Egypts Famous Belly Dancing Channel Shut Down

ETA ... The new government in Egypt has decided to close down the popular 'belly dancing channel'. Apparently they think it leads young girls to be prostitutes and that it's immoral.

Bellydancing is an art form in Egypt and is actually taught by mothers and grandmothers to the children. It's part of the culture. (If I'm reading everything correctly).

The new government is reaching and starting to flex it's control. I personally dont' care if the people of Egypt get their belly dancing channel or not. But I found it interesting that the new government thought it was somehow evil.

Youtube clips from the Belly Dancing Channel are here ...
Gateway Pundit

Egypt’s vice police on Thursday arrested the owner of a belly dancing TV station on suspicion of operating without a license, inciting licentiousness and facilitating prostitution, a security official said.

The station, ElTet, broadcasts videos 24 hours a day of scantily clad belly dancers giving sultry performances to live in-studio music. Available on satellite TV for more than a year, the station has gained a dedicated following, in part because it shows a quintessentially Egyptian art form that has grown increasingly inaccessible for many people in the country, having been largely relegated to expensive clubs and hotels as the country has grown more conservative in recent few decades.

Still, mothers and grandmothers traditionally teach young girls belly dancing at home, particularly by watching old black-and-white movies that made earlier generations of belly dancers household names in Egypt.

AbramOnLine

In the other case, the administrative court rejects an appeal on Saturday by Sheikh Abdullah Badr and Atef Abdel-Rashid, the owner Al-Hafez religious channel, against a ruling on 12 January that barred Badr's programme Fi Al-Mizan for 30 days.

Prominent actress Elham Shahin and TV anchor Hala Sarhan filed the original lawsuit, demanding the Al-Hafez channel be shut down for insulting Shahin on his programme.

"Elham Shahin is cursed and she will never enter heaven," Badr said on air.

Blasphemy! Moris' Egyptian Court Shuts Down Belly Dancing Channel

Its about time we got that smut off the air.

Seeing these navels and that hip shaking going on.......disgusting.

Apparently in Egypt it's considered an art form and it's cultural. Mothers and grandmothers teach their daughters at home how to belly dance. The belly dancing channel has been on the air for over a year. But the new Egyptian government is getting involved and it's definately anti-belly dancing.

When I read "facilitating prostitution" I was like huh? Then I thought about it and I guess its implying that the dance is teaching women and children how to essentially dance erotically? How that jumps to prostitution is bit of a stretch even still. I have yet to see a belly dancer working it down on the corner.

This could have easily been avoided by providing them with Hula Hoops and calling it a workout show.

OMG



Another human rights thread.

Belly dancers are going to lose their job.

Not to mention prostitutes who lost their job after Islamic revolution in Egypt.

Maybe you should think about invading Egypt and liberating those poor people for god sake.

ETA : I meant that people have decided not to live like liberlas.

No one can force them to do so.

Click here for more information.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
Apparently in Egypt it's considered an art form and it's cultural. Mothers and grandmothers teach their daughters at home how to belly dance. The belly dancing channel has been on the air for over a year. But the new Egyptian government is getting involved and it's definately anti-belly dancing.

Just another part of our/their cultural heritage washed away on the tides of religious extremity.
I know - it's just television...but, belly-dancing's historic significance goes well beyond the borders of Egypt.
Just ask the Basque peoples... (Fandango, Flamenco, etc...)
Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Originally posted by mideast
Belly dancers are going to lose their job.
Not to mention other prostitutes who lost their job after Islamic revolution in Egypt.

Belly Dancers are not prostitutes.

Maybe you should think about invading Egypt and liberating those poor people for god sake.

Maybe you should actually read the article and stop the hysterics.

Belly Dancing is an art form and a part of cultural expression in Egypt.
It's not prostitution .. no matter how much the uber-muslim government of Egypt says it is.

The current tenants of the pyramids gets me nervous about their overall vision of Egypt.

