Arab Idol, the popular singing competition for the Arab world, crowned its first Palestinian winner on Saturday, Mohammed Assaf. The singer has become an overnight celebrity in the region and was congratulated by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He was even named a United Nations goodwill ambassador.
The Associated Press reports that Assaf’s win sparked celebrations in the Palestinian territories. “I congratulate the talented singer Mohammed Assaf ... who conveyed the message of the Palestinian people to the Arab nation through his art,” Abbas said in a statement.
Assaf, 22, will work as a goodwill ambassador for the UN’s Relief and Works Agency. The group runs Palestinian refugee camps around the Middle East, including the one in Gaza where Assaf has lived since he was 4-years-old. He said he was “truly honoured” when he heard the news.
“I’m so proud of my brother and what he was able to accomplish,” Shadi Assaf, Assaf’s brother, told The National. His brother’s victory allowed the Gaza Strip a brief break from the realities of their lives.
However, Assaf’s win was not welcomed by all. Hamas, which is the ruling government in the Gaza Strip, had no “official position on this competition,” Hamas member Yahya Mousa said. Still, Hamas has tried to distance itself from Assaf and the competition, which it criticized for showcasing “nude women” and damaging “Islamic character.”
The AP notes that a Hamas lawmaker, Yehiyeh Moussa, did praise Assaf for being an “ambassador for Palestinian art” and the group has tried to soften its stance against Arab Idol since Assaf’s win.