Arabs & Arabian Records Aggregator. Chronicler. Milestones of the 25 Countries of the Arabic Speaking World (official / co-official). AGCC. MENA. Global. Ist's to Top 10's. Records. Read & Enjoy./ www.arabianrecords.org
Well-known Sudanese singer and percussionist Asia Madani, who lived in Cairo, passed away on Sunday, the Sudanese Artists Union in Egypt reported.
Madani was born in Wad Madani, the capital of the Gezira State in central Sudan.
She started her career in her early years, moving to Egypt in the early 2000s, and quickly found her place in the country’s music scene.
Her initial breakthrough was on the Cairo Opera House stage.
Later, she became best known for presenting Sudanese folk music mixed with modern musical rhythms.
Madani performed with her troupe and joined many ensembles that focused on traditional and folkloric music of the south, earning herself the title of Messenger of Sudanese Folklore.
The star often spoke about her deep love for Sudanese rhythms, explaining that her journey in music began at a young age.
She highlighted how she learned diverse musical and vocal rhythms from different regions of Sudan — from the south to the north and the central areas — which greatly influenced her artistic style.
The singer was deeply influenced by the works of iconic Egyptian singers like Mohamed Abdel-Wahab and Abdel-Halim Hafez and even reinterpreted some of Sayed Darwish’s songs in her unique voice.
Moreover, Madani participated in the Nile Project, which she co-founded and which brought together African musicians from the Nile basin countries.
She was also featured in the documentary Far From the Nile presenting the project. The film was screened in the main competition of the Cairo International Film Festival (2022), winning awards.
Among her best-known songs were Jibal Al-Nuba (Mountains of Nubia), Al-Qamar Badawi (The Moon Shines), and Al-Zul (The Man).
Additionally, Madani participated in many international festivals and founded a children’s choir for Sudanese children in Egypt.
Numerous artists have expressed their sorrow after Madani’s sudden death.
“May God have mercy on you, forgive you, and grant you eternal rest. You were a true artist who loved her country and lived in her second country, Egypt. You were a strong person, never afraid to speak the truth, kind, pure-hearted, and a true artist who sang for the people everything she felt in a genuine way. Goodbye,” singer and songwriter Hani Adel wrote on Facebook.
Sudanese director Amjad Abu Al-Alaa wrote on his Facebook account: “A great loss, Asia.”
“To be an artist with a beautiful voice and a following is a normal thing, but what is extraordinary is to have a message in what you present, to have your own artistic project based on Sudanese identity, the unity of the Sudanese people, its uniqueness, enriching and renewing its heritage, presenting it in an attractive way, and touring the world proudly and persistently,” Sudanese media personality Dalia Al-Tahir wrote on her X account.
“This is what the true artist, the revolutionary soul from the heart of the country, Asia Madani, excelled in,” she expressed.
The activities of the International Eazees International Women’s Theatre Festival have kicked off in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, with Arab and international participation. ‘The festival organizers announced the honoring of the esteemed Iraqi artist Awatef Naeem, within its second edition, which is being held from May 16 to 22 in Cairo, as reported by the Iraqi News Agency-INA. “Actress Awatif Naim is one of the most prominent stars in the Arab world,” festival chairwoman Abeer Lotfi told the Iraqi News Agency (INA), noting that “Naim’s talent did not limit her to a specific role, but unleashed her to fly in the sky of art through acting, writing, directing and scientific research, which reflects the ability of women and their ability to prove themselves in difficult fields that require great effort.” She pointed out that “the artist is scheduled to be honored for the play “I am my face”, which was written and directed by her, and co-starring artists and artists (Shatha Salem, Samar Mohammed, Shaima Jaafar and Ali Al-Sudani),” explaining that “the events of the play revolve around three women who embody the suffering that women endure in family, social and political life, to reach their essence and their true face.” It’s to be mentioned, Awatif Naim, an Iraqi actress, director and academic researcher, was born in 1949. She obtained a doctorate in theater directing, and began her artistic career by writing and directing many programs and series for Iraqi radio and television, in parallel with her work in the field of criticism and academic research in theater, and she is a founding member of the Theater Critics Association in Iraq.
She was awarded the French Order of Arts and Letters in 2022 by the French Ministry of Culture. She founded the Children’s Theater Department at the Department of Cinema and Theater in 1996 and held its first festival in 2002.
In medieval times, Arab craftsmen led the world with their sublime, sophisticated building skills. As Paris’s Notre-Dame prepares to reopen, that tradition continues.
Only once in a century does one host Olympic and Paralympic Games, only once in a millennium does one rebuild a cathedral,” declared French President Emmanuel Macron in his 2024 New Year speech.
