Shaaban Abdel Rahim - Classic or Dud?

Arabs rock to anti-war song
Abdel Rahim's songs are selling fast
A folk song condemning war in Iraq has become one of the biggest underground hits in the Arab world.

Shaaban Abdel Rahim's song Don't Hit Iraq is being played on private TV and radio stations across the region, including his native Egypt, though he is shunned by the state-run media.

"Leave Iraq in peace, you inspected him; it has no arms of mass destruction but they are still bombing it," is the message of the song.

"Go inspect Israel instead, there's a lot of arms of mass destruction there."

Real files here:
http://www.arab2.com/songs/shaaban.htm

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1238812

'I hate Israel' is the name of a song that became an instant hit when it was released in Egypt in 1999, selling over five million copies. It is sung by Shaaban Abdel Rahim, a middle aged ironer who has given a voice to the anger many Arabs feel towards their neighbour. Shaaban has become a celebrity in Egypt, although many of his songs have been banned from the airways by the Egyptian censors, this act obviously can only heighten his appeal. The song was actually written by Ismail Khalil, a writer and schoolteacher. Here is a translation from Arabic of part of the song