Egyptian resort ad causes controversy over Abdel Halim song
An advertisement for an Egyptian resort have caused wide controversy and debate on social media due to a song for the late Abdel Halim Hafez.
Abdel Halim Hafez, who died in 1977, was one of the greatest and icon of Egyptian singers. He is not only known in Egypt but also across the Middle East.
The ad for the Egyptian resort, which is on the North Coast of the country, used the song “دقوا الشماسي (Dogo el Shamasi)” for Abdel Halim, nicknamed el-Andaleeb el-Asmar, in a video that was described as disrespectful to the great art the Egyptian singer had provided during his age.
The Egyptian resort ad was presented by Egyptian actress Malak El-Hussainy and the song was chosen to match the place which is a tourist place. However, it gained wide criticism from fans of the Egyptian icon.
Al-Husseini was subjected to a widespread campaign of criticism and ridicule across social media, with many saying she presented the song in a “very bad” way that can be described as “insulting” to the original song.
Nonetheless, Egyptian singer and composer Adham Seliman posted on his official Facebook account that remaking the Abdel Halim Hafez song was a bad decision and joked that “If the original singer heard the new version he would have died again.”