On 8 December, all eyes will turn once more to France’s iconic landmark Notre-Dame de Paris as it officially reopens to the public following the fire of April 2019 that nearly destroyed it.
How have the French succeeded in completing what had seemed like mission impossible, this gargantuan task, on time and on budget within the five years that Macron first promised on that fateful night of 15 April?
The answer is the same as throughout history. Money and leadership are essential, but the most important thing of all in any prestige building project is the quality of the labour. Top people work fast and produce top results. Mediocre craftsmen, no matter how much time they are given, can only ever produce mediocre results.
At the Notre-Dame rebuilding, great care was taken by the leadership to cast far and wide for the absolute creme de la creme of craftsmen, wherever they were to be found.
As a result, among the 250 companies and hundreds of engineers, masons, carpenters, stained glass specialists and other professionals enlisted to work on the rebuilding, there were people from all over the world.
The master carpenters, for example, working to recreate the wooden beams of the cathedral’s roof trusses, were from the United States, the UK, Spain, Denmark, Bosnia and India, as well as France.
They included Christians, Jews, Hindus and Muslims, all chosen because of their high level of skill in using the traditional medieval methods of craftsmanship, skills now in retreat under the onslaught of computer precision, mass production and the relentless advance of industrial technology.
Deep understanding of geometry
When Europe’s great cathedrals were built over a thousand years ago, they, too, were at the forefront of science. Their size, their height and their sheer complexity were the very embodiment of the latest engineering technology.
Nothing comparable had been seen on the European continent before except in modern Spain and Portugal, where Arab Muslims, originally from Syria, had been ruling for nearly 800 years, and in Sicily, where Arab Muslims originally from Egypt and North Africa, had been ruling for over 250 years.
____________
These men had a deep understanding of geometry, building stresses and vaulting techniques, knowledge that had been widespread across the Islamic world since the eighth and ninth centuries
_____________
In both the caliphate of Cordoba and the emirate of Sicily, the construction world was dominated by Arab Muslim structural engineers and craftsmen, men who were both literate and numerate, unlike their European Christian counterparts.
These men had a deep understanding of geometry, building stresses and vaulting techniques, knowledge that had been widespread across the Islamic world since the eighth and ninth centuries when the great Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) centre of learning in Baghdad was at its peak.
It is no accident that the first stone vaulted structures appeared in Latin Christendom just 10 years after the fall of Toledo, where the 10th-century ribbed vaulted mosque dome of Bab al-Mardum – today the church of Cristo de la Luz – is still extant and visitable.
Likewise, in Pisa, where there was no pre-existing local building tradition or school of architecture, Pisa Cathedral (1064) and then the Leaning Tower appeared suddenly on Italian soil soon after the Pisans’ successful military campaigns against the Arab rulers in Sicily.
People walk past the leaning tower of Pisa and the cathedral at night on March 16, 2014 in Pisa. AFP PHOTO / FABIO MUZZI (Photo by FABIO MUZZI / AFP)
Pisa’s original cathedral dome was supported on Islamic-style squinches and slender pointed-arch windows, while the engineering challenges of the tower would have required advanced geometrical knowledge – the famous lean is the result of subsidence, not faulty construction.
Advanced geometrical knowledge
More proof of Arab involvement in churchbuilding comes in the Arabic numerals, with their distinctive cursive shapes, carved as assembly marks, found by chance in the roof timbers at Salisbury Cathedral (1220s) during a dendrochronology study sponsored by English Heritage. They were also an accidental find, carved as position markers on the stone sculptures, on the famous Wells Cathedral West Front (1175).
Since English craftsmen at that time could only manage the simple straight lines of Roman numerals, and Arabic numerals did not enter general use in Britain till several centuries later in the 1500s, the carpenters and masons employing them as early as the 12th and 13th centuries were clearly highly educated foreigners, brought in by wealthy bishops and abbots keen to sponsor the absolute top level of construction money could buy.
Cursive freehand Arabic numerals (4 and 5) carved by the original carpenters in the roof timbers of West Court Farm in Wiltshire, England dated to 1316. [photo by Diana Darke taken 6 June 2019
At Wells Cathedral, construction was halted when the funds allocated for the building were diverted, following the death of the bishop, to pay the huge litigation costs between rival claimants to his bishopric of a court case in Rome at the papal curia.
The masons, no longer being paid, simply marked up their final sculptures with Arabic numbers to indicate their correct niches on the West Front, then moved on to their next commission.
When the dispute was finally resolved 15 years later, local masons were the only ones on the scene to erect the sculptures.
To them, the Arabic symbols were just incomprehensible hieroglyphs, so they put them in the wrong niches, even adjusting the niches to make them fit.
