Amal al-Atrash (Arabic: آمال الأطرش‎ Ä€mÄ l al-Aá¹rash;
November 25, 1912 â€" July 14, 1944), better known by her stage name
Asmahan (أسمهان AsmahÄ n), was a Syrian singer who lived and
rose to fame in Egypt. Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of three
years old, her family knew the composer Dawood Hosni, and she sang the
compositions of Mohamed El Qasabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad. She also sang
the compositions of Mohammed Abdel Wahab and her brother Farid
al-Atrash, a then rising star musician in his own right. Her voice was
one of the few female voices in Arab music world to pose serious
competition to that of Umm Kulthum, who is considered to be one of the
Arab world's most distinguished singers of the 20th century. Her
mysterious death in an automobile accident shocked the public.
Journalists spread gossip about her turbulent personal life and an
alleged espionage role in World War II.Asmahan was born to Fahd
al-Atrash, a Syrian Druze from Suwayda, and 'Alia al-Mundhir, a
Lebanese Druze from Hasbaya. Her father came from the Druze al-Atrash
clan, well known in Syria for its role in fighting against the French
occupation.Asmahan's father supposedly served as governor of the
district of Demirci in Turkey, during the last days of the Ottoman
Empire. Asmahan's father, fled the country with his children and
pregnant wife. On 25 November 1912, they embarked on a ship from
Ä°zmir to Beirut, and Asmahan was born on board. She was named "Amal",
meaning "hope". She was also called "Emily", but always preferred the
name "Amal". After the French came into power, the family returned to
Jabal al-druze.Following the Adham Khanjar incident in 1922, the
al-Atrash home in al-Qrayya (a town in Jabal al-Druze) was bombed by
French forces. 'Alia fled with her children to Damascus and, despite
orders from Fahd, refused to return. Asmahan later recalled her
childhood years in Jabal al-Druze as "untouched by anything truly
bad". 'Alia and the three children travelled to Beirut, but, after
discovering that the French were searching for them there, they
stopped in Haifa in Palestine, and travelled from there to Egypt,
where she sought Political Asylum for her and her three children; they
were later granted the right of Political Asylum in 1926 by the
Egyptian Government, thus naturalized as Egyptian citizens.
November 25, 1912 â€" July 14, 1944), better known by her stage name
Asmahan (أسمهان AsmahÄ n), was a Syrian singer who lived and
rose to fame in Egypt. Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of three
years old, her family knew the composer Dawood Hosni, and she sang the
compositions of Mohamed El Qasabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad. She also sang
the compositions of Mohammed Abdel Wahab and her brother Farid
al-Atrash, a then rising star musician in his own right. Her voice was
one of the few female voices in Arab music world to pose serious
competition to that of Umm Kulthum, who is considered to be one of the
Arab world's most distinguished singers of the 20th century. Her
mysterious death in an automobile accident shocked the public.
Journalists spread gossip about her turbulent personal life and an
alleged espionage role in World War II.Asmahan was born to Fahd
al-Atrash, a Syrian Druze from Suwayda, and 'Alia al-Mundhir, a
Lebanese Druze from Hasbaya. Her father came from the Druze al-Atrash
clan, well known in Syria for its role in fighting against the French
occupation.Asmahan's father supposedly served as governor of the
district of Demirci in Turkey, during the last days of the Ottoman
Empire. Asmahan's father, fled the country with his children and
pregnant wife. On 25 November 1912, they embarked on a ship from
Ä°zmir to Beirut, and Asmahan was born on board. She was named "Amal",
meaning "hope". She was also called "Emily", but always preferred the
name "Amal". After the French came into power, the family returned to
Jabal al-druze.Following the Adham Khanjar incident in 1922, the
al-Atrash home in al-Qrayya (a town in Jabal al-Druze) was bombed by
French forces. 'Alia fled with her children to Damascus and, despite
orders from Fahd, refused to return. Asmahan later recalled her
childhood years in Jabal al-Druze as "untouched by anything truly
bad". 'Alia and the three children travelled to Beirut, but, after
discovering that the French were searching for them there, they
stopped in Haifa in Palestine, and travelled from there to Egypt,
where she sought Political Asylum for her and her three children; they
were later granted the right of Political Asylum in 1926 by the
Egyptian Government, thus naturalized as Egyptian citizens.
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