Musician hopes the album will prove popular in Muslim countries Egyptian singer Mustafa Kamar has shaken things up with the release of a new religious themed album, Arabstoday learnt in interview with the star. Oh Glorious God features songs and prayers Muslims use daily. Kamar has previously recorded songs with religious undertones but wanted to reach a wider audience with his latest offering.
Kamar said: “I've recorded a lot of prayers and religious songs in the past, but I never thought of making a project out of it. I realised I’d accumulated a lot of these songs over the years, so when the producer Mushin Jaber approached me to record an album of old songs as well as new ones, I welcomed the idea.”
Egypt’s King of Pop intends to release the album on cassette, despite the medium being obsolete in a lot of countries, saying the market is still lucrative in the Arab world.
“We found that over 500 songs were getting into the market through cassette, despite the depression suffered by distribution companies with the introduction of new technology,” said Kamar.
The musician hopes the album will prove popular with Arab Muslim countries and remains optimistic it will introduce new listeners to his music.
He added: “I hope this album encourages singers to start recording again and liven up the industry once more.”
Kamar’s last project was co-starring in a film with Reham Abdul Ghafoor and Mohamed Lutfi, despite the star-studded line-up, the picture failed to generate good box office numbers.  
But the artist stands by the film, telling Arabstoday: “I think it was a good piece, it was one of my favourite roles to play in all my 15 years as an actor. I wouldn't say it failed, there were other circumstances that affected its revenue.”
Kamar blames the low numbers on rival producers spreading false rumours about the motion picture.
“They would stand in the cinema and tell people the film had been withdrawn because of defects, which wasn't true.” said Kamar.
He added: “An artist must be able to deal with success and failure and you won’t necessarily feel sad or happy about either. Only with experiencing both can you grow and plan for the future of your career. This last movie taught me a lot about which direction I want to go in.”
Mustafa Kamar’s album Oh Glorious God is out now.