Radio in the Arab World
"Here is Cairo" were the first words uttered on Egyptian radio, and were by Ahmed Salem. The phrase was officially adopted by all Egyptian radio stations that were launched in the following years.
The medium inaugurated at 5:30pm Cairo time on May 31, 1934 with Sheikh Mohammad Refaat reciting the Qur'an, followed by the voices of Umm Kulthum, Saleh Abdel-Hay, and Mohamed Abdel Wahab, in that order. Ahmed Salem and Mohamed Fathy (later known as كروان الإذاعة – the "radio curlew") announced the radio's first programs, which included Hussein Shawky reciting a poem by Ahmed Shawky, the poet Ali Al-Jarem using a poem to greet King Fouad I of Egypt and Sudan, and acts by monologist Mohamed Abdel Quddus and musicians Medhat Assem and Sami Al-Shawa.
Salem was one of the first Egyptian broadcasters and one of seven who took charge of the radio station, and laid the foundations for its work. Radio stations continued broadcasting until May 29, 1934 stopping to be replaced by the government's station, which started broadcasting two days later.
Albert and Josephine Rashid in their Brooklyn store, 1949
Meanwhile, Albert Rashid founded Rashid Sales Company in 1934, the first exclusively Arab music company in America. Rashid Sales became the cultural conduit between Arab Americans and their homeland. You can read more about this on Arab America.
It was Amal Fahmy the first woman to head up a state-owned radio station in the Middle East. She introduced "مين صاحب الصوت؟" (Whose Voice Is It?) in 1956. The show would go on to become a staple of Ramadan entertainment, featuring public figures such as Emad Hamdy and Umm Kulthum who read a page of a book without revealing their identities to listeners, as well as riddles written by poets such as Bayram al-Tunisi and Salah Jahin. Apparently, the riddles on the show were so intriguing that listeners sent in their solutions by post.
Arab Musicians & choir at the microphone in studio 1940 via the Mason Photo Service, Library of Congress
Radio Jerusalem was established in 1936 as part of the British Mandate Government-run Palestine Broadcasting Service. It was a trilingual radio station that offered programs in Arabic, English and Hebrew. The Arabic section was headed by three prominent Palestinian cultural figures: Ibrahim Tuqan (brother of poet Fadwa Tuqan), Agag Noueihed, and Azmi Nashashibi. Despite the station being run by the British, the reputation of these three men led to a steady increase and sustained listenership. A typical Arabic-language program could feature a "baladi" music performance, humorous dialogues, talks on social and cultural topics, and news and weather announcements.
Ibrahim Tuqan & Arab staff from PBS in 1941
