Dear Editor,
I m an irregular reader of the Daily News Egypt, although I can see myself picking it up on a daily basis. But it is articles like the one titled Moulid Sayeda Zeinab: a birthday to remember (Aug. 2, 2008, page 9) that makes me hesitant about the depth of your stories and focus.
The article begins by giving me a hazy idea of the Moulid, mixing different stories together.
The quotes used make me think that perhaps the journalist, clearly a foreigner, was unable to deal with the frenzy at the Moulid and was subsequently unable to retrieve quotes or conversations. I was there at the Moulid on the Leila Kebira, and the flurry of people who were willing to talk to my colleagues (who had a video camera taping everyone) was encouraging.
Also, the room for personal voice has become, especially in this article, nauseating because it feels like there remains this cynical sarcastic individual who belittles the complexities and intricacies of the Moulid. I was annoyed by such imposed descriptions as one scene doomed to stay in my memory or the Mould is a mass birthday party .
This article should be reworked with commitment and poise. And if not for that, wrapping up an article by saying that these people live under an edifying wave of chronic poverty and Sufi moulids offer some brief respite remains shallow, simplistic, and repetitive.
Has it become the saving grace of a journalist or writer to end with over-arching statements that leave their readers equally flustered and confused?
AliVia email
