ليلى مراد

ليلى مراد {Leila Mourad Laila Mourad Layla Mourad} 1918- 1995 Was An Egyptian Singer And Actress. Mourad Was Born In Al Daher Cairo On 17th February 1918 To An Egyptian Father Of Iraqi Jewish Descent Zaki Mourad A Respected Singer And Musician In The Twenties And To A Jewish Mother Whose Family Is From Poland Gamilah Salmon. Her Brother Mounir Mourad Was An Actor And Composer. Egyptian Jewish Composer Dawood Hussnei Who Composed The First Operetta In The Arabic Language Helped Her Start Her Career By Composing Two Songs "Hairana Leh Bein El-Eloub" Why Can't You Choose From Among Lovers And "Howa El Dala'a Ya'ani Khessam" Does Dalliance Mean Avoiding Me? . Further Success Came When The Prominent Egyptian Composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab Heard Her Singing And Gave Her A Role In His Film Yahia El Hob Viva Love! In 1938. In 1953 She Was Selected Over Umm Kulthum As The Official Singer Of The Egyptian Revolution. Shortly Thereafter A Rumour That Murad Had Visited Israel Where She Had Family And Donated Money To Its Military Placed Her Under Suspicion Of Spying And Made Some Arab Radio Stations Boycott Her. She Denied These Allegations And She Was Called For Judicial Investigations. All Along She Maintained Her Innocence Declaring "I Am An Egyptian Muslim". No Proof Was Found That She Had Contributed Money To Israel Though She May Have Sent Money To And Been In Contact With Her Family In Israel. Jews Still In Egypt Exchanged Gifts With Their Families In Israel Through Intermediaries In France Or Other European Countries. It Was Also Rumoured That She Met In Paris With Members Of Her Family Living In Israel. The Egyptian Government Investigated And Concluded That The Charges Against The Singer Were Without Foundation. The Egyptian Public Continued To Love Her Ignoring The Controversy. Some Historians Claim That President Nasser Insisted That Syria End Their Boycott Of Leila Mourad's Songs And Films And The Syrians Complied. Yet Nasser Clearly Preferred Um Kulthum An Egyptian Muslim Persona Over Mourad. Shortly After Gamal Abd El Nasser Came To Power By Staging A Coup D'état Against Mohamed Naguib Leila Murad Ended Her Career Abruptly And Without Giving An Explanation. Mourad Did Make One Appearance In 1970 When She Was Scheduled To Read "Fawazeer Ramadan" Ramadan' Puzzles A Daily Traditional Program Held During The Holy Month Of Ramadan. After A Few Days She Was Replaced. Mourad's Relationship With Her Family Was Not An Easy One Possibly Due To Her Conversion. Between 1967 And 1969 Hundreds Of Egyptian Jewish Males Were Deported To The Detention Camps Of Abu Za'abal And Tura Including Leila's Brother Isak Zaki. Families Of The Detainees Were Allowed To Visit Beginning In 968 Yet Several Detainees Noted That Leila Was Never Seen Visiting Her Brother. Leila Murad Died In A Hospital In Cairo On 21st November 1995. read less