A Turkish TV soap opera, ‘Noor,’ is making the Arab world, and especially, but not exclusively, the women, into captive zombies. They are mesmerized by the lead male, Mohannad, played by a tall young Turk — a former basketball player — with icey blue eyes (the model, Kivanc Tatlitu).
Noor is a modern fashion designer. She is married to Mohannad, romantic, attentive yet also supportive of her ambitions — making him a perfect husband and headache for many Arab men. Yet, they are the product of an arranged marriage and show some signs of social conservatism. It’s a microsm of Turkey’s own blend of secularism and tradition, allowing for an organic, even if fictionalized, feminism, that many Muslim women can relate to.
The show is having social implications in the Arab world. It is fueling the flames of marital tension. According to Reuters, “many Saudi women explained their devotion to the show as a form of escapism from stifling, love-less marriages.”
“Our men are rugged and unyielding,” quipped a 26-year-old house-frau who preferred to remain unnamed. “I wake up and see a cold and detached man lying next to me, I look out the window and see dust. It is all so dull. On Noor, I see beautiful faces, the beautiful feelings they share and beautiful scenery.”
And I thought women liked rugged men.
The show, which is dubbed in colloquial, rather than formal, Arabic, is also a huge hit in Palestine. One friend noted seeing postcards of Mohannad and Noor on sale in the streets, which the picture above also shows.
A family in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City soaking in Noor.
KABOBers had a brief but illuminating exchange about the series, mainly confirming the obsession with it in Palestine, but also expressing some general condescension towards the masses. I preferred to see it as a Turko-Israeli-Americo conspiracy to propagandize a vision of husbandism that no culture knows.
WILL: I think this is a plot to destroy the Arab family… Mohannad’s attentiveness to his wife is likely to be evoked in many spousal tifts.FAYYAD: I’ve been here two days and it’s already driving me nuts. It’s cheesy, empty, and has less content than the bold and the beautiful, not to mention of similar storyline. And the place here shuts down when it’s on, even my dad, the most skeptic and suspecious person of imported foriegn culture watches it.
Will’s predictions already materialized, several divorces in Jenin are blamed on it already.
DIANA: Oh come on. You mean that you don’t find Muhannad the dreamiest spouse on earth? You don’t find Nur the kindest person ever created? Oh Fayyad – the west has changed you. I am nearly on Ramadan countdown at; this point – Nur will be over only to be replaced by something just as stupid.
MOHAMMAD: God I hate this stupid show. And I hate how easily impressionable our
people are. Its beyond the point of pathetic…Fayyad isn’t exaggerating. People are getting divorced over this load of shit.DIANA: I have witnessed the Nur addiction firsthand: my niqab-wearing cousin and her pre-teen hijab wearing kids watch it 3 times a day. They have even subscribed to a new channel that shows uncut versions of Nur all day. Her freaky Sheikh husband is also addicted but claims to watch it for ‘educational’ purposes. The cuz has told me hair raising stories about her neighbour (who was beaten by her hubbie for mentioning how charming Muhannad is). I am sure this was just his excuse but Nur is now being blamed. Alas.
On one hand, the more men beat their wives, or neglect them, the more attractive escapist fantasies will be. This goes for all cultures. On the other, life is never so simple as a TV show.
However, is fandom for this show expressing aspirations we cannot ignore — the screams of Arab women for more?
Related posts:
- Match-making Chronicles: You know you are part of a hardcore Arab family…
- Israel’s Conspiracy Theories
- HRW’s Amazing Letter & The Open Conspiracy in Palestine
- A Reader Reflects: First Annual Bay Area Arab Women’s Conference
- Conspiracy Theorists’ Field Day
Will, there MUST be some way you can blame this on Israel and/or the US? If not, what the hell are you blogging about it for? In what way is it relevant to your white boy Christian American existence?
Posted by programmer craig | July 28, 2008, 7:19 pmFor once, something of interest. I congratulate whoever thought to post on this. While everything said may very well be valid, from a bird’s eye view, an undercurrent of change is underway.
Turkey is reclaiming Sunni Islam, and it is doing so with remarkable finesse – from funding it’s own brand of moderate imams who are then sent abroad, to increasing its regional influence by helping resolve sectarian conflict and isolating Islamist extremist, to now undermining the very fabric of Wahabi and tribal control of women.
Turkey is the real story.
A welcome development.
Posted by Najah | July 28, 2008, 7:27 pmThere was an Arab-themed telenovela on Telemundo a few years back, dubbed from Portuguese into Spanish, and the men were “dreamy” and “romantic” on that too. It’s just the way that foreign men are portrayed on TV. As the Rico Suave.
