Khalife newspaper archive

Dateline: Beirut Popular Arab singer on trial for blasphemy ; Marcel Khalife faces trial for putting verse from Koran to music; [1 Edition] Lee Hockstader. Toronto Star. Toronto, Ont.: Dec 1, 1999. pg. 1

BEIRUT - When he goes on trial for blasphemy today, one of the best-loved singer-songwriters of the Arab world is prepared to give the court an earful, regardless of whether he is sentenced to prison.

"I'm going to ask them: 'What am I doing here?' " said Marcel Khalife, 48, who stands accused of offending Islam by singing a brief verse from the Koran. "I'm culturally ashamed. I think it's an ethical scandal that I'm here. Are we moving forward and building a happy future, or are we stuck in the past?"

Khalife - soft-spoken, impish, a veteran of concert halls and recording studios in North America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa - seems an unlikely blasphemer.

Politically, he is prone to a gauzy, love-thy-neighbour brand of liberalism. Religiously, although raised in a Christian family, he considers himself devoutly secular.

He lived in Muslim West Beirut through much of Lebanon's long civil war. His CDs, on sale worldwide, are hugely popular, and 90 per cent of the buyers are Muslims, he says.

Khalife is a cultural icon in Lebanon, which prides itself on an openness and avant-garde spirit that sets it apart from most Arab countries.

Despite the devastation of a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990, Beirutis think of their city as the cultural capital of the Arab world, and point to outspoken intellectuals and slightly decadent night life as proof.

None of that carried much weight with Lebanon's Sunni Muslim hierarchy, or with Beirut's new chief magistrate, Abdel Rahman Shehab, also a Sunni Muslim. A day after taking office last month, Shehab indicted Khalife for committing a crime against the country's dominant religion, Islam.

If found guilty, Khalife faces a prison term of six months to three years.

Khalife's offence was to set to music a poem, "Oh, Father, it is I, Youssef," which ends with a verse from the Koran. The poem, by renowned Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish, is a bitter lament that gives voice to the Koranic prophet Youssef (the Old Testament figure Joseph), whose brothers hated him and plotted to kill him. In the plaintive last stanza, Youssef asks if he wronged his brothers by telling them of his dream:

I dreamt of 11 planets

And of the sun and the moon

All kneeling before me.

The Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon's senior Sunni Muslim religious authority, said quoting the Koran is fine, but setting its verses to music and accompanying it with instruments is off-limits.

"When you include a musical instrument to accompany the Koran, you go beyond the respect due the word of God on Earth," said grand mufti Mohammed Kabaneh. "There are rules that must be respected. This issue has nothing to do with freedom."

Khalife's prosecution is actually an encore performance. His song, "Arabic Coffeepot," first released in 1995, attracted attention almost immediately. But an indictment against him two years ago was dropped, reportedly at the prompting of then-prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

Following the recent indictment, several thousand of Khalife's fans and allies signed petitions on his behalf and demonstrated their support this month at his pre-trial hearing. Groups such as Abroad, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have publicly expressed concern.

But Lebanon's cultural elite appear unwilling to let it drop. Intellectuals in Beirut said the case fits an ominous pattern of recent attacks on artistic expression.

They said they fear for Lebanon's status as one of the more tolerant Arab societies if the balance tips toward Islamic fundamentalists.

"Until now, Lebanon has had the most open freedom of expression in the Arab world," said Tewfiq Mishlawi, a Lebanese journalist. "Here there is a different balance of forces. The liberals are much stronger. But there are worrying signs." [Illustration] Caption: AP FILE PHOTO / BLASPHEMY BATTLE: Lebanese singer Marcel Khalife, seen at a recent concert in Beirut, faces a prison term of six months to three years if found guilty on blasphemy charge. His trial begins today.

Credit: SPECIAL TO THE STAR; WASHINGTON POST

Lebanese singer strikes sour note with Muslim clerics; [Final Edition] LEE HOCKSTADER. The Gazette. Montreal, Que.: Dec 1, 1999. pg. A.16

Copyright Southam Publications Inc. Dec 1, 1999

When he goes on trial for blasphemy today, one of best-loved singer-songwriters of the Arab world is prepared to give the court an earful, regardless of whether he is sentenced to prison.

"I'm going to ask them: `What am I doing here?' " said Marcel Khalife, 48, who stands accused of offending Islam by singing a brief verse from the Koran. "I'm culturally ashamed. I think it's an ethical scandal that I'm here. Are we moving forward and building a happy future, or are we stuck in the past?"

Khalife - soft-spoken, impish, a veteran of concert halls and recording studios in Montreal (Place des Arts in 1992), the United States, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa - seems an unlikely blasphemer.

Politically, he is prone to a gauzy, love-thy-neighbour brand of liberalism. Religiously, although raised in a Christian family, he considers himself devoutly secular. He lived in Muslim West Beirut through much of Lebanon's long civil war. His CDs, on sale worldwide, are hugely popular, and 90 per cent of the buyers are Muslims, he says.

Khalife is a cultural icon in Lebanon, which prides itself on an openness and avant-garde spirit that sets it apart from most Arab countries. Despite the devastation of a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990, Beirutis think of their city as the cultural capital of the Arab world, and point to outspoken intellectuals and slightly decadent night life as proof.

