Thursday, April 25, 2002
name: Dr. Hakam Kair
country: USA
subject: To Marcel
comments: Keep walking tall..Keep your voice sharp..and your tone exploding..We your Palestinians need you

Tueday, April 23, 2002
name: Michael Nattenberg
subject: Re: From Marcel Khalife to Palestine
comments: Dear Mr. Khalife
Thanks a lot for these very touching words. Your songs and feelings have been and will continue to be an inspiration and a source of strength and for many a generations of Palestinians (like myself) and other people. I thank you again for these words and wish you all the very best.
Mohamad Al-Dah
Oxford, UK.

Monday, April 22, 2002
name: Michael Nattenberg
subject: Re: From Marcel Khalife to Palestine
comments: Salaam aleikem and shalom.

Monday, April 22, 2002
subject: Re: From Marcel Khalife to Palestine
comments: Thank you so much for sharing this poem with me.
hj

Monday, April 22, 2002
subject: Re: From Marcel Khalife to Palestine
comments: This is powerful... thank you!

Monday, April 22, 2002
name: Viviane
subject: Re: From Marcel Khalife to Palestine
comments: Thanks
May you be well
may you be happy
May you be peaceful and at ease
May you filled with love and compassion
for all beings
including yourself
Love and Blessings
Viviane

Monday, April 22, 2002
name: Mohammed
subject: Re: From Marcel Khalife to Palestine
comments:
Hello,
That was
beautiful. Please keep sending me anything that you have pertaining to the
Palestinian cause. I am a member of ADC, Electronic Intifada, etc. (the
well known mailing lists). My sister is putting together a letter that is
going to be published in a christian news paper (ie a priest friend of hers)
and she is looking for any information regarding human rights violations
before the recent Israeli attacks (ie Chris Hedges from Harpers Magazine, "A
Gaza Diary"). I would appreciate all of your help and if you could also
spread the word to others that may have this type of information.
Thank you,
Mohammed

Monday, April 22, 2002
name: Ghada Kanafani
subject: Re: From Marcel Khalife to Palestine
comments: Dear Marcel:
Thanks for the letter that spoke on our behalf, we who are lacking the words.
[...deleted]
Ghada Kanafani

Monday, April 22, 2002
name: Issam
subject: Re: From Marcel Khalife to Palestine
comments: I think it is quite appropriate that Marcel's message to the Palestinians
is date on April 9, the Anniversary of the Massacre at Deir Yassin. Visit
us at www.deiryasin.org
Please give Mr. Khalife my sincere gratitude for his steadfast principles.
Issam

