Table Of ContentUmm	Kulthūm
LAURA	LOHMAN
Umm	Kulthūm
ARTISTIC	AGENCY	AND	THE	SHAPING
OF	AN	ARAB	LEGEND,	1967–2007
WESLEYAN	UNIVERSITY	PRESS
Middletown,	Connecticut
WESLEYAN	UNIVERSITY	PRESS
Middletown,	CT	06459
www.wesleyan.edu/wespress
©	2010	Laura	Lohman
All	rights	reserved
Manufactured	in	the	United	States	of	America
Portions	of	this	book	appeared	previously	in	a	different	form	as	“‘The	Artist	of	the	People	in
the	Battle’:	Umm	Kulthūm’s	Concerts	for	Egypt	in	Political	Context,”	in	Music	and	the	Play	of
Power	in	the	Middle	East,	North	Africa,	and	Central	Asia,	ed.	Laudan	Nooshin,	Ashgate
Press,	2009,	and	“Preservation	and	Politicization:	Umm	Kulthūm’s	National	and	International
Legacy,”	Popular	Music	and	Society	33	(1),	2010,	http://www.informaworld.com.
Wesleyan	University	Press	is	a	member	of	the	Green	Press	Initiative.	The	paper	used	in	this
book	meets	its	minimum	requirement	for	recycled	paper.
Library	of	Congress	Cataloging-in-Publication	Data
Lohman,	Laura,	1974–
Umm	Kulthūm	:	artistic	agency	and	the	shaping	of	an	Arab	legend,	1967–2007	/
Laura	Lohman.
p.	cm.	—	(Music/culture)
Includes	bibliographical	references	and	index.
ISBN	978-0-8195-7071-0	(cloth	:	alk.	paper)
1.	Umm	Kulthum,	1898–1975.	2.	Singers—Egypt—Biography.	I.	Title.
ML420.U46L65	2010
782.4216′3092—dc22
[B]						2010023311
5		4		3		2		1
We	gratefully	acknowledge	the	assistance	of	the	AMS	75	PAYS	Endowment	of	the	American
Musicological	Society.
To	my	parents
Contents
List	of	Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Note	on	Transliteration
Chronology
Introduction
1.	“A	New	Umm	Kulthūm”
2.	For	Country	or	Self?
3.	Sustaining	a	Career,	Shaping	a	Legacy
4.	From	Artist	to	Legend
5.	Mother	of	Egypt	or	Erotic	Partner?
6.	An	Evolving	Heritage
Epilogue
Notes
References
Index
Illustrations
Figures
A	youth	approaching	the	singer	onstage
Crowd	greets	Umm	Kulthūm	at	the	Khartoum	airport
Umm	Kulthūm	in	a	Sudanese-style	dress
Umm	Kulthūm	at	a	Moroccan	folk	festival
A	stadium	holds	Umm	Kulthūm’s	audience	in	Tunis
Umm	Kulthūm	in	a	Moroccan	caftan
Umm	Kulthūm	in	a	Tunisian	mosque
A	Sudanese	fan	with	the	singer
Umm	Kulthūm	preparing	to	go	onstage
The	singer,	the	media,	and	ensemble	travel	abroad
Umm	Kulthūm	in	a	Tunisian	orphanage
The	singer	and	her	namesake
Umm	Kulthūm	with	her	pet	monkey
Umm	Kulthūm	with	a	child	at	home
A	religious	gift	for	the	singer
Umm	Kulthūm	in	front	of	the	Fatah	storm	badge
Sudanese	women	surround	the	singer
The	singer	laughs	alongside	the	same	group	of	Sudanese	women
Umm	Kulthūm	posing	with	farm	animals
The	singer	and	the	Sphinx
A	statue	of	the	singer
The	Umm	Kulthūm	museum
Musical	Examples
Beginning	of	“Allāh	Ma‘ak”
Excerpts	from	“ aqq	Bilādak”
“Ba‘īd	‘Anak,”	line	1	and	ametrical	improvisation
“Ba‘īd	‘Anak,”	ghu n	2,	metrical	improvisation
“al-A lāl,”	section	VII
Excerpts	from	“al-Qalb	Ya‘shaq	Kull	Jamīl”
Excerpts	from	“Asba a	‘Indī	al-Ān	Bundūqīyah”
Beginning	of	“Inta	Omri	d.j.	mix”
Acknowledgments
The	research	for	this	book	was	made	possible	by	the	generous	financial	support	of	several
organizations.	 The	 National	 Endowment	 for	 the	 Humanities	 funded	 my	 research	 in	 Egypt
through	a	fellowship	at	the	American	Research	Center	in	Egypt.	A	Jacob	K.	Javits	Graduate
Fellowship	 from	 the	 U.S.	 Department	 of	 Education	 supported	 the	 early	 research	 that	 I
conducted	in	the	United	States.	A	faculty	stipend	from	California	State	University,	Fullerton,
assisted	 in	 my	 later	 research	 and	 writing.	 Although	 the	 views,	 findings,	 and	 conclusions
expressed	in	this	book	do	not	necessarily	represent	those	of	the	organizations	that	funded	my
research,	I	am	especially	grateful	for	their	financial	support.
