Amr Diab, Mohammad Fouad and Mustafa Amar never showed up for the taping of ‘Al Quds’ opera, and only two of the stars sent their apologizes.
Mohammad Foud said that he had just gotten a cold, Amr Diab refused to appear when his request that the opera be conducted as a chorale was refused. Mustafa Amar, however, gave no reasons at all.
Meanwhile, the absence of the aforementioned singers did not effect the success of the song, that has been already released and met with great success.
According to Al Ittihad newspaper, the artists filmed the song at the Conventions Palace in Cairo, and the ‘Al Aqsa’ mosque was integrated into the video.
Meanwhile, the artists wore black clothing during the performance of Al Quds, which was written by Midhat Al Adel, composed by Riyadh El Hamshari and directed by Tarek Al Eryan.
As for the artists who did show up to the event; they included, Huda Sultan, Ysura, Amar, Hisham Abbas, Mona Abdul Ghani, Sabireen, Anoushka, Faruq El Fishawi, Is’ad Yunis and many, many more.
Following are the first few words of the song, which was created in a bid by the Egyptian artists to give both moral and financial support to the Palestinians fighting in the ‘Al Aqsa’ Intifada:
Kan shayel alwanuh…
Kan rayeh madrastuh…
Ou biyehlam bi hsanu wi bi lu’ba wi tayara…
Wi lama intalaqa al ghadr wa mawt hatta bara’ath
Sal al dam al taher ala karasatih…
Binqool ardina, a’rdina, damuna, ummuna
Wa in maata malayeen minna…
Al Quds hatirga’ lana
He was carrying his colors…
He was going to school…
He was dreaming of his horse, his toy and his plane
Until betrayal killed his innocence
His blood dripped onto his notebooks
We say our land, our honor, our blood, our mother
And even if millions of us are killed
Jerusalem will return to us.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
