According to the personal testimonies at the beginning of the film, how do Egyptians
remember Umm Kulthum, twenty years after her death?
2. On which topic did Umm Kulthum’s early education focus? How did this benefit her as a
singer? (Note: the holy book of Islam is the Koran or Qur’an.)
3. How did Umm Kulthum first begin to sign publically?
4. Why did Umm Kulthum’s father dress her in boys’ clothing? Why did he continue to allow
her to perform?
5. Which country colonized Egypt? How did Umm Kulthum’s music support the Egyptian
independence movement?
6. How did the role of women change after the Egyptian revolution of 1919?
7. How did Umm Kulthum’s public persona compare to that of other female artists at the time?
8. Who was Ahmed Rami? What did he do for Umm Kulthum?
9. Umm Kulthum built her career on which three technologies that were new to Egypt?
10. What is the melodic contour of Umm Kulthum’s songs? (Ascending, descending, or
arching?)
11. Why did early Egyptian cinema feature singers?
12. Who was MohammedAbd el-Wahhab? Why was he Umm Kulthum’s biggest rival?
13. How did Umm Kulthuum insist musicians in her orchestra learn to play her music?
14. What is tarab? What is the English translation, according to the film?
15. How would Umm Kulthum musically create a sense of tarab for her listeners?
16. In concert footage of Kulthum’s performances, how do her audiences react to tarab?
17. Why did Umm Kulthum carefully guard her privacy?
18. How did Kulthum support Egyptian revolutionary activities in the 1930s?
19. How did the Egyptian revolution of the late 1950s threaten Umm Kulthum’s career?
20. How did political leader Gamal Abdel Nasser support Kultum?