A Ramadan iftar table brought me together with some Arab friends in this holy month. After breakfast, it was time to eat some sweets, as usual. The bride of the Ramadan table, “Kunafa”, was the undisputed heroine of the last scene, and everyone enjoyed its taste. And in the Middle East region of the world, which is known for its great passion and curiosity about researching the origins of people and things in an unusual way, it was natural that the conversation quickly turned to the history and origin of the kunafa.
And since the friends were from Palestine, Syria and Egypt, the verbal battle raged, and each one of them engaged in desperate defense of his country's "right" that his country be the original home of the origin of the Kunafa. The Palestinian friend said that the original Kunafa is Kunafa with cheese, specifically Kunafa with Nabulsi cheese, that is, from the city of Nablus in Palestine. In fact, the Kunafa without Nabulsi cheese is not the original Kunafa. It goes without saying, of course, that Kunafa with cream or any other filling is not considered the original Kunafa.
As for the Egyptian friend, he said, “This is easy. Historically, the Kunafa dates back to the date of the Fatimids’ entry into Egypt and the establishment of their state there, specifically with the arrival of the Fatimid caliph Al-Muizz Li Din Allah to power in the month of Ramadan, and the people went out preparing and offering him a plate of Kunafa as a manifestation of welcome and honor, and there are those who attribute it to the essence of Al-Sikli, the most important leader of the Fatimid armies and the founder of the city of Cairo, who had a passion for making sweets.
After them, the Syrian friend spoke and said that the origin of the Kunafa is Syrian from the Levant, specifically during the period of the rule of the first Umayyad caliph Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan, and it was known at that time.
I told them that this frenzied and unresolved struggle over the Kunafa does it not have more accurate documentation and a documented historical sequence?
Because unlike some other sweets, such as baklava, which dates back to Turkey, Kunafa is purely Arabic, but its origin remains ambiguous and indefinite. It is thus similar to the famous couscous dish in the North African region, which is fighting over possession with international recognition that it is the country of origin for both Libya and Tunisia. And Algeria and Morocco without a decisive decision.
I told them, concluding my words, that the words I heard from you terrify me, because I fear that one day we will wake up, and we will read about Israel’s declaration that the Kunafa originated from Israel, because there is evidence in the Torah for that, just as it claimed that the origin of falafel and chickpeas is from Israel.
It remains only to say that this article is worth more calories than is medically permissible, and that I gained two kilos only during writing it. Ramadan Kareem and may you be well.
Hussein Shobokshi
