Daring Egyptian actress dons headscarf, calls Iran 'role model' by Riad Abu Awad Fri Jun 16, 1:44 PM ET
Young Egyptian actress Hanan Turk, known for her daring roles in a conservative society, caused a stir when she recently called Iranian cinema a "role model" and donned the Islamic headscarf.
Her "conversion" was the latest event to electrify the ongoing debate on the Islamisation of Egyptian society, with artistic circles lamenting her decision but many youths celebrating her as a trendsetter.
"Iranian cinema in which actresses appear veiled is a very sophisticated role model," Turk recently told the independent daily Nahdet Masr when asked if her decision would start a "new look" on Egyptian screens.
"It is a very progressive cinema, and the veil does not affect the artistic content at all," she said.
Turk is certainly not the first Egyptian actress to take up the veil, nor is she the first public figure to do so in a country where the majority of women are veiled.
But the actress, whose latest film explores the sexual awakening of a young woman, shocked artistic circles with her decision.
"The issue is bigger than the case of an actress announcing she intends to wear a veil," said Tarek Almohayed, editor-in-chief of the Saudi-owned daily Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat in a recent column.
"The danger rests with the presence of some individuals who are trying to impose the Iranian model on the region, a model whose most prominent opponents are not just the United States and other countries in the region, but even Iranian intellectuals and writers," said Almohayed.
Turk's latest film, Dunia (World), in which she is cast as a 20-something ballet dancer who fights against a society that asks women "to hide their femininity", sparked heated debates between liberals and conservatives.
The film, which was shot before Turk's decision to adopt the veil, intertwines themes of love and poetry with more taboo subjects like sex and female circumcision, a widespread, highly controversial practice in Egypt.
Knowing that the film would push boundaries, Turk was ready to face the music about the film's daring themes.
"I was not afraid of the controversial nature of the script. In fact I felt that it talked about freedom, poetry and dance -- topics that I can identify with completely," she said at a press conference following the screening of the film at the Dubai Film Festival in December.
So when she announced on May 27 that she would don the veil, many artists close to her were shocked.
"She must have gone crazy," opined Yusef Chahine, Egypt's most famous film director, who gave the real-life ballerina a shot at stardom by casting her in his film Al-Mohager in 1994.
"She told me nothing. I'm very intrigued," said Dunia director Jocelyne Saab, who had struggled with the Egyptian censors to pass the controversial film, which is due to be released in autumn.
But the actress said the headscarf was only the latest detail of a personal religious journey she embarked on years ago.
After a pilgrimage to Mecca, and her first role as a veiled woman, the young talent, encouraged by her husband, finally decided to take her religious beliefs one step further and cover her hair.
"I had intended to take this step a long time ago," she told the newspaper, "seven years ago, but I never had the guts before."
According to cinema critic Magdi Al-Tayeb, Turk's decision is indicative of the influence of some preachers like the popular Islamic "televangelist" Amr Khaled, who has a wide following among Muslim youth.
These preachers are "supported by Gulf states magnates who control satellite channels and production companies and want to 'veil' Egyptian cinema and marginalize the non-veiled actresses," said Tayeb.
Turk's decision to don the veil was very well received by many Arabs and Muslims, who made their support known on Internet sites accross the world, and it was her comments on Iran that sparked the most fury.
"Who is this person to impose on our movie industry that has a history of close to one century to be Iranian?" one Egyptian blogger noted angrily. "This woman has no idea that Iranians would love to have an open country."
Novelist Ezzat al-Qamhawi echoed the view, accusing Turk of having a weak understanding of the situation of Iranian cinema.
"In Iran, directors and actors are looking to break the religious shackles, while she wants to enclose Egyptian cinema," said Qamhawi.
But messages from the young and film-savvy, congratulating Turk on her "brave decision," also poured in on Internet forums and discussion groups.
Many famous Egyptian actresses have taken up the veil and stopped acting, but the young star insists her new look won't mean an end to her career.
In fact, somes scenes in her newest film Awlad el-Shaware (Street Kids) are being modified just for her.
"It (the veil) only affects the work if the content is loose and I never intend do such work," Turk said.
Posts: 116 | From: USA | Registered: Jan 2006
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posted
Turk has done a number of films that their sole plot is hideously laughable.
Remember that film she starred in with Mohamed hanifi? It was about the Americans and the Moussad trying to pull underneath the nose of the Egyptian public in cooperation with "Israeli compliant Corporate officials just looking to make a buck". The argument was about RBGH or that hormone that makes cows produce more milk.
A hidden agenda about American and Israeli interests milking the Egyptians for more. The ideology that the "Open Door Policy" was a drug to inflict and infiltrate the "pure and God-fearing Egyptian public" with their capitalistic and evil doing propaganda. RBGH was a metaphor for the political message behind the film.
But when dairy stores put "formaldehyde" in all milk sold on the open market and consider it part of the pasterizing process. And to go further and make it illegal to distribute non-pasterzided milk, hence "formaldehyde-free" the fears of RBGH and the evil conspiracy of America/Israel is just a ruse for lurching home made issues.
hypocrisy is the cornerstone of Hanan Turk's films. I really don't like her, nor is she that good of an actress.
-------------------- Don't freak out, sonomod, Organized Crime, whatever. If I annoy you its me! Posts: 1765 | Registered: Mar 2006
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No offcourse you dont - she pretty, have more money than you and a good job - YOU MUST HATE HER Dummy
Posts: 1215 | From: Nowhere | Registered: Feb 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Tibe: QUOTE]Unlike you I wait until a relationship is over before starting a new one.
No that not unlike me - thats exactly like me..... [/QB][/QUOTE]
You just filed for a divorce, yet your vacation toy is "boyfriend material" complete with online chatting and teasing this "boyfriend material" with your intention to wear a 2 piece swimsuit?
Did you bring your divorce decree on vacation with you? No because you don't have a divorce decree yet.
Posts: 1765 | Registered: Mar 2006
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Thats just a piece of paper - the important thing is HONESTY. I did tell my husband I wanted a divorce and bought a house (moved into it 01.05.06)before I met Gabriel. So my heart was free. I was living alone with my kids when I kissed him the first time. This is not and will never be an emberassement to me.
Posts: 1215 | From: Nowhere | Registered: Feb 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Tibe: Thats just a piece of paper - the important thing is HONESTY. I did tell my husband I wanted a divorce and bought a house (moved into it 01.05.06)before I met Gabriel. So my heart was free. I was living alone with my kids when I kissed him the first time. This is not and will never be an emberassement to me.
Because you are Danish. No wonder.
Posts: 1765 | Registered: Mar 2006
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May be he is short but definitely funny, he has an agreeably looks and is a good actor.
Posts: 1414 | From: far away | Registered: Sep 2004
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