In most books you come across, it’s worth noting that the Arab ’68 is largely forgotten in the international leftist literature, except for references to the radicalization of Palestinian resistance with the formation of the PFLP, and the victory of the Fatah fighters in the Karamah battle. However, Egypt and the other Arab countries were also having their own ’68.
It was in February 1968 that both the Egyptian student and the labor movements were revived with the outbreak of the first anti-Nasser demos since 1954.
Historians and ME scholars tend to trace the rise of Islamism as a mechanical reaction to the defeat of secular nationalist politics in 1967. But this is partially misleading and factually wrong coz the catastrophic defeat of Arab nationalism in 1967 led to a process of radicalization further to the left among a good number of those who looked up to Nasser as an agent of social change and liberation.
Someone like my father for example, who was a staunch Nasser supporter and a member of his Organization of Socialist Youth (the Nasserist regime youth group) was so SHOCKED by the defeat, but did not resort to the Quran in order to get out of his demoralization. He took down Nasser’s photo he had on the wall of his room, and put up Mao’s instead. And he wasn’t alone. 1968 witnessed the birth of the so called Third Communist Wave in Egypt.
I’ll try to put together a posting in the near future about that topic.
I never claimed I was following the latest in Egypt’s music scene… but goodness, I didn’t know the legendary Shaaban Abdel Rehim had a brother who’s in the singing business too. Or may be Shaaban was keeping him behind the Iron Mask for fear of competition?
I was at a cousin’s wedding tonight, when suddenly it was announced Sayyed Abdel Rehim was to hit the floor. ُ
Sayyed comes in, and I’m like: “Wow! This guy looks like Shaabolla.”
“He is Shaaban Abdel Rehim’s brother,” replied an uncle.
“What?! You gotta be kidding me! Shaaban has a brother who sings?!”
“Yep! This one.”
“Come on.. that’s a joke!”
“No, and I’m sure the two worked in the same ironing shop.”
For those of you who do not know Shaaban Abdel Rehim, he’s the Egyptian 50 Cent. Working his life in an ironing shop, Shaaban hit the music scene in the late 90s with his hit song: “I’ll quit smoking weed, and will start lifting weights.” He achieved a legendary status with his song “I Hate Israel,” that almost became the national anthem following the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada in 2000.
And talent runs in the family. Sayyed set the floor on fire with his brother’s classics, but sure he had few of his own to perform. Since there were police officers invited to the wedding, Sayyed started with his latest song titled, “El-Basha” and it went like that:
“El-Basha… El-Basha… El-Basha… Ya Basha… Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey…”
And then again, “El-Basha… El-Basha… El-Basha… Ya Basha… Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey…”
Another mindblowing song was “El-‘Aroussa” (The Bride), and it went like that:
“El-‘Aroussa… El-‘Aroussa… El-‘Aroussa… El-‘Aroussa… Ya ‘Aroussa… Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey…”
And then again, “El-‘Aroussa… El-‘Aroussa… El-‘Aroussa… El-‘Aroussa… Ya ‘Aroussa… Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey…”
But that was just the beginning. More quality songs followed that drove the crowd to hysteria, including “Halawa” (Sweetness), and it went like that:
“Halaaaawa… Halaaaawa… Halaaaawa… Halaaaawa… Ya Halaaaawa… Heeeeeeeeeey…” (note: this is a shorter “Hey” when compared to the above-mentioned two songs.)
and again, “Halaaaawa… Halaaaawa… Halaaaawa… Halaaaawa… Ya Halaaaawa… Heeeeeeeey…”
I wish Sayyed the best of luck with his “music” career… El-Career… El-Career… El-Career… Ya Career… Heeeeeeeey…