Researchers in the most recent restoration have now established that, had the sculptures been put back in accordance with their original Arabic sequencing, they would have fitted perfectly.
Sophisticated society
The masons’ marks on display on the back wall of the Cordoba Mezquita are overwhelmingly Arab names written in Arabic script, showing how the 10th-century craftsmen were literate centuries ahead of their European Christian counterparts.
They were the products of a sophisticated society where learning was encouraged by the ruler and enjoyed by all, thanks to free education offered by mosque schools. In Christian Europe, only the clergy and a handful of the upper classes could read and write.
Cursive masons’ marks from the 10th century extension of the Cordoba Mezquita, found during restoration, now on display near the mihrab. [photo by Diana Darke taken October 2022]
Names in themselves can be misleading. In the town of Corleone, for example, inland from Palermo, there were Christians called Muhammad, Abdullah, Ahmad and Ali, living alongside Muslims with Greek names, who could pass for Sicilian Christians.
Donation records in Greek during the Norman period in Sicily use phrases like “Roger who was once called Ahmad”, showing how local Muslims adapted their names to fit in better to the new environment and new masters, just as foreign workers arriving in Britain today might adapt their names or be given nicknames that are easier to remember and pronounce. Jews have done the same thing across Europe and America for centuries.
When the names of craftsmen first started to appear in the Latin chronicles, like William of Sens, thought to have worked on Notre-Dame, and much vaunted for introducing six-part rib vaulting to England at Canterbury Cathedral in 1174-77, we cannot assume he was Christian. He might have been Muslim, or Mozarab (an Arabised Christian).
Either way, in order to have had the requisite mathematical and geometrical knowledge for rib vaulting at that time, he must have been schooled in the Islamic tradition.
Great pride
At the recent Notre-Dame rebuilding, a traditional carpentry company called Atelier de la Grande Oye, founded by French Muslim Paul Zahnd, was among those chosen to build the wooden frames supporting the new roof.
In an email to me, he expressed great pride at this honour, a pride likely to have been felt in equal measure by the top Muslim craftsmen working on Christian buildings in medieval times.
“As French Muslims,” he wrote, “we are very proud and happy … to communicate our beautiful crafts and our faith, which are of course perfectly compatible, feeding one another … we prayed all along the work, to bless the trees, our craft, our friendship, the Almighty who allowed us to be part of the project, to bless all the people who work with us, to celebrate the beauty and majesty of our creator … some of us are affirmed Muslims claiming our faith and our joy to rebuild a cathedral.”
pix05
What an irony that across Europe, at the time of writing, there are increasingly loud calls from far-right parties to rid their country of immigrants, especially Muslims, in order to save the “purity” of their own race and culture, evidently unaware that their very civilisation was built on the superior skill of immigrants.
All the evidence has shown that it is not necessary to be a Christian in order to create Christian art, just as people of all faiths and none can enjoy and appreciate church music, church architecture, Islamic decorative styles and mosque architecture.
Muslims could put their expertise to use in churches, just as Christians could build mosques, and indeed have done, throughout history.
The important consideration was not their religion but their skill.
Diana Darke’s new book Islamesque: The Forgotten Craftsmen Who Built Europe’s Medieval Monuments, was published on 21 November 2024, as a sister volume to her earlier Stealing from the Saracens (2020).
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
_________
Diana Darke is a Middle East cultural expert with special focus on Syria. A graduate in Arabic from Oxford University, she has spent over 30 years specialising in the Middle East and Turkey, working for both government and commercial sectors. She is the author of several books on Turkey, including Eastern Turkey (2014) and The Ottomans (2022) as well as on Middle East society, including My House in Damascus: An Inside View of the Syrian Crisis (2016), The Merchant of Syria (2018), a socio-economic history and “Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe” (2020).
As part of its efforts to build bridges of communication and dialogue with countries and cultures of the world, the Emirate of Sharjah showcased an aspect of its cultural history throughout ancient times in the Italian capital, Rome.
The emirate revealed evidence proving its historical presence as a major commercial and cultural centre on the Spice Route, as well as even older remnants such as Acheulean stone tools from 500,000 years ago and evidence of human migration dating back 210,000 years.
On the sidelines of the exhibition titled ‘From Sharjah to Rome: Along the Spice Route’, organised by Sharjah Archaeology Authority at Rome’s iconic Colosseum, the Department of Government Relations (DGR) in Sharjah hosted a Gala dinner in the presence of Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), and Sheikh Fahim Al Qasimi, Chairman of DGR, alongside prominent diplomatic figures and representatives from Italian and Emirati cultural and academic institutions.
Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi stressed that the exhibition was a celebration of Sharjah’s historical and cultural heritage.
She said, “Sharjah’s story is one of human connection—of cultures, ideas, and histories interwoven through centuries of trade and exchange. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Al Faya, a site so historically important it’s on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. But beyond the stunning artefacts, this exhibition is an invitation to understand the depth of our shared heritage. By surfacing Sharjah’s role as a vital waypoint on the Spice Route, we reaffirm the value of protecting our cultural legacy while strengthening the ties that bind us over geography and time.”
Sheikh Fahim Al Qasimi, in his welcome address, highlighted the exhibition’s role in enhancing cultural and diplomatic ties between Sharjah and Rome. He said, “The exhibition ‘From Sharjah to Rome: Along the Spice Route’ is more than a retrospective of historical milestones. It is a testament to the power of shared heritage in connecting civilisations. By hosting this event in the heart of Rome, we bring Sharjah’s vision to life by preserving human heritage and presenting it in a contemporary context that strengthens cross-cultural understanding.”
The DGR Chairman added, “Culture is not only a reflection of the past but a foundation for shaping the future. Today, we showcase a tangible example of how heritage can be leveraged to foster dialogue and strengthen cultural and diplomatic relationships.”
As part of the cultural seminar, Issa Yousif, Director General of the Sharjah Archaeology Authority, delivered a lecture titled “Unearthing a shared archaeological heritage,” where he explored Sharjah’s historical role as a major trade and cultural centre in ancient times.
He detailed the emirate’s strategic position along the Spice Route, where caravans and merchant ships transported valuable goods from the Arabian Peninsula to Roman ports in the Mediterranean. Yousif also reaffirmed the Authority’s commitment to preserving Sharjah’s historical legacy through research and studies that promote mutual cultural understanding.
Sharjah’s deep-rooted history took centre stage in Rome through a presentation by Kholoud Al Hooli Al Suwaidi, Director of the Tangible Cultural Heritage Department at the Sharjah Archaeology Authority. In her talk, ‘Sharjah’s Cultural Legacy,’ she explored the emirate’s rich archaeological heritage, particularly discoveries from its central region.
She highlighted key sites, including the Suhaila Archaeological Site, where Acheulean stone tools dating back 500,000 years were uncovered, and Al Faya, a site containing evidence of human migration from 210,000 years ago that is currently considered for UNESCO World Heritage status.
She stressed that Sharjah’s commitment to cultural preservation is evident in the six archaeological sites on UNESCO’s Tentative List. These include rock art sites in Khatm Al Melaha and Khorfakkan, dating back 7,000 years, Wadi Al Helo, a significant centre for copper production during the Bronze Age, and Mleiha, a major pre-Islamic trade hub.
Meanwhile, the exhibition provided attendees with a rare opportunity to explore Sharjah’s historical significance as a key centre of trade and culture along the ancient Spice Route. Through artefacts, interactive digital media, and visual presentations, visitors gained deeper insight into the emirate’s strategic geographical and cultural role throughout history.
179 participants from 32 Islamic countries to compete, promote moderate Islamic values.
The 10th International Military Qur’an Memorization Competition launched on Saturday in Makkah, attracting 179 participants from 32 countries.
Organized by the General Administration of Religious Affairs of the Armed Forces under the patronage of Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, the event promotes the significance of the Qur’an, encourages its memorization, and highlights Saudi Arabia’s role in serving Islam’s holy book and as the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites.
The competition features six categories: full Qur’an memorization; 20-part, 10-part, five-part, and three-part memorization; and a special category for recitation and tajweed (proper pronunciation).
Parallel activities include a Qur’anic forum for religious affairs directors and imams, showcasing Saudi Arabia’s efforts in Qur’an printing, translation, and distribution.
The forum also discusses the Qur’an’s moral values, the Kingdom’s contributions through its ministries, and the impact of tajweed on understanding the Qur’an.
Additionally, the General Administration of Religious Affairs offers training programs for religious affairs personnel across the armed forces, focusing on Qur’anic teaching methods and enhancing the skills of instructors and competition judges.
Maj. Gen. Mesfer Al-Issa, director of the General Administration of Religious Affairs and competition supervisor, described the event as a significant initiative to honor the Qur’an.
Al-Issa emphasized the Kingdom’s commitment to hosting this event, reflecting the leadership’s dedication to serving the Qur’an.
In an interview with Arab News, he highlighted the event’s profound impact on participants, especially as it takes place in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
Al-Issa said that the Qur’an guides soldiers, shaping their character and values, and encouraging psychological, behavioral, and spiritual stability.
