Palestinian music
Encyclopedia
The music of Palestine is one of many regional sub-genres of Arabic music. While it shares much in common with Arabic music, both structurally and instrumentally, there are musical forms and subject matter that are distinctively Palestinian
.
In the areas now controlled by both Israel
and the Palestinian National Authority
, multiple ethnic group
s, races and religion
s have long held on to a diversity of cultures. Palestinians (including Druze
and Bedouin
) constituted the largest group, followed by Jews (including Sephardim and Ashkenazim), Egypt
ians, Cypriots
, Samaritan
s, Circassians Armenia
ns, Dom
, and others. Wasif Jawhariyyeh
was one oud-player, famous for his post 1904-diary.
Early in the 20th century, Palestinians that lived in rural areas, either as farmers or as nomads. The farmers (fellaheen) sang a variety of work song
s, used for tasks like fishing
, shepherd
ing, harvest
ing and making olive oil
. Traveling storytellers and musicians called zajaleen were also common, known for their epic tales. Wedding
s were also home to distinctive music, especially the dabke
, a complex dance performed by linked groups of dancers. Popular songs made use of widely-varying forms, particularly the mejana and dal'ona (see below Forms of Palestinian Songs).
s in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip
. The most popular recorded musicians at the time were the superstars of Arab classical music, especially Umm Kulthum and Sayed Darwish
. The centers for Palestinian music were in the Palestinian
(now Israel
i) towns of Nazareth
and Haifa
, where performers composed in the classical styles of Cairo
and Damascus
. A shared Palestinian identity was reflected in a new wave of performers who emerged with distinctively Palestinian themes, relating to the dreams of statehood and the burgeoning nationalist
sentiment.
In the 1970s, a new wave of popular Palestinian stars emerged, including Sabreen and Al Ashiqeen. After the 1987 First Intifada
, a more hard-edged group of performers and songwriters emerged, such as al- Funoun, songwriter
Suhail Khoury, songwriter
Jameel al-Sayih, Thaer Barghouti's Doleh and Sabreen's Mawt a'nabi.
In the 1990s, the Palestinian National Authority
was established, and Palestinian cultural expression began to stabilize. Wedding
bands, which had all but disappeared during the fighting, reappeared to perform popular Egypt
ian and Lebanese
songs. Other performers to emerge later in the 90s included Yuad, Washem, Mohsen Subhi
, Adel Salameh, Issa Boulos, Wissam Joubran
, Samir Joubran, and Basel Zayed with his new sound of Palestine and Turab group founded in 2004 with the CD Hada Liel. Reem Kelani
currently performs Palestinian folk songs.
A large part of Palestinian music includes wedding songs. Due to the large amount of weddings in Palestinian culture, wedding singers have been able to maintain the tradition of Palestinian songs whilst incorporating modern vocals and rhythms. Wedding singers draw from a repertoire of ceremonial material including henna songs sung at the henna ceremony, wedding processionals (zeffat), and popular debkah and dance songs.
Zareef et Tool is one of the most popular Palestinian songs of today and can be traced back decades. The song encourages Palestinians not to leave their homeland.:
1. Mejana or Ataba is the most popular type of song in Palestine. You can hear farmers, workers, and shepherds singing the Palestinian song while doing their jobs. However, weddings are the main environment for the songs. As with the other forms of songs, Mejana deals with poetry. Usually the singer starts with the long sound of, "Ooaaaff". Then the verses of ataba follow. Ataba is composed of four verses of poetry. The first three end with the same word in sound but different meanings. The fourth verse ends with a word that usually ends with a sound like, "Aab or Aywa!".
2. Dal'ona is the second most popular type of song is Palestine. It is easier to compose than ataba because it does not require the similar sound of the ends of the first three verses. However, like ataba, dal'na had four verses of poetry where the first three have similar endings and the fourth usually ends with a sound like, "Oana". Dal'ona is the sound of the Palestinian popular dance, dabka, where the dancers sing it along with the sound of the shubbabah (flute), yarghool or mijwiz.
3. The Sahja is another popular form of Palestinian song usually sung at weddings. It may be done by men or women and involves clapping to the rhythm of song that is being sung to the bride for women, or groom for men. The men gather in two lines and facing each other or surround the groom. Then the zajal leads the sahja. The zajal is a talented singer or close family member who sings the sahja on the spot. The zajal leads the sahja with a verse, and the entire group repeats. The sahja done by women consists of the same idea but with many women leading (usually older women) while the young women repeat. Also, the women may add a loud, "Lolololeey" during and at the end of the sahja. Also, there is no female zajal.
