Pop singer adds voice to Muslim outrage in Egypt

Cairo: An Egyptian pop singer has just joined the controversy triggered by the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in an unflattering light. The singer is best known for his hit single I Hate Israel.

In his latest music video We've Run Out of Patience, Shaaban Abdul Rahim, nicknamed by his fans as Shabula, is pushing for an "all-out boycott" of Denmark.

"Those herders of calves have insulted the Prophet," blares out the husky-voiced Abdul Rahim, before lapsing into his heavy metal signature "ehh".

The phrase "We sacrifice ourselves for you, the Prophet" flashes in the background.

Over the past weeks, protests have swept the Islamic world over a dozen drawings, first published in a Danish newspaper and later reprinted in some Western publications, lampooning the Prophet.

On air

Fury among Muslim communities has, among other things, expressed itself in a massive boycott of Danish goods. Many Egyptian stores have put up signs reading "No to Danish products".

In his song, which went on air on Arabic satellite TVs this week, Abdul Rahim warned detractors of the Prophet of "roasting in Hell".

He laments that reported abuses of the Quran by US soldiers at Guantanamo detention camp went unpunished.

Abdul Rahim, an ironing man by trade in a working-class district in Cairo, rose to fame in 2001 when he declared "I Hate Israel and Like Amr Mousa", Egypt's then Foreign Minister and the incumbent Chief of the Arab League. Though dismissed by the high-brows as an untalented and crude performer, Abdul Rahim has built a huge following across Egypt and in the Arab world beyond, especially among the working classes.

Politically savvy

His fans particularly admire his modesty and his swift reactions to political events. "He is not ashamed of his humble background. Nor does he mince his words in interviews," said Mahmoud Sayed, a waiter at a Cairo restaurant.

"His songs reflect the public pulse, like this one," Sayed added, referring to the video We've Run Out of Patience.

In the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Adul Rahim lashed out at the Americans in his chart-topper Hitting Iraq.

The writer is a journalist based in Cairo