Soldiers grounded in the Qur’an and Sunnah are more balanced and resilient, contributing to the development of morally and spiritually strong armed forces, he said.
The 14-day event will include 10 days in Makkah before moving to Madinah for four days, where participants will visit the Prophet’s Mosque and other Islamic landmarks.
Judges, including imams from the Two Holy Mosques and Qur’anic scholars, use an advanced electronic evaluation system called “Insaf” (Fairness) for transparent scoring.
Contestants receive immediate feedback on memorization, pronunciation, tajweed, and error rates.
Al-Issa said that soldiers are selected through year-long national competitions to identify top military memorizers.
The competition also serves as a platform for military personnel from Islamic nations to promote moderate Islamic values and a proper understanding of the Qur’an through scientific forums.
Al-Issa said that the competition strengthens the Qur’an’s role in Islamic armed forces, supporting efforts to memorize, recite, and reflect on its teachings.
This helps build a generation of soldiers rooted in Islamic knowledge and guided by noble values, he added.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
______________
Contestants arrive to participate in the 10th International Military Qur’an Memorization Competition in Makkah.
Oman Across Ages Museum in Manah has been honoured with one of the world’s most prestigious architecture awards – the Prix Versailles World Titles.
The museum received the ‘Special Prize for an Exterior’, while the ‘Special Prize for an Interior’ was awarded to the Smritivan Earthquake Museum in Bhuj, India. The grand prize, the Prix Versailles, went to the Simose Art Museum in Otake, Japan.
Granted annually at Unesco headquarters in Paris since 2015, the Prix Versailles celebrates architectural excellence by showcasing the finest contemporary achievements worldwide.
In June, for the first time, Prix Versailles unveiled its World’s Most Beautiful Museums List for 2024, featuring seven newly opened or reopened museums that embody creativity, local heritage, and ecological efficiency.
Among the listed museums was Oman Across Ages Museum, recognised for its exceptional impact on its surroundings. Other shortlisted museums included the A4 Art Museum in Chengdu, China; Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt; Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn, Netherlands; and the Polish History Museum in Warsaw, Poland.
This year’s ceremony was held on December 2, celebrating 70 of the ‘World’s Most Beautiful’ achievements across eight categories: Museums, Hotels, Restaurants, Emporiums, Airports, Campuses, Passenger Stations, and Sports.
This year’s finalists were selected through a rigorous process that reviewed new and recently opened sites across 31 nations. The 2024 World Jury, chaired by Benjamin Millepied, awarded three World Titles in each category.
Commenting on the event, Millepied said, “Architecture has the ability to display creative and stylistic diversity with great force. That diversity is the sign that the attention given to nature, togetherness, and different forms of expertise can help an environment emerge – one that is both receptive to expression and capable of harmony. Such an assembly of actors from every background reminds us of culture’s unique talent for leading humankind into dialogue.”
The recognition affirms Oman Across Ages Museum’s standing as a cultural and architectural beacon, reflecting the nation’s commitment to preserving heritage while embracing modernity.
Launched in 2003 and with more than 186 countries participating, the prestigious WSAs are held biennially and recognize impactful digital initiatives.
The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is the sole Saudi participant to win a 2024 World Summit Award in the Culture and Heritage category, thanks to its “Nusuk” platform.
The project competed against over 900 technical submissions from 160 countries.
Launched in 2003 and with more than 186 countries participating, the prestigious WSAs are held biennially and recognize impactful digital initiatives. They seek to bridge the global digital divide by honoring smart applications and creative online content. The WSAs are a key UN initiative, supported by the International Telecommunication Union.
The award reflects the Kingdom’s pioneering strategy in developing innovative technological solutions aimed at enhancing pilgrims’ experiences and highlighting cultural and heritage values.
FASTFACT
‘Nusuk’ is a suite of innovative technological solutions which facilitate the performance of pilgrimage rituals, address challenges and enhance operational efficiency.
It underlines the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah’s efforts to drive comprehensive digital transformation, in alignment with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
“Nusuk” is a suite of innovative technological solutions which facilitate the performance of pilgrimage rituals, address challenges and enhance operational efficiency.
It has already advanced significantly with the development of pioneering systems such as the Nusuk Card, Nusuk Masar and crowd management systems.
It also focuses on highlighting the Prophet’s biography and cultural landmarks in Makkah and Madinah, featuring more than 150 museums, monuments, restaurants, cafes and tourist destinations, among other notable sites that enrich the user’s experience.
