Tribute To Those I Admire (Part 2)

Om Kalthoum is nothing less than a legend. As a child I disliked her music and hated it when one of my parents tuned the radio to her music. I was simply to young to appreciate and understand her music. Mainly exposed to western music and familiar with structure of western pop songs, I could not understand why songs from Om Kalthoum’s era had so much repetition and such strange structure. However the more I got interested in music and studied it more I began to realise how amazing her work was. She had amazing vocal technique and texture. Her songs manage to captivate her audience and take them on a journey, leaving them in a state of pure bliss.

Quite recently before I returned to Egypt for the summer holiday, I was listening to some of my favourite songs by Om Kalthoum. It was then that I realised how amazing her work truly was. Each song was perfect as a whole, incomparable to songs made nowadays. The lyrics captured the listener, the melody and music mesmorised you and her voice took you to another level. Each and every element of her songs was perfect and worked together in the most complimentary way. Nowadays you find songs with either good lyrics but bad music, bad lyrics with a catchy melody, or the most popular; bad lyrics, bad melody and a bad voice.

The music industry has experienced such a decline in quality, now talent does not seem to dictate who sings and who doesn’t. as long as female singers show some flesh and wiggle about on screen and sing in a flirtatious manner, they seem to achieve some sort of fame. For male singers they simply need to be surrounded with half naked women shaking their “goodies” about to gain popularity. I refuse to call this music or art of any form. I regard it as an insult on so many levels. An insult to our society; as all these so called artists seem to ignore all our traditions and our culture and have chosen to offer us a more westernised “sexually charged” industry. An insult to our intelligence; are we that stupid that we find entertainment in something lacking so much talent and have no need for real art?

Personally I am not against being relatively westernised. I cannot claim to feel that way, since I have been labelled as “relatively westernised” myself. I sing and write English songs and follow folk rock and acoustic musical paths, however I am fully aware of what is and what is not appropriate in my society and respect it.

Anyways, I have gotten a bit side tracked, I will probably continue more on this issue later on. Let me continue more on this amazing woman; Om Kalthoum.

One of the factors that have led me to admire this woman is how much of a fighter she was. Born into a poor, rural family, Om Kalthoum struggled to defeat the confinements of her society and broke through all barriers. Being a girl, her father had initially placed her on the sidelines and concentrated on teaching her brother songs, which they performed at celebrations and religious occasions in their village. However, Om Kalthoum would over hear the lessons her father gave her brother and would learn the songs too and one day she amazed her father with her talent. From that point on Om Kalthoum accompanied her father at several performances and started her journey towards a musical career.
She moved to Cairo later and began to associate with key figures in the music industry. As she gained popularity amongst the social elite in Cairo, she also managed to become good friends with a few of them and would pick up tips on how to dress well, take care of her general appearance, behave and socialise. Slowly, she climbed up the social ladder something, which in my opinion required a great deal of strength and determination.

“In addition to her various artistic endeavours, Om Kalthoum consolidated her authority in the entertainment business during the 1940s by joining the Listening Committee, which selected the music appropriate for radio broadcasting, and by assuming presidency of the Musician's Union. At this point Om Kalthoum was at the height of her artistic accomplishment, in control of virtually all of her endeavours, and highly influential in the critical medium of radio broadcasting. She became known for the strength of her personality, which was manifest in many ways. She was determined that her views be taken seriously and that her business proceeds in a way that was satisfactory to her”. (http://www.omkolthoum.com/biog.htm)

More than a musician, Om Kalthoum is the voice and face of Egypt. She is still loved by many and her songs continue to fill the Egyptian air. She is truly an eternal legend and her soul lives on through her amazing work.

I found myself recently thinking that I'd love to experience being this woman for 24 hours. To live one day in her shoes and stand on stage and truly feel the connection between her and her audience. To be loved by so many and appreciated. To have my work heard all over the country amongst all ages and social strands...

Tribute To Those I Admire (part 1)

I thought I’d start off my blog with a word or two on people I admire, people I look up to, and people I idolise. It’s quite hard for me to present these individuals to the world, especially due to the fact that many may not even know who these people are. I feel pressurised to find words that can portray their true significance to me and to many others. Each one has shaped who I am in different ways, inspired me in different ways. They have made me who I am and influenced the way I think and view life. I hope you manage to see what it is that makes them so extraordinary and that you appreciate them as much as I do.

I would like to begin with the one person on my list that I know best, my grandfather, Mohamed Fayek. I have always admired him throughout my childhood, however the older I get, the more my admiration grows. I have come to learn so much from him, and have had the pleasure of living in the same house as him for at least the past six years.

Mohammed Fayek is a long time human rights activist and intellectual. He is currently the Secretary General of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights, member of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights, vice-president of the Egyptian Committee for Afro-Asian Solidarity, and vice-president of the Arab Institute for Human Rights. He is the owner and director-general of Dar El-Mustaqbal El-Arabi publishing house. He has also served as Minister of Information, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Guidance, adviser to the President of Egypt for African and Asian Affairs, member of the Egyptian Parliament, and as representative of Egypt to the Fourth Committee of the United Nations, General Assembly from 1962 to 1965. In addition, he was a close assistant to many of the African liberation movements in the struggle for independence of African states from 1953 to 1971.

Mohamed Fayek was a key political figure in the time of Gamal Abdel Nasser, the second president of Egypt since the revolt against the monarchy. He also participated in the revolution to overthrow King Farouk and free Egypt from foreign rule. During the period of Nasser, Mohamed Fayek occupied several key positions within the government such as Minister of Information and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was also Nasser’s consultant for African Affairs and was responsible for helping African countries gain independence from their foreign occupiers.

Mohamed Fayek and a number of other Ministers disagreed with a key decision that Al Sadat was about to take. Upon his refusal to take their advice, they resigned simply because they refused to be part of a system they do not agree with. Al Sadat felt threatened by their move and sent them all to prison. Mohamed Fayek spent 10 years of his life in political prison because of Al Sadat’s fear that he and the other ex-Ministers may plot against him. There came a point when Al Sadat approached Mohamed Fayek and offered to release him if he writes a public apology and claims to be wrong. However, Fayek refused to sell out his principles and simply said “ If I write this letter, I’ll be selling myself to you and I’ll be losing myself forever, but if I don’t, and I manage to survive my time here, I will find myself”.
He was released upon Al Sadat’s death and founded the Arab Organisation for Human Rights of which he is currently the Secretary General.

In September 2004, the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan chose a five-member panel to investigate reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Darfur, Sudan. Mohamed Fayek was one of the chosen members of the panel. Their job was to determine whether acts of genocide have occurred, and to identify the perpetrators.

Mohamed Fayek inspires me to be strong in my daily struggles, to be true to myself and not to fear challenges or obstacles that I may face. He has taught me the importance of sticking to my principals, even if there are prices to be paid. He also motivates me to do more for my country and stand up for what I believe is right. Mohamed Fayek has taught me to love Egypt and to see its amazing potential.