As for men complaining and beating their wives over the show, maybe if they treated their women a bit better and with respect, they wouldn’t have to live vicariously through a TV show.
Posted by ally | July 28, 2008, 8:58 pmOh you know, the Lebo singer Rola Sa3d has the actor who plays Mohannad in her new video clip called, “Nawihilu”.
I will have to agree with the Arab ladies…he is quite charming and good looking. I think the martial problems have more to deal with some Arab husbands’ unimaginative “ideas” in bed.
ya3ne, not like I know from experience…
Posted by Madame Mansour | July 28, 2008, 11:33 pm” I preferred to see it as a Turko-Israeli-Americo conspiracy to propagandize a vision of husbandism that no culture knows.”
You laugh, but it’s probably not far from the truth. When Nazi Yahoo showed up to deliver the marching orders for the invasion of Iraq to our congresswhores, he also suggested that we launch a propaganda attack against Iran using television programs like “Beverly Hills 90210″ and “Melrose Place” to subvert Iran’s youth. One sight of Shannon Doherty, apparently, and they’ll be storming the palace gates.
**”Citing the hundreds of thousands of satellite television dishes in Iran, Benjamin Netanyahu told the House Government Reform Committee that the United States could incite a revolution against the conservative Iranian clergy through the use of such Fox Broadcasting staples as “Melrose Place” and “Beverly Hills 90210″ — both of which feature beautiful young people in varying states of undress, living, glamorous, materialistic lives and engaging in promiscuous sex.
“This is pretty subversive stuff,” Netanyahu told the committee. “The kids of Iran would want the nice clothes they see on those shows. They would want the swimming pools and fancy lifestyles.” **
http://tinyurl.com/5csx2b
Hey, it worked on us dumb ass Americans.
**But Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich was not as supportive of Netanyahu’s calls for war. In a terse exchange that occurred before the former prime minister laid out his “Iran Strategy,” Kucinich asked him for additional suggestions for places to invade.
“While you’re here, Mr. Prime Minister, are there any other countries besides Iraq that you would suggest that we invade?” he asked.**
Damn, why isn’t this guy our president?
I can see where in a country like Palestine, which is under a brutal foreign occupation, there may be Arab men who aspire to be more “attentive” to their wives, but that is pretty hard to do when there are no jobs, no food, no fuel and no hope, and where every day is a struggle for brute survival with the specter of ethnic cleansing hanging over you. In that environment, giving women some escapist fantasy that may cause them to blame their husbands for the mess they are in could indeed prove subversive.
As a militant secularist, I am certainly no puritan, but it does dishearten me that there are literally millions of women in the US who are fanatical devotees of “Sex and the City” and actually admire the vapid, narcissistic characters on that show.
“Divide and Rule” is the oldest game in the book, and what better place to begin it than in the home?
Posted by Sean | July 29, 2008, 1:55 am""Divide and Rule" is the oldest game in the book, and what better place to begin it than in the home?" This this this should have a like button.
Posted by homegirl | May 22, 2011, 4:28 pmSean,
You made very valid points, but we have no evidence that it is planned and executed by western powers (including Israel). I agree that materialistic pop culture is part of the idealogical weaponry — see Radio Sawa for the biggest example — but I am not sure Noor is an example. Also, I would cite Hollywood’s post 9-11 meetings with the Bus administration as examples of the conscious employment of pop culture towards political ends (and the military has an office for coordinating certain films with Hollywood, and the office acknowledges trying to impact plots).
Yeah, Kucinich rocks.
BTW, since the Turkish model’s voice is dubbed, I wonder if we are discounting the dubber/voice actor. Is his voice sexy and tone empathetic? His voice could be part of the allure. It is important to recognize the auditory element. If he sounded like Richard Simmons, he would be less attractive.
Ally, you make a good point.
Najah, Turkey is a fascinating case politically. Let’s see if they can successfully marry the people’s values, and the democratic element of religiously-oriented parties, with the Kamalist vision. This is a trying time for its political system with the legal coup against the AK party. Its stringent secularism seems out of place in the current world, and a move towards procedural democracy would boost Turkey in my eyes.
PC, where have you been? I missed you.
Will
Posted by Will | July 29, 2008, 5:44 amFirst off I think the men should listen when women tell them that this is how they want their relationship to be. Why do people always forget that the Prophet PBU was good to his wives? Why does that have to sound like a foreign concept or as you describe American Israeli propaganda? There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting more and asking for more. If you feel your relationship could be better, you should be able to tell your spouse without fear of getting beaten. And if that means watching a show to learn from it – then so be it!
