A Hurghada School Choir Went Viral Singing «Aash Elli Qal», and Commenters Want Its Music Teacher Honoured

A video of schoolgirls in Hurghada singing the patriotic song «Aash Elli Qal» has spread widely on social media, and users are now calling on Egypt's Minister of Education to honour the teacher who led them, according to Ahl Masr.

The clip shows pupils of Hurghada Secondary School for Girls performing the song during their school's events marking the anniversary of the October War victories. Ahl Masr reports the attention fell as much on the school's music teacher as on the choir: she appears leading the girls, and viewers praised her feel for the piece and the way the pupils responded to her.

After the video circulated, commenters asked the education minister to recognise her for training the pupils and producing a performance they described as embodying a sense of belonging and love of country. One comment quoted by Ahl Masr reads: "By national order, we the people of Egypt and the Minister of Education order the honouring of the music teacher at Hurghada Secondary School for Girls — a great woman among the nation's greats. No sheet music in front of her and no orchestra, and her feeling, and the response of the school's girls' choir to her, is a model of love of country."

Users also took the video as an argument for more attention to artistic talent inside schools, and more support for outstanding teachers and pupils. The performance was part of the artistic and cultural activities Egyptian schools hold around the October anniversary, which are intended to teach pupils about the armed forces and reinforce a sense of belonging.

Ahl Masr does not name the teacher, and the report carries no response from the Ministry of Education or the Red Sea education directorate. For Hurghada it is a small thing with an unusual reach: a classroom in the city briefly setting the national conversation rather than following it.