Kurds, therefore, they belong to another sphere of identity. The unifying function
of the Arabic language must be qualified as literary Arabic, which is not the mother
tongue of most people or even the language used in daily life by all Arab countries,
particularly in North Africa where one is more likely to hear Maghrebi (in Morocco)
and Tamazight (in Algeria). The ‘Arab world’ is composed of multiple communities
and it would be reductive to approach it as a monolithic assembly overwhelmed by
Islamic fundamentalism.In the same way, the term ‘Arab’ cannot only be understood in relation to notions
of territory and boundaries because living in an Arab country cannot be a kind of
guarantee for such membership in view of the turmoil and ongoing mobility of
populations with regards to globalisation.A nomadic identity is visible today which operates as much on the ‘outside’ as on
the ‘inside’ of countries where accelerated urbanisation has revealed sub-identities.
Human mobility (migration, displacement, population movements, diasporas) has
ensured that these identities have become multiple, hybrid and organised into diverse
territories.
Rather than speaking of geographic territories, one could speak of ‘identity territories’
that are symbolic places, like Mecca and Medina, Palestine, historic sites such as
cities like Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem, but also separate territories in Europe
or elsewhere such as Marseille, London or small neighbourhoods in major cities
of the world. All of this contributes to the ongoing construction of an identity
in constant transformation. An example of this is provided by the artists included
in the exhibition ‘Arab Territories,’ held at the Palais de la culture Mohamed Laïd
Al-Khalifa in Constantine, Algeria. They are Arab-Iraqi living in Rome or Iraqi-
Kurd living in London; Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian living between France and
their country of origin, Palestinian-Iraqi living in the USA, Lebanese living between
France, Lebanon and so on.PREVIOUS PAGE: Mishkaah Amien, Beyond the
Visible, 2015. Paper, 56 x 67 cm. Courtesy of the artist.“...the land issue has become a repository of
identity and an exercise for the right to public space”ARAB TERRITORIES / NADIRA LAGGOUNE 3/6 ARTAFRICA
POSITIONING PIECE