The Impossible Dream

The Impossible Dream
“الحلم المستحيل” by Leila Shawa

With your eyes closed and your mouth covered, you can’t even eat ice-cream.






  • http://www.thecaller.jeeran.com thecaller

    asalam 3alaykom,
    Ezayek ya roba..
    I think that leila shawa..didn’t try the neqab!
    Anyone can eat ice-cream amazingly..it takes some skill at first..but one would get to it..
    why shut the eyes??i wonder..the only thing that shouldn’t be covered are the eyes..not even with an eye lid!!
    I suppose such post would raise some high tones by hey…that’s what blogs are for:):)
    nice blog btw..roba..thanks

  • Merin

    please enough mocking covered-face women…. I suggest show some respect and stop degrading those who’ve choosed “or not” covering their faces…..

  • http://hamede.jeeran.com hamede

    Ma god have mercy upon your soul.
    alah yhdekee.

  • http://hamede.jeeran.com hamede

    May god not ma god.

  • http://silveraminoacid.wordpress.com Amino

    Merin – I don’t think by any chance Roba would be mocking veiled women, in fact if you look closely at this piece of art, you’ll see the allegorical meaning behind this, and the symbolism used is far away from mockery if you happened to know Leila Shawa.

    The closed eyes are the key to understanding this…

  • http://www.20six.fr/ClandestinaRBemba Clandestina

    Words are useless… The artwork talk by itself…

  • Merin

    Amino…I don’t see any symbolic implication beyond this but the pathetic feeling left behind those poor women who “can’t” eat their ice-cream because of their viel…..and yes, I knew Leila shawa ..

  • http://anolita.jeeran.com/mind/ Khalidah

    Very beautiful piece of art and I really don’t see the mockery!!!

    Love it
    Thanks Roba

  • http://omernos.blogspot.com omar

    I see a mockery,
    and I see it big time

    I respect women who chose to cover their face,
    though the fact that Islam didn’t ask them to
    do so. 5emar is not Ijbari, that’s all i’m asking.

    Amino,
    you didn’t prove a point there
    I hope you’d be kind enough to explain or point out that “allegorical meaning” of the painting.

    omar

  • http://omernos.blogspot.com omar

    “saying”, not “Asking”
    sorry! :D

  • Huda

    To cover your face or not is a personal choice, the same as i decide to uncover my arms, stomach and legs.

    Expressing what we think about what others do, is also a choice and should not be shut down.

    It’s not about ice cream eating. It’s about humans afraid of themselves, and of “what god has given us”. To me covering the face mounts to sin.

  • http://www.thecaller.jeeran.com thecaller

    asalam 3alaykom,
    hey guys..i think we should wait for roba’s saying in this…we can’t assume that she meant mockery..or leila…
    thank u

  • http://www.thecaller.jeeran.com thecaller

    what??
    huda..u started great then messed up…
    covering the face mounts to sin??!!
    where did u ever hear that…did allah say that in any holy book??!!
    sins are sins…we know them and we do them all the time..and allah forgives when we stop doing them…simple!!
    please ,you are free to uncover anything!!!but not to state what is a sin and what’s not.

  • http://silveraminoacid.wordpress.com Amino

    Anyone who can isolate his feelings for a while could look closely and say the message that was to be passed on. Why closed eyes? Why not just simply veiled women with ice-creams? The cones are just a device in this piece of art symbolizing desires, ambitions, and needs. The women in the picture are not able to eat their ice-creams not because of the veil; it’s because of their closed eyes. A veil could never stop you from being what you wanna be, or your dreams, it’s the closed eyes. This isn’t a mockery of veiled women; it’s a mockery of the belief that veils are an obstacle in women’s life.

  • http://hamede.jeeran.com hamede

    Huda 75% naked and talking about sin.

  • http://www.dragonsvamp.wordpress.com dragonsvamp

    WOW amino i think you hit it spot on! and i agree with you…nothing can stop someone from doing something other than themselves. Some may say ‘no its not themselves its their culture or society’ but i stand in my belief that it is ‘themselves’ because it is ‘you’ that decides whether to be tied down to what society and culture restrict etc.

  • http://www.sabrihakim.com sabri

    Amino, that’s perfect.

  • Jason bourne

    Bless your heart Roba.

    An Arab girl, protesting against the “unethical” custom followed in her islamic country.