Monday, April 22, 2002
name: Omar Guessous
country: US, formerly Morocco
subject: A dedication to Khalifa's spirit
comments: [I wrote these words to my family a day after attending his concert in Atlanta. I thought that the least I could do is share what I have reflected upon, and learned from his music and spirit. I thank you from the bottomest of my heart, Marcel. - Omar]
What can I say? Last night’s concert was beauty incarnated. Marcel's music has expanded to new very interesting and rich horizons. It has truly become eclectic, in that he mixed in his traditional Lebanese tunes with Flamenco & Andalusian music, Jazz, Classical, and West African. Indeed, his band (of 4 musicians including himself) included an amazing piano player, a counter-bass, a percussionist (tabla, Djembe drums & xylophone) and of course his entrancing ‘oud.
[…]
So inspiring was it to see such a renowned Arab musician build upon the traditional Arab beats & chords and integrate other worldly sounds – something that unfortunately has been rather lacking so far, I think (though Simon Shaheen [another renowned ‘oud or ‘oriental luth’ player] seems to have embarked on a similar route).
Of course, the crowd was extremely energetic, welcoming, proud, and engaged. And of course, the spirit of the Palestinians and their struggle was alive in the music, the lyrics, the crowd’s spirit, and the dedications.
You know what I find most interesting and attractive about Marcel’s music? It is that he is truly able to capture the tragedy of the Palestinian occupation. I am not talking about the more common hyper-nationalist and (yes) ‘masculine’ way of expressing outrage and support, one that is more aggressive (I don’t necessarily mean this in a bad way) and in-your-face with its chants, flags, gesticulations, etc.
What I am referring to is the ability to paint a picture of the Palestinian tragedy as a true human tragedy with a human and humane face, one that gives rise to not only outrage and anger, but more prominently-so to heartfelt sorrow and sadness. It yields not a call for retaliation, armed resistance, exclusionary communion, and objectification of the ‘enemy’, but to a call for humanity and dignity and love on a personal and intimate level – and yes, this could be viewed as more traditionally ‘feminine’. I think, for example, of the song ‘Rita’. First verse (transcribed):
Bayna Rita wa ‘Ouyouni Boundukia [between Rita and my eyes is a rifle]
Wa lladi ya’rifou Rita [and he who knows Rita]
Sa yanhani, was yusalli [will kneel, and pray]
Lil Ilaahi fil ouyouni l’asaliyya [to the God in the hazel (honey) eyes]
[he then goes on to reflect on his intimate, loving moments with this child – Rita – who now finds herself under fire]
This is, in my eyes, a type of heart-to-heart message and spirit that is not oppositional (though it does take a clear uncompromising stance), that is not confrontational, but that appeals to the trans-national human spirit and respect for human (especially child) life and opportunity.
Why do I say all this? Not because I cannot understand the flat-out anger and confrontation expressed by some at the horrors that go unchallenged and unabated. Nor is it because I do not myself feel that same way myself at times. But because I have recently, over the past months and since I’ve been able to start looking back on 9/11 and the such, feeling an anger that does not translate so much translate into an anger in the traditional sense of the word, but into a sorrowful anger, one that is saddened by the inhumanity exhibited by people who are otherwise as humane as can be, as loving as can be, as ordinary as can be, and as vulnerable as I am. Also, I’ve been feeling much sadness at the resultant further dehumanizing of the victims, not only in the ways that they are ‘dealt’ with as objects or as scum, but also in the ways by which their humanity is further stripped by pushing them into a place where they will think, feel, and act in ways that are otherwise so contrary to!
them and to the spirit of their struggle – via further dehumanization and objectification of the ‘other’.
And that is why Marcel Khalifa’s music is so important to me. Because it expresses something that is lacking in our world. Seeing Marcel bow his head, eyes closed in pain at the lyrics that he or his two female vocal companions sing; seeing him bursting one stereotype after another about the Arab world through his serenity and tenderness, or through the juxtaposition of musical instruments and styles that otherwise stem from the so-called civilizations that have been so harsh and hateful toward the Arab world, and that have become so caricaturized by certain elements of the Arab ‘resistance’ (cf. his 1999 trial in Beirut, for so-called insults to religious values at http://www.hrw.org/press/1999/nov/leb1101.htm ).
All this, to me, encapsulates and elevates the splendor of what Arab culture is (at its best), has been (at its best), and could be; and, for that matter, human nature …
I guess I dedicate these thoughts to Marcel Khalifa’s soul, a soul so much grander than he is, a soul that has got more lessons to teach me than I think I am able to grasp at this point in my life.
With Unending Love,
Omar

Monday, April 22, 2002
name: kaoutar sniba
email: ksniba
country: Cleveland, USA
subject: Mes remerciements
comments: I would to thank MR Marcel Khalife for the great performance he gave at the Art museum of Cleveland, Ohio. I also would like to thank the performers who did a great job, and especially the pianist. I was overjoyed. The music was great and inspiring. I have listened to Marcel for a long time. I still find him the greatest among the Arabic singers and composers. At this specific time in our history, we need Marcel's music because it gives hope, inspiration and promise for a better tomorrow for the whole world.