4. Zaghareet (pl) is one of the oldest forms of Palestinian songs. It is another important form of song during Palestinian weddings. The zaghreet is traditionally sung by women at weddings or important events. One woman starts the zaghroot with a loud, "Heeey Hee..." or "Aweeha...". She then continues with a small poem or few short rhyming words. After the women are done they all join with a loud, "Lolololoolololoeeeey" sound. Unlike the womens sahja, the zaghroot involves no clapping an only one women must take turns to offer a zaghareet.
- which blends Arabic melodies and Western beats, with lyrics in Arabic, English and even Hebrew.
Borrowing from traditional rap music that first emerged in the ghettos of Los Angeles and New York in the 1970s, "young Palestinian musicians have tailored the style to express their own grievances with the social and political climate in which they live and work"
DAM
were pioneers in forging this blend. As Arab citizens of Israel
, they rap in Arabic, Hebrew, and English often challenging stereotypes about Palestinians and Arabs head-on in songs like "Meen Erhabe?" ("Who's a terrorist?")
More peculiar is the West Bank group Ramallah Underground
, found by the two brothers Aswatt, Boikutt and Stormtrap. Their sound is a mix of hip hop, trip hop, downtempo alongside traditional Arab music.
Some Palestinians have even broken into the Western hip hop world, like DJ Khaled
. Khaled, born of Palestinian immigrants, is a DJ, radio personality, hip hop producer, and record label executive. In 2009, Khaled became the president of record label Def Jam South. He has worked with many artists, including, Usher, Lil' Wayne, Drake, T-Pain, Akon, Fat Joe, Rick Ross and more.
In 2005 an outdoor music and dance performances in Qalqiliya were suddenly banned by the Hamas led municipality, for the reason that such an event would be forbidden by Islam. The municipality also ordered that music no longer be played in the Qalqiliya zoo, and mufti Akrameh Sabri issued a religious edict
affirming the municipality decision. In response, the Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish
warned that "There are Taliban-type elements in our society, and this is a very dangerous sign".
The Palestinian columnist Mohammed Abd Al-Hamid, a resident of Ramallah
, warned that this religious coercion could cause the migration of artists, and said "The religious fanatics in Algeria destroyed every cultural symbol, shattered statues and rare works of art and liquidated intellectuals and artists, reporters and authors, ballet dancers and singers - are we going to imitate the Algerian and Afghani examples?"
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
.
Pre-1948
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
, multiple ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
s, races and religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
s have long held on to a diversity of cultures. Palestinians (including Druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
and Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
) constituted the largest group, followed by Jews (including Sephardim and Ashkenazim), Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ians, Cypriots
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Samaritan
Samaritan
The Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism...
s, Circassians Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
ns, Dom
Dom people
The Dom of the Middle East are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group. Some authors relate them to the Domba people of India.- Culture :...
, and others. Wasif Jawhariyyeh
Wasif Jawhariyyeh
Wasif Jawhariyyeh was a citizen of Jerusalem and a well known composer, oud player, poet and chronicler. He is noted for his memoirs, The Diaries of Wasif Jawhariyyeh, that spans over six decades from 1904 to 1968, covering Jerusalem's turbulent modern history, including four regimes and five...
was one oud-player, famous for his post 1904-diary.
Early in the 20th century, Palestinians that lived in rural areas, either as farmers or as nomads. The farmers (fellaheen) sang a variety of work song
Work song
A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a specific form of work, either sung while conducting a task or a song linked to a task or trade which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song....
s, used for tasks like fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, shepherd
Shepherd
A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...
ing, harvest
Harvest
Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper...
ing and making olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
. Traveling storytellers and musicians called zajaleen were also common, known for their epic tales. Wedding
Wedding
A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
s were also home to distinctive music, especially the dabke
Dabke
Dabke is an Arab folk dance. It is popular in several Arab countries such as Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria,and Iraq. A line dance, it is widely performed at weddings and joyous occasions...
, a complex dance performed by linked groups of dancers. Popular songs made use of widely-varying forms, particularly the mejana and dal'ona (see below Forms of Palestinian Songs).
Post-1948
After the creation of Israel in 1948, large numbers of Arab Palestinians fled to, or were forced into, refugee campRefugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Hundreds of thousands of people may live in any one single camp. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, or NGOs.Refugee camps are generally set up in an impromptu...
s in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
. The most popular recorded musicians at the time were the superstars of Arab classical music, especially Umm Kulthum and Sayed Darwish
Sayed Darwish
Sayed Darwish was an Egyptian singer and composer who was considered the father of Egyptian popular music and one of their greatest musicians and their single greatest composer. He was born in Alexandria on March 17, 1892. Darwish died of a heart attack in Alexandria on September 15, 1923 . The...