    You should give your parents a big hug. They did good.

    There is no greater education, than to question what we were taught.

    Why dont you move to america for Graduate school? You OWE it to yourself to make something out of your life. Some of us need to be successful, innovative, bold and adventurous.

    The rest of us can stick to kosher-meals and live by the sharia or the bible.

  • http://jameed.net jameed

    would argument change if the women were trying to eat some corn on the cob (3aranees dora)? would the same argument apply if they were trying to pick their noses? how about if they were trying to eat seeds (yfassisso bizer)? it is important to dissect the eatable before delving into the morality of the eater.

  • http://omernos.blogspot.com omar

    Looking closely,
    It doesn’t have to be closed eyes Amino
    I don’t know why would Roba’s caption illustrate that idea.
    If you look again,
    and I’m talking technically here, they could be looking down at their ice creams.

    But I can’t disagree with your point that
    “it’s a mockery of the belief that veils are an obstacle in women’s life”

    Funny how an artwork is seen in different perpectives,
    like Mr Jameed and the Corn on the Cob! hehehehe.

  • http://www.sandmonkey.org The Sandmonkey

    wow, I read ur first few comments and I think: I am not the only one who has people who are absolutely fuckin BEDAN commenting at my posts. Good to know.

    Great piece of art btw. ever watch a Ninja..eh a Niqabi.. try to eat pasta in a restaurant? FUNNY ASS SHIT!

  • http://odeh.livejournal.com odeh

    emm.. i got two words.. pun intended?

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    This painting isn’t about the niqab.

    Admittedly, I dislike all types of vieling, but whatever, everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion and I’m not about to ridicule personal beliefs that I do not understand/agree with on my blog.

    Repeatedly, this painting isn’t about the niqab. It is more of a political/social statement about the position of some women in the Arab world, tying to an incident that happened when Hamas first started gaining some ground in Gaza in the 90′s. But we’re so horribly religious that we can never see beyond that can we? Disappointing.

    The Caller, like I said, this has nothing to do with niqab, and I would think that the shut eyes symbolize the fact that some people do not want to see. Glad you like my blog :)

    Merin, ili 3a raso bat7a bi7ases 3aleiha.

    Hamede, what if I don’t want anyone to yehdeeni?

    Amino, lek inti amar!

    Clandestina, :)

    Khalidah, glad you enjoyed it.

    Omar, oh, well.

    Huda, lol. You and I should have a chat ;)

    Dragonsvamp, yeah, I liked what Amino said too. I thik the beautiful thing about art is that everyone can interpret it in whichever way they want, and that shows so much about the way each person thinks. Some people look beyond their noses, others dont.

    Jameed, wallahi innak phaylasooph zamanak.

    SM, haha, we’ll discuss that on Tuesday (along with Amino)! I’m sure we’ll have a lot to dish out.

    Odeh, haha, lah wallah. My intentions were purely good, but eish asawi, everyone thinks differently.

  • http://www.thecaller.jeeran.com thecaller

    asalam 3alaykom,
    Roba..i hope u r a sport..so take this as one!!
    1- tab3an enty 7orra ..it is your beliefs..but a small advice from someone older..don’t say ” i don’t want anyone..yehdeeny.”..this is allah…who created u..his respect is a must.
    so that may be someday you’ll grow up out of this..mm..state!!

    2- when u permit a monkey to say those dirty words about your visitors..it is so disrespectful..to u not us…because such crap would never hurt us..

    thank u for a short visit..cause it won’t be repeated.

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    The Caller, I actually appreciate your comments because you’re quite diplomatic.
    Anyway, the “dirty” monkey is my friend, so you’re also being rude. Perhaps he wasn’t refering to you, I know I wasn’t.
    Thank you for your breif visit, I hope you enjoyed it.

  • Girl

    I have to agree with “thecaller” he is right..

