Sheikh Imam

**Imam Mohammad Ahmed Eissa** (), or Sheikh Imam (July 2, 1918 - June 6, 1995), was an Egyptian singer and composer. During his career, he collaborated and formed a duo with the poet Ahmed Fouad Negm. Together, they wrote progressive songs about Egyptian politics and situation of the poor. Their songs were written in Egyptian dialect.  

## Early life and education 
Sheikh Imam was born to a peasant family in a village called Abu al-Numrus in Giza. He lost his eyesight due to trachoma when he was three years old. At the age of 12, he had memorized the whole Qur'an and he obtained the title of 'Sheikh'. He started learing the basics of music. While he was practicing music as a hobby, he started to enjoy playing the *ud* (lute). He started performing at parties and other gatherings, such as weddings. Imam changed his appearance by dressing in a more Western way. He began to diversify his music and started singing songs by Muhammad Uthman and Sayid Darwish, They also spent a few years in exile in Algeria.    

### Late career and death 
After working together for a long time and accomplishing a great political impact with their songs, the ‘Imam-Negm’-duo separated in the mid-80s. The duo had worked together for more than 30 years, but after a few disagreements they decided to go their own way. Imam and Negm continued their careers individually. In 1995, Sheikh Imam died at age 76 after a long illness and he was found dead in his apartment. His songs left a lasting impression on many people today and his revolutionary messages will be remembered.  Many songs, like *sharraft ya Nixon baba* (Arabic: شرفت يا نكسون بابا), have a sarcastic and cynical tone in language. The sarcastic titles and lyrics played a great role in spreading a political message. 

### Genre 
The style of Imam and Negm's music is a genre called Muwashshah. This way of song performance was first developed as poetry. The genre goes back to the Middle Ages in Andalusia, where the first Muwashshah poems were written. The musical form of Muwashshah was developed in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt and is more modern than the poetry genre. It generally consists of instruments such as the *ud* (lute), the *daf* (tambourine) and *kamanja* (spike fiddle). 

## Politically motivated music 
Because of their fiery lyrics, the songs of the Imam-Negm duo were banned from Egyptian radio. This banning was due to their criticism of the defeat during the Six-Day War in 1967. In the eyes of Imam and Negm, the Egyptian authorities were responsible for the defeat. The song ''Shuqu' buq'u ya dil al-far'' (Arabic: شقع بقع يا ديل الفار) was a very critical song about overthrowing the government. This song was banned from the Egyptian radio and television. In 1969, the Imam-Negm duo was arrested and accused of having used hashish.             

Despite the banning of Sheikh Imam's music, the songs went beyond Egyptian borders. He was invited by the French Ministry of Culture in the 1980s to perform concerts. His music became very popular in Arab countries and in Europe. His music gave hope to the unprivileged groups in society and he left a lasting impact on many generations. He toured in countries such as France, England, Tunisia, Lebanon and Algeria. The songs of  Sheikh Imam and Ahmed Fouad Negm still hold relevance inside and outside of Egypt.              

## Popular songs 
* "إذا الشمس غرقت" (''iza al-shams ghir'it,'' 'If the sun drowned')
* "غابة كلابها ديابة" (*ghaba kilabha diaba*, 'A forest where its dogs are wolves**')
* "يا مصر قومي" (''ya masr 'umi'', 'Oh Egypt, rise!')
* "الفلاحين" (*al-fellaheen*, 'The peasants')
* "يعيش أهل بلدى" (''ya'eesh ahl baladi'', 'Long live the people of my country')
* "مصر يامة يا بهية" (*masr yama ya bahiya,* 'Egypt, how beautiful you are')
* "شرفت يا نكسون بابا" (*sharraft ya Nixon baba*, 'It's been an honor, father Nixon')
* "عن موضوع الفول واللحمة" (''an mawdu' al-ful wa al-lahma, '*On the topic of *ful* and meat*'*) 
*"جيفارا مات" (*givara mat'', 'Guevara died')
*"طهران" (*tahran*, Tehran)
*"سجن القلعة" (''sign al-'al'a'', 'The citadel prison)
*"طلع الصباح" (''tili' al-sabah'', 'The morning has risen')
*"جائزة نوبل" (''ga'izat nubel'', 'Nobel prize')

## References