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Egyptian Fan Culture and the Afterlife of ʿAbd al-Halim Hafiz

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2024

Nicholas Mangialardi Open the ORCID record for Nicholas Mangialardi [Opens in a new window]
Nicholas Mangialardi*
Affiliation:
Arabic Studies Department, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, USA
*
Email: nrm5@williams.edu
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Abstract

When the Egyptian singer ʿAbd al-Halim Hafiz passed away in 1977, a group of fans began meeting at his tomb to celebrate his memory and music. Since then, their gathering has become an annual multi-day event attracting thousands of the singer's devotees from across Egypt and the Arab world. This article explores the unique fan culture around ʿAbd al-Halim, tracing its emergence after his death and expansion into various ritual activities organized by fans. As I show, central to the affective power of Halim fandom is the sense that the singer is close and tangible. I examine how fan practices foster this feeling, but also argue that it is rooted in the music ʿAbd al-Halim made during his lifetime. Investigating Halim fandom, this article offers a new ground-level perspective of how ordinary people in the region interact with music, popular culture, and each other.

Keywords

EgyptmusicfandomʿAbd al-Halim Hafizpopular culture
Type
Article
Information
International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 56 , Issue 1 , February 2024 , pp. 1 - 17
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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72 See, for example, “Party Moseqar Remix PART 1,” YouTube, 8 April 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZQy31Nlk5U&ab_channel=palmtherapysounds.com; “Ahwak D33pSoul Edit,” YouTube, 13 April 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxphL6zO-R8.