We should pay attention to these moves before the C4 starts being stacked up around the wonders.

Anyhow, just a channel, but hopefully bellydancing itself won't become illegal. I remember taking a cruise ship on the nile and they had a belly dancer..very entertaining to say the least.
Prostitution? not so much...or rather, they wish. Probably upset that your not allowed to get all creepy around bellydancers.

Sort it out Egypt!

reply to post by FlyersFan


I guess it's all good and well. I mean, it IS their country. Just don't "import" the same 4th century mindset to the western world.

Iran, Egypt et al, can all go back to the middle ages, as far as I'm concerned, if that's what they want to do in their country.

Just
Don't
Bring
It
Here.

Originally posted by beezzer
reply to post by FlyersFan

 

I guess it's all good and well. I mean, it IS their country. Just don't "import" the same 4th century mindset to the western world.

Iran, Egypt et al, can all go back to the middle ages, as far as I'm concerned, if that's what they want to do in their country.

Here.

And they can get developed and make their own power plants as far as I'm concerned, if that's what we want to do in their country.

Originally posted by mideast

Originally posted by beezzer
reply to post by FlyersFan

 

I guess it's all good and well. I mean, it IS their country. Just don't "import" the same 4th century mindset to the western world.

Iran, Egypt et al, can all go back to the middle ages, as far as I'm concerned, if that's what they want to do in their country.

Here.

And they can get developed and make their own power plants as far as I'm concerned, if that's what we want to do in their country.

Sure! And if they launch a nuke THEY can also pay the ultimate price.

*boom*

That can work both ways.

As long as it works both ways , it is fair.

Originally posted by beezzer
reply to post by FlyersFan

 

I guess it's all good and well. I mean, it IS their country. Just don't "import" the same 4th century mindset to the western world.

Iran, Egypt et al, can all go back to the middle ages, as far as I'm concerned, if that's what they want to do in their country.

Just
Don't
Bring
It
Here.

The middle age mindset is already in the western world. It was brought by the Christians.

How quick you are to go from a power plant to a bomb. Somebody has been watching too much FOX again.

Well they managed to stay on the air for a year anyway. Of course the lack of a legal license made them an easy target.

reply to post by FlyersFan

How very sad. I have a feeling it is in retaliation for a famous belly dancer mocking them last year.

From November:

Last week Sama El Masry, a famous Egyptian belly dancer, uploaded a home-made video to YouTube; it shows her in a skin tight outfit, swinging her hips seductively to a song rife with anti-Muslim Brotherhood political innuendo. The sexy little number set the Egyptian social media and political worlds ablaze — but not only because it mocked the prudish Islamists with the double whammy of gyrating hips and no-holds-barred criticism of the Islamist party. In a bizarre twist that could only happen in post-revolutionary Egypt, the dancer was also famous for claiming to be the ex-wife of a Salafi member of parliament.

There is a tacit social contract in Egyptian society, according to which belly dancers are untouchable. No matter what they do, no matter how outrageous their behavior is according to Islamist values, they are totally accepted by the general population. There are even old proverbs that warn against the wrath of belly dancers, advising people against antagonizing them. This is part of the schizophrenic Egyptian collective consciousness.

techpresident.com

Also a note, it is my understanding that belly dancers in Egypt are forbidden from showing their midriffs in public. Most wear tight dresses or a body stocking under their costumes. So no dancing belly button for you! And, most of the instructors I have met from Egypt have been men! They are great choreographers.

I guess Egypt's next step is Islamic law.I'm sure they'll be thrilled with that.And no tourist in his right mind would visit them now.Tourism was Egypt's biggest money maker.

Good thread. And its about Sharia, an unnatural control regime, versus the real cultures of the land and the real traditions. I really like the art of belly dancing, its beautiful and graceful.


Belly Dance Lesson #1 - BellyDanceBoulevard.com dancing lessons

This is really good excercise. And its a lovely art that I don't want to see vanish in the midst of the black shrouds and primitive bullying of Sharia.