When Mohammed Assaf spoke to The National in July, he described his ideal partner as "not from the entertainment industry," before adding that he wanted his "home life to be totally separated from my career. I want to be relaxed and secure in my home." It seems Assaf got what he wished for – two months later he revealed his engagement to little known fellow Palestinian journalist Lina Qishawi, and the couple made their first public appearance yesterday (October 13) at the London Film festival during the European premiere of Assaf's biopic The Idol.
Here’s everything you need to know about Lina Qishawi:
She’s young. Very young.
Born in 1992, she’s only 23 years old; significantly younger than our favourite denim jacket. She recently celebrated a birthday on August 31. She’s actually three years younger than Assaf, who was born in 1989.
She’s a morning television show host.
Qishawi has a degree in nutrition from Palestine's oldest university, Birzeit, near Ramallah, but chose a career in television. She is presently the host of Allah Yisabehkum Bilkheir , a morning programme on on Al Falastiniah TV channel, which airs every Monday and Wednesday from 10.30am until noon (UAE time).
She’s beginning to establish a social media presence.
With fewer than 3,000 Twitter followers, it's safe to assume Assaf's devoted fan base don't know much about her yet. Her Twitter account, @lina_qishawi, seems to have been launched on August 20 – the same day her TV interview with Mohammed Assaf was broadcast on Al Falastiniah channel, only a month before their engagement announcement. She is much more prominent on Facebook, though, with at least three official-looking pages to her name.
She can get Mohammed Assaf to open up.
During her televised interview with the singer in August, she got him to speak about politics – a first for the patriotic singer when on air.
She is of both Palestinian and Russian ancestry.
Her father is from Palestine, but her mother, often described in the media as “Russian”, is originally from Almaty in Kazakhstan.
artslife@thenational.ae
