Name: A thousand times no
Uploaded: 2012-09-28T15:23:12Z
Duration: 5 min 39 s
Description: Art historian Bahia Shehab has long been fascinated with the Arabic script for 'no.' When revolution swept through Egypt in 2011, she began spraying the image in the streets saying no to dictators, no to military rule and no to violence.

Art historian Bahia Shehab has long been fascinated with the Arabic script for 'no.' When revolution swept through Egypt in 2011, she began spraying the image in the streets saying no to dictators, no to military rule and no to violence.

A thousand times no

A single word, 'no,' transformed from script on ancient tombstones into a rallying cry on Cairo’s walls during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Drawing from 1,400 years of Arabic calligraphy, each 'no' rejected injustice, violence, and oppression. Messages like 'no to military rule' and 'no to burning books' became street art, giving voice to the struggles and hopes of a nation. Even as authorities erased the art, the spirit behind it endured, symbolized by the phrase, 'You can crush the flowers, but you can't delay spring.'

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Spray-painting Cairo's uncertain future