Egypt temporarily bans mahraganat performer licences pending committee review of genre

Decision was announced by the new president of Egypt's musicians' guild

Since 2011, the music of mahraganat, Arabic for 'festivals', has emerged from and spread through impoverished communities, with songs that tackle social, political and cultural issues. AP

Egypt’s musicians’ guild has put a temporary ban on permits for performances of mahraganat music, the hugely popular but highly contentious genre.

Announcing the decision at a press conference on Sunday, singer Mostafa Kamel — who was earlier this month elected as the guild’s new president — said that some of its members have also been suspended pending investigations into the unlawful issuance of licences to mahraganat performers.

Mahraganat music blends folk, rap and electronic music and has remained a long-standing point of contention between artists and guild officials who consider its lyrical and musical content inappropriate. The guild has said that mahraganat (festivals) music corrupted society with innuendo-filled lyrics, reinforced immorality and promoted decadence.

Kamel said the ban, one of his first major decisions in his capacity as president, was temporary, and that the guild would review how mahraganat fitted into the larger tapestry of Egyptian music.

The issuing of licences would resume, albeit under new regulations to ensure the genre did not demean public taste, he said.

According to a statement from guild spokesman Tarek Mortada, a committee will be formed to study the genre. If it finds that the genre is detrimental to public tastes, the ban could become permanent.

Kamel also said on Sunday that he was shocked to receive evidence of “shameful conversations” between guild members under investigation and a number of mahraganat performers. He said the guild had had its operations controlled by external players, and that it had been strong-armed into undermining the integrity of its management.

A relatively new genre, mahraganat hits have risen to the top of Egypt’s music charts amid complaints from conservative purists that the genre displays aspects of life in Egypt that go against the country’s traditions. On the other hand, its supporters argue that it has given a necessary voice to the country’s marginalised communities. The genre's popular stars include Hamo Bika, Hassan Shakosh and Oka Wi Ortega, each with their own massive online following.

The genre and its performers were widely criticised by the guild’s former president Hany Shaker, whose struggle against mahraganat became the defining aspect of his presidency. Shaker's tenure ended abruptly following a heated altercation in June, during which guild officials and mahraganat performers hurled insults at each other.

The fight, which went viral on Egyptian social media channels, led Shaker to tell a number of television shows at the time that he could no longer tolerate the behaviour of mahraganat performers.

Shaker told The National that he finds the genre’s lyrical themes particularly inappropriate.

“There are phrases and subject matter to these songs that have never been uttered in Egyptian music before. They are so out of bounds and are being heard by the younger generation, so there has to be some oversight,” he said.

Previous bans on mahraganat performers have been unevenly enforced and widely deemed ineffectual because many of the genre’s singers continued to release music online to the millions of fans who like their music.

Additionally, because many of them are beloved by audiences outside Egypt, they managed to make a living off performances in other parts of the Arab world and Europe, to a much lesser degree.