Posted by Anonymous | July 29, 2008, 7:30 amsean, let me give you a big F**K YOU on behalf of arab women… and men!
occupation is an extremely valid excuse for a lot of stuff, but NOT for being a bad husband. i can guarantee you a lot of women AND men in gaza, for example, would take exception to your comment…
as the anonymous above me recognizes, a happy, respectful, fulfilling marriage is a fundamental tenet of islam. let no real man EVER say he is too poor or oppressed to treat his wife properly… she is his greatest ally. people don’t envy nour bc mohanned gives her expensive gifts or has a sweet mansion on the bosphorous… it’s bc he respects her, and treats her like a WIFE should be treated.
i only hope men around the region do follow this example, and women hold them up to the standard!!
Posted by Anonymous | July 29, 2008, 7:46 amIn regard to Mohannad, I must say deal with it to the Arab men who get a “headache” when they see his devotion to his wife on television. How is devotion to your wife construed as a Turko-Israeli-Americo conspiracy of propaganda? I will say that I have not seen the show, so I can not specifically articulate my sentiments towards it. However, am I hearing from some of these arguments that the idea of an uncaring, unsupportive husband is a better example than a caring devoted husband? Is it really a bad thing to have a positive projection of an arranged marriage in the media? A marriage where husband and wife are happy living a blend of secularism and traditionalism.
Posted by Adib | July 29, 2008, 2:22 pmAnon,
How nice of you to say! Now if you could show me where I said it is okay for Arab men or any men to be disrespectful to their wives, I’ll give you a cookie. What I said, is that under the conditions of occupation, it can be difficult for men to be “attentive” to their wives, and I put that word in quotes as it means different things to different people. But at a minimum, being “attentive” means you have to actually be there and spend time with your wife, which can be hard when the only way to support your family is to travel 40 miles through ten checkpoints to get to a job where you work 14 hours a day in the hot sun and have to sleep at a relative’s place because you are too exhausted to make it home again.
I am not an Arab, a Muslim or a Palestinian. I don’t have intimate knowledge of what family life is like under the occupation, but I was born in extreme poverty, in a community where there was a lot of violence, so I know what that is like. I know what poverty is, the stresses it places on relationships, and how it can effect family life in my own country. I can assume that it is dramatically worse in a place like Gaza. I know that under these circumstances, tempers can become frayed, and men and women both are not always on their best behavior. People in these circumstances have to be strong, they have to be disciplined, and they have to be forgiving and understanding of each others’ weaknesses and faults if they are to survive.”Romance” is often a luxury in such circumstances, and there are other needs that must be met first, such as putting food on the table, keeping a roof over your family’s head, and not getting shot at or killed. That is what I am saying.
It is not wrong for a woman to desire romance, attention and understanding from a man. But men have a reciprocal right to expect understanding and respect from a woman. Putting up a photo of Mohannad on your bedroom wall or telling your husband you want to sleep with Mohannad just once and then die, as I read two women did, is not exactly respectful. To the extent a program like “Noor” can create unrealistic expectations in women that few Palestinian men could meet even if they wanted to, it can indeed be subversive.
I am not saying this is Zionist propaganda; as Will said, there is no evidence of that. But I am saying that the idea that shows like this can be used to subvert the Muslim world is not far-fetched, it is in fact very real as proven by Netanyahu’s words. If you wish to weaken a people you desire to conquer, breaking the bonds of family is a good place to begin.
Posted by Sean | July 29, 2008, 2:40 pmI am not an Arab, a Muslim or a Palestinian. I don’t have intimate knowledge of what family life is like under the occupation
In other words, you’re speaking completely out of your ass. Divorce in America is 50%, without occupation. What is it in Gaza, 5%? You have absolutely no idea what the hell you are talking about.
This is the problem with applying your “I grew up poor and oppressed also” to a socio-politico-tribal-religious situation you know nothing about. And another thing, many Palestinians are not poor and live much better than in America. We didn’t all grow up in Gaza under a zionist boot.
But thanks for trying to relate.
Posted by Anonymous | July 29, 2008, 5:07 pm“In other words, you’re speaking completely out of your ass.”
In other words, no one can possibly understand your people or venture an opinion but you. There’s an enlightened view.
“Divorce in America is 50%, without occupation. What is it in Gaza, 5%? You have absolutely no idea what the hell you are talking about.”
Your point with this non sequitur being what, exactly? Pointing to the high divorce rate in America is hardly a good selling point for your argument that Western-style programming will benefit Arab men. If you know why the divorce rate is so high here and so low in Gaza, by all means enlighten me.