Over 400 licensed guides are affiliated with the platform, offering customized excursions throughout the Kingdom to pilgrims.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has said it is very proud of its achievement and reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to developing technological solutions that ensured the sustainability of the Hajj and Umrah sectors, facilitating easy access to smart services and ensuring a smooth and tranquil performance of the rituals.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
__________
nusuk application / Over 400 licensed guides are affiliated with the platform, offering customized excursions throughout the Kingdom to pilgrims. (Supplied)
Minneapolis poet Muna Abdulahi talks strategy, community and leveraging cultural stereotypes in Netflix’s season two of “The Mole,” where she competed for a $154,000 prize.
Who is the mole?
For Somali American poet Muna Abdulahi, that question loomed large during her first day on season two of Netflix’s reality game show, “The Mole,” which was filmed in the napier grass fields of western Malaysia. Abdulahi had to figure out who to trust among the other 11 players while aware that one of them might be secretly sabotaging the game, and while navigating cultural differences and working to stay under the radar herself during the six-week filming.
The premise of “The Mole” is simple: contestants work together to build a pot of prize money that only one player will win in the end. Among them is “the mole,” a player tasked with working against the group. After each mental or physical challenge, players take a quiz to identify the mole and the contestant with the lowest score is eliminated. If the mole remains undetected until the end, they win, but if the last player uncovers their identity, that player takes the prize.
In a game where everyone is out to deceive each other, moments of genuine connection feel like dangerous territory. Off-camera, players share meals, tell stories and laugh together — but beneath the camaraderie, the question remains: Who can you trust when everyone might be lying?
Abdulahi, who grew up in Willmar, Minnesota, and now lives in Minneapolis, approached the game with a calculated strategy: lean into being underestimated.
“When people first meet me, they see the hijab,” Abdulahi said in a confessional in the first episode. “They see a Muslim woman, somebody who follows other people’s orders, and I’m going to use that to every single advantage.”
Did Abdulahi’s strategy pay off? Watch “The Mole” on Netflix to see how far she goes.
In an interview with Sahan Journal, Abdulahi reflected on her life as a poet and shared her experience filming the show in July 2023. She discussed what it was like being a Muslim woman in a high-stakes competition balancing trust and suspicion.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Can you share a bit about your journey as a poet in the Twin Cities? What inspired you to start writing?
I started writing poetry when I was 14. Somalia is known as the nation of poets, so I have family members who are poets, like my grandmother. Being born and raised in the U.S., language was still a barrier because I understood Somali when it was spoken to me but speaking it was a whole other conversation. So, when I was young, there was a part of me that really wanted to find something that connected me to my culture and poetry was it.
The issue was, I went to predominantly white schools my whole entire life, so a lot of the authors I would read would be old white men. I’m like, “Okay, I have absolutely no ties to these people,” but then I started getting into spoken word poetry and that scene is predominantly BIPOC stories and narratives that I never got to hear growing up. It inspired me to write, and I just never stopped.
How do your experiences as a Muslim woman influence the subjects you write about?
That’s a really good question. I mean, I think everything ties back to our inner child. For me, I never really got to hear BIPOC stories. I still remember the first BIPOC story I read. It was “The Kite Runner.”
I think when you are not represented in stories, it makes you feel unimportant and as if your experiences are not worthy of being shared. It’s also the media in general. So, my mission when I started writing was to not only give space to our stories, but to give space to the stories that were devalued or silenced or not seen as worthy.
It feels like there’s two sides of the coin — either our stories are not being shared or, when it is, it’s these perfect stories where Black and brown girls become tokenized and don’t feel worthy unless they’re exceptional. I want to give space to the in-between.
What drew you to “The Mole”? How did you get involved with the show?
I’m a big, big fan of reality TV, specifically reality competition shows like “Big Brother” and “Survivor,” so I’ve always wanted to be a part of it, but I never saw any Muslim people. I remember writing down in my notebook the shows that I want to be a part of, and I had to check off every single one because the structure of the game itself would not meet the necessities and the needs of being a Muslim woman.
In “Survivor,” you’re stranded on this random island and — let’s say you just did a swimming challenge — you’re going to be wet all day, all night. Maybe you have an extra hijab but how would you be able to preserve your values and at the same time play this game?
It’s the same thing with “Big Brother,” where you’re being filmed 24/7, even when you shower. Even though I love the game, I can’t really do it. What I loved about “The Mole” is that the structure of the game itself is accessible to Muslim women.
What was it like communicating with producers about what you needed?
So the first thing is prayers. We pray five times a day. The way that these games work is completely fast-paced, so I basically had to tell them, “Hey, I need 10 minutes.” We met in the middle where I was able to move to the side and do my prayers, but that also meant that I was praying in a lot of different places.
