Posted on July 17, 2010 - by Mira

Should they be closed: Sufi influence on Yemeni Jewish poetry

If you watched MTV in the late 1980s, you might remember her in the music video as Ofra Haza (1957 – 2000), the Israeli pop singer who gained international fame during that decade. But even if this doesn’t ring a bell, chances are you may have heard her hit “Im nin’ alu” (Should They Be Closed) playing in a Yemeni taxi.

“It’s a Yemeni Jewish song,” a taxi driver once explained.

Shabazi’s poetry was characterized by mystical themes and the new strophic form that broke away from the traditional Andalusian poetic style which had been dominant for five centuries. One study argues that this shift in poetic style could have been due to the influence of the humayni muwashah poems of Yemeni Sufis.

Sanaa Music Festival on CNN iReport

by mira on July 13, 2010

CNN iReport has picked up videos of last month’s Sanaa Music Festival (Click to watch on CNN online).

Dwindling in number but defiant: Yemeni Jews cling to their roots

by Mira on July 3, 2010

The two men are dressed in the same Yemeni fashion. One of them has a pin of the Yemeni president on his lapel.

They’re introduced as members of the al-Salem tribe, but one is Muslim and the other Jewish. The Muslim man is the tribe’s sheikh and the Jewish man is a rabbi. His earlocks tucked in out of sight under his sumata, one could easily have mistaken the rabbi for a Muslim Yemeni, something one takes for granted in this predominantly Muslim country.

Seventeenth-century Rabbi Shabazi’s renown is undimmed in the modern world. The late Ofra Haza, an Israeli of Yemeni Jewish descent, gained international acclaim over two decades ago for her song “Im nin’ alu,” inspired by a well-known Shabazi poem of the same name.

The poem was picked up by Madonna a few years ago, introduced to her by another Israeli singer with Yemeni Jewish roots, Isaac Sinwani, who performed the Shabazi lyrics on her hit “Isaac.”

Arabic language institutes badly hit

by mira on June 14, 2010

Yemen is able to compete to attract language students and may even have a competitive advantage. It has a well-preserved Arab cultural tradition. Yemenis are hospitable to guests in the Arab tribal tradition, taking a genuine interest in getting to know non-Yemenis. Institutes can play a greater role in tourism promotion.

“Our work falls under educational tourism,” said al-Hobaishi. “Students tell others about Yemen, and this changes the perceptions of Yemen. Our work is cultural, but unfortunately, no one appreciates this.”

However, Arabic language institutes have been hit hard recently.

Arrests add more woes to Yemen’s Arabic language schools

by mira on June 11, 2010

In the weeks following the failed December attack on a US airliner, Mohammad al-Anisi switched off the news. It was too stressful, he said. His institute was suddenly overrun by journalists and constantly in the spotlight.

It was put there by Omar Farouq Abdul Muttalib, the Nigerian member of Al-Qaeda who carried out the attack and who had enrolled at Al-Anisi’s Sanaa Institute for the Arabic Language (SIAL), only to later disappear and re-emerge on the Christmas-day flight headed to Detroit.

One of those recently arrested is French citizen Jeremy Johnny Witter, who had also studied at SIAL, highlighting an apparent trend among suspected militants to enroll in Arabic language programs to gain entry to the country.

The arrests are certain to add to the severe repercussions that Arabic language institutes here have witnessed since December.