[ May 12, 2024 ]
This is telling. Egypt’s Sisi called for reform of Islam several years ago. Nothing happened. And even though he supplanted the Muslim Brotherhood regime, it is clear that Islam still holds sway over the people of Egypt to a massive degree. Christians are persecuted wholesale (while the world yawns). While jihadis do essentially anything they want in the Sinai and elsewhere, the government is not cracking down on them, but on three groups that Islam despises: atheists, gays, and musicians (Islam, predictably, forbids music — as the Ayatollah Khomeini said, “There is no joy in Islam.”) Egypt may not be ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood, but it is still ruled by Islam, and so large groups of people suffer as a result.
“Amid Islamist insurgency, Egypt tackles ‘security threat’ from musicians”, by Brian Whitaker, al-bab.com (thanks to The Religion of Peace), January 5, 2018:
As Saudi Arabia relaxes its rules against cinemas and women drivers, Egypt now looks set to inherit the coveted title of Arab country with the most absurd restrictions. Having made little progress in combating an Islamist insurgency, the Sisi regime has turned its attention to the “threat” posed by atheists, gay people and – increasingly – musicians.
Story continues below advertisementThis week brought the arrest of Laila Amer, the third female singer to face criminal charges since November. She has been imprisoned since Tuesday following a complaint from Ahmed Mahran, a vigilante lawyer who claims that her recent video performance poses a “great risk” to Egypt. Mahran also filed a criminal complaint against fans who waved rainbow flags at a Mashrou’ Leila concert in Cairo last September.
Amer’s song (see video above) features a housewife complaining about her mother-in-law. Some her movements are sexually suggestive and changing a single letter in the song’s title, Buss Ummak (“Look at your mother”), would turn it into an obscene Arabic expression.
Amer has now been expelled from the government-linked musicians’ union, the Syndicate of Musical Professions – a body tasked with preventing performances of “abnormal art”.
Meanwhile, Sherine Abdel Wahab, one of the most popular Egyptian singers, is facing trial over remarks made at a concert in the United Arab Emirates. Referring to one of her hits, a patriotic song called “Have You Drunk From the Nile?”, she joked that drinking Evian water would be healthier.
She is charged under an article in Egypt’s penal code which bans statements liable to “disturb public security, spread horror among the people or cause harm and damage to the public interest”.
The musicians’ union also banned her from performing in Egypt, pending further investigation of her “unjustified ridicule towards our dear Egypt”.
Last month Shaimaa Ahmed, known to her fans as Shyma, was given a two-year jail sentence (later reduced to one year) for “inciting debauchery” by suggestively eating a banana in a music video.
These cases are just high-profile examples of a more generalised assault on musicians’ freedom which also includes last-minute cancellation of concerts for strange or unexplained reasons, censorship of lyrics, banning live performances of specific songs, and “security” vetting of performers.
In an article for Mada Masr earlier this week, Hessen Hossam suggested the aim is partly to appease conservative elements in Egyptian society but also to harass performers who the regime considers politically suspect.
Describing one example of the cancellations, Hossam wrote:
“Earlier this month, on December 8, a concert by Egyptian rock band Cairokee, whose stardom rose along with the Egyptian revolution and who haven’t shied away from declaring their opposition to the regime throughout the years that ensued, was set to take place. The sold-out and highly anticipated event … was cancelled only one day beforehand.
“No explanations or written orders were given to the band, they were only informed by the managers of the venue … that the concert was no longer happening because of the ‘trouble with Jerusalem’, in reference to US President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem only a few days before.”
A second attempt to hold the concert, on December 22 at a different venue, also failed when the venue was commandeered for a military funeral.
At the end of October the Ashkal Music Festival featuring Arab and African artists with a popular following in Egypt was also cancelled at short notice. The reason, according to Mahmoud Youssef, one of the musicians’ managers, was that some of the performers could not get permits from the government’s Censorship Board. He told Mada Masr:
“Right now, any political or revolutionary content is being censored or rejected. The board considered the Palestinian band 47 Soul a ‘rebellious’ band, and Tinariwen are known for their opposition to the Qadhafi regime in Libya before and during the revolution. Even though these artists are not openly political in their performance or lyrics, their political backgrounds and ideals are not welcome by the Egyptian state.”
It seems the authorities have stepped up their monitoring of musicial activity in the wake of the moral panic surrounding Mashrou’ Leila’s concert in September. The band’s lead singer is openly gay and several members of the audience were seen waving rainbow flags (which several members of parliament are now attempting to ban)……
The Truth Must be Told
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28 Comments
6 years ago
don’t provoke muslims if you know what’s good for you.
Islam will dominate. Islam leave westerners kill each other in WW1 and WW2, so muslims can take over the west now
6 years ago
Reply to
Trump can't ban islam
And then what? And then the United States of America and Europe both become
like Syria? WTF would you want the United States of America and Europe to
become like Syria for? If you believe in it so much why not just move to Syria
today and you’ll be in hog heaven.