We also didn’t have our phones, but I usually use it to pray at specific times and toward a specific direction to Mecca. I also needed water to make wudu (a cleansing ritual), so there was somebody who literally carried my prayer mat, bottled water and checked the times for me. That was really helpful. It also helped that we were in a Muslim country. There were a lot of prayer rooms already within the city.
How did you mentally and physically prepare for the show?
I rewatched a lot of the seasons, and not just the U.S. seasons. I’m also a big fan of the international seasons, so I was watching Netherlands, Belgium and Australia. I wanted to make sure that my game plan was set, but at the same time give myself room to adapt, because that’s the name of the game.
We don’t really know what we’re getting into. I also prepared by memorizing things, because the objective of the game is, “Who is the mole,” right? We have to remember as much as possible about them: What are they wearing? What color are their shoes? Which car did they get in?
Those little details would be on the quiz.
What was your strategy going into the game?
Originally, my strategy was to play into this stereotype that people have for Muslim women — very timid, shy, quiet, observational, not taking up too much space — so they underestimate me. It worked for that first episode but after that, I had to switch up my game.
I can’t hide. It’s so much more difficult to hide who you are when you’re with these people all day, but it still worked to my advantage because people still underestimated me. Well, until mid-game when you see them start to question if I was the mole.
In the first episode, you talked about how people often perceive Muslim women as obedient or timid. As you entered the game and interacted with contestants, did you feel that they had a specific perception of you?
Off the bat, yeah. It was exactly what I thought. I don’t think a lot of people on the show had close Muslim women friends, so I think a lot of the time, people perceive groups of people based on what they see on TV.
I remember Q [Quaylyn Carter] was like, “Oh my gosh, I thought you were going to be so quiet,” so, I really could have played into that. But Andy (Mintzer) had a lot of knowledge about Muslim culture. Muslim women and men are not supposed to touch the opposite gender’s hand, so I knew that first meeting was going to be so awkward because a lot of people don’t know that, but Andy knew right away.
How did you manage building friendships with contestants while, in the back of your mind, knowing that one of them is sabotaging the game?
To be honest, I came in there like, “I’m not here for friends; I’m here to win,” but a lot of these people are just so likable and so lovely. The mole lies throughout the whole thing, but off-camera, the stress and tension is gone. We’re eating together or driving to the next location and sharing stories about who we are.
The core of me is centered around community, and even though I wanted to shut it off, those in-between moments really got to me. Some of these friendships are so real. Hannah (Burns), for example, was somebody who I saw as competition or as an enemy, but outside of the game, we were friends, so it was this weird, funny tension where it’s like, “I adore you, but in the game, I’m lying to you up and down.”
I had such a beautiful friendship with Jenn (Jennifer Dasilva-Hassiman), too, and it sucked so bad because she left first. She has such a beautiful spirit. In the beginning, it was difficult coming into this as a minority.
I know who I am, but I’m also shifting myself a little bit for this game, and as someone who grew up in predominantly white spaces, code switching becomes this mechanism. It was lovely to see Jenn be exactly who she is — this bold, beautiful personality and unapologetically herself.
One of the key moments from the season was episode five, when you guys had an auction and contestant Neesh Riaz bid the entire pot of $59,500 for an exemption from the quiz.
What was it like watching all of that money you guys worked for drain from the pot?
It was so tense, and it’s funny watching it back from an outside perspective, because it’s been so long. I’m just laughing at my reaction, because it was so serious. What’s so unique about this game is that they take your phone away so you’re truly, one-hundred percent engulfed in this experience. Like, this is your life, and we’re at the halfway point.
When he took all that money, it just hit me that somebody’s full year of work was gone just like that.
Honestly, everybody was so mad. There’s so many moments that were not shown. We were outside and we were just like, “What are we doing here?” Even the host had to remind us that there’s still a lot of money coming in, but I think at this point, people were just so tired of losing money and you’re realizing not only are we competing against the mole, we’re competing against other players. So you’re like, “Okay, what are my actual odds here? If I was to win, am I going to be winning a dollar? Is that right?”
How did it feel to get as far as you did?
It felt so good. A big part of that whole experience ties to the very beginning of our conversation where I didn’t want to come on the show to prove that I’m smart or exceptional. I just wanted to be myself and show all of the complexities that make up a human.
I’m smart, but I’m also a big personality. I’m a little funny and a little quirky. I don’t have to compromise anything and I can still get to the end. Even though I didn’t win, I still proved that it had nothing to do with who I was or my capabilities and, for that, I feel like my purpose was met. Money would have been amazing but the experience was more fulfilling than I could have imagined.
What was the reaction from your friends and family after the show aired?
It was really beautiful. My family is my biggest support system and my sisters, especially. It was like a sports game, the way they were cheering for me.
