Mohamed Mounir was born in Aswan. His pop-oriented music unmistakeably has its roots in the various genres of Arabic and African music. And his lyrics are without exception social and political, with which Mounir sees himself as a mouthpiece for the cultural and religious togetherness of the Orient and Occident. His music is also great to dance to: his songs are played with pleasure at weddings or other celebrations, and so Mounir is the darling of the Egyptian, secular-orientated youth.
Mounir, has also gathered experiences in film: the film Destiny from Youssef Chahine, a prominent outsider in Egyptian cinema and at the same time its most internationally reknowned representative, is a reckoning with the growing fundamentalism of his country. Mounir plays the singer Marwan from the 12th century, who escapes an attempted assassination by stirred up fanatics the first time, but succumbs the second time - a reference the Algerian Rai singer, but also Egyptian literary figures like Nagib Mahlus or Farag Foda.
After the attacks of 11th September, he brought out the album Earth ... Peace. The video to the title song Give Me Strength, O Messenger of God could not be shown on Egyptian television for a long time. Earlier this year (2003) Mohamed Mounir gave a concert in Berlin. "They are sad days for the whole of mankind," he says regarding the Iraq war. "But we are the majority. We are those who love peace, justice and music."
Mohamed Mounir is more than the most enigmatic figure of Egyptian pop heaven. He often performs controversial opinions on politics and philosophy with his thought through and therefore inevitably provocative lyrics. The former art student began his career in the Cairo of the 70s and advanced quickly to an outcast artist, but not without rubbing everyone up the wrong way. He became a synonym for a liberal way of thinking and the longing for reform with his music and its contents. And also here [in Germany] Mohamed Mounir has long been a term for a liberal-thinking Muslim and left intellectual, and at the same time a perfect example for the dialogue between cultures.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, the singer was driven to learn more about Islam, which he feared was being seen in the West as the faith of terrorism and intolerance. So Mounir performed the hajj, the pilgrimage at the heart of Islam, for the first time last winter. He returned critical of both fellow Muslims, who he says don't bother to seek a true understanding of their faith, and of a West that he says misunderstands it.
Mounir released the album Earth . . . Peace, containing the song Give Me Strength, O Messenger of God, which he co-wrote with Kawthar Mustafa. In it, he sings, "The spilling of any blood is deemed sinful by God."
The album struck some as surprisingly religious for an artist seen as a champion of secularism. For others, it was not religious enough; the video for the song was banned by most Arab satellite channels.
"My role, and the role of any Arab who cherishes his nation, dignity and honour is to reconstruct ourselves and ideas. We should fight backward fundamentalist thought because Islam is not just a message from a prophet, but rather a full-fledged civilization of beautiful values," said Mounir.
"I saw that after the attacks, the Arab world has become more scared and lost confidence in itself." Westerners, meanwhile, "don't differentiate between a human Muslim and a terrorist, between an extremist and an artist, and between a moderate citizen and a reactionary."
The video ban reportedly was because Mounir sang "maddad", a vernacular term that roughly means "give me strength" but that can also be translated as a call on Islam's prophet to intercede with God on man's behalf. Strict Muslims say no one can intercede between God and believers.
The 48-year-old artist took the controversy in his stride.
"It is this fight against rigid thought that makes something out of you," he says.
That philosophy sums up one of his best-known characters. In Destiny, a 1997 film by Youssef Chahine, a leading Egyptian director, Mounir played Marwan, a singer in the 12th century Islamic state built by Arab and Berber dynasties in Spain.
"Marwan and I are one and the same," Mounir says, describing the character as an "ambitious artist who does not believe that anything should be deemed sinful in art."
"Sing loudly, nothing should stop your singing," Mounir sang as Marwan in another Mustafa hit.
Mounir, who sang on the soundtracks for nine Chahine productions and acted in some, says he is proud to be Chahine's "voice in cinematography." Their collaboration in the movie An Egyptian Tale resulted in a popular song of the same title that ordinary Egyptians embraced as an anthem. The music was written by the late Ahmed Mounib, a Nubian folk musician who was Mounir's mentor. The lyrics, by Abdel Reheim Mansour, include:
Who is bowed down for the sake of your prosperity?
Your poor peasants.
Who is bowed down for the sake of your affluence?
Your kind workers.
Who is the one who sells conscience and buys instead destruction?
Who is the one with the cause, the problem, the tale and the pen?
Mounir has also has appeared in seven films for other directors - almost all with patriotic themes - and has also appeared in TV series and plays. He began his career as a performer in the 1970s after arriving from the southern city of Aswan to study art at Cairo University.
From the beginning, he was something different. His music drew rhythms and folk melodies from the culture of Nubia, the region where Arab and African Egypt meet, in contrast to much Egyptian pop music, which was dominated by Arabic sounds.
At first, Mounir's casual outfits and performance style drew scorn at a time when singers often wore suits and appeared with orchestras. He would sway, jump and dance in a way unfamiliar to Egyptian audiences. But they saw him as genuine, and he soon became a respected star, paving the way for other Nubian musicians.
Over the years, he became known for finding lyrics that reflected his politics and philosophy; his music has become synonymous for many Egyptians with liberal thought, hope and a desire for reform.
He sometimes works closely with lyricists and co-writes songs.
A pot of traditional Nubian incense burned during a recent interview in his Cairo apartment. The singer appeared relaxed in casual clothes - a creme baggy shirt, linen trousers and trademark bead necklace - but also displayed the reserve he is known for.
Mounir, who rarely gives interviews, would not discuss the fate of his home region, a sensitive issue in Egypt. Nubians were forced to leave the area when Egypt built the Aswan High Dam in 1971.
He would, however, speak on other issues.
A recent pro-Palestine wave saw almost every other Egyptian singer recording songs supporting the Palestinians; Mounir had been singing about them for years.
"I have a dream of a better human being, of better living standards," Mounir said, adding, "I hate corruption, I hate fear and I love dreams that are based on logic."
If you visit Egypt you must do these three things: visit the pyramids, drink water from the river Nile and listen to Mohammed Mounir.
The "King" as he is known in Egypt, was born in 1954 to a Nubian family in the city of Aswan, south of Upper Egypt. His father worked for the government.
Mounir loved singing from an early age; it is a deep-rooted habit in Nubian society and it was easy for him to find support from his family, especially from his elder brother. With his father he shared a love of politics, music and singing, at a time of looming war and economic instability. Mounir's character was forged in the heat of this turbulent background and shared appreciation of music.
After finishing secondary school he went to Cairo to complete his studies in photography at the Faculty of Applied Arts. He then joined the army on 1974. Singing to soldiers returning after the victory of the Egyptian army on the 6th of October war 1973, this period was his big break.
Mounir has his own style. Weaving the local and traditional melodies of Nubia into his songs, he revived a lot of melodies of upper Nubian music, closely connected with reggae style. He was the first Egyptian singer to enter the world of pop using techno, dimax and reggae styles, reversing popular trends of Egyptian music and creating a lot of objection among traditional audiences.
He was also revolutionary in the way he dressed; Mounir was the first singer shown on stage without a classical suit and a tie. This new style was lapped up and imitated by the youth audience.