. The centers for Palestinian music were in the Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
(now Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i) towns of Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
and Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, where performers composed in the classical styles of Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
and Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. A shared Palestinian identity was reflected in a new wave of performers who emerged with distinctively Palestinian themes, relating to the dreams of statehood and the burgeoning nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
sentiment.
In the 1970s, a new wave of popular Palestinian stars emerged, including Sabreen and Al Ashiqeen. After the 1987 First Intifada
First Intifada
The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The uprising began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem....
, a more hard-edged group of performers and songwriters emerged, such as al- Funoun, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
Suhail Khoury, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
Jameel al-Sayih, Thaer Barghouti's Doleh and Sabreen's Mawt a'nabi.
In the 1990s, the Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
was established, and Palestinian cultural expression began to stabilize. Wedding
Wedding
A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
bands, which had all but disappeared during the fighting, reappeared to perform popular Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian and Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
songs. Other performers to emerge later in the 90s included Yuad, Washem, Mohsen Subhi
Mohsen Subhi
Mohsen Subhi was a Palestinian composer of classical Arabic music and arranger of modern Palestinian music and folk song....
, Adel Salameh, Issa Boulos, Wissam Joubran
Wissam Joubran
Wissam Hatem Joubran is a Palestinian composer, oud virtuoso, and master lute maker. He is a member of the group Le Trio Joubran.-Biography:Joubran was born in Nazareth in the Galilee...
, Samir Joubran, and Basel Zayed with his new sound of Palestine and Turab group founded in 2004 with the CD Hada Liel. Reem Kelani
Reem Kelani
Reem Kelani is a Palestinian musician, born in Manchester, England, and brought up in Kuwait. Initially influenced by the jazz music her father played on his record player, a family wedding Reem attended in her maternal home in Galilee in the seventies sparked her interest in Palestinian...
currently performs Palestinian folk songs.
A large part of Palestinian music includes wedding songs. Due to the large amount of weddings in Palestinian culture, wedding singers have been able to maintain the tradition of Palestinian songs whilst incorporating modern vocals and rhythms. Wedding singers draw from a repertoire of ceremonial material including henna songs sung at the henna ceremony, wedding processionals (zeffat), and popular debkah and dance songs.
Music and identity
Palestinian music reflects Palestinian experience. As might be expected, much of it deals with the struggle with Israel, the longing for peace, and the love of the land of Palestine. A typical example of such a song is Baladi, Baladi (My Country, My Country), which has become the unofficial Palestinian national anthem:
Palestine, Land of the fathers,
To you, I do not doubt, I will return.
Struggle, revolution, do not die,
For the storm is on the land.
Zareef et Tool is one of the most popular Palestinian songs of today and can be traced back decades. The song encourages Palestinians not to leave their homeland.:
يا زريف الطول وقّف تاقلك ... رايح عالغربة و بلادك أحسنلك
خايف يا زريف تروح و تتملك .. و تعاشر الغير و تنساني أنا
O, elegant and tall one stop so I can tell you
You are going abroad and your country is better for you
I am afraid you will get established there
And find someone else and forget me
Forms of traditional Palestinian songs
Unlike many other cultures, traditional Palestinian songs have no set lyrics but rather a set rhythm to them. The singers are usually family members or close friends that make up the lyrics on the spot. At modern Palestinian events there may be a professional singer but the forms mentioned below, still very popular today, were created before the popularization of professional singers. Therefore, the song lyrics differ from city to city. Many types of Palestinian songs, including Atab/Mejana and Dal'ona, have transcended time. Due to the relevance of the subject matter and the need to maintain tradition and culture, traditional types of Palestinian songs can still be heard at events of today, such as weddings or gatherings. They still remain extremely popular throughout the Palestinian culture. These forms of songs include:1. Mejana or Ataba is the most popular type of song in Palestine. You can hear farmers, workers, and shepherds singing the Palestinian song while doing their jobs. However, weddings are the main environment for the songs. As with the other forms of songs, Mejana deals with poetry. Usually the singer starts with the long sound of, "Ooaaaff". Then the verses of ataba follow. Ataba is composed of four verses of poetry. The first three end with the same word in sound but different meanings. The fourth verse ends with a word that usually ends with a sound like, "Aab or Aywa!".
2. Dal'ona is the second most popular type of song is Palestine. It is easier to compose than ataba because it does not require the similar sound of the ends of the first three verses. However, like ataba, dal'na had four verses of poetry where the first three have similar endings and the fourth usually ends with a sound like, "Oana". Dal'ona is the sound of the Palestinian popular dance, dabka, where the dancers sing it along with the sound of the shubbabah (flute), yarghool or mijwiz.
