{"id":5419,"date":"2017-03-13T10:59:06","date_gmt":"2017-03-13T14:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thediplomaticenvoy.com\/?p=5419"},"modified":"2017-11-05T23:48:23","modified_gmt":"2017-11-06T04:48:23","slug":"imagining-pan-arabism-through-the-lens-of-arab-idol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/thediplomaticenvoy\/2017\/03\/13\/imagining-pan-arabism-through-the-lens-of-arab-idol\/","title":{"rendered":"Imagining Pan-Arabism Through the Lens of ‘Arab Idol’"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Gabrielle Hunt
\nStaff Writer<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For the past six weeks that I have been studying in Jordan while living with a host family, I’ve come to enjoy a Saturday ritual that is common in the Arab world: gathering around the televsion to watch \u201cArab Idol,<\/em>\u201d the \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d spinoff that first premiered in 2011. One Saturday night in particular was more exciting than most.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s February 25, the season finale, and my host family is jumping and cheering around the television; my host sister is even whistling. Yacoub Shaheen, a Palestinian Christian, has just been crowned the fourth winner of \u201cArab Idol.\u201d For many \u2014 including my host family \u2014 his victory is about more than just winning a televised singing competition.<\/p>\n

Yacoub Shaheen is now the second Palestinian to win \u201cArab Idol.\u201d The first winner of Palestinian origin, Mohammed Assaf, won almost miraculously, as his participation in the competition was only made possible by escaping through tunnels from Gaza to make it to his audition. His win then led to an appointment as the first Palestinian goodwill ambassador for peace in the United Nations.<\/p>\n

\"\"
One of Khaled Hourani’s renderings of the “Arab Idol” winner Mohammed Assaf. Courtesy of Gabrielle Hunt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

I first became familiar with Assaf\u2019s story weeks prior at the opening of \u201cNo Refuge,\u201d an exhibition by the Palestinian artist Khaled Hourani, held in Darat al-Funun, an art gallery in Amman\u2019s art district, Jabal al-Webdeih. Hourani transformed Assaf\u2019s story into a series of miniature figurines all in his likeness, titled \u201cA Hundred Assafs.\u201d Assaf is described by Hourani as one of the \u201cfastest growing icons of Palestinian identity,\u201d as his position as Arab-Idol-turned-humanitarian-ambassador has become a Palestinian triumph, transforming art into an opportunity for social change.<\/p>\n

But as Hourani alludes to in \u201cA Hundred Assafs,\u201d the hardships of Palestinian life are hardly reflected by the brief and fleeting win of one Palestinian \u201cArab Idol.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Hourani\u2019s description of the sculptures ends with poignant questions: \u201cHow many Assafs do we need? Can Assaf bear all these responsibilities and expectations?\u201d<\/p>\n

As Shaheen, the Palestinian Christian, accepted his win by singing with the Palestinian flag draped around his shoulders \u2014 a flag whose colors were once banned from public display \u2014 I could feel that his win was a symbolic assertion of Palestinian existence and identity. But I also know that no victory can solve the very real burdens and hardships many Palestinians face every day. As I reflected on the hundreds of singing Mohammed Assafs in the gallery, juxtaposed with the scene of Yacoub Shaheen crying and singing, \u201cMy blood is Palestinian,\u201d in Arabic, I could only wonder, \u201cHow many Shaheens do we need?\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Shaheen\u2019s Palestinian origin, my host family was especially excited about having a Christian winner. \u201cBefore the Gulf War, no one cared if you were Muslim or Christian,\u201d my host mom explained to me. Her hope is that Shaheen\u2019s win is indicative of the Arab world moving in a more pluralistic and unified direction less focused on religious identity. \u201cChristians and Muslims are becoming equal again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But beyond Shaheen\u2019s \u2013 or even Assaf\u2019s \u2013 identities, what was most striking about the \u201cArab Idol\u201d finale was the solidarity among the final three competitors. At times, it was unclear who the winner was, as each finalist (two Palestinians and one Yemeni) took turns singing with their respective flags draped around their shoulders.<\/p>\n

In Middle Eastern studies, we often speak about the crests and troughs of the elusive \u2014 if not mythological \u2014 concept of Pan-Arabism. I won\u2019t conclude or theorize on the validity of this notion, but I will say this: Watching my Jordanian family cheer on the win of a Palestinian and empathize with the tears of a Yemeni, and seeing the televised audience of different identities and origins dancing together in Lebanon made me think that perhaps Pan-Arabism is <\/em>real \u2014 even if it exists, for now, in the realm of \u201cArab Idol.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Watching my Jordanian host family cheer on the win of a Christian Palestinian and empathize with the tears of a Yemeni, and seeing the televised audience of different identities and origins dancing together in Lebanon made me think that perhaps Pan-Arabism is real \u2014 even if it exists, for now, in the realm of \u201cArab Idol.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3448,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[391,388],"tags":[455,829,1017,1028,1029],"class_list":["post-5419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abroad","category-mid-east","tag-palestine","tag-islam","tag-jordan","tag-pan-arabism","tag-christianity"],"yoast_head":"\nImagining Pan-Arabism Through the Lens of 'Arab Idol' - 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