Hijab-wearing singer Ghaliaa Chaker looks to inspire

Musician Ghaliaa Chaker has become a social media sensation, with 437,000 followers on Instagram and millions of views on her YouTube channel. (AFP)
Musician Ghaliaa Chaker has become a social media sensation, with 437,000 followers on Instagram and millions of views on her YouTube channel. (AFP)
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Updated 07 September 2024
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Hijab-wearing singer Ghaliaa Chaker looks to inspire

Hijab-wearing singer Ghaliaa Chaker looks to inspire
  • Chaker, a keen motorbike rider who is part of an all-hijabi biker squad in Dubai, began composing and writing lyrics at 16

DUBAI: In a Dubai recording studio, hijab-clad Ghaliaa Chaker tunes her guitar and belts out original songs as she builds a career that is turning heads for more than just her music.
The 26-year-old Syrian, raised in the UAE, has become a social media sensation, with 437,000 followers on Instagram and millions of views on her YouTube channel.
She offers not only a unique sound but also an unusual look in a region where artists who wear the hijab, the head covering characteristic of Muslim women, are few and far between.
“I hope that I have paved the way for other” hijabi singers, Chaker said at the studio.
“It is a very beautiful thing to know that you have ... given a push to a girl who has many dreams and is unable to achieve them because she has never seen another girl do the same thing.”
Chaker, a keen motorbike rider who is part of an all-hijabi biker squad in Dubai, began composing and writing lyrics at 16.
She drew inspiration from Nedaa Shrara, a veiled Jordanian singer who won “The Voice,” the Arabic version of the popular TV talent show, in 2015.
Shrara had stirred controversy among Arab fans who were not accustomed to seeing a singer wearing the head covering.
But for Chaker, who says she often receives criticism online, Shrara was a symbol of “self-confidence.”
After seeing her, “I said to myself that I can do it too,” Chaker said.
Chaker’s first song, composed in English, was picked up by Dubai radio stations in 2018, marking the start of her musical career.
She now sings mainly in Arabic, at a time when the regional music scene is witnessing the rise of young talents with innovative sounds.
The green-eyed singer said the headscarf has never been an obstacle. “There is nothing I have wanted to do and not done because I wear the veil,” Chaker said.
However, the issue of women singing has always been controversial in conservative Islamic societies.
Although the Qur’an does not explicitly prohibit singing, or ban women from performing music, some religious scholars frown upon the idea, viewing it as immodest.
Chaker said her immediate family has always supported her, but relatives in Syria were “very surprised at first,” mainly because they feared how people would react.
She said she receives a lot of “negative comments” on social media, including from family and friends.
“It bothers me of course, but I try to remember the positive comments and how much people love my music,” she said.
Chaker traces her artistic influences to her early upbringing in Al-Ain, a former desert oasis and now a city in Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE’s seven sheikhdoms.
At home, her father blasted Arab singers such as Fairouz, an iconic Lebanese singer, and Egyptian diva Umm Kalthoum. Chaker’s mother preferred Western music, including Elvis Presley.
“The music mixture in the house was always rich,” she said, influencing her sound, which she describes as a mix of R&B, hip-hop, electro-pop, indie and jazz.
A multi-instrumentalist, Chaker credits her father with her love of the drums, guitar, and piano, all of which she plays.
She said that instead of gifting her toys as a child, he would buy her new instruments.
The Middle Eastern darbuka drum is “the closest to my heart because I often played it with my father, who loves it very much, and it is the basis of oriental rhythm,” she said.
In addition to Arabic and English, Chaker sometimes sings in Turkish, Armenian, and Persian.
The singer, who performed in the Lebanese capital Beirut in August, said she wants to take her music beyond the Middle East.
“It is vital to me that my music is heard in Europe, in America, in Australia, in the whole world, maybe even in Latin America,” she said, adding that she aspires to “collaborate with many artists from different countries.”
“It is time for the Western world to know how beautiful our music is.”

 


Many Palestinian camps in Lebanon ‘empty after Israeli strikes’

UNIFIL vehicles drive in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel. (Reuters)
UNIFIL vehicles drive in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel. (Reuters)
Updated 12 October 2024
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Many Palestinian camps in Lebanon ‘empty after Israeli strikes’

UNIFIL vehicles drive in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel. (Reuters)
  • Israel has ramped up strikes across southern Lebanon and on Beirut’s once-densely populated southern suburbs over the last three weeks, issuing evacuation warnings for more than 100 towns in southern Lebanon and neighborhoods near the capital

BEIRUT: Most Palestinian refugees living in camps in southern Lebanon or near Beirut have fled following escalating Israeli strikes, the head of the UN agency on Palestine refugees said on Friday, drawing parallels with mass displacement in Gaza.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said that the agency continued to provide services to the most vulnerable left behind — and that repeatedly fleeing was sadly “part of the history” of Palestinians. “Now, that’s part, unfortunately, of the plight, but if you compare it with what happened also in Gaza recently, you might have heard me describing how people are constantly being moved like pinballs. And one of the fears is that we replicate a situation similar to the one we have seen until now in Gaza,” he said.
Israel has ramped up strikes across southern Lebanon and on Beirut’s once-densely populated southern suburbs over the last three weeks, issuing evacuation warnings for more than 100 towns in southern Lebanon and neighborhoods near the capital.
They include evacuation warnings and strikes on the Burj Al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Rashidiyeh Palestinian refugee camp near the south coastal city of Tyre. Many of the Palestinians who arrived in Lebanon after Israel’s creation in 1948, and their descendants, were living in 12 refugee camps around the country, which hosted about 174,000 Palestinian refugees.
Israeli leaders have accused UNRWA staff of collaborating with Hamas militants in Gaza, leading many donors to suspend funding.
The UN launched an investigation into Israel’s accusations and dismissed nine staff.
In July, the Israeli parliament gave preliminary approval to a bill that would declare UNRWA a “terrorist organization.”
Asked about the move, Lazzarini said the agency “has never, ever been as much under assault and attack.”
“A year ago, it was primarily a financial existential threat, but today it’s a combination of a political and financial threat. 2025 will be, again, a difficult year,” he said. He said he would have more clarity early next year on whether the US would resume funding.


