Aswat – Belonging to Arab and Muslim Culture Through Voices and Music

Nabila is originally from Jaffa, Palestine and is deeply patriotic and proud to be an indigenous Palestinian. In her own words, social justice is one of her deepest drives. Nabila's love and connection to Palestine is evident in everything about her; and, this coming year, 2020, to celebrate twenty years of Aswat, this love is further reflected in Palestine being the theme of all of Aswat's productions. Nabila's 2020 Palestine vision, for Aswat's productions, is enthusiastically supported by all Aswat Ensembles’ members, as all strongly desire to honor Nabila and her long and rich contribution to the community by honoring Nabila's olive tree roots. The current plan is to present twenty different culture-based events throughout the Bay Area and San Francisco, all focused on Palestine. Nabila’s joyous excitement is palpable whenever she mentions the celebration to come and it’s contagious!

After her family was forced out of their home in Jaffa, Nabila grew up in Jordan. Nabila comes from a family of six siblings and is deeply connected to her late mother and her sisters. She studied in Catholic schools and with that came her exposure to Christian Arabic choirs and music which she continued to be a part of until she left for the US to study to become a librarian, eventually, becoming the Arabic librarian at Harvard University. It is this early and consistent exposure to culture and music that would later bloom as Aswat. She went on to get her ABD at the University of Penn and she fondly remembers her professor, George Makdisi, who treated her like a daughter. For many years, Nabila taught Arabic to adults and youth and she has an impressive library on teaching the Arabic language.

In 1980, Nabila got married and then divorced in 1992. In 1981, her world expanded when she gave birth to her daughter, Bisan; named after a small village in Northern Palestine. I loved hearing Nabila speak about Bisan, of Bisan's beauty, intelligence and how Bisan loves to read and learn, just like her mother; such real and deep motherly love is always so life-affirming to witness.

Nabila worked for ten years with San Francisco’s Tenderloin Mental Health Clinic, as a therapist and social worker, where she counseled members of the surrounding Muslim community and, especially, Arab speakers, who almost had no one to speak for them. Of all her clients, struggling Arab and Muslim women struck a deep chord in her and Nabila put her efforts into educating them on their rights and helping them live with dignity. Then she had her first fight with cancer in October 2010 and won. In the nature of life, Nabila reached a point where she had to let go of her role at the Tenderloin Clinic and start on a new path. However, Nabila continues to champion the needy and destitute who somehow find their way to her. For example, I was interviewing her when she got the happy news that a young man she was helping seek asylum, in the States, had received it. This was just one of many calls I was around to hear about Nabila showing up for people by being of service and making a difference in the world.

In the winter of 2019, it was a joy to attend the two concerts presented by Aswat. I got to meet the ensemble members and all I heard from them is how incredible Nabila is and her achievement in bringing together a family where everyone felt comfortable and able to focus on the joy of music and singing. This great celebration of music, culture and identity is only possible through the vision, guardianship and dedication of Nabila; she continuously makes sure things are done with ihsan/excellence.