Kuwait: Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram banned

Officials at Ministry of Information in Kuwait say that its Censorship Department has refused a request for a concert during the Muslim holiday Eid Al Fitr for Lebanese Nancy Ajram and Kuwaiti singer Nabil Shu’ail.

A committee member stated that Nancy Ajram - known as "The Maria Carey of the Middle East" - should not be allowed to sing at public celebrations in Kuwait and supported the ministry’s decision to ban her.

Egyptian singer Ruby is also banned from performing in Kuwait.

The censorship situation in Kuwait received international attention in January 2005, when three fundamentalist Sunni lawmakers were scheduled to question Kuwait's information minister Mr Mohammed Abul-Hassan in parliament over his failing to protect "values and morals" by allowing pop music concerts. He offered his resignation the day before he was due to face the questioning.

About Nancy Ajram
Nancy Ajram, 22, has revolutionized Arabic music videos with her massive hit 'Akhasmak Ah' ("I am not Talking to You"), and has made a deep impact on popular culture across the Arab world and North Africa. Ajram's titillating and seductive image causes much debate about morals and decency in many Arab countries such as Egypt and Bahrain, where religious conservatives have taken to the streets to protest against her concerts. 
She was born in Lebanon, and appeared in televised talent contests when she was only eight years old. At the age of 14, she won a gold medal on Future Television’s talent show Noujoum Al Mustaqbal ("The Stars of the Future").
As a teenager, Nancy received vocal training from some of the best teachers in Beirut. She also plays the oud and is currently finishing a degree in radio/TV at the Notre Dame University in Lebanon.

"A destructive and serious threat"
According to Al-Arabiya, an official Israeli report issued by the General Agency for Israeli Cinema and Arts on September 2, 2005, has denounced Nancy Ajram and other Lebanese popstars as posing a destructive and serious threat to the Israeli state because of their “political activities which have great influence in the Arab world due to their great popularity.”
In Morocco, the mayor of Marrakech announced in May 2005 that Nancy Ajram will not be permitted to hold any future concerts in the city in order to avoid reoccurrence of the kind of incidents which supposedly took place during her performance in April 2005: “sexual harassment, theft, excessive alcohol consumption resulting in violence, people fainting.”

Her success continues unabated.

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