Fadl Shaker's comeback proves too controversial

CAIRO – 20 May 2018: Eyebrows were raised when the Egyptian media production company AG Group announced that controversial Lebanese-Palestinian singer Fadl Shaker will sing the theme song of the much-awaited Ramadan series “Ladayna Aqwal Okhra” (We Have Other Testimonies), starring veteran actress Yousra, alongside Shereen Reda and Najla Badr.

This comes after a Lebanese military court sentenced Shaker to 15 years in prison in absentia last September after convicting him in connection with a 2013 alleged attack on the Lebanese army that left 18 soldiers dead in the southern city of Sidon.

There were mixed reactions from both the audience and Arab celebrities to the decision of the production company. While some welcomed Shaker's return, seeing it as a triumph of “good over evil”, others regarded it as a “reward for a murderer who has blood on his hands.”

Some singers, such as Wael Gassar, Fares Karam, Melhem Zain, Elissa and Assi Helani, were supportive of Shaker’s return. Meanwhile, others like Ragheb Alama and Rami Ayash were far from impressed, with Ayash tweeting that “he who forgets his duty towards his country and attack its army...deserves falling. And peace to the martyred soldiers.”

However, this was soon brushed aside once the credit song was released on YouTube on May 8, gaining more than 2.3 million views within 10 days, which is an indication that some people have forgiven Shaker and longed for his return.

But the biggest surprise came less than 48 hours after the track’s release, when the Cairo-based production company, AG Group, decided to remove the song from the series, with a press release reiterating their support for Lebanon and its armed forces. This came directly after a campaign against the company, which even saw the mother of one of the killed soldiers appealing on TV for Shaker's removal from the song.

In an interview with an Egyptian TV channel on May 9, Medhat al Adl, co-creator of the series, admitted, “We didn’t study the legal standpoint regarding Fadl Shaker in Lebanon. We basically made our decision from a purely artistic perspective," adding, “It had not occurred to us that his problem still exists.”

“When we learnt that his problem has not been solved and that there are questions over his legal situation, we have decided, out of our respect to the feelings of Lebanese people, to do without the voice of Fadl Shaker that will no longer be present in the trailer of the series,” Adl continued.

Shaker was quoted as saying he was surprised at the move. Egyptian TV stalwart Wael al Ebrashi said he had called the singer, who denied the charges against him. “He criticized what he termed as the producing company’s bowing to critics,” Ebrashi said, going on to insinuate that Shaker is the victim of political and sectarian conflict, and suggesting that Hezbollah and pro-Assad supporters in Lebanon are actually the ones behind Shaker's situation and his dismissal.

In 2012, Shaker quit his music career on religious grounds, claiming that singing is “haram” (religiously forbidden), which upset his colleagues and fellow singers. Soon afterwards, Shaker changed his name to Hajj Shaker and allegedly went on to pledge allegiance to Lebanese cleric Ahmed al Assir.

His decision to take up arms with Assir’s supporters in 2013 in clashes against the Lebanese army led to 18 soldiers being killed and resulted in Shaker being sentenced in-absentia to 15 years in prison with hard labor, a fine of LBP 800,000 ($529) and was stripped off his civil rights.

Ever since, Shaker has been spotted sporadically at events, including performing religiously inspired songs in Ain Al Hilweh, a Palestinian refugee camp located within a buffer zone inaccessible to the Lebanese military.

Shaker appeared on a local TV station sporting a beard typical of ultra-conservative Salafists. He was also seen in pictures and videos with Islamist militants. Shaker has always denied all the accusations against him, and in an interview with the Lebanese TV channel MTV two years ago, he insisted that he does not belong or adhere to any political or religious group and that his relationship with Assir does not go beyond the fact that Shaker prays at a mosque where Assir preaches.

Shaker also insisted that the arms he was holding in all the attributed videos were licensed by the Lebanese military intelligence, and he never used them except in self defense after a brigade from Hezbollah launched a militant attack against Shaker's village and ransacked his home, stealing more than $940,000 and then torching it, according to Shaker. He went on to say that not a single bullet was triggered by him, but he was shot at, along with Assir's men, by Hezbollah, due to the ongoing conflict between the two groups.

The whereabouts of Shaker are still unknown. The producers said they had contracted Shaker for the theme song through his son.

Born in the Lebanese city of Sidon, Shaker was discovered by the record label Stallions Company in 1997 and shot to fame in 1998 with his hit “Meeta” (When), which earned him the name “King of Romance” and made him a heartthrob in the Arab region, as well as cementing his place as a leading pop star. He went on to release more hits, in addition to performing international stages, alongside pop stars like Mariah Carey and Jimmy Cliff.

The whole situation is rather baffling and could have been avoided. If the reason behind choosing Shaker for the credit song is purely artistic, then surely any company would check the criminal record of any employee it would hire, let alone someone as famous as Shaker, whose reputation has been in question for the past few years. For AG Group to then withdraw the song due to “learning new facts” raises the question of the company's professionalism; surely a big, renowned company like AG Group does not get its information from social media, but has an HR or research team.

Whether it is political pressure or public demand, it seems that the big awaited return of Shaker is still too soon for some who have yet to forgive him or forget his actions. Although the song has now been replaced with just music, the series is guaranteed publicity because of this debacle, as people were talking about it before it even aired.