Al Sharqia Governorate
—  Governorate of Egypt  —
Flag of Al Sharqia Governorate Flag
Al Sharqia Governorate on the map of Egypt Al Sharqia Governorate on the map of Egypt
Coordinates: 30°42′N 31°38′E / 30.7°N 31.63°E / 30.7; 31.63Coordinates: 30°42′N 31°38′E / 30.7°N 31.63°E / 30.7; 31.63
Country	Egypt
Seat	Zagazig (capital)
Area
• Total	4,180 km2 (1,610 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	5,340,058
• Density	1,300/km2 (3,300/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)

"Al Sharqia" redirects here. For the region of Oman, see Ash Sharqiyah.

Al Sharqia Governorate (Arabic: محافظة الشرقية‎ Muḥāfaẓa aš Šarqīya, English: Eastern Governorate) is one of the governorates of Egypt. Located in the northern part of the country, its capital is the city of Zagazig.

Cities[link]

• Abu Kabeer
• Belbeis
• Faqous
• Hehya
• Kafr Saqr
• Menya Al Qamh
• Zaqaziq
• Abu Hammad

Notable people[link]

• Ahmed Subhy Mansour, founder of the Quranists deviant sect
• Abdel Halim Hafez, popular singer and actor
• Ahmed Ahmed Lakouz, architect and businessman
• Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab(Amr Diab), popular singer and actor
• Umm Kulthum Ebrahim Elbeltagi, popular singer and actor
• Miral al-Tahawy, award-winning Bedouin novelist
• Yusuf Abu Rayya, award-winning novelist

External links[link]

• Sharkia Governorate Official website
• Sharkia Daily News Official website

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Abdel Halim Hafez
Abdel Halim Hafez
Background information
Birth name	Abdel Halim Ali Shabana
Born	(1929-06-21)June 21, 1929 Ash Sharqiyah Governorate Egypt
Origin	Ash Sharqiyah Governorate
Died	March 30, 1977(1977-03-30) King's College Hospital, London United Kingdom (aged 47)
Genres	Egyptian Opera Arabic
Years active	1952–1977
Labels	EMI Arabia
Associated acts	Umm Kulthum Fairuz Mohamed Abdel Wahab
Website	7alim.com

Abdel Halim Ali Shabana (Arabic: عبدالحليم علي شبانة) commonly known as Abdel Halim Hafez (Arabic: عبد الحليم حافظ‎) (June 21, 1929 – March 30, 1977), is among the most popular Egyptian and Arab singers and performers.^[1][2][3] In addition to singing, Halim was also an actor, conductor, business man, music teacher and movie producer.^{[1][4][5][6][7]} He is considered to be one of the Great Four of Arabic music (along with Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, and Farid Al Attrach).^[1][6][8] His name is sometimes written as 'Abd el-Halim Hafez. He is known as el-Andaleeb el-Asmar (The Great Dark-Skinned Nightingale, Arabic: العندليب الأسمر‎).^[3][9] He is also known as an icon in modern Arabic music.^[1][10] His music is still played daily throughout the Arab world.^{[4][11][12][13]}

However, some critics maintain that he is still alive. Much like the Arab Elvis.

Early life[link]

Born in El-Halawat, in Ash Sharqiyah Governorate, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Cairo, Egypt as Abdel Halim Ali Shabana, he was the fourth child of Sheikh Ali Ismail Shabana. He had two brothers, Ismail and Mohammed, and one sister, Aliah. His mother died from labour complications three days after giving birth to him - something that made people around him believe that he is a "bad luck". His father died five months later leaving him and his siblings orphaned at a young age. He lived in a poor orphanage for a period of time.^[4] Later, He was raised by his aunt and uncle in Cairo. In these years Abdel Halim was extremely poor.^[14]

Abdel Halim's 'one-of-a-kind' musical abilities first became apparent while he was in primary school and his older brother Ismail Shabana was his first music teacher. At the age of 11 he joined the Arabic Music Institute in Cairo and became known for singing the songs of Mohammed Abdel Wahab. He graduated from the Higher Theatrical Music Institute as an oboe player ^[15][16]

Musical career[link]

While singing in clubs in Cairo, Abdel Halim was drafted as a last-minute substitute when the singer Karem Mahmoud was unable to sing a scheduled live radio performance in 1953.^[17] Abdel Halim's performance was heard by Mohammed Abdel Wahab, the supervisor of musical programming for Egyptian national radio. Abdel Halim took 'Hafez', Abdel Wahab's first name, as his stage-surname in recognition of his patronage.^[2]

In his early career's life, Abdel Halim was rejected by people for his new style of singing. However he persisted and was able to gain accolades later on.^[9] Then, he became a favorite singer among all generations.^[18][19] He also became Egypt's first romantic singer.^[20]

Abdel Halim's collaborated with composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab to produce many popular love songs such as Ahwak ("I love you"), Nebtedi Minen el Hekaya ("If we were to tell the story"), and Fatet Ganbina( "She came between us"). Hafez also worked with Egyptian poet Mohammed Hamza on songs including Zay el Hawa ("It feels like love"), Sawah ("The Wanderer"), Hawel Teftekerni ("Try to remember me"), Aye Damiet Hozn ("Any tear of sadness"), and Mawood ("Promised/ You're used to").