In	 Egypt,	 I	 benefited	 greatly	 from	 the	 insight,	 assistance,	 and	 patience	 of	 the	 many
journalists	with	whom	I	spoke.	I	am	indebted	to	Farūq	Ibrāhīm	for	his	generosity	in	sharing	his
time,	knowledge,	and	exquisite	photographs.	I	am	grateful	to	Mu ammad	Wajdī	Qandīl,	Mu
ammad	Tabārak,	‘Afāf	Ya yá,	Mu ammad	 āli ,	Mu ammad	Salmāwī,	and	 asan	Rajab	for
the	insights	they	shared	in	their	many	helpful	interviews.	A mad	al- aghīr	at	Akhbār	al-Yawm
gave	 invaluable	 assistance	 in	 gaining	 access	 to	 many	 of	 these	 writers	 and	 photographers.
Nadia	Lu fī	at	al-Ahrām	and	the	staff	at	Dār	al-Hilāl	and	Idhā‘ah	wa	al-Tilīfizyūn	generously
provided	essential	aid	in	utilizing	publishing	house	archives.
Outside	these	publishing	houses,	I	received	help	from	many	other	individuals	in	Egypt.	A
mad	‘Antar,	director	of	the	Umm	Kulthūm	Museum,	helped	me	obtain	numerous	audio-visual
records,	provided	valuable	insight	on	her	rarely	heard	songs,	and	granted	me	generous	access
to	the	museum’s	collections.	In	addition,	I	thank	Umm	Kulthūm’s	stepson,	Mu ammad	 asan
al- ifnāwī,	along	with	Nabīl	Shūrah	and	Wajdī	al- akīm,	for	their	helpful	discussions.	My
research	 in	 Egypt	 would	 not	 have	 been	 possible	 without	 help	 from	 the	 entire	 staff	 at	 the
American	Research	Center	in	Egypt.	Special	thanks	go	to	Jere	Bacharach,	Amīrah	Khattab,
Amīr	‘Abd	al- amīd,	and	Amīrah	Jamāl.
Many	individuals	offered	invaluable	assistance	during	the	lengthy	and	challenging	process
of	 gaining	 access	 to	 the	 archives	 of	 the	 Egyptian	 State	 Radio	 and	 Television	 Union.	 In
particular,	I	offer	heartfelt	thanks	to	Charles	Dibble	and	Yūsuf	Sharīf	Rizq	Allāh,	the	former
president	of	Nile	Television,	for	their	help	in	gaining	permission	to	utilize	the	resources	of	the
state	television	archives.	I	also	thank	Nabīl	‘U hmān,	chairman	of	State	Information	Services,
for	his	help	in	accessing	valuable	audio	recordings	and	video	footage.
In	the	United	States,	I	also	have	many	to	thank.	I	express	my	gratitude	to	Carol	Muller	and
Scott	Marcus,	in	whose	stimulating	seminars	I	first	formulated	and	explored	the	idea	behind
this	book.	I	also	thank	Dwight	Reynolds,	who	provided	a	helpful	forum	for	presenting	and
discussing	 my	 early	 research.	 I	 am	 indebted	 to	 the	 late	 Eugene	 Wolf	 for	 his	 model	 of
meticulous	scholarship	and	professionalism.	At	Wesleyan	University	Press,	I	owe	many	thanks
to	Parker	Smathers,	the	series	editors,	and	the	anonymous	readers,	all	of	whom	offered	critical
insight	 and	 guidance.	 Finally,	 I	 thank	 my	 parents	 for	 their	 unwavering	 support	 during	 the
challenging	times	spent	researching	and	writing	this	book.
Description:In 1967 Egypt and the Arab world suffered a devastating defeat by Israel in the Six-Day War. Though long past the age at which most singers would have retired, the sexagenarian Egyptian singer Umm Kulth m launched a multifaceted response to the defeat that not only sustained her career, but also exp