Al Jazeera Net correspondents
9/18/2023-|Last update: 9/18/202302:06 PM (Mecca time)
Hussein Munther, the leader of the Palestinian revolutionary band “Al-Ashiqin”, who sang dozens of songs since the 1970s that left an impact on the souls of Arabs and supporters of the Palestinian cause in the face of the Israeli occupation, has died.
Hussein’s fans received news of his death due to a health illness while receiving treatment in Damascus yesterday evening, Sunday, September 17, and many mourned him on social media platforms with poignant words in which they recalled his Palestinian singing heritage. Some of his fans promised him that he was one of the last artistic pillars that devoted his artistic career. For the sake of the Palestinian cause.
Hussein was taking the stage with the Palestinian keffiyeh on his shoulders, and singing with exceptional enthusiasm, mixing sorrow and pain, disappointment and hope for a return to the liberated land of Palestine, and he kept raising his hands, as if he wanted to transmit the infection of enthusiasm to the audience and people, so that they would not tire of singing for Palestine and defending it in the face. The historical injustice you experience.
The late Hussein Munther’s credits include more than 300 patriotic songs, the most famous of which were “From Acre Prison and Talaat’s Funeral,” “The Fire Has Blown,” “Bear witness, O world, against us and Beirut,” and many other patriotic songs, in which he also reflected the identification of his homeland, Lebanon. With the Palestinian issue, and Palestine’s shared hostility with Israel.
Among the words of his famous song:
From Akka Prison, the funeral of Muhammad Jamjoum and Fouad Hijazi took place
I reward them, my people, I reward the High Commissioner and his quarter in general
Muhammad Jamjoum and with Atta Al-Zeer Fouad Al-Hejazi Ezz Al-Dakhira
See Al-Muqaddim and Al-Taqdiri with the oppressive rulers executing us
Muhammad says, “O Atta, I am the first of you to fear. I will drink your juice.”
Hijazi says, “I am the first of you who does not fear death or death.”
My tender mother, with a voice calling, is distressed by all the countries
Call Fouad Mohja Fouad before we disperse and bid us farewell
Panda A Atta, from behind the door, his sister, waiting for the answer
Atta, Atta, the youth are attacking the army and they are not afraid
The late artist came from the seven Lebanese-Palestinian villages whose refugees obtained Lebanese citizenship in the last century. He lived in Damascus, which witnessed his debut with the band “The Lovers”, especially in the Yarmouk camp, which he left after the Syrian war. He previously said in a press statement to the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar last April, “I am an Arab and I adore Palestine. I adore it with an indescribable love. My blood, my name and my address are Arab-Palestinian, and I carry within me all the Arab components.” He also said at the time that he inherited from his father the strong, mountainous voice, “which carries within its layers the feelings of the Palestinian revolutionary, such as love, anger, sorrow, and nostalgia.”
It was also mentioned in his biography that in November 2010 he was able to visit Ramallah, in an event that was exceptional in his career and on a personal level, where he sang at the Ramallah Cultural Palace, accompanied by a number of Al-Ashiqeen band artists. Hussein Munther described it as a “dream” concert.
As for the “The Lovers” band, Hussein founded it through personal effort in 1978, especially since Lebanon was at that time going through the most difficult stages of the civil war, in which the Palestine Liberation Organization was involved.
From what he said about the founding of the band, “The idea of establishing the Lovers Band came with songs written by the poet Ahmed Dahbour and presented during the play of the National Foundation for Madness, which was written by the great Samih Al-Qasim and directed by the Syrian creator Fawaz Al-Sajer, and was presented at the Tishreen Hall in central Damascus in 1977.”
His singing band accompanied the Palestinian revolutionary work and performed concerts in a number of Arab countries, but it stopped working since the beginning of the nineties for reasons whose full details are not known, but which Hussein had previously explained in one of his statements, saying, “The political events in Lebanon and the exit of the Liberation Organization… affected my The band’s career led to its cessation of work.
But the band returned to work with challenging steps in 2009, and was fortunate enough to sing on a number of Arab stages.
The last song of “Al-Ashiqin” was called “Rasas Al-Ezz” and was sung by Hussein Munther, known as “Abi Ali,” months ago this year, in which he headed to the lions’ den and the Jenin Battalion.
In 2018, Abu Ali received the Medal of Culture, Science and Arts, “Level of Innovation,” in recognition of his artistic struggle, from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Mahmoud Abbas mourned him today, Monday. According to the Palestinian Wafa Agency, Mahmoud Abbas said, “Palestine lost one of its loyal struggling sons, who dedicated their lives to serving the Palestinian revolution, through an artistic and militant journey during which he formed an artistic model that will remain immortal in the collective national conscience of our people.”
Mahmoud Abbas added, “The late artist transformed, with his national songs and anthems, the history of the contemporary Palestinian revolution, its battles, and its heroism into a living image, through the Al-Ashqeen band, with which the name of the late artist was associated.”
The “Fatah” movement also mourned him and said in a statement, “The late artist joined the Palestinian revolution from the beginning of his life, and due to his unique artistic talent, he expressed the concerns, suffering, struggle and heroism of our people, through the national anthems they sang to his throat, on which successive generations of the masses of our people grew up.” “.
