1917? - 1944

Actress and singer.

Asmahan was a gifted singer known principally for her work in films. Her delicate and flexible high voice was clear, powerful, and brilliant, and she was frequently compared to Umm Kulthum (the Arab world's most famous female singer), although their voices and musical styles were very different. Many saw her as Umm Kulthum's only serious rival.

Asmahan was born Amal al-Atrash in Jabal alDuruz (in Syria) to Fahd al-Atrash and Aliya Husayn. The mother and the children, Amal, Farid, and Fu'ad, moved to Cairo in about 1924, to escape the fighting in Syria during the French mandate. Amal began her performing career in the music hall of Mary Mansur in Cairo around 1930 and adopted her stage name at the suggestion of one of her mentors, composer Dawud Husni. Asmahan's career was interrupted by marriage to her cousin Hasan alAtrash in Jabal al-Duruz in 1933. They separated in 1939, and she returned to Cairo with her daughter. Asmahan subsequently appeared in two successful Egyptian films, Intisar al-Shabab and Gharam wa Intiqam, both with music composed by her brother Farid alAtrash.

Asmahan performed at private parties, for radio broadcasts, and made commercial recordings. Her popular and financial success was limited, because she abhorred public concerts and preferred films. The film companies of the day typically released one film per singing star every two years; thus her performances were fewer than those of her principal competitors, notably Umm Kulthum and Layla Murad - both of whom performed extensively in public.

Asmahan's private life may have been too public: Her alleged affairs with a succession of prominent men, including journalist Muhammad al-Tabaʿi, banker Talʿat Harb, and royal aide Ahmad Hasanayn, were topics of public conversation. In 1941, she returned to Jabal al-Duruz, allegedly as a British spy, an activity that did little to enhance her popularity. She was, in many respects, her own worst enemy; her habits of cigarettes, alcohol, and late nights had a deleterious effect on her voice. Asmahan died in an automobile accident in Egypt in 1944. She was equally comfortable with Arab and European singing styles. Among her most famous songs were "Dakhalt marra fi al-jinayna," "Ya tuyur" (in which her skills in European virtuosic singing were aptly displayed), and "Alayk salat Allah wa salamuh."

Bibliography

Zuhur, Sherifa. Asmahan's Secrets: Woman, War, and Song. Austin: Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 2000.

— VIRGINIA DANIELSON

Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Copyright © 2004 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.