Sufism vs Modernism - Fathy Salama with Sheikh Mahmoud Tohamy

The sounds and rhythms of traditional Sufi chanting and contemporary Arabian jazz

Wednesday, May 20 @ 9:30pm

Past Event

To accompany you through suhoor, revisit the Arab world’s only Grammy winner collaborating with the inspiring Egyptian Sufi chanter

Presented in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development and Al Burda, a platform for Islamic arts and culture

Were you there? The sounds and rhythms of traditional Sufi chanting and contemporary Arabian jazz fuse in a unique harmony of Arabic sounds. The Arab World’s only Grammy and BBC Awards winner, Fathy Salama, known for his band Sharkiat and his work on Youssou N’Dour’s Egypt, is joined by renowned Egyptian Sufi chanter, Sheikh Mahmoud Tohamy. After the performance, join Fathy Salama for a live online Q&A.

Listen to the music.
Fathy Salama and Sheikh Mahmoud Tohamy

For one time only, revisit this highlight from The Arts Center’s archives, the UAE Premiere, filmed in The Red Theater to a sold out crowd on September 26, 2019. Bridge the distance, join the community online.

Biographies

Fathy Salama is the Arab world’s only Grammy and BBC Awards Winner. He is an Egyptian composer, arranger and musician, well known for his hits in Cairo during the 1980s. Salama, the former creator of al jeel music, is involved in the revival of the Egyptian traditional music.

Salama has also been an active contributor for various Egyptian musicians, such as Amr Diab, Mohamed Mounir and Ali el-Hagar. Since 1988, Salama’s group “Sharkiat” (Easterners) has performed over 2,000 times across the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals and contributed award-winning music to the Egyptian movie Angel Paradise by director Osama Fawzy.

Salama won the Grammy Award (Best Contemporary World Music Album) and the BBC Award for his work on the 2004 album, Egypt. In a collaboration with Youssou N’Dour, Salama served as the producer and conductor, accompanying N’Dour’s music with his own ensemble.

Sheikh Mahmoud Tohamy is a Sufi chanter hailing from Egypt. He is the son of renowned ‘Munshid’ singer Sheikh Yassin Al-Tohamy and the grandson of an Imam at the Great Mosque. Tohamy holds a great legacy, having received his musical training under his father and Sheikh Al-Arif Billah. He regularly performs both in Egypt and internationally.