  • http://www.thecaller.jeeran.com thecaller

    asalam 3alaykom,
    Please..read my comment again..i would never call anyone dirty even if he meant me..because of the may be you just mentioned..i said dirty words and if those aren’t dity then i don’t know what is..
    thank you..i’m not diplomatic..just trying to be reasonable..
    you are nice roba..but if you’d visit me..i would never let any close friend say those words to you or any body..
    thank u

  • http://www.black-iris.com Nas

    lol this was an enjoyable thread of comments. i’ve never seen so much discussion revolve around the niqab and ice cream. one hand are the very religious who feel roba has mocked islam, in the middle are those who say niqab is not an obligation but we should respect those who choose to wear it instead of mocking them, and on the left are those praising roba for being critical of an unethical practice. oh and then there’s those critically analyzing the symbolism of the art and searching for interpretive meaning and then doing what all great art critics do…tell everyone what they should be seeing.

    im not going to dive into some complex analysis of what Roba’s intentions were. suffice to say art is interpretive, everyone is entitled to their opinion about what they see, feel and hear resonating from the piece. these comments are the best example of that very philosophy.

    anyways, a word to the critics: the very notion that the hijab, or heck even the niqab, renders a women useless is as logical as saying the absence of it renders her useful. the assumption is based on a personal opinion on religion and ignores the capacity of human beings.

    Aisha was covered, was a theologian, orator, a poet, helped establish the understanding of Islam, the source of over 2,000 hadiths, taught some of the most famed Islamic scholars and experts both men and women, led an army of thousands into battle, gave some of the most beautiful speeches in Islamic history, felt it was a good idea to teach women to read and write centuries before anyone thought it was worthwhile doing so and started social reforms that are studied in international universities today.

    so beat that with a stick

  • http://iheartamman.blogspot.com Firas

    Jason bourne

    Women in Roba’s Islamic country, that’s Jordan don’t wear such things.
    If you ever seen a women like this, it’s most probably she’s a foreigner, or a Jordanian that lived her whole life in Saudi Arabia or other Gulf countries. Or she comes from a radical background, not religious, because devoted muslim women in Jordan don’t wear such things in general.

    The painting
    Now the painting is no way mocking the Islamic tradition. Actually on the contrary I see it as a call for Muslim women and societies in general, that they can still be Islamic (wearing the veil) but enjoy modern life, and get indulge with their senses, if they just open their eyes and look at things differently.

    So you could still preserve your religious values,while enjoying life if you open your eyes a little bit. This is how I view it!
    This is what Amino is trying to say.

    I think ART is all relative! I mean some would tell you a canvas painted red is a master piece, while I think they are nuts :D!

    If you still didn’t get it: THE PAINTING is PRO-ISLAMIC!! Loool (btw,I’m not a Muslim)
    الرسمة تقول أن حجاب المرأة المسلمة ليس عائق في تقدمها كما يدعي البعد، حيث يمكنها العيش ضمن تقاليدها الاسلامية و في نفس الوقت يكنها التمتع في الحياة

  • http://hamede.jeeran.com hamede

    Monkey.
    2n lmtast7e f2 f3al mash2t,monkey.

  • http://hopestarburst.blogspot.com Hope

    This drawing reminded me of the saying ” You can’t have your cake( in this case ice cream) and eat it too” which means: the things people want are often incompatible or people want more than they can handle.

    Isn’t it true that we, the Arab Muslim women, wether veiled or not sometimes have achieved good things ( freedom, careers, etc. ) that we cannot fully enjoy or take to a higher level because of the restrictions of our society.

    Many of us have come a long way, and now we got our ice cream, but what good is an ice cream you can’t eat?

    The “impossible dream” for me is to be able to enjoy my God given, and many times hard earned ice cream, with no restrictions.

  • Sloopy

    Actually, there are many possible interpretations of art – that’s one of the reasons it’s so wonderful.

    What I see, is not balls of ice cream, but, ahem, testes (or testicles to some). It would be too obvious if there were just two per cone, so the artist takes some artistic license and disguises her true message by adding more. And notice what all those testicles are attached to? That’s right – round and… well I won’t go into the description more than that, but I do notice that all the women are clutching those cones in their hands real tight!

    I think it’s a commentary on the sexual repression felt by muslim women, who need a symbolic substitute in the form of ice cream cones either because they don’t have the real thing, or they’re afraid of it, or maybe they prefer what they have in their hands to what muslim men have to offer.

    I do see that the one in black has the two “balls” of ice cream (the artist is giving you a hint here), and she seems the saddest, perhaps because her cone is shorter than the rest. I think the artist herself might not have been aware of the unconscious message she was transmitting, but I’d bet Freud would have a lot to say about this!

    And when the ice cream is gone, do muslim women typically eat the cones, too? Hmmm, lots to consider here.