3. The Sahja is another popular form of Palestinian song usually sung at weddings. It may be done by men or women and involves clapping to the rhythm of song that is being sung to the bride for women, or groom for men. The men gather in two lines and facing each other or surround the groom. Then the zajal leads the sahja. The zajal is a talented singer or close family member who sings the sahja on the spot. The zajal leads the sahja with a verse, and the entire group repeats. The sahja done by women consists of the same idea but with many women leading (usually older women) while the young women repeat. Also, the women may add a loud, "Lolololeey" during and at the end of the sahja. Also, there is no female zajal.
4. Zaghareet (pl) is one of the oldest forms of Palestinian songs. It is another important form of song during Palestinian weddings. The zaghreet is traditionally sung by women at weddings or important events. One woman starts the zaghroot with a loud, "Heeey Hee..." or "Aweeha...". She then continues with a small poem or few short rhyming words. After the women are done they all join with a loud, "Lolololoolololoeeeey" sound. Unlike the womens sahja, the zaghroot involves no clapping an only one women must take turns to offer a zaghareet.
Palestinian hip hop
Beginning in the late 1990s, Palestinian youth forged a new Palestinian musical sub-genre - Palestinian rap or hip hopHip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
- which blends Arabic melodies and Western beats, with lyrics in Arabic, English and even Hebrew.
Borrowing from traditional rap music that first emerged in the ghettos of Los Angeles and New York in the 1970s, "young Palestinian musicians have tailored the style to express their own grievances with the social and political climate in which they live and work"
DAM
DAM (band)
DAM is a Palestinian hip-hop group. Based in Lod, Israel, DAM was founded in 1999 by brothers Tamar and Suhell Nafar and their friend Mahmoud Jreri, and their songs are largely about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and poverty...
were pioneers in forging this blend. As Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
, they rap in Arabic, Hebrew, and English often challenging stereotypes about Palestinians and Arabs head-on in songs like "Meen Erhabe?" ("Who's a terrorist?")
More peculiar is the West Bank group Ramallah Underground
Ramallah Underground
Ramallah Underground, based in Ramallah, Palestine, is a musical collective born from the desire to give voice to a generation of Palestinians and Arabs, in a situation of great economic, artistic, and political difficulty...
, found by the two brothers Aswatt, Boikutt and Stormtrap. Their sound is a mix of hip hop, trip hop, downtempo alongside traditional Arab music.
Some Palestinians have even broken into the Western hip hop world, like DJ Khaled
DJ Khaled
Khaled bin Abdul Khaled , better known by his stage name DJ Khaled, is an American record producer, radio personality, DJ, and record label executive. He is a radio host for the Miami-based urban music radio station WEDR and the DJ for the hip hop group Terror Squad. In 2006, Khaled released his...
. Khaled, born of Palestinian immigrants, is a DJ, radio personality, hip hop producer, and record label executive. In 2009, Khaled became the president of record label Def Jam South. He has worked with many artists, including, Usher, Lil' Wayne, Drake, T-Pain, Akon, Fat Joe, Rick Ross and more.
Repression under Hamas rule
According to the human rights organization Freemuse, Palestinian musicians feared the same was going to happen in the Palestinian territories where Islamic fundamentalists have become increasingly assertive since the militant Hamas group scored political gains in the Palestinian Authority local elections of 2005.In 2005 an outdoor music and dance performances in Qalqiliya were suddenly banned by the Hamas led municipality, for the reason that such an event would be forbidden by Islam. The municipality also ordered that music no longer be played in the Qalqiliya zoo, and mufti Akrameh Sabri issued a religious edict
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
affirming the municipality decision. In response, the Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish
Mahmoud Darwish
Mahmoud Darwish was a Palestinian poet and author who won numerous awards for his literary output and was regarded as the Palestinian national poet...
warned that "There are Taliban-type elements in our society, and this is a very dangerous sign".
The Palestinian columnist Mohammed Abd Al-Hamid, a resident of Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
, warned that this religious coercion could cause the migration of artists, and said "The religious fanatics in Algeria destroyed every cultural symbol, shattered statues and rare works of art and liquidated intellectuals and artists, reporters and authors, ballet dancers and singers - are we going to imitate the Algerian and Afghani examples?"
See also
- List of Palestinians: Musicians
- Palestinian ArabicPalestinian ArabicPalestinian Arabic is a Levantine Arabic dialect subgroup spoken by Palestinians and the majority of Arab-Israelis. Rural varieties of this dialect exhibit several distinctive features; particularly the pronunciation of qaf as kaf, which distinguish them from other Arabic varieties...
- Palestinians
Books
- Morgan, Andy and Mu'tasem Adileh. "The Sounds of Struggle". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 385–390. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
External links
- Smithsonian Jerusalem Project: Palestinian Music Winter 1999, Issue 3, Jerusalem Quarterly