Mohamed Hassan (Libyan Musician)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mohamed Hassan (, – 17 December 2017) was a Libyan singer and composer who rose to fame in
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
and
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
in the early 1970s for his
patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...
and Pan-Arabic songs. He would remain a popular Libyan musician and singer until his death in 2017. He was known as Gaddafi's "Court Musician".


Biography

Mohamed Hassan was born to a poor
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
family in Al-Khums sometime around 1944. His musical career began in the 1960s when he joined the choir of the Libyan Radio Company and he published his first song in June, 1970. The song was political in nature and celebrated Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's expulsion of foreign
military bases A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...
from the country. The song was a classic
hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...
and it began Hassan's rise to fame. Hassan would idolise Gaddafi throughout his rule and many of his songs praised him and his regime, despite Hassan never officially being under the employment of the Libyan government. He was the most prominent member of a circle of popular singers who would propagandise for Gaddafi's regime by producing patriotic songs that celebrated his achievements as a revolutionary and glorified him. He was known as Gaddafi's "Court Musician". During the
First Libyan Civil War The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...
Hassan made an appearance on Libyan State TV where he called for peace talks but also refused to denounce Gaddafi or his regime. This lead many to accuse Hassan of favouring Gaddafi's side and this made producers shun him after the Rebel victory, temporarily putting his musical career on hold. Regardless, Hassan was able to make a musical return in 2014 in which he called for the reconciliation and rebuilding of Libya. Hassan died on 17 December 2017 in a hospital in Tunisia after succumbing to a throat tumour. Several artists and writers attended his funeral. The post-Gaddafi government refused to celebrate his legacy due to his connections to the Gaddafi regime.


Honours

* First Class of the Order of the Grand Conqueror (Libya) * Grand Officer of the
National Order of Merit (Tunisia) The National Order of Merit (, ) is a state award of the Republic of Tunisia. History The National Order of Merit was established by Decree No. 98-997 of 2 May 1998 with the aim of systematizing numerous awards of merit in various fields of act ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Mohamed 20th-century Libyan male singers 21st-century Libyan male singers Libyan composers Arabic-language singers of Libya 1944 births 2017 deaths