Posted on 04/05/2004 10:22:30 AM PDT by yonif
A singer popular throughout the Arab world for his hit songs "Ana Bakra Isra'il" ("I Hate Israel") and "Kharittat Al-Tariq" ("Road Map", which includes lines blaming the US for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington) revealed this week that he fears assassination by the Israeli and American secret services.
The singer, Sha'aban 'Abd Al-Raheem, told the Qatari Al-Raya newspaper that he was invited to the United States to perform "I Hate Israel", but he turned down the invitation for fear of his life. The CIA and Mossad, Al-Raheem claimed, may be out to "get" him.
Al-Raheem also said that the same hit song of hatred and venom against Israel, which launched his stardom, caused him to lose an sponsorship contract with the Egyptian branch of the McDonald's global chain. McDonald's is launching a Felafel Burger and sought native talent to promote the product. However, according to the Qatari newspaper, when the identity of the preferred sponsor was known, "a Jewish official" in the US objected and the contract was cancelled.
According to the news portal Albawaba.com, "Shabaan has realized that his success in the music world depends mainly on him creating political songs, especially those that criticize the United States of America and Israel. His songs have found popularity mostly due to their simple language that is easily understood by everyone, and because they express the hatred common people have towards the US and Israel."
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Loserdopians branching out to the Middle East?
(Although if yer reading this, Echelon, most of us wouldn't object to sending a bullet toward Sha'aban 'Abd Al-Raheem when you have a free second.)
This should be a headline at The Onion, but of course, it's not. Those wacky Arabs...
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