What Does Being Arab Mean To You?
The grand question.
Stories collected by Camélia Sarnefors.
Just being yourself
“The question bothers me a bit. As if our identity was something fixed, as if I was nothing else but an Arab. While my Arab-ness is one component of my identity, it represents only my ethnic background. Nowadays, I really feel like there’s a demand to assert oneself in order to fill this vital need we all have – Arab or not – to belong to a community, a whole. Unable to disavow our identity or even erase some of its traits, we have to claim it, defend it, prove it. I never accepted this viewpoint. We should not define ourselves only as Arab. I am Essra. I’m French AND Palestinian. I speak French AND Arabic, and I would never think of these parts of my identity as in opposition. But I know how hard and laborious this work can be, so I would just say that being Arab today is mainly a struggle to not be considered only as such, a fight simply to be oneself, in spite of all prejudice.”
Essra Siam, Franco-Palestinian, Parliamentary aide, 26, Paris. Family barbecues and the smell of manouché
“To be Arab is to grow up along the shores of the Mediterranean. To smell the odour of Manouché each morning, to enjoy a glass of Arak at the Sunday family barbecue, and to make friends all over the four corners of the globe.”
Rouba Saad, Lebanese, project assistant, 24, Beirut. A rich culture and skilled artisans
“Being Arab is the essence of my identity, as a Moroccan who grew up in Morocco. I feel Arab in my being, in my way of thinking, in my body, in the way I dress, in how I eat, and in my whole lifestyle, basically. Ever since I was small, I’ve been spending much time in the medinas of Morocco, buying and supporting the products of Moroccan artisans. In my home, my plates come from Moroccan potters, and my jewels come from jewellers who work silver by hand. Moroccan culture is hugely important to my identity.”
Dina El Moukhtari, Moroccan, law and political science student, 23, Paris.An important musical heritage
“To be an Arab, and Iraqi, born in Baghdad, is something very special and unique to me. These origins allow me to really understand my musical heritage, as a DJ. My place of birth formed my musical taste, my understanding of sound and voices in general, which is something that I did not realise growing up, but that I fully appreciate now. From DJ Snake to DJ Khaled, it is very important to take notice of the Arab talent that is now creating global demand across generations to come.”
Mohamed Abood Uraibi/DJ MoCity, Iraqi, DJ, 34, New Delhi.A strong bond through art and the media
“I believe that, socially, there is an extremely strong bond between the citizens of Arab countries, primarily based on media and the arts. We all grew up watching the same Egyptian movies, listening to the same Lebanese music or the same Syrian soap operas, and learned about each other’s countries and cultures through TV, radio and the internet. A citizen of Morocco and a citizen of Oman may have nothing in common but their shared love of Fairuz songs, Mo Salah’s football games and the Bab El-Hara TV show. Although we come from different ethnic backgrounds, religions and cultures, the people of these nations have found a common ground through media to connect and appreciate one another. And this is thanks to the likes of Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani, Cheb Khaled, Ons Jabeur, Nawal Al-Saadawi, Haifa Wehbe and many others that contributed to strengthening this bond, unlike the failed authoritarian political powers of the so-called Arab world.”
Ibrahim Shebani, Libyan, fashion designer, 39, Tunis.A geo-cultural region with a shared language
“Even though so-called Arab culture doesn’t fully reflect my own culture, since I’m Algerian, I think it’s more a question of the language, history and influences that I share with my neighbours. For me personally, my Arab-ness is reflected mostly in music and a lifestyle that sometimes combines several different ethnic influences. And it makes me happy to belong to a venerable, ancient culture and civilisation.”
Riane Tarik, Algerian, architectural assistant, 21, Paris. A lot of effort
“To be Arab is to give a lot of effort to whatever one does. In cooking, for example, Arabs make huge quantities of food that’s full of spices and ingredients. Similarly, I’ve noticed that we, Arabs, give a lot of importance to the cleanliness of our homes. We are very warm hosts, and we treat our guests like kings.”
