Optimistic but Not Reckless
"When German politicians demand that German Muslims should adopt German values in order to fit in, my response is: there is only real integration if you take and give at the same time. Muslims will also shape German culture just as German culture shapes Muslims – and that needn't only mean döners or kebabs."
This appeal by 26-year-old Sherif from Cairo comes from 'I'm Both', his contribution under the heading 'Living Here and There'. It's one of the most political declarations to be found on Li-Lak, the Goethe Institute's German-Arabic website by and for young people.
No political debates or explosive discussions
There's nothing about current political debates or explosive discussions about religious fundamentalism. Taboo topics are taboo. Accustomed as we are to ongoing provocation by the media, the subject-matter mediated by Li-Lak may seem banal – but is that negative? Isn't dialogue made easier when offensive themes are avoided?
Li-Lak is Arabic and means 'For Me – For You'. All the texts appear in German and in Arabic, except the forum announcements. This project is financially assisted by the German Foreign Office with funds intended to promote dialogue with the Islamic world. It's organised by the Cairo branch of the Goethe Institute.
There are a manageable number of sections and sub-sections on this site. In 'Living Here and There', 23-year-old Hany introduces us to Stuttgart. His youthful description of 'Stuggi-Town' or 'Stutengarten' ('Mares Garden'), covering an area almost as large as Cairo where people 'chatter' in the local Swabian dialect, is a delightful declaration of love for the Baden-Württemberg metropolis.
Alternative city tours online
Anne's advocacy of Erfurt and Mustapha's evocation of Munich are equally charming. With a click of the mouse you can see street scenes from Munich’s pedestrian zone and Talaat-Harb Square in Cairo.
An alternative tour of Cairo, where visitors to Li-Lak are guided by 24-year-old Monzer, is extremely inviting. Beyond the usual tourist sites his attractive photos draw attention to the Baron's Palace in the Heliopolis district or Uncle Daqaq’s felucca on the banks of the Nile in the Garden City area.
Li-Lak was launched at a party during the Cairo Book Fair in January, and the Goethe Institute's 'Deutschmobil' is currently touring Egypt, promoting Lil-Lak as well as the German language.
That accounts for the fact that most contributions to the site have to date come from young Egyptians. Li-Lak presentations are planned by Goethe Institute branches in other Arab cities to draw the attention of young Arabs outside Egypt to the project. Co-operation with German schools is now under consideration too in order to reach young Germans.
Football and music on Li-Lak
The 'Football' section – where 17-year-old Shady muses on German and Arab tactics and people can test their knowledge in a quiz – is still somewhat empty. But Li-Lak is still very new; more football contributions will certainly come. That’s also the case with the 'Music' section.
There you can currently hear and see a video-clip of the Hamburg hiphop band 'Fettes Brot' with 'An Tagen wie diesen' ['Days Like These']. Arabs too can read, in a good translation, a text which wittily and self-critically denounces Western affluent society. The section 'Li-lakken' presents a cities version of the game 'Memory', and other games are almost ready.
The greatest number of contributions are to be found in the category 'Theme', which changes monthly. The first topic, 'The Future', is complemented by an interactive assessment of forecasts: How do you see the future? Most of the participants are optimists. Considerably fewer are pessimistic or undecided.
25-year-old Tamer from Cairo knows that 'greater demands lead to greater achievements, but wanting more and more, and asking more and more of oneself, often makes people overlook the beautiful small things in life', so one must also learn to be satisfied with what one has.
As an eleven year-old, Lisa from Munich (now 23) thought that at 20 people knew all about life and always made the right decisions. Now, though, she discovers that her future still seems mysterious and believes 'you're only really grown up at 30'.
Dina (20) from Cairo writes that 'the greatest happiness I can experience in this world is the feeling of being loved by my fellow humans', so she would like to become a TV presenter and make interesting and useful programmes.
Arab interests in live chat programmes
In the German forum Mohamed from Cairo thinks the Li-Lak website is 'basically great, but it would be better with a live chat programme' – and he isn't the only person who would like that. The Arabs – who often speak excellent German, and sometimes make delightful mistakes – want to be able to react directly to what other people say.
After all, how is a dialogue supposed to function if it isn't possible to reply to messages? The fact that the vast majority of Germans don't understand the messages in the Arabic forum is clear to the Arabs: hardly anyone has written anything there.
Daniel Stoevesandt of the Cairo centre promises that the technical problems will soon be solved and a real chat will become possible. This will, however, be moderated so that nothing offensive gets through. Up to now, though, everything has gone very well. An online translators' workshop has also been established on the Li-Lak website.
This operates with the same software as the Wikipedia online encyclopaedia: anyone who's interested can introduce their own texts, work on others, or add corrections.
As is particularly (but not only) the case among young people, the contributions are highly personal and sometimes contradictory. Anyone expecting compelling texts with content adapted to media requirements will be disappointed.
However, they are all characterised by great openness and seriousness. None of the participants seem unpleasant: one would like to meet them all.
Prejudices and entrenched positions are the reality afflicting mediators of dialogue between the West and the Islamic world, but if youngsters can approach one another cautiously and discover similar hopes, preferences, and emotions on the other side, then perhaps they will master conflicts better than older generations.
Stephanie Gsell
© Fikrun wa Fann / Art and Thought 2006
Translated from the German by Tim Nevill
Qantara.de
Interview with Lawrence Pintak
"We Must Be Capable of Dialogue
What role does the media play in the relations between Europe and the Middle East, and how far can the virtual dialogue influence these relations? Bernhard Hillenkamp spoke with Lawrence Pintak, the Director of the Adham Center for Television Journalism at the American University of Cairo
Internet in Morocco
Crossing Borders in Cyberspace
Chatting in the internet is the most popular cyberspace activity for young Moroccans. Ines Braune has been talking to them to find out what they get out of the internet.
Online Media Censorship in Egypt
Internet Police on the Nile
Although the Egyptian government initially promoted the spread of Internet use, the new media has today become a thorn in the side of many state authorities. Censorship and the banning of websites are no longer a rarity, as Nelly Youssef reports from Cairo
www