Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian singer Sha'ban Abd Al-Rahim, which aired on Al-Mihwar TV (Egypt) on October 29, 2010:
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/0/0/0/0/0/0/2713.
Interviewer: "You sang a song about Obama. Do you still remember the words?"
Sha'ban Abd Al-Rahim: "Obama? I will sing what I remember."
Interviewer: "Okay. Afterwards, I will ask you if you still think the same, or if you have changed your mind about him."
Sha'ban Abd Al-Rahim (sings): "I see you smiling.
"I see you smiling.
"I see you smiling, laughter all over your face.
"God, don't let Obama be the same as Bush.
"God, don't let Obama be the same as Bush.
"In the end, he is just like Bush."
Interviewer: "He turned out to be Bush."
Sha'ban Abd Al-Rahim: "Yes. They are all close to one another. He doesn't live in Zamalek [in Cairo]..."
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Interviewer: "Where does he live?"
Sha'ban Abd Al-Rahim: "Next to Bush, in the White House. The White House will help on a black day."
Interview: When I told people that I was going to interview Sh'aban, everybody told me to ask you to sing 'Obama' and 'I Hate Israel.'"
Sha'ban Abd Al-Rahim: "I will sing 'I Hate Israel.'"
Interview: "Okay."
Sha'ban Abd Al-Rahim: "I hate Israel.
"I hate Israel, if anyone asks.
"Allah willing, I will be killed or go to jail.
"I hate Israel, hate Israel, hate Israel, if anyone asks.
"Allah willing, I will be killed or go to jail.
"Allah willing, I will be killed.
"I hate Israel – Shimon [Peres] and Sharon.
"I love Amr Moussa, and his balanced words.
"I love Amr Moussa...
"That's it."
Interview: "You didn't include Netanyahu in the song. He would need a song to himself, courtesy of Sha'ban."
Sha'ban Abd Al-Rahim: "Is he the one in charge now?"
Interviewer: "Yes."
Sha'ban Abd Al-Rahim: "Then I will write him a song tomorrow."
Interviewer: "Put that on your agenda. Many people ask you to sing that song."
Sha'ban Abd Al-Rahim: "'I Hate Israel'? At a wedding, the bride and groom have nothing to do with a sentence like 'I hate Israel, and I am prepared to die.' But even so, it's the first song they ask me to sing."
Interviewer: "When I arrived this morning, people said that you must sing 'I Hate Israel.'"
Sha'ban Abd Al-Rahim: "That song has become a fundamental part of me. It's the first song I perform, and the last before I go home. " [...]
