Gambia severs ties with Iran

Gambia has severed its ties with Iran, ordering all the Iranians representing their government to leave the country within 48 hours, the west African nation said Monday.

A statement issued by the Gambian foreign ministry said "all government of the Gambia projects and programmes, which were implemented in cooperation with the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran have been cancelled."

Gambia gave no reason for cutting ties with Iran, which has been involved in many projects in what is said to be the smallest country on the African continent.

"The Gambia government hereby requests all Iranian nationals representing the interest of the government of Iran in the Gambia to leave the country within 48 hours from the effective date stipulated through a notification issued to the Government of Iran," the statement said.

Both ostracised internationally, with Iran under sanctions for its nuclear programme and Gambia accused of rights abuses, the two nations have repeatedly declared their support for each other.

The Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in 2006 that both nations were under pressure from "bullying" powers while Gambia has supported Iran's right to develop its nuclear capabilities.

Mr Ahmadinejad paid a visit to the country in November 2009 to cement ties.

The two countries were mentioned in conjunction last week when Nigeria reported the discovery of an illegal arms shipment from Iran, including rockets and grenades, to the UN Security Council.

Iran, under four sets of UN sanctions over its disputed nuclear programme including a ban on arms sales, said the shipment was by a private company and was on its way to a west African country, later named as Gambia.

Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history

Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.

Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)

A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.

Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)

Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.

Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)

Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.