It did not happen that a singer or musician appeared in the history of Arabic singing and was exposed to what the Alexandrian youth, Eman Al-Bahr Darwish, son of the Kom El-Dikka neighborhood in Alexandria, except for his grandfather, the late musician Sayed Darwish.
Not only was the people’s musician killed with poison, but the killers refused except to tarnish his image after his departure, so they claimed that he had died of a drug overdose, and instead of reviewing his great role in inciting the people to the 1919 revolution, they linked his life and death to his alleged sweetheart, “Jalila.”
Iman Al-Bahr Darwish inherited the grandfather’s rebellious spirit, in addition to the singing talent that does not need recognition after he had proven his success for more than 30 years. With so much sadness and anger, these two qualities are honesty and frankness.
Father Muhammad Sayed Darwish warned his son “Iman” against thinking of becoming a professional singer or entering the world of music, but he refused to discuss, so the son studied engineering and at Alexandria University. His star shone first as a soccer player, then as a singer only at the university.
“I am a bird in the sky in love with my heart. My heart lived and grew without whimpering and simple, but living an epic.”
Iman did not think about professional singing, but coincidence led him to his destiny, as the director of the contracting company – in which he worked as an engineer – asked him to sing at his brother’s wedding, and there he met the famous cassette producer Atef Montaser, who produced his first album for him and was under the name “The Inheritors”. With this album, Iman only aimed to revive his grandfather’s legacy and present it properly.
old war
The album (cassette tape at that point) was ready in 1982.
Egypt had absorbed the shock of the killing of President Sadat at the end of 1981, and society moved towards a stable, anxious and full of expectations, and the art world was suffering from the absence of the Brown Nightingale and Umm Kulthum, who passed away in 1975 and 1977, respectively, and no one appeared to receive the banner, and the popular singer Ahmed Adawiya was Moving forward towards more popularity.
A new generation began to emerge with a new style of singing, including Muhammad Mounir with his different singing project linked to his Nubian roots, and Ali Al-Hajjar, with his legacy from his father, the composer and pioneer musician Ibrahim Al-Hajjar.
The new generation was faced with extreme aggression and ridicule from the old generation and its press, especially since the musician Mohamed Abdel-Wahhab remained a symbol of the old style of singing, even if he stopped singing.
Iman Al-Bahr – who presents in his album songs and melodies that have credit for the people who know Sayed Darwish and long for his music and songs that expressed the simple people first – was optimistic, but the surprise came harshly, as all distribution companies refused to buy the tape or even pledge to distribute it and pay for it after the sale.
Eman Al-Tayeb, the polite, frank person is very stubborn, especially when he is haunted by unanswered questions, and the distributors’ refusal of the album was a big unanswered question.
Eman was surprised by the producer of the movie “Forgery in Official Papers” offering him a role with the artists Mahmoud Abdel Aziz and Mervat Amin, so he agreed immediately, and the film was released, and the producers raced to buy the album “The Inheritors”.
The film also did not escape the confrontation of the enemies whom Iman Al-Bahr taught Darwish exactly who they were, so he realized that he inherited Sayed Darwish’s musical heritage and inherited with him that hostility to what Darwish represents and that lurking for those who try to protect Sayed Darwish’s heritage, which was violated by the great musicians and attributed much of it to their work.
Alexandria
Iman al-Bahr Darwish restored to Alexandria some of its luster, which had evaporated during the years after the July Revolution of 1952, and his songs became a purely Alexandrian national anthem. Features of the sharp transformations that Egypt has undergone.
The end of the eighties of the last century witnessed the predominance of the values of economic openness, as the new rich appeared as a result of unlimited import operations, to impose a new taste on the Egyptian street, and the latest car models that bore names different from those engraved on them spread. And other names that confirmed that there is also a special language in society.
Those who did not catch the train of openness cried out, and no one heard them. They cried out of the lack of housing for marriage or jobs. Iman expressed them in his 1987 album:
“My hand is alone.. and your hand is also one. Extend your hand, and my hand, wipe away.. My son’s tear. I want to scream at you, but I am unable to hear you or you hear me.”
Iman used to rise as a movie star with an acceptable face that belonged in his simple features to every Egyptian house, and perhaps those features and a sweet, childish smile were what qualified him to achieve what the big stars did not achieve in his first films, which are “Forgery in Official Papers” (1984), and “A Tale.” In Two Words” (1985), and “Meeting on the Honeymoon” (1987).
“So, Bilal… So, Bilal… So, Bilal, above the Al-Aqsa Mosque and call it to the creation that you will forget. So, Bilal… Say Takbeer for prayer, gather them again to the House of God and reassure the heart of the Messenger of God that Islam still exists.”
Iman Al-Bahr Darwish did not suddenly adhere religiously, as it often happens with artists who choose the path of guidance. He grew up in a house committed to religious values, and his father raised him from childhood to adhere to, but the readings of the young singer and actor pushed him to a different path that seems far beyond the scope of His professionalism, but the public’s overwhelming love for him remained his support against attempts to dismiss him because of his commitment.
Iman chose to present works that contradicted what he was brought up with as much as possible, and then had the audacity to impose what he wanted and choose what is consistent with religious values.
The singer – who began calling the dawn prayer in the mosque near his house daily – surprised his audience with the album “Adha Bilal in Paradise” in 2002, and in 2007 he presented the series “Imam Shafi’i”.
Media and accuracy
Iman’s relationship with the media was not good throughout his artistic life. He always believed that honesty, accuracy, and honesty are qualities that should not be absent from a person in general, and not just the media. But the misfortune of the singer and actor, Iman Al-Bahr Darwish, struck him with models that prompted him to raise many cases in the newspapers. And journalists, which created a hostile climate towards him in the media. Despite this, the artistic press continued to communicate with the singer, who was holding his press meetings in the mosque.
And the media itself was employed against Iman al-Bahr Darwish in his battle with the Musicians Syndicate, and the artist known for his integrity and honesty did not realize that the artist did not belong to the world of politics, but the position of the Musicians Syndicate is necessarily political, and politics may require some deliberation and appeasement, which was not accepted by Iman who was nominated He won the position of captain of musicians in the aftermath of the January 2011 revolution at the request of his fellow musicians, and won by up to twice the difference over his competitor, then discovered what he called a “quagmire of corruption” within the union.
“O oppressor, no matter how much you hurt me and the treachery of injustice kills me, this is me.
The Alexandrian artist’s journey with the Syndicate did not last long, as he was expelled from it illegally, then returned and left, and so on until his opponents succeeded in putting singer Hani Shaker in his place, then the new Council of the Syndicate announced in a absurd scene that Eman Al-Bahr is an engineer who is not entitled to sing, and Eman fell for the first Once a stroke victim.
Two years ago, the artist Iman Al-Bahr Darwish launched a cry through a video he posted on social media to save Egypt from the nightmare of the Renaissance Dam, and demanded more rational policies to confront the disaster of the upcoming drought, then he disappeared amid rumors that did not end until his daughter Omnia published his sad picture on the sickbed. So the sorrows of an entire generation called for the Alexandrian artist to carry the features of his dream and lay with him on the bed of illness, silent and motionless.
