Muhammad Al-Azzawi is an Iraqi Qur’an reciter and vocalist. He is called “Munshid al-Rafidain,” “Professor of Iraqi Maqamat,” and “Professor of Munshidin.” He worked as an imam and preacher in one of the mosques of the Emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. After a series of arrests that the country witnessed, he left it and returned to Baghdad, where he died on the same day. October 27, 2023.
Study and scientific training
Al-Azzawi was influenced by his father – who was an imam in Diyala Governorate in Iraq – so he studied at the College of Islamic Sharia at the University of Baghdad and graduated in 1997, obtaining a master’s degree in the same specialty. He worked as an imam in several mosques inside Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.
Chanting experience
Al-Azzawi’s goal was to advance Iraqi art and make his mark in the field of “Islamic art,” as he believed that the art of the Islamic anthem had declined due to the political circumstances that afflicted the country after the American invasion in 2003.
Al-Azzawi says that the most famous Maqam among artists is Maqam al-Kurd, and he believes that a skilled vocalist knows how to balance the words of the anthem, the method of performance, and the melody, in a manner similar to a pictorial reading of a poem.
He participated in many singing festivals in Jeddah and Sharjah, and his brother Mustafa Al-Azzawi, former vocalist on the Birds of Paradise channel, says that he was influenced by his brother and learned from him, as he would accompany him to religious festivals and teach him intonation and maqamat, so he also made the same path in Jordan and followed his brother’s approach, which He describes him as his father.
He moved to reside in the United Arab Emirates in 1998, and from there he made his way toward publishing his “Islamic art,” which received a lot of attention and attention in the Gulf region, before returning to Baghdad.
But the restrictions on his Iraqi passport prevented him from being able to move around and participate in festivals to which he was invited. In this regard, he says in one of his interviews, “I receive dozens of invitations from Arab and European countries to participate in singing festivals, but I cannot move between countries just because I hold an Iraqi passport.”
Jobs and responsibilities
Al-Azzawi worked on Al-Majd satellite channel and was a presenter of programs specializing in Islamic chanting. He was assistant general manager of the chanting channel “Shada”, and he excelled in what he presented about the art of Iraqi Maqamat.
His most prominent songs
Muhammad released three albums alone: “The Wish of a Lifetime,” “Al-Irtiqaa,” and “With God.” Among his most famous works are:
- City airport.
- O reader of the Qur’an.
- With God.
- Warmth of heart.
- My mind is hot.
The song “With God” from the album “The Wish of a Lifetime” and the words of the Homsi poet Abdel Muti al-Dalati are considered one of the “Eyes of the Anthem in the Modern Era” and its most famous, as it influenced many Muslim youth and brought them back to the path of commitment, and many of them mention the extent of the impact it had on their lives. .
He also became famous for his anthem, “Our blood will be sacrificed for you and our sons,” about the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, after the incident of the offensive cartoons about the Prophet.
Death
After suffering a heart attack, Muhammad Al-Azzawi died in the capital, Baghdadi, Iraq, on Friday, October 27, when he was only 53 years old.
