Dear Didi
We met many times before at Ahlen Wa Sahlan Festival without knowing each other closer.
After reading your response to Zeinas article " Behind the Nilegroup" I feel that I have to confirm some things more clearly.
First of all,as Zeina wrote in her article, two weeks before the Stockholm Belly Dance Festival, Aida Nour called me in Sweden from Egypt ten a clock in the morning saying that Raqia Hassan just ended her phonecall with her telling her that she, Raqia was not going to travel to Sweden.
When I heard that, I called Raqia directly, when I called and she picked up the phone and heard my voice, she closed in my ear.
I then called Freiz and told her what happened and Freiz told me that Raqia is out of Egypt,

I responded by saying that I just heard her voice answering the telephone, and she just talked to Aida a few minutes ago.
Freiz asked me to hold on while she phoned Raqia from another telephone. Raqia answered and Freiz asked her why she did not answer Mohamed Abou Shebika.

Raqia then asked Freiz to not tell me that she is in Egypt. Freiz said that, what Raqia was doing now is not right and that Raqia should talk to me by calling me in Sweden. After that Freiz called me and told me to call Raqia now because she promised to answer the phone.
When I talked to her and asked her why she did not want to come to Sweden, she said: -I have to ask you why you are bringing all this teachers to Sweden and especially Soraya? Dont take Soraya! I asked her why that should be a problem to her, I never ask her why she is bringing all the teachers she do to Egypt.
After discussing 15 minutes in the telephone, we agreed that she would come to the festival and we will continue this discussion later.

I should not need to repeat all this again, anyone can understand what was going on, ( Raqia being ill and all that )

Regarding Lubna Emam´s phone call from Raqia Hassan trying to force Lubna to choose festival, which you clame never took place, she did have that phonecall and another teacher received a simular phonecall where he was asked to choose between the both festivals, his name is Hisham Saleh. When he said that he had the right to teach where he wanted she hang up in his ear. And the list is long, it is many more teachers who had those phonecalls...

Why did we choose to do the festival at the Mövenpick Pyramids hotel? First of all, I was not in Egypt at that time, I was in Sweden, Second, some teachers from the Nile Group where doing a research in different hotels. After we been looking around and checking we found that Mövenpick was the best choise for us at that time, we liked the hotel and they fulfilled all our demands of quality such as mirrors in the dancing rooms for one.

The time? We had already arranged a trip for our Swedish students to go to Ahlan Wa Sahlan and so had many other teachers living overseas. After what happened we could not come to AWS - Of course, If you where in our place - what would you have done?
If you take a look at our future festivals you will find that they are already scheduled from the first Nile Group festival.

When we are talking anyway, I would like to mention that It was not only the dance teachers who experienced Raqia´s behaviour towards them.
Two of our Bazaar vendors was selling in both festivals and when Raqia found out about that, she and her son came running to them in Mena House and threatened them by saying that if they didn´t leave the Mövenpick hotel at once she would throw out them from Mena House with all their belongings in the street.
What more do you want me to say?

As for me being the one "creating" the Nilegroup as you called it, the Nile Group is created by all the dance teachers that felt and experienced what we experienced from Raqia lately. With or without me, the Nile Group would have been created anyway.


Didi, I know very well that you are a good friend to Aida Nour, Lubna Emam, Freiz and many of our egyptian teachers in Egypt, why dont you phone them and ask them? It only take one phonecall to know the truth.

Mohamed Abou Shebika