Wafeek habib biography of barack
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Letter Writing Isn’t a Lost Art in Egypt. It’s an Ancient Ministry.
In his rural New Jersey home, Wafik Habib carefully laid out his letter collection before us, now more than a half century old. Handwritten by the late Bishop Samuel to the physician, they represented the bishop’s pastoral care to a nascent diaspora Christian community started in 1950s North America. We could sense the bishop’s presence in the words of comfort and exhortation set to pen and paper.
A few years before our visit to Habib to read his letters from Bishop Samuel, we opened up our own airmail from Egypt. It was a greeting card from Abadir El-Souriany, an elderly monk at the Syrian Monastery of St. Mary. (In the Coptic tradition, bishops are denoted by a single name at ordination and monks are referred to by their first name and the monastery where they serve.)
The card smelled of the Egyptian desert. In it, we found words of blessing.
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Abadir had pastored our family in Sudan decades before. Now, newly ordained and assigned to a Coptic Orthodox Church in New Jersey, we received the warm words of Abadir’s letter. They ministered to us as only words from a
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Sabah Fakhri (Arabic: صباح فخري) (born 1933): is an iconic arabic traditional vocal singer from Aleppo in northern Syria.
He modified and popularized the then-fading form of traditional Arabic music, Muwashahat and Koodood. He is well known for his exceptionally powerful voice, impeccable execution of Maqamat and harmony, as well as charismatic performances. To many music admirers around the world, he represents the epitome and essence of authentic Tarab.
He enrolled into the Academy of Arabic Music of Aleppo then to the Academy of Damascus, from which he graduated in 1948. Then in Cairo, Egypt, he studied under the music masters of that time, and since then he started performing concerts in Syria. He soon became famous all over the Arab World. He also performed many concerts in Europe and the Americas. His name is enshrined in the Guinness Book of Records for his prowess in Caracas, where he sang for 10 hours without a pause.
He was a member of the Syrian parliament for a period of time as a representative of artists.
Fakhri was awarded the Syrian Order of Merit of Excellent Degree by the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in recognition of his achievements in serving and his role in reviving the artistic heritage in Syria.