We can’t resist sharing this image, fresh from Neil van der Linden.
Her name is Karima Abboud, born 1891 in Nazareth. This self-portrait was taken in 1913. According to the Arabic caption, she was a Moslem, which seems surprising in a Christian town, but also indicative of the fairly relaxed religious attitudes that prevailed in those innocent times, under Turkish rule.
المصورة الفلسطينية كريمة عبود بنت
الناصره ومن مواليد 1891 التي انفردت في مهنة
التصوير طوال أكثر من ثلاثين عاما وكانت
البداية عام 1913 وهو يعد وقتا مبكرا خاصة في
وسط تقليدي ومجتمع شرقي فلسطيني لامرأة
كافحت من اجل الاستمرار نحو حداثة
الفوتغراف …
لاشك أن كريمة كان لها دور كبير في تلك
المهنة التي كانت دخيلة للمجتمع العربي
الشرقي ! خاصة أن الكثير من العائلات
المحافظة لم تكن تقبل بان تظهر على عدسات
هذه الاختراع الغريب إلا بعض العائلات
العريقة التي كانت تتبناها بالتصوير
الجماعي وهو ما تثبته الصور القديمة لبعض
عائلات القدس ويافا وحيفا وحتى غزة هاشم في
أيام الانتداب البريطاني…
المرأة الفلسطينية كانت متقدمة دائما رغم
المعيقات الدنيوية والجهل …
19/2/2013
Islam does not permit replicating Allah’s perfect images in any form. That is the surprising fact and I also question whether, in her uncovered state, she is indeed a Muslim at all.
Norm
The arabic caption does not say that she was a Moslem. Just that she was a Palestinian living in a very traditional / conservative environment.
Here is quick translation , on the fly.
The Photographer Karima Abboud, born in Nazareth in 1891. She was a professional photographer for more than 30 years, starting in 1913. This was particularly unique for a woman living in a conservative environment in Palestine and who struggled to maintain her interests in this very modern field.
Undoubtedly Karima played a key role in photography at that time. In those days, photography was a huge innovation in the Arabic “oriental” society! Many conservative families refused to appear in photographs obtained with this “strange” new medium, except for some great families who engaged in group photography, as can be seen by surviving images of some of the families of Jerusalem, Jaffa and Haifa and even Gaza during the British mandate.
The Palestinian woman has always embraced progress despite social and “ignorance-related” obstacles.
thanks!
Karima is a Muslim first name, though, isn’t it? (I don’t remember even encountering any Karims or Karimas who were Christian.)
IIRC, there are both Christian and Muslim Abbouds.
Here is a Christian Karim for you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karim_Pakradouni
It is not uncommon to select “religion-neutral” names in the Middle East, especially among families that tend to be less conservative.. Karima is no longer a la mode. But there are certainly many “Karim” (the male equivalent) among Christian and Muslim folks. Equivalent to Karima nowadays would be Samia, Samira, Samar, Aida, Ghada, Roula, all of which are used on both sides of the religious divide.