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<p class=Heading14 style='margin-right:22.5pt'><a name=ContentArea></a><b><font
size=5 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:19.5pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'>Idol TV show contestant unites war-weary Iraqis</span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
9.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
9.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>From Octavia Nasr and Saad Abedine<br>
CNN</span></font></p>
<p><b><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black;font-weight:bold'>BAGHDAD</span></font></b><b><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black;font-weight:
bold'>, </span></font></b><b><font color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Iraq</span></font></b><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'> (CNN) -- Shada
Hassoon, a charismatic and talented 26-year-old singer, is doing for </span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Iraq</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'> what weary
politicians in that strife-torn country have so far failed to do: Unite the
fractious nation.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>Hassoon is a contestant representing </span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Iraq</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'> on LBC's
"</span></font><font color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;
color:black'>Star</span></font><font color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial;color:black'> </span></font><font color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Academy</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>," a
televised entertainment competition from </span></font><font color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Lebanon</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'> similar to
"American Idol."</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>She has advanced all the way to the finals and is one of
four contestants left.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>On Friday, a winner will be announced, and Hassoon stands a
solid chance of winning, in part because Iraqis have embraced her and are
expected to vote for her in droves.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>"You deserve it, you are the star," one fan wrote
to Hassoon in a comment on the Al-Arabiya network's Web site.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>"I wish upon all Iraqis abroad and inside </span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Iraq</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'> to vote for
Shada, and I wish that all of them unite, and I would like to say one word to
the Arabs and the entire world that Iraqis are brethren no matter what sect or
confession they belong to," the writer added.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>Hassoon has mixed national heritage. She was born in </span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Morocco</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'> to an Iraqi
father and a Moroccan mother.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>But she is regarded as an Iraqi because nationality is based
on her father's country.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>She identifies herself as an Iraqi national and says her
dream since childhood has been "to represent my country, </span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Iraq</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>, in
arts."</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>"We voted for Shada without asking if she were a Shiite
or a Sunni," Hicham Mahmoud Alaazami said on the Al-Arabiya Web site.
"We voted for her just because she is an Iraqi."</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>Hassoon has been the object of attention in Arabic-language
media in </span></font><font color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:
Arial;color:black'>Iraq</span></font><font color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial;color:black'> and across the Arab world.</span></font></p>
<h3><a name=rv1></a><a name=1></a><b><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>'Bring joy to the
Iraqis' broken hearts'</span></font></b></h3>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>"Salma the Sudanese" wrote on Al-Arabiya's Web
site that "Shada Hassoon is a great human being and a perfect artist. God
willing, she will be the star and bring joy to the Iraqis' broken hearts."</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>Salma thinks the singer will bring more happiness to the
Iraqis than the Arab summit this week, "because the Arab summit is nothing
but a show and a photo opportunity, nothing else."</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>Hassoon's efforts have shared space on Iraqi newspaper front
pages with the daily insurgent attacks, and one Iraqi TV channel is urging
Iraqis to "vote for the daughter of the </span></font><font color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Euphrates</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>."</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>Some fans have launched Web sites to support her quest to
win.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>One Web message from a college student said "we need to
collect donations from the students so we can buy cell phone units cards in
order to vote for Shada. I am working on an ad that I can post in the
university campus. Before I do, can you please send me the correct way to vote
for Shada via text messages?"</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>In an LBC profile, Hassoon says she joined "</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Star</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'> </span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Academy</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>"
because she loves art and the show and "because it will educate me in the
artistic domain, not to mention fame."</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>Many people believe star power has its limits. Mohammed Amer
Zakaria wrote Al-Arabiya that he believes "Iraqis can find something else
that can unite them besides '</span></font><font color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Star</span></font><font color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'> </span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Academy</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>.'"</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'>But Zeina, in her Al-Arabiya posting, is more reflective of
the Shada-mania throughout </span></font><font color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Iraq</span></font><font color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>. She begs everyone
"despite the sad circumstances in </span></font><font color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>Iraq</span></font><font
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>, please
vote for our daughter Shada, the daughter of the two rivers."</span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
9.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>© 2007 Cable News Network. </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
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