Mohamed Hassan ( ar, محمد حسن, – 17 December 2017) was a Libyan singer and composer who rose to fame in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

in the early 1970s for his

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

and

Pan-Arabic Pan-Arabism ( ar, الوحدة العربية or ) is an ideology that espouses the unification of the countries of North Africa and Western Asia from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, which is referred to as the Arab world. It is closely c ...

songs. He would remain a popular Libyan musician and singer until his death in 2017. He was known as Gaddafi's "Court Musician".

Biography

Mohamed Hassan was born to a poor

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

family in Al-Khums sometime around 1944. His musical career began in the 1960s when he joined the choir of the Libyan Radio Company and he published his first song in June, 1970. The song was political in nature and celebrated Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's expulsion of foreign

military bases A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

from the country. The song was a classic

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

and it began Hassan's rise to fame. Hassan would idolise Gaddafi throughout his rule and many of his songs praised him and his regime, despite Hassan never officially being under the employment of the

Libyan government The politics of Libya has been in an uncertain state since the collapse of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in 2011 and a recent civil war and various jihadists and tribal elements controlling parts of the country. On 10 March 2021, a national unity g ...

. During the

First Libyan Civil War The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Libya ...

Hassan made an appearance on Libyan State TV where he called for peace talks but also refused to denounce Gaddafi or his regime. This lead many to accuse Hassan of favouring Gaddafi's side and this made producers shun him after the Rebel victory, temporarily putting his musical career on hold. Regardless, Hassan was able to make a musical return in 2014 in which he called for the reconciliation and rebuilding of Libya. Hassan died on 17 December 2017 in a hospital in Tunisia after succumbing to a throat tumour. Several artists and writers attended his funeral. The post-Gaddafi government refused to celebrate his legacy due to his connections to the Gaddafi regime.

Honours

* First Class of the Order of the Grand Conqueror (Libya) * Grand Officer of the

National Order of Merit of Tunisia National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Mohamed Libyan musicians 1944 births 2017 deaths