Emad Hajjaj ( ar, عماد حجاج) is a

Palestinian-Jordanian Palestinians in Jordan refers mainly to those with Palestinian refugee status currently residing there. Sometimes the definition includes Jordanian citizens with full Palestinian origin. Most Palestinian ancestors came to Jordan as Palestinian ...

editorial cartoonist An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curren ...

. He is best known for his work in '' Al Ra'i'' and the ''

Jordan Times ''The Jordan Times'' is an English-language daily newspaper based in Amman, Jordan. History Established in 1975, ''The Jordan Times'' is owned by the Jordan Press Foundation, a shareholding company which also runs the Arabic-language daily '' ...

'' daily newspapers.

Early life

Emad was born in Jordan's West Bank in 1967. He received his art education at

Yarmouk University Yarmouk University ( ar, جامعة اليرموك), also abbreviated YU, is a comprehensive public and state supported university located near the city centre of Irbid in northern Jordan. Since its establishment in 1976, Yarmouk University (YU) ...

graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1991 after majoring in graphic design and with a minor in journalism.

Career

Emad is the brother of Osama Hajjaj who is also a cartoonist and political caricaturist. The brothers are actually aware of the challenges involved in publishing political cartoons in strife-torn Middle East. Both have been victims of intimidation and have received death threats on account of their satirical work, especially for cartoons directed at ISIS. During the Pan Arab games held in Amman, Emad published a cartoon which pointed out the irony that a nation could be proud when it allowed

honor killings An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...

to continue. In 2008, an exhibition of his work, featuring 100 drawings was held at the city hall of Ra's al-'Ayn, and he was a contributor to the Lighting Lamps exhibition which was sponsored by the British Council.

Arrest

On 26 August 2020, Emad was arrested in Jordan under the cybercrime law after publishing a caricature criticising the Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement. The drawing depicted a UAE political leader, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, holding a white peace dove on which is painted the Israeli flag. The crown prince is visibly upset at the pigeon for spitting on his face. The caption on top reads: "Israel asks USA to not sell F-35 warplanes to the UAE". On the spit the letters "Spit 35" are read. Local journalists' rights centres called for Emad's immediate release. Emad was released four days later, following his bail by the Jordanian Journalists Syndicate.

Abu Mahjoob Character

Hajjaj created the cartoon character Abu Mahjoob ( ar, أبو محجوب) in 1993, and has gained in popularity in Jordan since then. Abu Mahjoob represents the common Jordanian man and portrays his every day political, social, and cultural concerns. He wears a

pinstripe Pinstripes are a pattern of very thin stripes of any color running in parallel. The pattern is often found in fashion. The pinstripe is often compared to the similar chalk stripe. Pinstripes are very thin, often in width, and are created with ...

suit and necktie along with a red keffiyeh and

agal An agal ( ar, عِقَال; also spelled iqal, egal, or igal) is an Arab men's clothing accessory. It is a black cord, worn doubled, used to keep a ghutrah in place on the wearer's head. It is traditionally made of goat hair. It is usually worn b ...

, and sports a crooked moustache. Emad Hajjaj first drew Abu Mahjoob in 1993 as a character who hung candidate posters in the 1993 Jordanian parliamentary election, Jordanian parliamentary election that year. Hajjaj based the character on his father in terms of his witty and ironic humor.

Early life

Career

Arrest

Abu Mahjoob Character

See also

References

Further reading