I find their perseverance and dedication to bridge between the possible and the dangerous a remarkable achievement:

…” ‘But the goal of Al Khan is not only to give its readers a good laugh over their morning coffee,’ Shahin says. Al Khan will come to serve as a ‘bridge between cultures,’ connecting readers from across the world with Egypt.”…

….”Through his fictional newspaper, Al Khan, and his personal blog, Cairo Freeze , Egyptian cartoonist Tarek Shahin offers a clever take on life, politics and social taboos in modern-day Egypt. MENASSAT spoke with the young cartoonist about challenging the clichés about Egypt, and telling Egypt’s story to the world at large.”, see here on MENASSAT…..

Putting nasty events into a context where we forget their nastiness and stupidity and remember only their nonsense made me laugh. My laughing ouburst are triggered by Tarek Shahin who sees and feel the hiding world of laughter and translated it in my every day language with his cartoons.

Now in Israel the situation is much easier. There are no Hesba lawsuits and satirical cartoonists shoot their empoisoned laughing arrows in every direction and everyone feel good with that, even the targeted politicians, celebrities and events.

One of the best Israeli cartoonist is Dry Bones Cartoonist Yaakov  Kirschen. Looking at his cartoons I  undestand Tarek (Al Khan) Shahin’s common traits with  Yaakov (Bones) Kirschen: the Egyptian and the Israeli cartoonists cooperate in the invisible space of laughter, far away from the earthly vissitudes of censorship… but only for the people who wants to laugh.

Adam Sandler in Egypt and Israel

Adam Sandler in Egypt and Israel and the 80 lashes of movie director Enad El-Dighaidy.

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 The  movie,”You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”, see here and here  starring Adam Sandler stirs up the ban ponds in Egypt and other Arab countries. It is hard to believe that in the era of web 2.0, when there is no hidding from the Internet-torrents-P2P and other media resources, that a ban can conceal a movie in the unseen unheard or unspoken. 

Adam Sandler

Now the ‘Zohan’ is a ludicrous movie about a Mossad agent.The whole storie is about laughing and having fun at the expense of-and in some way, ridiculing the Israeli intelligence establishment:

…”Pic, in which Sandler plays a former Mossad agent who escapes to New York and ends up working in a Palestinian-American woman’s hair salon, has been banned by censors in Egypt, Lebanon and the U.A.E.

‘Zohan’ has already been released in Israel through local distrib Matalon, where it has been one of the year’s biggest hits bringing in over 200,000 admissions. ‘There wasn’t any controversy over the subject matter,’ says company topper Amnon Matalon. ‘Israelis like to laugh at themselves.’

While censorship has eased slightly across the Arab world in recent years, a number of subject matters remain taboo. Anything attacking religion is generally a no-no everywhere in the region, while sex is a problem in the more conservative Gulf states, although not an issue in socially liberal Lebanon. The country, for example, was the only Arab country to allow the theatrical release of “Sex and the City.” see here

Adam Sandler and Emmanuelle Chriqui

Well to ban a movie about the Israeli-Arab conflict, even though the film’s makers insist it is not biased and claiming: “We’re equal opportunities offenders.” is nothing new. But look at what is really going on in Egypt on this very issue of religion, sex and politic.

I quote here from the article “The curse of the Hesba lawsuits” ( from the Libanaise site Menassat):

“Egyptian courts are being flooded these days with so-called ‘Hesba’ lawsuits targeting outspoken writers, film makers and poets. According to Islamic law, anyone can file a Hesba lawsuit if they believe God has been insulted. But some suggest that money, fame and political repression play an equally important part in the recent rise of Hesba cases.”

So not only Israeli movies are targetst of bans and other harrassements . Egyptian domestic art makers are ‘welcome’ victims of the same stratagems.

…”The latest figure to get tangled up in the murky waters of Hesba law suits is movie director Enad El-Dighaidy, whose film, Diaries of a Teenage Girl, has attracted the wrath of an attorney affiliated with Egypt’s ruling NDP party.

The unnamed lawyer is said to have vast experience in Hesba lawsuits and has asked the Sheikh of Egypt’s highest religious council, Al Azhar, to punish the female director with 80 lashes for defaming the country.

Sources told MENASSAT that the same lawyer has sought similar punishment against an Egyptian actress who appeared unveiled in a film”….see here forthe full article.

What in the plot of the ‘Diaries of a Teenage Girl’  upstiers the ‘imagination’ of the Hesba lawsuiters: 

Tunisian actress Hind Sabri and director Inas al-Daghidi

        …”Inas El Deghidi, one of the most fearless directors in Egyptian cinema today, tackles issues affecting Egyptian women in a populist and non-doctrinaire manner. Her film takes us into a girl ‘s private life of boys, parties, friends, and more boys. The tragedy in the film starts with premarital sex, which leaves girls unsuitable for marriage. Hymen restoration is one of the most popular forms of cosmetic surgery performed in Egypt—everybody does it, but nobody talks about it. Breaking this code of silence brought El Deghidi condemnation from Egyptian moral pundits, but also popular success. Tunisian actress Hind Sabri stars as the innocent Gamila, who imagines herself Cleopatra seeking love from her Antonio. Her wild, spoiled friend Nancy schemes to destroy them. Behind this romantic teen melodrama, El Deghidi encodes a critique of the whole system of sexual relations in Egyptian society. “Egyptian society does not permit women love, emotions or errors. The man has all the rights. I want to deal with this paradox.”—Inas El Deghidi. (115 min) see here.

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Western audiences will find the teenage girl’s dreams sweet, romantic and a little callow. Ah, youth..But in Egyptian cultural currency this is indeed worth 80 lashes.. For more of this ‘currency’ see here

Emmanuelle Chriqui (