    Then again, sometimes a good ice cream cone is just a good ice cream cone.

  • Girl

    ‘Women in Roba’s Islamic country, that’s Jordan don’t wear such things.
    If you ever seen a women like this, it’s most probably she’s a foreigner, or a Jordanian that lived her whole life in Saudi Arabia or other Gulf countries. Or she comes from a radical background, not religious, because devoted muslim women in Jordan don’t wear such things in general.’

    I gree with you Feras most of women in Jordan don’t wear niqab. But when they do, its not because they are from a radical bg..etc.
    I know women who wear niqab and they are totaly the opposite. Its not shameful to wear nigab, I think this is very personal thing. I don’t wear nigab but I respect any woman who does.

  • http://www.pheras.blogspot.com Pheras

    I don’t see any mockery honestly, it’s all about how you look at it, and I think that’s the beauty of art, it unveils how one thinks, and how one looks at a painting; each person can look at a painting in his/her own perspective, it’s all relative.

    I don’t Roba in real life, and I’m assuming not a lot do, so I don’t think anybody can really judge her, and anyway it’s her blog, she can do whatever she wants with it, so I think people need to respect that.

    Honestly, I’m totally against the veil, from what I see in the painting, I interpret it that the veil is holding back women from enjoying the simplest form of happiness and joy in life; I think it would be so hard to live inside that cage forever, under strain. But again, that’s my opinion, and I’ve never tried it (the veil), but I can imagine what girls and women go through, and what I’ve seen, most veiled girls in Jordan weren’t happy with it, and most of them weren’t even religious, I think it’s more connected to a traditional social norm, and that’s what makes it even more wrong.

  • Samer

    I’m not gonna comment on niqab and ice cream since they’ve been covered well already, but I’ll comment on this:

    “Hamede, what if I don’t want anyone to yehdeeni?”
    Reading this and other stuff you write, I can’t help but think, you’re either agnostic or athiest. I think you owe it to the readers of this blog to clarify this; to explain your ideology in that regard. It would save time and effort both on your side and their side.

    “But that would make for an explosive post that’s beyond my capacity, right? And where’s the fun if nobody’ll be dismayed by some of my comments? Where’s the contraversy? right?”

  • http://scatterload.blogspot.com Hamzeh N.

    Well they say art is about your interpretation of it.

    In that case, I say people should strive to interpret such pieces of art the way Amino did.

    Excellent observations my friend.

  • http://www.black-iris.com Nas

    Samer, you really have no right to ask a Muslim to ‘clarify their ideology’, their faith and belief is their own; judgement is reserved for God alone. Roba’s readers will neither benefit or gain from such knowledge and if anything it will only incite disunity and polarization. I say this mainly for your own benefit simply because it’s a dangerous path to interpret the positions of other Muslims, especially when the word “athiest” and “agnostic” are employed.

  • http://figaddict.blogspot.com Sari S. Al-Hiari

    We are making too much of this, I just think its ignorant, especially for somene native of Ghaza. She should know better, and same goes for you Roba.

  • http://figaddict.blogspot.com Sari Al-Hiari

    Roba, same goes for you that you should know better, not that you are ignorant. Just wanted to clarify, that I think Leila Shawwa is ignorant.

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Sari ya Sari, while I admittedly have never been to Ghaza, Leila Shawa lived in Ghaza, where she painted a lot of her art work, so I don’t know how you can call her ignorant.

  • Samer

    Nas, I’m not judging and I’m don’t want to interpret, that’s why I’m asking. But you’re telling me not to interpret nor to ask. So, what’s left, then? But I digress, I already know the answer. I should have just read the red shoes blog ‘more often’.

    See, to prove that it is beneficial and saves effort on both sides. I will stop visiting her blog. Infact, I’ll hate myself if I ever do so again. And I’m sure she agrees when I say ‘good riddance’.

    Allah yehdeeki o yehdeeni o Allah yehdi iljamee3, continue..

  • O.A.

    Samer you are an idiot..
    Nas i respect the way you think or the fact that you thnk before you speak
    again samer you’re an idiot

  • http://figaddict.blogspot.com Sari Al-Hiari

    Roba ya Roba,

    The reason I think she is ignorant is the same reason why anybody calls someone else ignorant. And that is that I see she lacks knowledge in something she claims knowing about.