Gaza civil defense agency says 30 killed in Israeli strikes in Jabalia on Friday

Gaza civil defense agency says 30 killed in Israeli strikes in Jabalia on Friday
Updated 11 October 2024
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Gaza civil defense agency says 30 killed in Israeli strikes in Jabalia on Friday

Gaza civil defense agency says 30 killed in Israeli strikes in Jabalia on Friday
  • A strike that occurred before 9:40 p.m. local time had left “12 dead, including women and children“

GAZA: Gaza’s civil defense agency Friday said at least 30 people have been killed by Israeli strikes throughout the day in northern Gaza’s Jabalia town and refugee camp amid intense combat operations by the Israeli army in the area.
The agency’s spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said that a strike that occurred before 9:40 p.m. local time (1840 GMT) had left “12 dead, including women and children” in the town.
Before that incident, Ahmad Kahlout — director of the agency in northern Gaza — said 18 people had been killed by several strikes, including hits on “eight schools” in the camp that were serving as shelters for displaced people.


Baghdad reinvents itself as heritage tourism destination

Baghdad reinvents itself as heritage tourism destination
Updated 11 October 2024
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Baghdad reinvents itself as heritage tourism destination

Baghdad reinvents itself as heritage tourism destination
  • A professor and an architecture student organize walking tours of Iraqi capital’s historic sites

RIYADH: After decades of war, airstrikes, suicide attacks and car bombs, Baghdad is staking its claim as a heritage tourism attraction.

A fragile stability has emerged since the defeat of Daesh in 2017 allowed a greater focus on the Iraqi capital’s history and culture.

Muaffaq Al-Tai, 83, a professor, and Abdullah Imad, 23, an architecture student, organize walking tours of the city’s historic center, including an 800-year-old Abbasid palace with arabesque reliefs and the battlements of the 12th-century Bab Al-Wastani, the Central Gate.

“We want to show the public what Baghdad has to offer in terms of Islamic architecture, its value and identity,” Imad said
The renewed interest in Iraq’s heritage was “a source of hope for a positive change in our identity, and our heritage and its preservation,” said Fatima Al-Moqdad, 28, an architect.
“When young people surf the internet, they see how other nations look after their heritage. They want and deserve the same.”


Israel army says sirens sound north of Tel Aviv due to ‘aircraft infiltration’

Israel army says sirens sound north of Tel Aviv due to ‘aircraft infiltration’
Updated 11 October 2024
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Israel army says sirens sound north of Tel Aviv due to ‘aircraft infiltration’

Israel army says sirens sound north of Tel Aviv due to ‘aircraft infiltration’
  • Roughly 20 minutes after the alert, Israel’s military said the incident had ended.
  • The air raid sirens came as Israelis observe the Yom Kippur holiday

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military on Friday said air raid sirens sounded in central Israel, including areas north of the commercial hub of Tel Aviv, after an aircraft infiltrated.
“Sirens have been activated in several areas in central Israel following an intrusion of hostile aircraft. Interception attempts have been made, and details are under investigation. Additional explosions may be heard, originating from interceptions or debris,” the military said in a statement.
Roughly 20 minutes after the alert, Israel’s military said the incident had ended.
The air raid sirens came as Israelis observe the Yom Kippur holiday.
Earlier Friday evening, air raid sirens blared in dozens of areas across northwestern after dozens of projectiles were fired from Lebanon, the military said.
From sundown on Friday until nightfall on Saturday, markets are closed, flights stopped and public transport halted as most Jews fast and pray on the Day of Atonement.
Due to its status as Judaism’s holiest day, Yom Kippur is traditionally observed with a complete media silence during the period.
Media outlets, however, have pledged to cover major developments or updates, as Israel fights Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas Palestinians militants in Gaza.


Western leaders urge Israel to stop harming peacekeepers

Western leaders urge Israel to stop harming peacekeepers
Updated 11 October 2024
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Western leaders urge Israel to stop harming peacekeepers

Western leaders urge Israel to stop harming peacekeepers
  • France’s President Emmanuel Macron said it was “absolutely unacceptable“
  • Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez demanded an “end to all violence” against UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

PARIS: Western leaders urged Israel Friday to stop harming UN peacekeepers in Lebanon after explosions wounded two of them near the country’s border.
The Israeli military (IDF) said its forces on Friday fired at a threat near a UN peacekeeping mission position.
A spokeswoman for the UNIFIL mission said two Sri Lankan peacekeepers were hurt in the second such incident in two days.
US President Joe Biden told reporters he was “absolutely, positively” asking Israel to stop firing at UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron said it was “absolutely unacceptable” that peacekeepers were “deliberately targeted.” The foreign ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador, saying the incident constituted “serious violations of international law and must cease immediately.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the firing, which she said violated a UN resolution, as “unacceptable.” Italy has more than 1,000 troops in Lebanon.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez demanded an “end to all violence” against UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. He called Friday’s incident “absolutely unacceptable.”
Ireland’s foreign minister Micheal Martin called it a “shocking” and “unacceptable” development and “a very serious intensification of IDF hostility toward UN forces.” Ireland has about 350 soldiers in UNIFIL.