The lead singer of the musical group Mashrou ‘Leila, Hamed Sinno, revealed that the group’s work has been permanently suspended during an interview on the Lebanese podcast “Sarda” on Sunday.
Snow recounted the suffering of his band, which has been banned more than once in various Arab countries, as his concerts in Jordan in 2015 and 2016 were canceled after they were announced and tickets were made public, due to the objections to the violation by the band of public taste.
The band sparked huge controversy in Egypt in 2017 when LGBT activist Ain + Sarah Hegazy raised the rainbow flag during the band’s concert, which led to her arrest and the band banned from singing in Egypt.
Snow spoke about the incident, saying that the incident led to the arrest of more than 30 people in Egypt and that the activist had been subjected to sexual harassment and torture with electricity during his 3 months of imprisonment, previously done. published by the organization.Human Rights WatchThe Egyptian government did not comment at the time.
Subsequently, Hegazy was granted political asylum in Canada, before ending his life and committing suicide in 2020.
Snow commented on what happened, saying, “It was very difficult and I felt guilty for a long time and I felt I didn’t want to make music.”
The Lebanese band was also banned from participating in Beirut’s Byblos Festival in 2019, after accusations that some of the lyrics of its songs on the album “Ibn El Leil” promote Satanism and insult Christianity.
Although the reasons for the ban have been many or not explicitly mentioned in the past, Snow confirmed that the real reason behind the band’s siege is his sexual orientation, as he calls himself a “queer”.
In his interview with “Sarda”, he said: “(The ban) has become your eyes .. We are reactionaries and homophobes, what do you want to do”, saying that the pace of bans in Arab countries has increased, and has taken on a character hostile and explicit.
Snow said he and the band members were subjected to hate and slander campaigns on social media sites, which left them highly stressed and unwilling to work.
The band moved to the United States and planned to organize concerts in Europe, Canada and the United States, but Covid-19 put the band members in a difficult financial situation, as the closure disrupted their possibilities of organizing concerts. .
Snow added that the continuation of the band is difficult and unsustainable in light of the fact that it is deprived of its fans.
Snow said there are no future plans for the band, noting: “Every member of the band is a genius” and can work alone.
Mashrou ‘Leila was founded with seven members in 2008 and has released 4 albums.
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