Monday, April 22, 2002
name: rami bayyour
country: Syria
subject: I like him
comments: I like him especially Rita

Monday, April 22, 2002
name: Roxanne Amiri-Jaber
country: USA
subject: One more thing
comments: Mr. Khalife,
I wanted to leave you with soemthing that is being passed around the Amnesty USA community that I think you would enjoy. I hope someone can translate it into french or english for you. Many would like it to replace the current American "Pledge of Allegience":
Not In Our Name: The Pledge to Resist
We believe that as people living
in the United States it is our
responsibility to resist the injustices
done by our government, in our names
Not in our name
will you wage endless war
there can be no more deaths
no more transfusions of blood for oil
Not in our name
will you invade countries
bomb civilians, kill more children
letting history take its course
over the graves of the nameless
Not in our name
will you erode the very freedoms
you have claimed to fight for
Not by our hands
will we supply weapons and funding
for the annihilation of families
on foreign soil
Not by our mouths
will we let fear silence us
Not by our hearts
will we allow whole peoples
or countries to be deemed
evil
Not by our will
and Not in our name
We pledge resistance
We pledge alliance with those
who have come under attack
for voicing opposition to the war
or for their religion or ethnicity
We pledge to make common cause
with the people of the world
to bring about justice freedom and peace
Another world is possible
and we pledge to make it real

Monday, April 22, 2002
name: Roxanne Amiri-Jaber
country: USA
subject: Thank you
comments: Mr. Khalife,
Marhabah...fish mitlak!!!! Je parle francais mais pas si bien de m'exprimer mes penses. Et, je ne parle pas bien l'arabe. Alors, je dois ecrire en anglais...afwan.
On behalf of my husband (Wael Jaber min Al Janoub fee Lebanon) and I, we wanted to thank you for performing in Cleveland last Friday. You brought a ray of light and hope to the Middle Eastern community in Cleveland at this very heartbreaking and critical time for all of this. Your sons are as talented as there father. The "Happy Birthday" piece was one of the most beautiful, original and meaningful compositions I have ever heard. Shookran and mabrouk.
You are the John Lennon of our time...in fact, you are John Lennon and Mozart in one. Thank you for sharing your musical gift with us and for sharing your proceeds with so many charities.
Fish mit lak, Marcel.
--Roxanne and Wael Jaber (Cleveland Ohio)

Sunday, April 21, 2002
name: anwar elkhatib
country: usa
subject: greeting
comments: .....that night in Cleveland , Ohio with marcel khalife and his group was fabulous, close enough to bring happiness and joy to my heart and many others. from the bottom of my heart , i would like to thank everybody who made it possible and narrow the distance between us and marcel khalife. I wish you all the best of luck

Saturday, April 20, 2002
name: sendos mohammad
country: united states
subject: cleveland, ohio concert of april 19th
comments: I would like to say that that the concert was excellent..everybody loved..all musicians were great..especialy Omaima's voice..however I, along with others were dissapointed not to hear Marcel sing another song for Palestine at the end..we were hoping he would sing "Althaura majd al ahrari"..because in times like these we really need it..anyways..thank you for dedicating one song for Paletine..it meant a lot for all of us..please come again..

Friday, April 19, 2002
name: tony nader
country: lebanon
comments: Very good site also very good music and a great composer like marcel Khalife.
Thank you Marcel.

Thursday, April 18, 2002
name: Tony MGHABGHAB
country: Egypt
subject: Appreciation
comments: This is just a word of thanks to the composer, Marcel Khalife, for the latest CD launched "Concerto Al Andalus".
The more I hear it, the more I enjoy the discussion between the Oud & the Piano.

