Sudan-Israel friendship group breaks taboos
By Brian Adeba
Sudanese-Canadian activist Taraji Mustafa caused angst in the Arab world by daring to befriend Jews.
Jan 17, 2007 (OTTAWA) — Search for the name Taraji Mustafa on the internet and you are bound to find Jewish, Arab and Sudanese bloggers grinding the grist about her. It’s all because the Hamilton-based Sudanese immigrant has crossed the boundary of what is considered taboo in the Arab world.
Coming from a country where government media constantly refer to Israel as al adu al Israyil or “the enemy Israel” in Arabic, Taraji Mustafa was raised on a daily diet of Jew and Israel bashing in Sudanese media, school textbooks and government policy.
So last fall, when Ms. Mustafa formed the Sudanese-Israeli Friendship Association, she caused a lot of angst in the Arab world.
When news broke about the association, Arab media quickly sought her out. On Dec.1, 2006, Al Arabiya, a 24-hour satellite news channel based in Dubai, snagged the first interview with her.
In the interview, which can be found on the popular video website YouTube, Ms. Mustafa defends the formation of the association when the interviewer suggests her idea is “not appropriate in light of the Israeli-Arab conflict.”
“This question brings us to another question,” she replied. “Are the Sudanese Arab or not? Does membership in the Arab League mean Arab identity?”
But whilst highlighting an identity crisis that has dogged Sudanese of Arab stock for generations, Ms. Mustafa also launched an attack on what she calls the stereotypical and racist way the rest of the Arab world treats their Sudanese counterparts, who are darker in complexion.
“Despite all the years that have passed since we joined the Arab League and since we gained independence, we have failed–or rather, the Arab brothers have failed–in making us feel we are Arab brothers. There has always been a stereotypical view of the Sudanese people,” she told Al Arabiya.
Reached by phone at her home in Hamilton, Ont., Ms. Mustafa says the turning point for her came when she interacted with Jews and discovered all she had been taught in Sudan was not true. To cap it all off, one of her teachers was Jewish, as was her daughter’s teacher at school, and her family doctor.
“They are people just like us,” she says.
The human rights activist, who is active in highlighting the ongoing atrocities in Darfur, says her perceptions about Jews and Israel were very different just three years ago.
She recalls when she and a group of activists formed an organization to pressure the world to take a proactive stance on Darfur, the first message of support they received was from a Jewish organization.
“I said ‘Keep them away from our organization,'” she says.
When the Sudanese-Israeli Friendship Association was formed, a website was designed and the Sudanese and Israeli flags were put side by side. It caused a lot of commotion, but Ms. Mustafa says she received a lot of support from students in Sudan, who dared to reveal their full names.
But for all the support she has received, she also received a lot of criticism and insulting phone calls from Arabs abroad and in Canada. Some accused rich Jews of fronting the organization. She says she received further insults because she had suggested in the Al Arabiya interview that Palestinians were ungrateful for the support the Sudanese people have offered them in the past.
In Sudan, she says, a ruling party legislator asked in parliament that her Sudanese citizenship be revoked, while at home in Hamilton, she says, local imams have denounced her. Her family in Sudan has been inundated with queries into her actions.
“My sister called me crying and saying, ‘What have you done?'” says Ms. Mustafa.
“But when I calmed her down and explained to her that Jews were people like you and me, she understood my position.”
Together with her Jewish counterparts, Ms. Mustafa says the association, whose objective is to introduce the cultures of Sudan and Israel to each other, will be registered soon and members will be vetted to weed out those who are not serious.
Alicia Richler, associate director of communications for the Canada Israel Committee, says initiatives such as Ms. Mustafa's can bridge the gap between communities and has the potential to lead to positive results. “I think her work should be supported,” says Ms. Richler. She adds that though what she knows about Ms. Mustafa is from reading articles about her on the Internet, the feeling in the Jewish community is that this is a positive endeavour. However, she says Ms. Mustafa has not contacted the Canada Israel Committee.
(Embassy)
See also video: Interview with Taraji Mustafa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54yjdiZZvFA