The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
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Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:37 PM
Egypt Sentences Famous Singer To Six Months For Making Joke That Nile River Is Polluted
A lawsuit was filed against Abdel-Wahab in November after a video captured a fan asking the singer to sing one of her popular songs, "Mashrebtesh Men Nilha," which translates to "Have You Drunk From The Nile?"
Abdel-Wahab told the fan “drinking from the Nile will get me schistosomiasis," referring to the common disease in Egypt that's caused by flatworms living in freshwater.
Abdel-Wahab joked to “drink Evian instead.”
But after the video went public, the singer was banned from performing in the country due to her “unjustified mockery of our dear Egypt.” She later apologized for her “foolish joke.”
"My beloved country Egypt and sons of my country Egypt, I apologize to you with all my heart for any pain I may have caused you," Abdel-Wahab said.
The BBC reported Abel-Wahab can appeal after being convicted of “spreading false news.”
Meanwhile, another Egyptian singer, Laila Amer, was also sentenced to prison time for inciting “debauchery and immorality” for a music video in which she plays a downtrodden, belly-dancing housewife who complains to her husband about his bossy mother. The name of the song, "Bos Omak," is a play on words with a common Arabic profanity.