    I live in Qatar where a lot of women wear the Niqab, even some of my colleagues at work, and they eat everything including ice cream. It is a balanced and fact-based statement to say that whoever portays women with Niqab as sad to not be able to eat icecream is ignorant.

  • http://www.black-iris.com Nas

    Samer:

    “But I digress, I already know the answer. I should have just read the red shoes blog ‘more often’.”

    Actually i was going to say that if one is unsure of someone’s stance on Islam then it would be better for one to mind his or her own business, but that works too.

  • Jason bourne

    Firas,

    Thank you. I am aware that Jordan is one of the more liberal Islamic countries. Its one the Laventine countries?

  • http://jameed.net jameed

    niqab or no niqab,…there still is something erotic about a bunch of women licking something in unison.

  • http://iheartamman.blogspot.com Firas

    JASON

    Hi Jason,
    Yes Jordan is somehow a Levantine country. I would say people in the South and Eastern Jordan are more close to Arabic culture (Bedouin.

    Anyways, it’s not about being liberal or not (btw it’s not as liberal as some might think) though traditionally, the Burkha or Niqab was never part of the region’s customs. Religious women would traditionally wear veil, more like what Jewish women used to wear.

    Now in recent years (1980+) thanks to all the US-backed Islamic Jihads in Russia, you could see some women in Burkha, which is still very isolated (usually those who come from radical families).

    Now, is Burkha an Islamic custom? I personally dont’ know because I’m not a Muslim. Okay this is turning into another “Is veil customary or not” argument.

    From what I’ve heard, some say Burkha is obligatory because Prophet Muhammad’s wives wore such clothes. But this could be because they lived in Saudi Arabia, where sand storms are common.

    In Levantine countries, Niqab or burkha was never part of it’s culture, even after the Isalmic (Arabic) occupation.

  • http://www.black-iris.com Nas

    Firas, man please, don’t spread misinformation if you don’t know what you’re talking about with all due respect. ya3ni if you don’t know there’s no sense in saying “from what i heard”. first of all the burka is the afghani style of niqab that covers the absolute entire body, it is an even more extreme form of the niqab and the niqab is a more extreme form of the hijab. It is not documented that the Prophet pbuh’s wives wore such clothes. The Prophet pbuh taught as what was written in the quran, what is considered as the modern day hijab as part of the mandatory framework of moderate dressing. there is nothing in the authentic sunnah that states otherwise and had there been the Prophet pbuh would’ve stated so.

    the majority of scholars of all 4 schools of Islamic thought since that time have agreed that it is not obligatory only a minority believes otherwise.

    also don’t generalise and say that those who wear the niqab is because they come from extreme families. you have no way of knowing that.

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Naturally, Naseem is corrent, but there are also other opinions on hijab in Islam which say that hijab isn’t compulsory at all.

    The basic rule of dress code in Islam is to wear “the best garment”. See Quran[7:26] The second rule can be found in Quran 24:31, asking women to cover their bosoms whenever they dress up.

    “Hijab” is the term used by many Muslims women to describe their head cover that may or may not include covering their face except their eyes, and sometimes covering also one eye. The Arabic word “Hijab” can be translated into veil. Other meanings for the word “Hijab” include, screen, cover (ing), mantle, curtain, drapes, partition, division, divider.
    The word “Hijab” appeared in the Quran 7 times, five of them as “Hijab” and two times as “Hijaban,”. None of these “Hijab” words are used in the Quran in reference to what the traditional Muslims call today (Hijab) as a dress code for the Muslim woman.

    Historically, hijab can be seen in early and late Roman and Greek art, both women and men wore head covering in religious
    contexts. This tradition was adopted by the Jews then the Christians adopted the same.

    Hijab was imposed on Muslim women by law quite recently, after the rule of the Fatimid dynasty. In fact, during the Abbassid period, it was a crime to wear hijab unless the woman is from the high ranks of society.

  • naan

    i wonder y those who critisize women who chose to wear the veil or cover their faces..dont critisize women who chose to wear bikinis or wear very revealing clothes showing their assets and seaking attention…one should learn to respect ppl choices even if you dont understand or agree with them..

    Roba..Allah yihdeena jamee3an, dont listen to those laughing to you and encouraging u..those arent the one who care…or know whats the best for u