Meet Egypt's Al Hoor, Inspirational All Female Islamic Inshad Chanting Group

Islamic chanting has always been a male-dominated field. However, an all-female group of Islamic chanters in Egypt is challenging the gender norms and inspiring other young women to realise that worship and religion should not be bound by gender inequality.

When Neaema Fathy first formed an all-female group for Islamic chanting in Egypt and named it Al Hoor, the entire society was waiting for it to fail. They wanted to see how many people will approve of women entering a male-dominated area in Islam. Islam actually has very strict rules and regulations for women and their public image.

They are not allowed to go in public without their body covered and female chanting is considered forbidden in Islam, as per report. Despite the various challenges, these women decided to do what they could as praying and religious chanting was their right too. They believed that when it came to praising God through chants, gender should not be a barrier. That's what Fathy has been raised to believe in and that's how she got introduced to Islamic chanting.

Al Hoor All Female Inshad Chanting Group

Inshad is a form of religious chanting in Islam which consists of songs in praise of God or the Prophet and His family. For years, Egyptian society has seen men reciting Inshad and never allowed women to do so. Fathy was just a child when she visited a religious festival in Egypt and heard Inshad for the first time. She was fascinated by it and was curious about how to do it.

Her mother supported her ambition of becoming a female Islamic chanter and when she was 17, she encouraged her to take training in Maqamat which is a form of singing musical melodies in Arabic as it would help her learn Inshad chanting.

She took the help of the Cairo Opera House and soon learned Inshad chanting. She always felt the underrepresentation of women in Islamic chanting and decided to encourage women to take part in it. That's how she formed Al Hoor.

Another female Islamic chanter is Shaimaa El Nouby who has 12 years experience of in Inshad chanting and wants to promote it as a form of art in its traditional form. She formed the Artistic Heritage Collection Association in Egypt in order to protect the country's heritage and traditional art forms.

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