6 years ago
Reply to
Trump can't ban islam
Yeah muslims take Europe and US and then they will be live in place which now they leave..You know where i have all muslims ? so please go back to your land.and be happy with your naive ideologies.
6 years ago
Reply to
Trump can't ban islam
No, since the criminally insane of the muslim world are here, it may be necessary to take extreme measures to deal with them, which could include paying a bounty on their hides.
6 years ago
Reply to
Trump can't ban islam
Where did you learn to write English. From the goat that took you out of grade school to ‘show you all about life?’
D
6 years ago
Reply to
Trump can't ban islam
Want some cheese with your whine ?? How about some BACON for your eggs ????
6 years ago
Ever since Egypt fell to the darkness of Islam with the Arab conquest, its ancient civilization has pretty much been ruined.
So many cultures have already been forcibly overrun and subsumed by Islam, let us hope that the West is not next on the list.
6 years ago
Reply to
IzlamIsTyranny
When the ayrahb moslems conquered Egypt, they would cut the tongues out of any human being that wasn’t speaking their language of monkeys and pigs.
6 years ago
Reply to
Achmed Mohammedan
Hey, don’t insult the civilised Japanese Snow Monkeys by associating them w/the muslum vermin!
6 years ago
Reply to
R. Arandas
I am afraid your caveat is much too late for many western countries that are engulfed and being smothered by Islam Muslims and Sharia.
6 years ago
egypt is a write off, there is no point in any more international welfare being wasted on it, as all that is happening is that more islamic atrocities are being bought.
6 years ago
Why aren’t all the people who constantly whine and whinge about “moderate”, “good” muslums moving to Sisi’s “moderate” Egyptistan?
6 years ago
Al-Sisi belongs to the ‘Islam and Nation’ political faction in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists belong to the ‘Islam Only’ faction. It is simply a rivalry within Muslim Egypt. At the end of the day, Al-Sisi is still a Mohammedan and the Copts along with the secular Egyptians are screwed even though they supported him.
6 years ago
Reply to
reyol
Yes. This is why I found myself laughing at all the dopes who kept celebrating Sisi as some kind of hero. He is still a Muslim, and although better than Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, he’s still a Muslim. Sisi’s approach and propaganda may appear preferable to Western observers, but the underlying ideology is still the same.
6 years ago
When you begin to understand the extent of American support given to the Egyptian armed forces over the last few decades in order that they remain approachable, you also understand how when your Secretary of State is getting a little “alarmed” over things there, phones will ring in certain offices and flights arranged, quickly.
Unfortunately for the Christian victims of persecution in Egypt, in the bigger picture, they don’t matter that much, either to America or the Egyptians, what matters to SISI is the reaction of his public, unless and until they’re bleeding in their thousands from IS attacks, real politic will guide his actions. What matters to America and Israel is of course the security of Sinai from IS and the border with Israel respectively.
Many of his people still believe in the Brotherhood because Islam remains at the core of their daily lives.
For that and other reasons like a collapsed tourist industry, his approach will remain measured.
6 years ago
A few minutes before the church services started, the congregation was sitting in their pews and talking.
Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church.
Everyone started screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from evil incarnate.
Soon the church was empty except for Bill Clinton
who sat calmly in his pew without moving,seemingly oblivious to the fact that God’s ultimate enemy was in his presence.
So Satan walked up to Bill and said, “Do you know who I am?”Clinton replied, “Yep, sure do.”
“Aren’t you afraid of me?” Satan asked.”Nope, sure am not,” said the calm as a clam Clinton.
“Don’t you realize I can kill you with one word?” asked Satan.
“Don’t doubt it for a minute,” returned Bill, in an even tone.
“Did you know that I can cause you profound, horrifying AGONY for all eternity?” persisted Satan.”Yep,” was the calm reply.
“And you are still not afraid?” asked Satan.”Nope,” said Bill.
More than a little perturbed, Satan asked, “Why aren’t you afraid of me?”
Clinton calmly replied,”Been married to your sister for over 40years.
6 years ago
You know, Catholics use to do this kind of tyranny to non-Catholics, or any one who questioned their authority or the authority of the Pope, not too long ago.
And funny, the Pope seems to be aligning himself with Islam, illegal immigration and wants Jerusalem all to himself so he can declare himself GOD when he gets to the third temple.
6 years ago
“As jihad advances, Egypt cracks down on atheists, gays, and musicians”
How typically Islamic ! Forever Backwards !
6 years ago
It is a well established fact,that Sharia is the anti modernity attitude
,when Sharia present modernity no longer exist,&reverse is
true,,,Egyptian MB made constitution allow Sharia 2 cancel
modernity,,now all assaults&abuses anti modernists is legal
constitutionally ,,,the way out is to write new modernist constitution &throw Sharia rulings from life
6 years ago
In reference to the article on the “freedom fighters” in Iran, your quote here about Egypt should be remembered —— Egypt may not be ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood, but it is still ruled
by Islam, and so large groups of people suffer as a result.— Even if those protesting in Iran got a less restrictive government it would still be “ruled by Islam” Only when Muslims protest and advocate for the elimination of Islam will “freedom” be possible.
