Kurdish singer sparks identity debate on Arab talent show

By Isabel Coles

ARBIL, Iraq | Thu Apr 25, 2013 4:19am EDT

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - A singer from Iraq's Kurdistan region has made it through to the semi-final of an Arab talent contest, igniting heated debates over Iraqi identity and politicizing the popular TV show.

A panel of judges praised 24-year-old Parwaz Hussein and she was voted through to the next round of "Arab Idol", in which aspiring popstars from Morocco to Bahrain compete for a recording contract.

Many Kurds have rallied behind Parwaz, who wore a pendant in the shape of "greater Kurdistan" - the term used to describe the territory Kurds claim as their rightful homeland, which covers swathes of Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

"If before you were a singer, now you bear a great patriotic responsibility," one Facebook user called Kurdistani Kurdan wrote on Parwaz's page.

Numbering more than 25 million, the non-Arab Kurds are often described as the world's largest ethnic group without a state and regard national borders as an historical injustice that has led to their systematic oppression.

In Iraq, Kurds were the target of chemical attacks under deposed strongman Saddam Hussein, but now enjoy a large measure of self-rule in the north of the country, where they run their own administration and armed forces.

Kurdish autonomy is enshrined in Iraq's federal constitution, drawn up after the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. The document recognizes Kurdish as Iraq's second official language.

But relations between the northern enclave and the central government in Baghdad have been strained by disputes over land and oil rights that have worsened since U.S. troops left in December 2011.

At her first audition, Parwaz, who speaks broken Arabic, was accompanied by a translator so she could communicate with the judges. She has sung in both Arabic and Kurdish.

Unlike two other Arab Iraqi contestants who were described as being from Iraq, Parwaz's origin was referred to as "Iraqi Kurdistan". On Saturday night's show, one of the judges took issue with the distinction.

"I am against the country title that says Parwaz is from Kurdistan, because Kurdistan is an inseparable part of Iraq," said Ahlam, a popstar from the United Arab Emirates. "I want your introduction to say that you are from Iraq and not Kurdistan."

The comment provoked an angry response among Kurds, who said it was evidence of Arab racism towards them.

"Tell Ahlam we are not Arabs," said Ako Aljaff on Parwaz's Facebook page. Others said that as a Kurd she should not have entered a competition called "Arab Idol" in the first place.

Ahlam later apologized on her Facebook page, but many Kurds said they would not accept the gesture unless it was broadcast on television. Some Arab nationalists took umbrage at that.

"If the Kurds didn't like what Ahlam said, let them go to India or Pakistan or the Soviet Union or Armenia and establish their state far away from us," said one Facebook user named Moteb Saud.

(Editing by Alistair Lyon)

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St. Louis statue of Chuck Berry sparks opposition

Rock and roll legend Chuck Berry performs during the Bal de la Rose in Monte Carlo March 28, 2009.

Credit: Reuters/Eric Gaillard

By Bruce Olson

ST. LOUIS | Thu Jun 23, 2011 5:15pm EDT

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - An 86-year-old former city official said on Thursday she and dozens of supporters would try to delay installation of a statue of rock pioneer Chuck Berry because he "is a felon and not a friend of women."

An eight-foot statue of the 84-year-old St. Louis native and member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame is ready to be erected in a public plaza near the suburban University City club where Berry still performs every month to sold out crowds. Installation is scheduled for next week unless it is stopped.

Elsie Glickert, who has lived in the area all her life and served 11 years on the University City council, said she would ask the council to delay the installation "until it can be reviewed. I'm dumbfounded how it got this far."

The city confirmed the issue was placed on the agenda for Monday's meeting, but the city manager Lehman Walker has said the statue was approved properly and plans for the installation and a July 29 dedication will go ahead.

Citing Berry's conviction in 1962 of violating the Mann Act, transporting a woman across state lines for immoral purposes, Glickert said, "This man is a felon and not a friend of women. It is a misuse of tax dollars to honor him on public property."

At a show in Texas in 1959, Berry met a young Native American woman who came to work at his St. Louis club, was fired and then arrested on a prostitution charge. That led to Berry being convicted for violating the Mann Act, transporting a woman across state lines for immoral purposes. He began a three-year prison sentence in 1962 and penned several hits while incarcerated, including "No Particular Place to Go."

Berry had more trouble in 1979 when he was convicted of tax evasion and had been convicted of armed robbery as a teenager.

The statue was promoted by club owner Joe Edwards, who helped raise over $100,000 to pay for the statue and other plaza improvements. Berry is scheduled to speak at the July dedication.

The new plaza will also feature illuminated walls with laser-engraved musical notes of "Johnny B. Goode," Berry's signature hit. The concrete curbs along the street near the plaza will be etched with the lyrics of Berry songs.

Glickert earlier this month presented the city petitions against the statue with over 100 signatures.

Berry performs at Blueberry Hill, Edwards' club, every month. He collapsed during a show in Chicago on New Year's Day but recovered in time to play his next show in St. Louis.

(Reporting and writing by Bruce Olson; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Greg McCune)

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