On her birthday, how did Umm Kulthum lead campaigns to donate to the war effort?

Cairo -

After the setback of June 1967, the woman of Arab singing, Umm Kulthum, faced some accusations that her songs full of love, love and love were a drug that caused defeat, which prompted her to think seriously about retiring after a busy march in which she rose to the top of Arab singing.

But she soon decided, after receiving a call from the presidency, to raise the slogan "Art for the War Effort", and raced with artists to revive concerts and collect donations.

Umm Kulthum - whose birthday falls on December 31, 1898 - made local tours in Damanhour, Alexandria, Mansoura and Tanta, and the revenues of the Damanhour concert amounted to 80,000 Egyptian pounds, although in normal times her revenues did not exceed 18,000, and the revenues of the Alexandria concert reached To 100,000 pounds, it collected 125 thousand in the Mansoura party, and 284,000 in Tanta, according to "Rose El-Youssef" magazine.

Paris party

Among Umm Kulthum's concerts abroad, the Paris party remains the most important and famous of these parties, as Umm Kulthum began her visit to Paris on November 13, 1967, a few months after the setback.

The French press paid attention to Umm Kulthum's concert, describing her as the most expensive singer in the world, and that she achieved the Olympia Theater the largest income in its long history.

Dr. Ali al-Samman, head of the International Federation for Interfaith Dialogue and Cultures, says that Umm Kulthum told him, "She came to Paris because it is a patriotic duty, and we are all soldiers in one battle, and we will never leave Egypt a prey to any aggression or colonialism, no matter how powerful it is, and we will sacrifice our lives for our homeland." And she asked him to write a letter to French President Charles de Gaulle saluting him for his courageous stance not to support America or Israel in their aggression against Egypt, and she signed it with "Umm Kulthum, an Egyptian citizen."

Al-Samman continues - in his interview with Al-Ahram newspaper - that de Gaulle sent an envoy from the presidential palace to Umm Kulthum, and he said to her while greeting her for her presence in Paris and telling her, “You are the conscience of a nation,” and handed her a letter from President de Gaulle written by Petrlan, the most famous French fighter against the German occupation in his own handwriting. Then he learned that Umm Kulthum's invitation to France came at the initiative of de Gaulle, who at the time told his aides, "The Arabs came out after the 67 defeat in tragedy, and I want Umm Kulthum to raise the morale of the Arabs in France."

Diplomatic passport

Umm Kulthum collected at the Olympia Theater party 212,000 pounds, and continued her tours in Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Lebanon, Pakistan and Tunisia in the presence of Bourguiba, in Morocco in the presence of King Hassan II, and in Khartoum in the presence of all Sudanese leaders and in Bahrain, Iraq and Libya.

By 1970, Umm Kulthum had raised $3 million, after long and arduous tours, even though she was over 70, according to Al-Ahram newspaper.

As a result of her great efforts, Gamal Abdel Nasser sent her a diplomatic passport, along with a letter in which he said that Umm Kulthum was the greatest ambassador of Egypt in the world, and gave her the State Appreciation Award.

In an interview with Sudanese television in 1968, Umm Kulthum confirmed that she saw it as the duty of every citizen to play his role towards his homeland after the "June setback", and that she was doing her part, and said that she felt that all Arab peoples are close, and she always felt in her tours as if she was singing in Cairo.

sons of the displaced

Umm Katthoum was the reason for Al-Ahram newspaper journalists to donate 1,240 pounds as Eids for the children of the displaced. We give it as gifts to the children of the displaced on this holiday, and every year and you are good.”

Umm Kulthum and Al-Hakim went down the corridors of Al-Ahram, and collected donations from Al-Ahram Foundation journalists, so that senior and young journalists would race to participate in the presence of the Lady of Arab Singing.