Sufism vs Modernism concert at the Cairo Opera House

CAIRO – 24 February 2018: Two Arabian musicians in very different fields, Fathy Salama and Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Tuhami, will be hosting a concert together at the Cairo Opera House on February 25, 2018.

“Sufism vs Modernism” sees the combination of the traditional Sufi chanting of al-Tuhami combined with the smooth Oriental jazz of Salama, bringing together two very different sounds of the Arab world into sheer harmony.

Salama holds the title as being the Arab world's only Arab Grammy award winner, which he got back in 2004, while he's also won the BBC Music award that year and the Cairo International Film Festival back in 2000. He won a Grammy for the album “Sant Allah” by Youssou N'Dour, for which Salama served as the producer and conductor, accompanying N'Dour's music with his own ensemble. Salama has also worked to compose music at the National Egyptian Theatre through working with acclaimed theatre director Samir el-Asfoury.

Salama has also been an active contributor for various Egyptian musicians, such as Amr Diab, Mohamed Mounir and Ali el-Hagar. Since 1988, Salama's group “Sharkiat” has performed over 2,000 times across the world's most prestigious Jazz festivals, and contributed award-winning music for the Egyptian movie “Angel Paradise”, by director Osama Fawzy.



Al-Tuhami comes from a prestigious family; he is the son of renowned 'Munshid' singer Sheikh Yassin Al-Tuhami, and is the grandson of an Imam at the Great Mosque. Tuhami has received musical training under his father and Sheikh Al-Arif Billah, carrying with him a great Sufi legacy. He performs regularly at the Cairo Opera House and at various other musical venues in the country.

The pair will be accompanied by various other musicians; Ramadan Mansour on Tabla, Andre Sagon on Bass, Hameed the Sound engineer, Mamdou Sorou on Nai, Ayman Sidky on Percussion, Sheif Alaa on Guitar and Salih Elartist on Accordion.