In the middle of Islah Street in Ramel neighborhood, a tall brunette, clad in a black cloak and a black hijab, held a stick, a big drum, and a chain, tied round the neck of a small dog named Lulu. The dog danced whenever the woman beat the drum, chanting a traditional song in slang to attract the passersby to her show.

In the middle of Islah Street in Ramel neighborhood, a tall brunette, clad in a black cloak and a black hijab, held a stick, a big drum, and a chain, tied round the neck of a small dog named Lulu. The dog danced whenever the woman beat the drum, chanting a traditional song in slang to attract the passersby to her show.

It was a repeat performance by Um Mohammed, 45, a street performer from Alexandria. She does her act every day and returns home after a long day with some money to make ends meet.   An Al-Hawi is a male-dominated profession. Um Mohammed’s husband had been the original performer before he was shot in the foot during the revolution and has had to be confined to bed ever since, Um Ahmed was thus compelled to replace him.

“I learned from him all the tricks of the game: how to make a dog and a monkey dance, and how to play with metal discs,” Um Mohammed said. “Difficult games, like making fire inside my mouth and inserting a sword into my throat were impossible to master. These are dangerous and need a professional like him.”

But with Salafists more present since the revolution, Um Mohammed and other wizards have had to be careful about clashes with Islamist groups, who are said to perceive the profession as satanic.

“I was performing at Islah Street at Backus neighborhood, known as a Salafist stronghold,” Um Mohammed remembered.  “Children and adults were clapping around me when I suddenly saw a bearded sheikh, wearing a white gown. ‘Stop these satanic actions, you crazy woman! Don’t you know your religion, you infidel?’ He yelled and then kicked me in the belly and went away.”

Um Mohammed stopped going to that neighborhood, for fear of attack by other Salafists.  “After all,” she said.  “I am a lonely woman.”

The rise of Islamists threatens street performers

Walking down the streets, past the cafés, holding a black bag containing his strange magical tools, Ahmed Joudeh stops for a few minutes in front of each café and street corner to handle a performance, at the end of which he takes out a small tray and collects small change.  Joudeh, 52, is one of the most famous street jugglers in Alexandria. His nickname is “Ahmed, the Wonderful”.

Ahmed the Wonderful said the Islamists’ threats are targeting street performers in other areas, as well, claiming that magic is a heresy of the devil. “That made us stop performing at certain areas believed to be Islamist strongholds, such as Backus and al-Ramel, to avoid problems,” he added.

Another performer, Lutfi al-Masri, nicknamed “Uncle Buqluz”, 50, described the threats targeting his profession by bearded men with even stronger words. According to him, his profession faces extinction due to atonement campaigns.

Fear of mockery

What to do? Street performers avoid going to security and government officials. Uncle Buqluz says he knows very well that if he approaches government officials, they will do nothing to protect him, especially now that Islamists have taken over.

This opinion is shared by Ahmed the Wonderful who expects that government officials would disdain his career and blame him for wasting their precious time. He thinks the only way out of this problem is to gain the recognition of the Actors’ Syndicate’s. “Just as there is a section at the Syndicate for folk dance, there must be one for magic games,” he said, in order to protect his colleagues from such frequent attacks and ensure the social rights of its members.