Family of Egypt's iconic singer Abdel Halim Hafez sues advertisers over 'tampering with heritage'

An Egyptian court has halted the broadcast of a recently launched TV commercial after the family of late legendary singer Abdel Halim Hafez filed a lawsuit against its creators, accusing them of "tampering with musical heritage."

Local news outlets reported that the judge ruled on Tuesday that a specialised committee be assigned to review the family's accusations after inspecting the advertisement in question presented by their lawyer on a flash drive,

A TV commercial for a newly launched tourist destination in the Mediterranean North Coast unleashed shockwaves across Egypt over actress and singer Malak El-Husseini's "poor performance" of a popular song, "Dokko El-Shamasy", which was initially performed by iconic Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a film last century. 



The lyrics used in the controversial TV commercial are part of Qadi El-Gharam ("the Love Judge"), first introduced in a 1969 film called "Abi Fawk Al-Shagara" (My Father is on the Tree), also starring late renowned actress Nadia Lutfi and late celebrated actor Emad Hamdi.

The musical arrangement of this new version of the famous song—performed and shot inside a studio—has been altered in a way that outraged fans of the late Abdel Halim Hafez, including prominent figures and contemporary artists. They described the remix as "an attempt to distort his musical legacy."

For her part, Husseini posted earlier this week on her Instagram page that she is "proud of every project" she has ever taken part in as a defence of the ad.  

At the time of publication, Abdel Halim Hafez's relatives and the advertising agency that produced the TV commercial could not be reached for comment.

Arguably the most popular romantic singer of his generation, Halim, also referred to as "the Dark-Skinned Nightingale," also recognised as one of "the Great Four of Arab Music" along with three other legends: Umm Kolthoum, Mohamed Abdel-Wahab and Farid El-Atrash.