Egyptian dancer's charitable donation refused?

[*Shira*]

Do I remember correctly that a year or more ago one of the top Egyptian dancers (maybe Fifi or Dina?) wanted to donate some money to charity, and was turned down? That the charity refused to accept money earned "that way"? If so, can anybody refresh my memory on details? Does anyone have a link to any online articles about it?

[*Shira*]

Never mind, I found the article! For those who are curious, it's here: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/816/sc21.htm

[eugeniaargentina]

thanks for the article

[rakgirl]

yeah i keep hearing about how things are getting more and more conservative. it's a scary time.

[zorba]

Thanx for the reminders...

Good on Dina for refusing to get "bogged down" in religious debate on the subject.

It always amazes me how much people buy into this carp - circular and/or associative reasoning. And its a worldwide problem, not just in the middle east.

[*Shira*]

In the 1990 movie Al-Raqissa wa-l-Siyasi (The Belly Dancer and the Politician) this sort of thing is actually part of the plot. A dancer wants to open an orphanage, and a bureaucrat denies her the necessary government approvals. He accuses her of planning to teach all the children who live at the orphanage to become dancers themselves (as if that's a bad thing), even though that's not actually her intention. But of course, the dancer doesn't take "no" for an answer that easily....

If only the movie had cast a real dancer in the title role rather than an actress whose dance skills are forgettable (not bad, just forgettable)!

If the above synopsis makes you want to watch the movie, here's where I bought it from (with English subtitles): http://fineartfilm.com/index.php?mai...roducts_id=499

[ChristinaRizkallah]

Thanks for re-posting this article. I totally about it. It was nice to re-read. I think its totally bogus that the dancers and entertainers are being critcized for giving to the poor. The government should be doing this, not private citizens. But of course, the government of Egypt is so ineffective and inefficient in caring for the needs of the poor; therefore, the poor need all the help from the private. As Ruby mentioned in the article, who are we to judge how the money was earned, and what is sinful and what is not and that piety is very private. I totally agree.

What really urked me was more of what the author wrote at the end of the article. Did anyone notice that he referred to belly dancing as the "world's oldest profession?" I think the reference of the "world's oldest profession" is prostitution. He (and yes, the author is a male, grrrrrrrrrr) is making a reference/connection with belly dancing and prostitution. He is basically saying that belly dancers are prostitutes. Man, I am so glad that despite being Egyptian, my entire family in both the USA and Egypt is totally supportive. Apparently, I come from a unique family. I know plenty of Egyptian families out there who don't approve of their daughter dancing (not just Egyptian, but American, Asian, etc...) Anyway, I digress...