Intellectuals in Beirut said the case fits an ominous pattern of recent attacks on artistic expression. They said they fear for Lebanon's status as one of the more tolerant Arab societies if the balance tips toward Islamic fundamentalists.

None of that carried much weight with Lebanon's Sunni Muslim hierarchy, or with Beirut's new chief magistrate, Abdel Rahman Shehab. A day after taking office last month, Shehab, a Sunni Muslim, indicted Khalife for committing a crime against the country's dominant religion, Islam.

If found guilty, Khalife faces a prison term of six months to three years.

Khalife's offence was to set to music a poem, "Oh, Father, it is I, Youssef," which ends with a verse from the Koran. The poem, by renowned Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish, is a bitter lament that gives voice to the Koranic prophet Youssef (the Old Testament figure Joseph), whose brothers hated him and plotted to kill him. In the plaintive last stanza, Youssef asks if he wronged his brothers by telling them of his dream:

I dreamt of 11 planets

And of the sun and the moon

All kneeling before me.

The Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon's senior Sunni Muslim religious authority, said quoting the Koran is fine, but setting its verses to music and accompanying it with instruments is off limits.

"An artist can use the words written by people as he wishes, but he doesn't have the right to use the word of God," said Mohammed Kabaneh, the grand mufti. "There are rules."

Lebanese singer's judgment put off; [Final Edition] CLAUDETTE SARKIS. The Gazette. Montreal, Que.: Dec 2, 1999. pg. B.4

Copyright Southam Publications Inc. Dec 2, 1999

Lebanese singer Marcel Khalife, who went on trial here yesterday accused of "insulting religious values," will learn the verdict in the case on Dec. 15, the judge announced.

Khalife, a Maronite Christian known for his progressive views, is being prosecuted because he quoted from the Koran, the Muslim holy book, in one of his songs.

If found guilty, he could face between six months and three years in prison. However, the verdict is subject for appeal. "I am sorry to hear the word `insulting' from the court itself or in charge sheet," Khalife told the court.

"Never have I thought about insulting anything in my life. There are 19 confessions in Lebanon and I have never belonged to any of them. I have worked for the nation, for mankind," he said.

The large defence team that volunteered to defend Khalife asked for the trial to be stopped and Khalife to be declared innocent because there was no legal ground for a prosecution since there was "no criminal intention." [Illustration] Photo: (Marcel) Khalife denies "insult." ;

Composer did not insult Islam: judge; [National Edition] Sultan Sleiman. National Post. Don Mills, Ont.: Dec 16, 1999. pg. B.2

BEIRUT - A Beirut court has acquitted Marcel Khalife, a renowned Lebanese composer and singer, of charges of insulting Islam by including Koranic verses in a song.

Judge Ghada Abou Karroum ruled yesterday that Mr. Khalife, 49, did not commit any crime. She cleared him of all charges in a trial seen as a test case for freedom of expression in a country perceived as one of the most liberal in the region.

"The accused sang solemnly the holy Koranic verses, therefore, he did not insult the sanctity of Koran and neither did he incite any one to do so," she said. Her verdict can be appealed.

Mr. Khalife, a leftist who is one of the Arab world's most respected performers, said he was pleased with the verdict and thanked all his supporters.

"I am happy that the Lebanese judiciary acquitted itself of the charges of suppressing freedom ... and the arts," he said at Beirut airport while waiting for a flight to Tunisia.

"I thank all citizens of Lebanon, the Arab world and elsewhere, who by supporting my cause, were defending freedom, culture and art," he added.

The trial triggered a campaign of solidarity by Lebanese and Arab intellectuals.

Composer acquitted of insult to Islam; [London edition, USA edition] Schofield, James. Financial Times. London (UK): Dec 16, 1999. pg. 06

Copyright F.T. Business Enterprises Limited (FTBE) Dec 16, 1999

A Lebanese court has acquitted one of the Arab world's leading music composers of charges of insulting Islam by including Koranic verses in one of his songs.

Judge Ghada Abou Karoum said that Marcel Khalife had committed no crime under Lebanese law and proceeded to clear him of all charges, in a trial that had been seen as a test case for freedom of expression in a country perceived as one of the most liberal in the Arab world.

"The accused sang solemnly the holy Koranic verses, therefore he did not insult the sanctity of the Koran and neither did he incite anyone to do so," she said. "All judicial procedures against Khalife are to be halted," the judge said. Her verdict can be appealed against.

Mr Khalife, one of the Arab world's most respected performers, said he was very happy that the Lebanese judiciary "has acquitted itself from accusations of curbing freedom, culture and arts".

His supporters said the judge had drawn an important distinction between civil law and Islamic religious law.

The Lebanese novelist, Elias Khoury, said: "There is aclear separation between religious law and civil law. This is what we wanted from the beginning. The religious law must not be applied under civil law."

Mr Khalife was charged in October with insulting Islam by including Koranic verses in a song based on a poem by the popular Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish. The charge carried a sentence of imprisonment of up to three years.

Khalife newspaper archive

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