The Electronic Telegraph
Sunday 6 August 2000
Belly dancers fear that Iraqi plot will ruin work in Britain
By Christina Lamb
BRITAIN's belly dancers have reacted angrily to revelations that
Saddam Hussein has been training female agents in the guise of
exotic performers to target Iraqi dissidents in London, claiming
that this will undermine their business.
"There is already little work for belly dancers in Britain these
days," complained Kathy Salford, who has been a belly dancer for
more than 30 years and has performed in most of the well known
clubs across the Middle East. "This will deter customers from
attending legitimate clubs or taking dance classes."
The Telegraph revealed last week that Saddam's intelligence
chiefs have decided to use women to report on and eliminate Iraqi
opposition abroad. A 45-day intensive training course focusing on
poisoning and organising car accidents was held outside Baghdad
last month for agents, some of whom are believed to have already
arrived in London, and the Foreign Office is on maximum security
alert.
Ms Salford said: "Already a very, very glamorous Iraqi dressed up
to the nines has been to the Baghdad Cafe in Westbourne Grove
offering to dance for free. How can anyone dance for nothing when
the costumes alone cost more than �500? It's highly suspicious."
There is such fierce competition for places to belly dance in
London, that Maroush, a Lebanese-owned restaurant in Edgware
Road, runs a contest on Lebanese television where the prize is a
one-month contract to perform there.
Members of the Midlands Arabic Dance Network (Madan), which
represents 600 belly dancers, are particularly concerned about
reports that a well-known Iraqi belly dancer is planning to set
up a school in London as a cover for giving support to Saddam's
spies. They are worried that potential clients would desist
because of fears they could be turned into "Mata Haris".
One, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "Most of our members
make their living giving classes. Probably only five British
belly dancers make a full-time living from performing."
Although many belly-dance venues have closed since the heyday in
the Seventies, there has been a recent surge in popularity in
classes. Miss Salford fears that talk of links between belly
dancing and the Iraqi regime may end chances of organisations
obtaining a lottery grant such as that recently awarded to belly
dancers of Manchester to bring over a famous Egyptian teacher.
In the coffee shops of west London where Arabic dancers meet, the
talk is of little else. One young woman sipping Turkish coffee
said: "We belly dancers are a very tight-knit community and know
when outsiders appear. Saddam has really chosen the wrong thing -
if they had set up a nail bar it would have been a better cover."
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Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
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