“And another thing, many Palestinians are not poor and live much better than in America. We didn’t all grow up in Gaza under a zionist boot.”
Then using the logic you just applied to me, you can’t possibly understand what it’s like to be poor and living under the Zionist boot, and are just “talking out your ass.
Posted by Sean | July 29, 2008, 6:12 pm“… Let no real man EVER say he is too poor or oppressed to treat his wife properly… she is his greatest ally. people don’t envy nour bc mohanned gives her expensive gifts or has a sweet mansion on the bosphorous… it’s bc he respects her, and treats her like a WIFE should be treated.”
I bet comparied to being married to you, the occupation is a fucking breeze….
Posted by nox | July 30, 2008, 10:42 amSean, if you don’t know what you’re talking about then shut the fuck up. So tired of all these WASPs pretending like they understand the occupation. Don’t tokenize my people so you can feel like you have a purpose in life.
Posted by Anonymous | July 30, 2008, 1:36 pm“So tired of all these WASPs pretending like they understand the occupation. Don’t tokenize my people so you can feel like you have a purpose in life.”
Don’t tokenize your people by using them as an excuse for your own personal failings with men. We all know what beasts Arab men are, what with the 5 percent divorce rate in Gaza. I have yet to meet an Arab personally who wasn’t an honorable, stand-up guy. Sorry you’ve had such bad luck, though if your attitude in this post is any guide, I fear you may have greater problems with men than any sappy soap opera is going to cure.
If you wish to “tokenize” your people by using the Palestinian cause as a vehicle for venting your righteous indignation and seething contempt for “WASPS” or anyone else interested in that cause, knock yourself out.
If you want to keep the Palestinian cause an Arabs-only affair, let me congratulate you in advance on your inevitable defeat. The simple fact is, until Americans wake the fuck up and stop supporting Israel, or unicorns roam the land and an enlightened government takes over in Israel, the occupation will not end. If you are so casual about that cause you think it worthwhile to alienate sympathetic Americans who support it just so you can have the dubious pleasure of venting your intellectual arrogance, then you need to either stop pretending to care about your people or get your priorities straight.
Posted by Sean | July 30, 2008, 8:02 pmI have yet to meet an Arab personally who wasn’t an honorable, stand-up guy.
I lived in a mostly Arab community for years and also lived in Jordan for while. I would hesitate to say all that Arabs are “honorable, stand-up people,” just like I wouldn’t say all Caucasians, Hispanics, etc. are. That’s a bit deluded. No race is full of perfect people – contrary to Hitler’s belief.
Posted by ally | July 30, 2008, 8:59 pm“I lived in a mostly Arab community for years and also lived in Jordan for while. I would hesitate to say all that Arabs are “honorable, stand-up people,” just like I wouldn’t say all Caucasians, Hispanics, etc. are. That’s a bit deluded. No race is full of perfect people – contrary to Hitler’s belief.
”
I agree. You have only to look at the leadership of much of the Arab world to realize not all Arabs are honorable. But that isn’t what I said. I said that I have never *personally* met an Arab that wasn’t an honorable guy. You can take that statement for what it’s worth, but you can’t take it as blanket praise for every Arab everywhere, unless you imagine I’ve met them all
Posted by Sean | July 30, 2008, 9:20 pmIf you met them all, you’d sure as hell have a lot of time on your hands.
Posted by ally | July 30, 2008, 9:30 pmI see no mention of Syria’s role in any of this. Syria Arabized Nur and publicized it to the rest of the Arabs.
Posted by Anonymous | July 31, 2008, 1:52 amSean,
Here is the choice you and those who are like you give the Palestinians:
1) Accept Occupation by Israel
2) Accept Occupation by World Socialism
FUCK your world socialism. My family have been merchants for a thousand years. I am not going to allow you fucking pieces of shit who destroyed billions of lives in the 20th century to ruin my people.
You don’t know shit about my people, and you don’t give a shit about my people. All you want is token “good savages” to put on your bumper sticker slogans.
I’ve been to enough of your “activist meetings” to know what you socialists care about – Palestinian pussy and power.
I am not going to exchange one occupier for another, and seeing how well you did in Russia, Cuba and China, I’d say a temporary occupation is preferable to your permanent Stalins, Maos and Castros.
Posted by Anonymous | July 31, 2008, 7:43 am“I’ve been to enough of your ‘activist meetings’ to know what you socialists care about – Palestinian pussy and power.”
Fuck me, Anne Coulter is an Arab….
