Qatar-based political cartoonist fights oppression with pen
Sudanese cartoonist Khalid Albaih was lauded as "an artist of the revolution" during the Arab Spring, and now he's pointing his pencil at other world events.
Based in Qatar, Albaih used social media to disseminate his cartoons about the fight for democracy in his native Sudan as well as other parts of the Arab world.
Activists on the ground have stenciled his work on cement walls from Cairo to Damascus.
His Facebook page "Khartoon!" (a play on Sudan’s capital Khartoum) takes on other targets, including the recent FIFA corruption case and the continuing African migrant crisis.
Albaih’s work was on display in an exhibit called "It’s Not Funny" at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, and he was interviewed by Art Beat.
What stages of your life or experiences influenced you to pursue political cartoons?
My family is very political. I had an uncle who was the head of the communist party. He arranged a military coup against the government — a failed coup — and was executed after that.
Moving to Qatar, which is our place of refuge, myself and my generation were told to stay away from politics because you can eventually be killed for it.
For me, I really wanted to show my friends who were my age at that time that there is a way to talk about it.
My father used to always bring Egyptian political cartoon-based magazines and from there, I started doing my own work.
That for me was the connection between politics and art. And it was amazing to discover it.
A Qatar based political cartoonist fighting for democracy. Lol. But in Sudan, of course. Is this a joke?
Xfibre: we should always remember the old adage regarding "sticks and stones".. People have a right to their views. They have a right to offend and we should accept such and not let emotions rule
I don't mean to post it twice, i wish i could delete one of the post...
@techn, that's what we call religion tolerance; lot of offensive pictures about Jesus, still Christians never cause any mayhem because of such things. " While religious tolerance is surely better than religious war, tolerance is not without its liabilities. Our fear of provoking religious hatred has rendered us incapable of criticizing ideas that are now patently absurd and increasingly maladaptive”
@techn, that's what we call religion tolerance; lot of offensive pictures about Jesus, still Christians never cause any mayhem because of such things. " While religious tolerance is surely better than religious war, tolerance is not without its liabilities. Our fear of provoking religious hatred has rendered us incapable of criticizing ideas that are now patently absurd and increasingly maladaptive”
Techn: I would agree that I find the cartoon a little to my dislike . In my opinion , it is wrong to lay the blame on the EU when it's the traffickers are at fault and making money.
Message to the European Union after the death of several hundred migrants in Mediterranean Sea titled “Our Sins.” Cartoon by Khalid Albaih
Which cartoon. The Black Jesus ?
Nope, not for me.
Is the above picture not offensive to certain people?
Excellent. Caricatures and cartoons are a great way of highlighting issues within a society