During his career, he was very popular and always performed in sold-out arenas and stadiums.^[21] Despite his popularity, he rarely released a studio album in his life as he was purely a live singer.^[8] He also played many different instruments very well including the oboe, drums, piano, oud, clarinet and guitar.^[4] He was involved in all aspects of the creation of his songs.^[1] Halim brought many new instruments to the Arab World.^[2] He was known for his deep passion in his songs and his highly unique and rare voice.^[1][8] He always sang from true and honest feelings deep inside.^[4] Halim did performances in almost every country in the Arabic world and some performances outside the Arabic world including several concerts in Europe.^[1] Also, he sung uplifting patriotic songs for not just Egypt, but many other countries in the Arab World such as Lebanon, Syria, Tunisa, Morroco and much more.^[22] He used to encourage and help many young artists and actors to become successful.^[23][24][25]

His Fame[link]

In the Arabic world, Halim is known as the "King of Arabic music", "The voice of the people", "The son of the revolution", and "King of emotions and feelings".^{[1][14][26][27][28]} His patriotic songs were the main and most frequent songs sung by the crowds during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.^{[1][5][18][29]} One of the revolutionaries in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 quoted "the nightingale's songs inspired us during the Janurary 25 revolution", he added "Although, he died 35 years ago, his songs will surely continue to inspire his fellow egyptains for many generations to come".^[30] His albums and CDs have sold more copies since his death than any other Arab artist ever.^[11] His way of singing, the popularity of his songs and his behavior made him a role model for almost every modern Arab singer.^{[25][31][32][33]} Egyptians and Arabs from all ages are fans of Halim.^[34] Halim is still remembered in the hearts of many people, even years after his death.^[35] He is widely considered among the most influential performers in the Arab World.^[14] The two composers Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Mohammed Al-Mougy both said, "Halim is the smartest person I ever knew".^{[citation needed]} Mohammed Al-Mougy also added, "Halim is very original in all of his work".^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

At the age of 11, Abdel Halim contacted schistosomiasis^[4]—a rare parasitic water-borne disease^[9]—and was extremely periodically and painfully afflicted by it for most of his career. Despite this, he remained positive and never stopped creating and performing his songs.^[26] Nevertheless, he also was always there for his country despite the illness.^[26]

Abdel Halim never married, although rumors persist that he was secretly married to actress Soad Hosny for six years. This has never been proven by anyone. People who were close to both singers declined this rumor.^[36][37]

Halim often gave money and food to charity, and to the poor directly, all through his life.^[4] Halim frequently went to orphanages and hospitals all over the Middle East to donate money, teach music, and help the people there.^[4] In 1969 Halim built a hospital in Egypt to help people. He made the poor, the rich, and presidents all alike in the Arab world.^[26]

Abdel Halim established strong friendships with many contemporary presidents and kings of the Eastern world, including Gamel Abdul Nasser of Egypt, and King Hussan from Morocco.^[4][11] He also had very close friendships with most Egyptian poets.^[1]

Death[link]

Abdel Halim died of liver failure on March 30, 1977 (few months before his 48th birthday) while undergoing treatment for Bilharzia in King's College Hospital, London. His death brought sadness and shock waves to the entire Arab world as a result, His funeral (in Cairo) was attended by millions of people^[9] – more than any funeral in Middle East history other than that of President Gamal Abdel Nasser^[38] He had many more dreams and goals that he wanted to achieve and surpass and could have, but his early death stopped him.^[26] Also some people committed suicide once they heard Halim has died. It is reported that at least four women committed suicide by jumping off the balcony during his huge funeral march.^[4][9] He was buried in Al Rifa'i Mosque (مسجد الرفاعي) in Cairo.