Posted by NOX | July 31, 2008, 7:56 am“I’d say a temporary occupation is preferable to your permanent Stalins, Maos and Castros….”
Considering Stalin, Mao and Castro are all now out of power but the occupation is still going on, I’d say that was an abysmal point abysmally made…
Posted by Lowfields | July 31, 2008, 7:58 amStalin and Mao are responsible for the murder of hundreds of millions. Castro for the murder of hundreds of thousands.
Yes, I prefer Occupation to Wholesale Slaughter, lo’. Maybe you don’t have family back there to worry about, but I do.
Here we go again with these fucking commies. Why should I fucking choose between Israel and Stalin?! Fuck both of you.
Posted by Anonymous | July 31, 2008, 9:43 amI preferred to see it as a Turko-Israeli-Americo conspiracy to propagandize a vision of husbandism that no culture knows.
Haha! Will, you crack me up.
Not on your first relationship, are you?
Posted by Firouz | August 3, 2008, 6:18 pmADAM, here, and Mr. Sean:
1- I have great respect for you keeping your cool with some of them dumb yungns!
2- You have a deeper understanding of the human psyche than any of them dim-wits here
yes, i will kick it up a notch or too, besides the emotional trauma such conditions like in Gaza have on the body and mind, i would like to add that too much work, stress, or emotional problems will affect the manhood of any man, i have seen many cases that couple have tried to conceive for long time, they take a vacation and viola! people in Gaza and lots of these places don’t have that luxury, they are struggling poor, with a constant knife on their necks…
The men need to try harder, and the women should have a better understanding…
BUT that does not explain the language of some sorry cases!
Thank you Sean
Adam
Posted by Anonymous | August 25, 2008, 1:26 amSean, thank you for responding calmly to that dumbass Anon and her retarded “pride.”
Your defending her and shes getting mad at you, hilarious.
Posted by anon is a dumbass | December 12, 2008, 5:23 pmThis is to Anon and Sean's discussion:
I actually agree with almost everything Sean said, and guess what? I'm a young Palestinian female, also a Feminist AND Socialist (but not a commie, sorry to disappoint you Anon but they are both very different things, read a book.) and as a Palestinian female living in Palestine, I'm exposed to a bunch of different media outlets, from Israeli media (since I'm technically Arab Israeli and I'm fluid in Hebrew) to American media via MBC network and Dubai One and BitTorrent, and last but not least Arab media, this isn't a new thing, women have been sold an unrealistic image of the "perfect man" and men have been sold an even faker image of the "perfect woman" for ages in every single culture, magazines targeted at women usually have articles full of tips about looking like the perfect woman AND finding the perfect man when both things don't exist, same goes for arabic speaking magazines. Then BOOM comes along a mediocre turkish soap opera about an arranged marriage (something arab women can relate to) that sells them a faux mainstream feminist figure thrown into such a marriage (the perfect woman) but surprisingly her husband isn't a cold, old, oppressive loser! he's a handsome, rich, well-mannered young fellow who showers her with gifts and supports her career. This isn't a new concept (see Edward Cullen in the Twilight saga for an American counterpart) not in the Arab world even, my mother has told me stories about young girls thrown into marriage innocently telling their husbands about their crushes on Rushi Abaza and Abdul Halim and getting beaten up for it long before the Muhanad phenomenon, but it still surprised me when it happened. It's not that I'm against men treating their wives nicely in arranged marriages especially, it's just how fake and superficial Muhanad (and others like him)'s character was/is and how treating his wife like a spoiled daughter equals treating her like a counterpart and a partner in an awkward situation known by many.
So to conclude my point, chivalry and "manhood" aside, Muhanad is a bad example of an even worse, mass-produced stereotype that seeks to make women and men alike live vicariously through these characters in order for them to forget the status quo. Palestinian men aren't exempt from treating the women in their lives badly, because they live under occupation, but as a humanist and feminist, I understand where their violent behavior comes from, and I don't expect them to treat them like princesses when they're being oppressed themselves, the oppression allows minorities to abuse other minorities, and unless full sovereignty is achieved, Palestinian are still going to abuse and kill each other for stupid and ignorant reasons. I fight for freedom of humanity as whole before fighting for individual rights and minority rights. Mass-manufactured stereotypes hurt almost everyone, after all like Marx said "Give them bread and entertainment" It'll keep Arabs busy with their TVs that they'll forget the status quo. Thank goodness for the recent Arab revolutions, or I would've believed that the Noor method actually works all the time.
Last but not least, I like this website's humor, it's refreshing.
Posted by homegirl | May 22, 2011, 4:23 pm