The lead singer of Mashrou’ Leila musical group, Hamed Sinno, revealed that the group’s work has been permanently suspended, during an interview with the Lebanese podcast “Sarda” on Sunday.
Snow recounted the suffering of his band, which was banned more than once in various Arab countries, as its concerts in Jordan in 2015 and 2016 were canceled following they were announced and tickets were released to the public, due to objections regarding the band’s violation of public taste.
The band sparked a huge controversy in Egypt in 2017, when LGBT activist Ain + Sarah Hegazy raised the rainbow flag during the band’s concert, which led to her arrest and the ban on the band from singing in Egypt.
Snow spoke regarding what happened, saying that the incident caused the arrest of more than 30 people in Egypt, and that the activist had been subjected to sexual harassment and torture with electricity during her 3-month imprisonment, facts previously published by the organization.Human Rights WatchThe Egyptian government did not comment on it at the time.
Later, Hegazy obtained political asylum in Canada, before ending her life and committing suicide in 2020.
Snow commented on what happened, saying: “It was very difficult, and I felt guilty for a long time, and I felt that I did not want to do music.”
The Lebanese-born band was also banned from participating in the Byblos Festival in Beirut in 2019, following accusations that some of the lyrics of its songs on the album “Ibn Al-Layl” promote Satanism and insult Christianity.
Although the reasons for the ban were many or not explicitly mentioned in the past, Snow confirmed that the real reason behind the band’s siege is his sexual orientation, as he defines himself as a “queer”.
In his interview with “Sarda”, he said: “(The ban) has become your eyes.. We are reactionary and homophobic, what do you want to do,” saying that the pace of bans in Arab countries has increased, and has taken a hostile and explicit character.
Snow said that he and the band members were subjected to hate and slander campaigns on social media sites, which left them feeling very stressed and unwilling to work.
The band moved to the United States and planned to organize concerts in Europe, Canada and the United States, but Covid-19 put the band members in a difficult financial situation, as the closure ended their chances of organizing any concerts.
Snow added that the band’s continuation is difficult and not sustainable in light of the fact that it is deprived of its fans.
Snow said that there are no future plans for the band, stressing, “Every member of the band is a genius” and can work alone.
Mashrou’ Leila was founded with seven members in 2008 and has released 4 albums.
