Egyptian singer Ruby is scheduled to stand trial after being accused of practicing the profession of singing without obtaining a permit from the Egyptian Music Syndicate. The trial date has been set to be in mid-June after, the head of the Syndicate, Hassan Abu Saoud, filed a lawsuit against the singer because she has broken the law.
According to Al Waad magazine, Hassan revealed that the Syndicate sent many warning to Ruby threatening to take her to court if she does not register and obtain a permit, but the singer ignored the matter and resumed singing. He added that Ruby was given enough time to correct her situation and to their disappointment she just kept running away.
The Syndicate has called a war on songs they have labeled as “pornographic songs” by starting a legal campaign against artists who cross the line of decency. The syndicate had filed a lawsuit against Ruby, claiming that she is not being a member and is singing without a permit.
The syndicate board formed a fact-finding team to follow Ruby’s concerts and contracts, because all of this constitutes new violations of the law, in an attempt to stop her from singing by force or put her on trial for practicing the profession of singing illegally.
The campaign has reached the People’s Assembly, where the Ministry of culture and information held a special hearing to discuss ways of confronting the phenomenon and the measures to be taken. The parliamentarians issued a call to the Egyptian people to boycott these songs and a call to the owners of satellite stations to reconsider what they broadcast.
Sharif Sabri, producer and director of Ruby’s songs, counters the attack saying that Ruby has done nothing wrong. He claims that the songs that Ruby sings do not come under the control of the Music Syndicate because a company operating in the free zone in Dubai produced them.
Despite the fact that Ruby may be encountering opposition at home, she is still earning acclaim in the Arab music world. She is among the singers who were nominated at the Arab Music Festival in Dubai in May, along with fellow Egyptians Moustafa Amar, Amr Diab and Muhammad Mounir, Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram and many others. –Albawaba.com
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
