A painting by the late Egyptian artist Zahran Salama has made its way to the walls of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. 

Salama, born in Menofia, Governate of Egypt, painted “Ibn al-Balad” in 1985. That painting now sits in Representative Abraham Aiyash’s office. Aiyash, the first Arab American majority leader in the State House, chose this specific painting for his office because of the intricacies behind the portrait and connection to his Arab American identity. 

“Ibn al-Balad” is a painting of a doorman in the Middle East, Kamal. Andrew Curran, the custodian for a handful of Salama’s pieces, said that Kamal was Salama’s doorman at his art studio before moving to his studio in Musafir Khana in the late 70s.

“Zahran must have been in frequent reflection of the kindness and warmth of Kamal, in living contrast to the harsh and conniving doorman at Musafir Khana, Badr, who would often extort the resident artists for monthly fees,” he said. “Ibn al-Balad was painted in 1985 when Zahran had his studio in Musafir Khana — and ironically paints the image of his preferred doorman.”

Aiyash told The Arab American News that those in the capitol have the opportunity to select paintings to be hung up and many pieces are commissioned from the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). 

“I was just incredibly struck by the sheer beauty of this drawing, you know,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that we had an opportunity in the state capitol to highlight Arab American artistry, Arab American culture and this was an opportunity to do that.”

The painting displays a working man of Middle Eastern descent, tying in both the identity of Arabs and the working class. 

Zahran Salama’s “Ibn al-Balad” painting. Courtesy of Andrew Curran

“When I first ran, my commitment has been to the working people of our state,” Aiyash said. “I used that portrait as a reminder that, you know, who I’m there for;  it’s the working men and women, the folks who came from other parts of the world in search of better opportunity and are working late shifts. They’re working jobs that are less desirable, so to speak; it’s the folks that care about their families and want better for their future and their children’s future. They do whatever is necessary to make that happen.” 

Aiyash said that despite the simplicity of an occupation such as a doorman, the individuals who work as one have complex lives, ones that hold depth; identities that go beyond their job title.  

“If you think about the story of my family, my parents, I always go back to this idea,” he said. “When you think of a doorman in the Middle East, they’re generally simple people, usually not a lot of formal education, but they have so much depth to their stories, so much depth to their identities and their lives.

“You know it kind of reminds me of my parents. My mom never got a chance to go to school, but she’s one of the smartest and kindest people that I know, and I think it’s just a testament that you don’t judge people based on the job that they have and the roles that they have, but rather the substance in which they carry themselves and the character in which they demonstrate through their actions.”

I used that portrait as a reminder that, you know, who I’m there for;  it’s the working men and women, the folks who came from other parts of the world in search of better opportunity and are working late shifts.

— Representative Abraham Aiyash

Salama was born in 1939 on a farm in Menofia, Egypt. He then went to attend the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo and graduated in 1963. In 1979, he began working in his studio in the Musafir Khana Palace in Cairo. He painted there from 1979-1988 until a fire destroyed the studio.

Before the fire destroyed it, Musafir Khana existed as a workshop for talented artists to work and create for nearly 40 years, according to reports.

The Musafir Khana Palace was built by merchant Mahmood Muharram Al-Fayoomi, according to reports. After his passing in 1793, Mohammad Ali obtained the residence and turned the palace into a home for his royal family. Ismail Pasha, future Khedive of Egypt, was born and grew up in this palace, which existed during the Ottoman era. Decades later, the Ministry of Culture, ran by Tharwat Okasha, turned the palace into a studio for Egypt’s exceptional artists. According to the Journal of the African Literature Association, “Okasha is hailed as the Ministry’s founding father, being involved in building up numerous institutions such as the Mass Culture Institution and the Academy of Arts.”

Amani Zahran, Salama’s daughter, told The Arab American News that her father was a kind, humble and simple man. She said he was an inspiration for her throughout her childhood as she watched his artistic attributes manifest and reveal.

“He was like a soldier, wake up early, go to his studio in Al Musafir Khana, listen to music or read or write some poem or thoughts, then it comes, [he] used to draw or paint every day,” she said.

She also shared that while she was growing up he would take her to art exhibitions and she’d witness him creating his art and wish to be like him. She said she admired all of his creations, but cherished one of a south Sinai man on a camel that took him seven years to complete and eventually gave to her.

“Ibn al-Balad”, she said, is a masterpiece of his portraits.

“Zahran lived his every day in life like an artist,” she said. “In painting, speaking, writing, and even cooking he was a creator.”

Mohamed Abla, an accomplished artist in Egypt, had a studio next to Salama in Musafir Khana. He told The Arab American News he was pleased to know Salama and work near him. While he directed most of his focus on his own artwork, he said he admired Salama, his work and the person he was.

He said they saw each other nearly every day, would sometimes go to exhibitions together and discuss their art.

“Many times he invited me for coffee,” Abla said.

Abla still works as an artist today in Egypt. He is the founder of the Fayoum Art Center there. Founded in 2006, this center works to connect artists both locally and internationally. The center provides studio spaces, an art library, a dining space and living areas for artists working there. The center also holds the first caricature museum in the Middle East, also established by Abla in 2009.

Following his years working in Musafir Khana, Salama was forced to relocate to his primary studio in Ras Sudr, an Egyptian city on the coast of the Red Sea, according to Curran.

The powerful symbolism of a painting of a doorman in the Middle East, painted by an Egyptian artist, now sitting in the office of the first Arab American majority leader in the State House, speaks volumes. The story of Arab identity and a working man, seemingly conveyed in the painting, prevails with its display in Aiyash’s office.