Monday, April 15, 2002
name: tony wehbe
country: australia
subject: was a soldier in the almayadine
comments: I Send my deepest regads to my friend marcel and hope to meet again

Monday, April 15, 2002
name: HORMA
country: MAROC
subject: Proposition
comments: chére MARCEL,
vous savez combien nous vous aimons tous , aujourd'hui nous étions dans une réunion de soutien au peuple paléstinien et nous avons suggéré de vous inviter au Maroc et plus précisément à Fès pour célébrer une maniféstation au profit des familles des martyres palestiniens et de soutien à nos fréres que nous regardons mourire devant nous sans pouvoire les aider, nous voulions en tant qu'associations regroupant jeunes avocats militants et militantes pour les droits de l'homme et associations de jeunes volontaires vous contacter à fin de savoir s'il y a une possibilité pour vous d'accépter notre invitation vers la fin du mois de mai et sous quelles conditions?.
nous éspérons tous vous revoire au Maroc et surtout à Fès et nous vous transmetons nos sentiments les plus chaleureux.
MERCIE [...deleted]

Monday, April 15, 2002
name: chadi hage
country: USA
subject: my very favorite musician and composer
comments: I grew up listening to Marcel, my mom used to play his music all day. I really miss his life music and wish he came to the midwest so my wife, my daughter and I can see him playing.
hope next time he visits the US we will be able to make it
Marcel, keep up the great work, we love you
chadi.

Friday, April 12, 2002
name: Bassim Petros
country: NZ
subject: Marcel
comments: no doubt, Egypt wanted to get hold in its hand every trimph in Arts, discarding other Arabs. Now with Marcel the picture has or must change: tell me who was so clear, pure and humble artist like Marcel in the way 'he was brought to'. He is not the one imposing his art on others, but no one else can do as his music.
Being Lebanese, and, for sure, Christian, awarded him all such gifts..
yours,
Bassim

Thursday, April 11, 2002
name: Maryam Hand
country: USA
subject: May Allah bless you!
comments: Dear Marcel,
I learned about your concert tour from the ACC in Houston. I am a Muslim and a Sufi and have been following the heartbreak in the Middle East for a long time. I write spiritually uplifting poetry and have performed at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center most recently. I wrote to Houston hoping to find that you would be near to my city (Louisville, KY). I would have loved to donate a few readings of my best poetry as my offering to the cause of the Palestinians. If you see a chance for that to happen, please let me know and otherwise, may Allah bless you! Salam, Maryam

Thursday, April 11, 2002
name: sawsan
country: Riyadh
subject: Great
comments: You are really great not because of your songs, production and creativity but because of your great principles
Sawsan Barghouti

Tuesday, April 9, 2002
name: raid douglas saab halaby
country: venezuela
comments: Now i have 24 years old but i remember when i was a child in 1987 when you did a concert in Venezuela. You gave me an autograph(and for mi mom too).I love your music and your cause.Its make me so happy when you sang SHIDO IL HIME in the football camp in Lebanon.Mi fathers are from YANTA and always listen your music.ALAH O ACKBAR MARCIL and LONG LIVE TO PALESTINE FOR EVER¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡

Friday, April 5, 2002
name: Adel Shalata
country: Sakhnin Aljaleel-
subject: Salam
comments: It is a deligate to have you in our culture.
I hope to attend your concert at NYC 27/apr with my family (I come to NY with my family for fellowship in genetics). My wife and myself were grown up listening to your grate music and the living the "soul" that wraps these songs.
I hope to meet with you
Adel

Wednesday, April 3, 2002
name: Ziad Khashram
country: Oman
subject: A true Masterpiece
comments: I just wanted to say that no doubt Marcel Khalife is one off the most amazing artist of the arab times.
Good luck with all his works.
'tousbehoun 3la watan'

Wednesday, April 3, 2002
name: Michel Abou Rjeili
country: Sweden
subject: oumniyi
comments: Betmanna la Marcel w la Oumayma ra7li mwaffa'a 3ala America...shi 7elou ennou Oumayma rej3et tghanni ma3 Marcel..(Rez'allah 3ala iyyem B7amdoun)
ta7iyyeti

Wednesday, April 3, 2002
name: bashar
country: jordan
subject: i dont know what to say
comments: after what are happening in pelestine we need to bray to god to solve this problem thanx for this web and god be with you all