The concerts held by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture during this Ramadan are distinguished with their inclusion of political songs for the late singer and composer Al Sheikh Imam and pop poet Ahmed Fuad Nagm, according to AFP.
These songs became well known in the seventies and eighties and were sung by the Egyptian university students during their demonstrations before 1973 calling for war against Israel. These demonstrations continued in protest against the policy of the late Egyptian president Anwar Al Sadat.
As usual in Egypt every Ramadan, hundreds of entertainment concerts are held including singing, plays, music and religious invocations. Celebrations this year have been influenced by the current violence in Palestine and its escalation in the wake of the September 11 attacks in the US and its war against Afghanistan.
The audience demands went beyond this by asking for political songs signifying solidarity with the Palestinians.
Warsha Troupe responded to the audience by performing two concerts the last of which was last Friday. This concert was held at the antique Sehaimi residence, an old house which was turned into a cultural center. The audience asked for the Palestinian song Ya Filistiniyah written by Nagm and composed and sung by Al Sheikh Imam. Most of the attendees took part in singing.
In the second week of Ramadan, at the beginning of a Ministry of Culture-spnsored program, a concert was performed at Al Herawi House by the “Said [upper Egypt] children choir”. The troupe sang Nagm and Imam’s song Ya Filistiniyah which has become the most famous song in addition to their song Wah Ya Abdel Wadood.
Al Nagham Al Masri Troupe and its main singer Sherbini took the lead in political singing at Zainab Khatoon House as it is specialized in the remix of the political and heritage songs -- Albawaba.com
