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Belly dancers defiant in face of Egypt's Islamist takeover
Artists fear for future but Muslim Brotherhood says it is more concerned with economy
BELLY DANCERS have sounded a note of defiance following the landslide victory of Islamists in Egyptian elections, saying they refuse to retire. "My job is not against religion, so I will not quit," said Lucy, a celebrated Egyptian belly dancer, according to the Irsraeli paper Ha'aretz.
"Egypt can prosper like Turkey - where an Islamist party reached power without banning entertainment and tourism, which are key sources of the national income," she said.
Two other belly dancers were similarly defiant. Safwa and Samara said: "This is our job, which we will not give up. Belly dancing is an art like any other form of art."
Unfortunately, the dance form is also associated in the minds of many Egyptians with prostitution.
It is not only belly dancers who fear the rise to power of Islamists in Egypt. This week Al Arabiya reported that many in the entertainment industry are considering moving to Lebanon and Dubai. It is feared such a mass migration would "turn off the lights" in Cairo, once known as the 'Hollywood of the East'.
However, the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, which came first in the elections, says its priorities are to rebuild state institutions and the economy - not to ban alcohol or tell women what to wear.
The real threat to the entertainment industry - and belly dancers - might come from Al Nour, an ultra-conservative Salafist party that surprised everyone by coming second with 25 per cent of the vote.
Meanwhile, a trio of bold Egyptian entrepreneurs have decided to exploit the current power vacuum before any such ban can be considered, let alone implemented. The Egyptian Gazette reports the launch of three new belly-dancing channels - el-Farah, el-Teet and Darabuka - to be broadcast on NileSat 1 across Egypt and the world. ·
