Palestinian Christians are Christian citizens of the State of Palestine. In the wider definition of Palestinian Christians, including the Palestinian refugees, diaspora and people with full or partial Palestinian Christian ancestry this can be applied to an estimated 500,000 people worldwide as of 2000. Palestinian Christians belong to one of a number of Christian denominations, including Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, other branches of Protestantism and others. Bernard Sabella of Bethlehem University estimates that 6% of the Palestinian population worldwide is Christian and that 56% of them live outside of the region of Palestine. In both the local dialect of Palestinian Arabic and in Classical Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic, Christians are called Nasrani or Masihi. Hebrew-speakers call them Notzri, which means Nazarene.
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the de facto administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, 10 km north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of 872 meters (2,861 ft) above sea level, adjacent to al-Bireh.
The music of Iraq or Iraqi music,, also known as the music of Mesopotamia, encompasses the music of a number of ethnic groups and musical genres. Ethnically, it includes Mesopotamian Arabic, Assyrian, Kurdish and the music of Turkmen, among others. Apart from the traditional music of these peoples, Iraqi music includes contemporary music styles such as pop, rock, soul and urban contemporary.
Arabic music is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also many linguistic dialects, with each country and region having their own traditional music.
The music of Palestine is one of many regional subgenres of Arabic music. While it shares much in common with Arabic music, both structurally and instrumentally, there are musical forms and subject matter that are distinctively Palestinian.
Tunisia is a North African country with a predominantly Arabic-speaking population. The country is best known for malouf, a kind of music imported from Andalusia after the Spanish immigration in the 15th century. Though in its modern form, malouf is likely very dissimilar to any music played more than four centuries ago, it does have its roots in Spain and Portugal, and is closely related to genres with a similar history throughout North Africa, including malouf's Libyan cousin, Algerian gharnati and Moroccan ala or Andalusi. During the Ottoman era, malouf was influenced by Turkish music. However, Tunisian repertoires, styles and also instruments remain distinctive – the ʻūd tūnsī is an emblematic case. This is a close relative of the 'uds associated with Algeria and also Morocco.
Mahmoud Darwish was a Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as Palestine's national poet. He won numerous awards for his works. Darwish used Palestine as a metaphor for the loss of Eden, birth and resurrection, and the anguish of dispossession and exile. He has been described as incarnating and reflecting "the tradition of the political poet in Islam, the man of action whose action is poetry." He also served as an editor for several literary magazines in Palestine.
Dabke is a Levantine Arab folk dance, popular in Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Iraq. Dabke combines circle dance and line dancing and is widely performed at weddings and other joyous occasions. The line forms from right to left and the leader of the dabke heads the line, alternating between facing the audience and the other dancers. In English, it can be transcribed as dabka, dabki, dabkeh.
The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is the oldest independent nonprofit public service research institute in the Arab world. It was established and incorporated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963 and has since served as a model for other such institutes in the region. It is the only institute in the world solely concerned with analyzing and documenting Palestinian affairs and the Arab–Israeli conflict. It also publishes scholarly journals and has published over 600 books, monographs, and documentary collections in English, Arabic and French—as well as its renowned quarterly academic journals: Journal of Palestine Studies, Jerusalem Quarterly, and Majallat al-Dirasat al-Filistiniyyah. IPS's Library in Beirut is the largest in the Arab world specializing in Palestinian affairs, the Arab–Israeli conflict, and Judaica.
Qustandi Shomali (Arabic: قسطندي شوملي, is a Palestinian professor of history at Bethlehem University.
The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music is a Palestinian music conservatory with branches in Ramallah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nablus and Gaza City. In total, there are more than 1,000 students. It was established in 1993 as The National Conservatory of Music, with its first branch in Ramallah, opening in October of that year.
Bani Zeid is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the north-central West Bank, located 27 kilometers (17 mi) northwest of Ramallah, about 45 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem and about 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) southwest of Salfit. A town of over 5,500 inhabitants, Bani Zeid was founded when the villages of Deir Ghassaneh and Beit Rima merged to form a municipality in 1966 during the Jordanian rule.
Al-Quds Arab Capital of Culture was the name given to Arab Capital of Culture programme in 2009. The programme, organised by UNESCO and the Arab League, is designed to promote Arab culture and encourage cooperation in the Arab world. The 2009 event was the 14th programme since its establishment in 1996.
Mohsen Subhi was a Palestinian composer of classical Arabic music and an arranger of modern Palestinian music and folk song.
Wanees Zarour is a Chicago-based music composer, focusing on contemporary Middle Eastern Music. He is an accomplished oud, buzuq, percussion and violin player, having been featured in many international music festivals. He released his first album, Quarter to Midnight, in 2014.
Ramzi Aburedwan is a Palestinian composer, arranger, educator; and viola and buzuq player. He is the founder of Ensemble Dal’Ouna and the Palestine National Ensemble of Arabic Music. He founded the al Kamandjâti music centre and has collaborated with international and renowned musicians. He first studied at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music and then in the Regional Conservatory of Angers (France). Documentaries have been made of his life, including Its Not a Gun (2005) and Just Play (2012). He is the main subject of the book Children of the Stone: The Power of Music in a Hard Land by Sandy Tolan (2015).
Riad Mohamed El Sunbati, also written as Riad Sonbati or Riadh Sonbati was a 20th-century Egyptian composer and musician who was considered an icon of Egyptian Music. The number of his lyric works is 539 works in Egyptian Opera, operetta, cinematic and religious song, poem, Taqtouqa and Mawalia. The number of song poets who he composed for is more than 120 poets. He composed for many famous Arab singers including Umm Kulthum, Fairouz, Asmahan, Warda Al-Jazairia, Najat Al Saghira, Mounira El Mahdeya, Fayza Ahmed, Saleh Abdel Hai, and Aziza Galal.
Al-Kindi Ensemble is a Sufi musical group founded in 1983 by Julien Jalâl Eddine Weiss. Based in Aleppo, Syria, Al Kindi Ensemble is mostly known for its works on the Arab-Muslim and Sufi musical traditions.
Sabreen ; is a pioneer Palestinian Arabic musical group. Based in Jerusalem, Sabreen was founded in 1980 by Said Murad. Their vision focused on the development of the Palestinian modern song, reflecting the humanitarian and cultural reality in general, and the suffering endured from the political situation in particular. Sabreen's members have changed over the years, the most notable members were Said Murad, Kamilya Jubran, Odeh Tourjman, Issa Freij, Yacoub Abu Arafeh, Issam Murad, Samer Mussallem, and Wissam Murad. Said Murad is the composer and arranger of the music, and Kamilya Jubran was the lead vocalist on four albums out of the five studio albums released.
Rohi al-Khammash (1923-1998) was an Iraqi musician and composer of Palestinian origin who played a major role in the development and preservation of Iraqi music and the flourishing of the musical movement in Iraq. He founded artistic groups that greatly contributed to the preservation and development of Iraqi artistic heritage, such as the Muwashahat Group in 1948, whose name was changed to “the Sons of the Tigris Group” in 1961, the Iraqi Chanting Group, and the Baghdad Quintet, which later became known as the Quintet of Fine Arts, among other groups that left a distinct mark on art, singing, and Iraqi music during the second half of the twentieth century. He composed the anthem "O God of the Universe," which is a religious supplication associated with the traditions and rituals of Ramadan in Iraq.