Legacy[link]

Abdel Halim Hafez's song Khosara (خسارة) received notice in the Western world in 1999 when producer Timbaland used elements from it for Jay-Z's recording "Big Pimpin'." Two complete bars from "Khosara" were rerecorded, not sampled, and used without permission from the song's producer and copyright holder, Magdi el-Amroussi. Jay-Z's use of an interpolation, rather than an actual sample, may allow him to avoid paying royalties for the use of the song.^[39]

Over 300 of his songs were recorded and he starred in sixteen classic and successful films, including "Dalilah" (دليله), which was the Middle East's first color motion picture^[14]>^[40]

Along with Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Magdi el-Amroussi, Abdel Halim was one of the main founders of the famous Egyptian recording company Soutelphan,^[4][15] which continues to operate to this day as a subsidiary of EMI Arabia.^[1] The company was founded in 1961.^[4]

A feature film about his life, "Haleem", was released in 2006, starring Ahmad Zaki in the title role, produced by the Good News Group.^[41] In the same year a soap opera "Al-andaleeb hikayt shaab" ^[42] was produced in Egypt with Shadi Shamel starring as Abdel Halim. Shamel won the lead role in a televised competition.^[43]

Songs[link]

Abdel Halim was very successful in creating and leaving behind rich and meaningful Egyptian songs for the world.^[9]

Some of Halim's most popular songs are:

Ahwak (I love you), Ala Ad Al Shok (In return for the love), Ala Hesb Wedad (Depending on the Tenderness), Bitlimoni Leih (Why do you blame me?), El Masish (Christ), Fatet Ganbena (She came between us), Gabar (Strong), Sawwah (Wander), Mawood (Promised/you are used to it), and his last song Qariat Al Fingan (The coffee-cup reader).^[44]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Abdel Halim Hafez Photos
• Abdel Halim Hafez at the Internet Movie Database
• 7alim.com - Contains many songs, videos and lyrics for Abdel Halim Hafez.
• Abdel Halim Hafez at Findagrave.com. The truth of Halim in this website.
• Abdel Halim Hafez at krwetatnt.net
• Abdel Halim Hafez performs Ahwak

Dr. Mohamed Morsi (Arabic: محمد مرسى عيسى العياط‎, IPA: [mæˈħæmmæd ˈmoɾsi ˈʕiːsæ l.ʕɑjˈjɑːtˤ]) is an Egyptian politician who has been Chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), a political party that was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood after the 2011 Egyptian revolution, since April 30, 2011.^[1] He is standing as the FJP's candidate for the May–June 2012 presidential election. From 2000 to 2005, he was a Member of Parliament.

Education[link]

Morsi received a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Engineering from Cairo University in 1975 and 1978. He received his Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Southern California in 1982. He was an Assistant Professor at California State University, Northridge from 1982 to 1985. In 1985 he went back to Egypt to teach at Zagazig University.^[2] His children were born in California and are U.S. citizens.^[3]

Political career[link]

Morsi served as a Member of Parliament from 2000 to 2005; he was elected as an independent candidate because the Brotherhood was technically barred from running candidates for office under President Hosni Mubarak. He was a member of the Guidance Office of the Muslim Brotherhood until the foundation of the Freedom and Justice Party in 2011, at which point he was elected by the MB's Guidance Office to be the first president of the new party.

After Khairat El-Shater was disqualified from the 2012 presidential election, Morsi, who was initially nominated as a backup candidate, emerged as the new Muslim Brotherhood candidate.^[4]

2012 Egyptian presidential campaign[link]

Following the first round of Egypt's first post-Mubarak presidential elections, exit polls suggested a 25.5% share of the vote for Morsi, slightly ahead of former Mubarak-era prime minister Ahmed Shafik, leading to a run-off for the presidency to be contested on 16-17 June 2012. Morsi has been noted for the Islamist character of his campaign events. At one such event, he reportedly joined supporters in chanting "The Quran is our constitution. ... The prophet is our leader. ... Jihad is our method. ... Death in the name of God is our supreme hope."^[5] Since the initial round of voting on May 23-24, Morsi has attempted to appeal to political liberals and minorities while portraying his rival Ahmed Shafik as a Mubarak-era holdover.^[6] According to the right-wing Gatestone Institute, Morsi allegedly said when asked his opinion of Egyptian Coptic Christians supporting Shafik that "they need to know that conquest is coming, and Egypt will be Islamic, and that they must pay jizya or emigrate."^[7]

On 30 May, 2012, Morsi filed a lawsuit against Egyptian television presenter Tawfiq Okasha, accusing him of "intentional falsehoods and accusations that amount to defamation and slander" of Morsi. According to online newspaper Egypt Independent, an English-language subsidiary of Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, Okasha spent three hours on 27 May criticizing the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi on air.^[8]

References[link]

v t e Egyptian presidential election, 2012 Qualified candidates Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh Khaled Ali Mohammad Salim Al-Awa Hisham Bastawisy Mohamed Morsi Amr Moussa Hamdeen Sabahi Abdulla Alashaal Mahmoud Houssam Houssam Khairallah Ahmed Shafiq Disqualified candidates Hazem Salah Abu Ismail Ayman Nour Khairat El-Shater Omar Suleiman Events Presidential debate

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