What about the response from viewers?
Watching the show back was such a healing experience, and then to see the outpour of love in my DMs — that was something I wasn’t prepared for. And to see all these Muslim women come into my messages — it meant so much to me, and I didn’t know how much I needed it.
It just reaffirmed exactly what I was meant to do. Coming into this next era, I want to continue paving the path so others could walk with me and hopefully, it’ll be easier for the next one, and the next one, and the next one.
Poet Muna Abdulahi (center) gives a spoken word tribute during the January 9, 2024, inauguration of St. Paul’s historic all-female City Council. The new council sits behind her. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal
The British magazine The Telegraph published its annual list titled “Travel’s 50 Biggest Winners and Losers in 2024.” Topping the list of winners was the Grand Egyptian Museum.
The British magazine wrote that the Grand Egyptian Museum has finally opened on a trial basis for visitors. It spans an area of 490,000 square meters and, once fully operational, will house over 100,000 artifacts, with the most notable being the complete collection of items discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb.
The list also included other places, such as the UAE and Notre Dame Cathedral following its reopening.
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) project continues to achieve international milestones, winning the 2024 Project of the Year Award for users of FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers).
The award was presented during the 6th Annual FIDIC Contract Users Awards ceremony held in London.
GEM is the first Egyptian project that win this prestigious award.
Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathy, highlighted President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s unwavering support for the Grand Egyptian Museum, recognizing its importance as one of the most significant cultural and heritage projects in Egypt and globally.
President Sisi has consistently followed every stage of its implementation, ensuring the removal of obstacles to deliver a museum that reflects the grandeur and legacy of ancient Egyptian civilization.
The minister emphasized that this remarkable achievement would not have been possible without the President’s ongoing support and interest.
The President’s chairmanship of the museum’s Board of Trustees further demonstrates his commitment to developing the museum as a global hub for heritage and culture.
The Minister also praised this award, which is the second international recognition for GEM this month.
Last week, the museum won the Prix Versailles, ranking among the seven most beautiful museums in the world for 2024.
He expressed his gratitude to everyone who contributed to the completion of this monumental project over the years, and to the extensive efforts of all state agencies and entities that helped elevate the museum to its prestigious global status.
Bouayech praised Morocco’s efforts in promoting human rights including recently proposed changes to the country’s family code.
Amina Bouayach, the President of Morocco’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH), has been awarded the 2025 Mediterranean Foundation Award for her contributions to promoting human rights in Morocco and internationally.
The award, presented to her on Friday in Naples, Italy, recognizes individuals or organizations dedicated to upholding the values of human dignity and freedom.
Established by Italian sculptor Mario Molinari, the Mediterranean Prize is a symbol of peace and coexistence between countries. It recognized Bouayach’s work in advancing equality, justice, and fundamental freedoms, the foundation said in a statement.
During the ceremony, President of the foundation, Michael Capasso, along with international jury members and Professor Abdelhak Azouzi, praised Bouayach for her extensive work in human rights.
Bouayach was born in Tetouan, a small city in northern Morocco. For decades, she has been a tireless advocate for women’s and children’s rights, often speaking out against the injustices they face. She has also worked to improve the rights of marginalized groups around the world.
In recognition of her dedication and leadership, King Mohammed VI appointed her as president of CNDH in 2018.
She has also held significant positions in global human rights organizations, including Vice-President of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights.
In addition to her work in human rights, Bouayach has had a career in diplomacy, having served as Morocco’s Ambassador to Sweden and Latvia.
In her acceptance speech, Bouayach expressed gratitude for the recognition and praised Morocco’s efforts in promoting human rights. She particularly mentioned recent reforms like the vote in favor of a universal moratorium on the death penalty.
“This distinction, while touching me as a woman and activist, is primarily a tribute to my country, Morocco, for its unwavering commitment to the universal values of dignity, justice, and equality,” Bouayech said.
She also mentioned the proposed reforms to Morocco’s family code and they recognize women’s contributions in the household when distributing marital property. “These ambitious reforms, full of hope, aim to strengthen the rights of women and children, bringing significant advancements,” Bouayach said.
CNDH President also noted that the Mediterranean is more than just a geographic area; it is a place rich with shared history, where different cultures have come together to build a common heritage.
She acknowledged the challenges the region faces, such as conflicts and climate change, but stressed that the Mediterranean’s heritage of humanity and diversity offers hope and the potential for renewed dialogue.
In addition, she noted the important role of women in driving social and political change in the Mediterranean, especially in Morocco.
“I dedicate this award to all Mediterranean women who, every day, build bridges between cultures and generations,” she concluded.
