Muhajababes
Published by BO18 on - 1/15/2007
Every now and then you buy book that you know is just pulp and too commercial (as in written for housewives)
But you still buy it, and thats what I did last weekend when I bought "Muhajababes" by Allegra Stratton.
It was quite a nice book actually. The main topic is youth culture in the Middle East. In 277 pages the author tries to discover and understand the everyday life of the arab youth.
The main items that keep on coming back in her book are Haifa Wehbe videoclips, Amr Khaled, prince Alwaleed and satellite tv.
According to the writer these are the factors that influence the local youth cultures. These factors also led to the rise of the so-called Muhajababes. Veiled youngsters who dress like the singers in the videoclips.
These Muhajababes are the product of religiosity, islamic tv-evangelism, commercial culture and western influences.
The book gives you a little insight in the everyday life of middle or upperclass girls and boys.
And thats also one of my issues with this book. It is a nice little guide if you want to know more about the middle class and up. But it doesnt cover the youngster who live in slums, poorer urban areas or the countryside. While the youngster there form the biggest part of the young arab population.
So the book felt lacking somehow. But it is still a nice book to read. I dont know if I'll recommend it to someone, but if you dont know what to do with £8 you can buy this book.
It will keep you busy for a little while.
Sounds like a fair honest review, making me just curious enough to want to read it. (:
I saw "Een Kleine Geschiedenis van Amsterdam" on your book list, awesome book! I read it a few years ago and I would recommend it to anyone who's interested in finding out how the process of integration is most effective...I was wondering what your take on it is.
And the author is great! I read all his books:P
Including his lifework on Europe.
But to be honest, it was just fabulous to read because of the way he writes.
But when I read it (about a year ago) I kind of thought that this was a typical nineties book.
When we were still thinking that we completed everything and that Amsterdam was a Utopia.
It kind of became irrelevant in this time.
But it still shows how naieve some policies were back then.
And that back then there were already signs that the policies on integration were failing.
Too bad.