Salima Mourad or Salima Murad ( ar, سليمة مراد; 2 February 1900 – 28 January 1974) was a well-known
Iraqi Jewish
The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...
singer and was well known and highly respected in the
Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
.
She was given the nickname "
Pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignita ...
" by the Iraqi Prime Minister
Nuri al-Said
Nuri Pasha al-Said CH (December 1888 – 15 July 1958) ( ar, نوري السعيد) was an Iraqi politician during the British mandate in Iraq and the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq. He held various key cabinet positions and served eight terms as ...
.
Salima was dubbed by
Umm Kulthum
Umm Kulthum ( ar, أم كلثوم, , also spelled ''Oum Kalthoum'' in English; born Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi, ar, فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي, Fāṭima ʾIbrāhīm es-Sayyid el-Beltāǧī, link=no; 31 Dece ...
as the most famous woman singer, since the early 1930s. She was also the wife of a very successful Iraqi singer and actor,
Nazem Al-Ghazali
Nazem al-Ghazali ( ar, ناظم الغزالي, given name also spelled ''Nazim'', ''Nadhim'', ''Nadhem'' or ''Nathem'') (1921 – 23 October 1963) was one of the most popular singers in the history of Iraq and his songs are still heard by man ...
. Even after the bulk of Iraqi Jews left Iraq, Salima continued to live there until her death in 1974.
Despite the popularity of her music in the Arab world, her music only ever had a small following in Israel.
References
External links
1900 births
1974 deaths
People from Baghdad
Iraqi Jews
20th-century Iraqi women singers
Jewish singers
{{Iraq-singer-stub