Louai Sadraoui, Tunisian, developer, 23, London. A constant need to prove yourself
“A lot of Arabs that go out to the Western world constantly feel this need to prove themselves. I feel like there’s this constant fight or flight mode that we’re all in, to prove that no matter where we’re from, we’re still capable of doing everything that everyone else does. Especially when I lived in London, working in fashion, I constantly felt like people were watching me a bit more than they were watching the others because of that label of me being Arab. So, I would personally say that being Arab is constantly feeling the need to prove myself, sort of feeling like ‘Yes so what? I’m Arab, what’s the big deal?’”
Yasmina Baidas, Palestinian, assistant buyer, 22, Dubai.Finding the resilience of our forefathers
“To me, being Arab means finding the resilience of our forefathers and channelling it into our modern-day experience. So much has changed in the past century, and I feel like it’s important to keep the foundations of their strength, determination, hospitality, and warmth no matter how the world evolves. In the early 19th century, Kuwait was nothing more than a barren desert with scattered mud homes and little markets. Ten years ago, there was no such thing in our society as a DJ career. Being an Arab also means creating a path where there isn’t one, and doing it with passion, integrity, creativity, and most importantly, love!”
Farah A. Bishara (Dj Bonita), Kuwaiti, DJ and music producer, 34, Kuwait City.A region where civilisation first started
“Being Arab or Middle Eastern means a couple of things to me. I come from the area where civilisation first started, the first country ever is
located, the first doctor, hospital and first ever clinic originated from. This makes me extremely proud, but also a little disappointed of how little credit we receive, and how we are viewed by the western world due to political divergences. It also means that I come from a place where the two biggest religions in the world originated from, Islam
and Judaism, and how it makes the majority of our people very spiritual and ethical.”
Maher Kitmawi, Syrian, pharmacy student at UCL, 20, London.Discrimination because of the colour of a passport
“At the age of 20, as an international student in the UK, I was proud of being Arab. It was a part of my identity and I held it high. At that time, my dream was to travel the world. I was scouted by one of the biggest modelling agencies in the industry, but my dream quickly became a nightmare. As an Egyptian passport holder, I faced a lot of struggles for visas and rentals. I travelled to model, and because of the 90 days restriction imposed by my visa, I was unable to rent a place, or even travel to a lot of countries, including in the Arab world. I crashed on couches, heading to photoshoots with a massive suitcase and not knowing where I would end up at the end of the day. After 5 years of trying to survive, I lost my passion, motive and spark. I have been back in Cairo since the beginning of the pandemic, and I found a job as a property consultant. Going through this experience taught me that it is not pleasant being Arab / Egyptian these days. I felt discrimination between me and fellow models, just because of the colour of my passport, and the place I was born.”
Mohamed Tarek El Seidik, Egyptian, property consultant, 25, Cairo. Am I an Arab? I question myself
“I look at myself as a human being, Moroccan, African, and if you want to go into religion as well, I’m also Muslim. But am I an Arab? Like blood-wise. Is Berber Arab? I don’t even know if I want to say that I’m an Arab. When you say ‘Arab’ in the West, people usually think of the Middle East. If I had to describe myself, that’s probably the last thing I would put down on the list. When you look at history, Morocco has been invaded by Arabs. We’re a mix of people, we’re a mix of things. We’re an Arab country to the world, but when you look at our roots and the way we are, the way we speak, I don’t know if we’re really Arabs. To answer shortly I would probably say, am I an Arab? I also question myself. If I am, I am proud to be an Arab as well.”
Hassan Hajjaj, Moroccan, photographer, 60, Marrakesh.Belonging to a larger universe
“I would invoke a phrase from Montesquieu, ‘How can one be Persian?’ How can one be Arab? I am Arab by birth and have Arab heritage, but am I really an Arab? The world is full of ethnic mixes, of cross-cultural pollination, of migrated populations who developed cultures where they were and where they went. That’s the richness of the world. True, I am Arab, I am Tunisian, I partake in Arab culture, I speak Arabic, I am keen on Arabic poetry, but I am also open to all the cultures of the world. I am an Arab, but I am also a global citizen. Being Arab now means being part of a larger universe, where Arabs, Japanese, Christians, atheists, Muslims are building a better world. Being Arab is to be oneself, and also the Other, the Other that is me.”
Ahmed Galai, Tunisian, Tunisian Human Rights League, Nobel Peace Prize winner, 67, Tunis.