The Hall of Fame: Celebrities Against Mubarak

Ever since the revolution began in Egypt on January 25th 2011, there was about three Egyptian entertainers who stood against the dictator Mubarak. While many hated him and his regime, few would speak against in him in public because after all the man and his party control the Egyptian state TV and who wants to be at odds with them?

A week ago, I wrote the blacklist of Egyptian entertainers who chose the side of Mubarak and ditched the people and their plight. But here is a lit of the proud Egyptian entertainers who stood against the regime at the early days of the revolution and making history in the process. While there are nameless millions who stood against the regime, those are the ones who actually changed the course of history. Not to forget the fallen ones whose most precious thing was taken from them, but they did not die in vain.

Here is the list of the known faces that protested, organized, and spoke against the regime before it was fashionable and before it was safe.

1. Mahmoud Saad, The first one to take his grieving against the regime to the airwaves was none other than this charismatic talk show host. He was suspended on January 26th for refusing to insult the protesters, he was kept off the air for the duration of the protest and he has been embraced by the Tahrir Square Protesters. He now has been welcomes back to his old job. Link
2. Khalid Abu Al Naga, the handsome and smart actor has never shied away from a conversation about change in Egypt. He was the first to sing for the groups that challenges the Mubarak regime. You can see his activism in his indie movies as most major label keep him off their movies because the regime is not too happy with him. They even tried to smear him with being a homosexual--a big whopper. He was fresh from marketing his indie movie "Microphone" about underground music in Alexandria. He organized protesters and invited people to protest on Jan 25th and other days as well.
3. Khalid Al Sawy, the Egyptian actor who has a knack for complex roles was very simple, he took a stand against the Mubarak regime early on. He fought corruption in his movies "Lil Kibbar" In the early days of the revolution on January 27th he sent a message to all his colleagues in the entertainment business and asked them to stand in support with the people of Egypt. Sighting of this actor has been a normal thing in Tahrir square and he lead people in chants against the regime. Link
4. Gihan Fadel, the young Egyptian actress that stared in acclaimed movies like "Sleepless Nights" and dozens of TV roles was on the front line with the rest of the protesters, chanting with them and giving them support. She had a tongue in the cheeks response to all those lazy artists and those who supported the regime and claimed to have been "misled" by the media about the protesters. Link
5. Amr Waked, the handsome Egyptian actor "Syriana" and half a dozen of Egyptian blockbusters was in Tahrir Square handing out water bottles to protesters, taking pictures of the historic days. When at home he would lobby his follow entertainer to make an appearance alongside the protesters. He also headed the artists protest and brought them back to Tahrir Square. Link
6. The charismatic director and script writer Mohammad Diab has always tackled tough issue sin the movies he works one. His latest was a movie about sexual harassment in Egypt, a very important topic in Egypt. The young talent, was the link of communication between the Tahrir Square protesters and most celebrities. He had a constant present at the square. And when people smeared the protesters that there are sexual harassment there. The man who made the movie about sexual harassment recorded a massage and denied those accusations. Mohamad Diab debated Amr Mostafa, the mouthpiece for the Mubarak regime on TV. He was one of the know faces for the protesters and he took that role early on. Link
7. Basma, the Egyptian actress that brought to screen the most complex characters is not to be taken lightly. While she made many trips to Tahrir Square and was vocal in announcing her support to them. She helped raise money for the fallen men and women of the revolution. She has also urged people not to make recreational trips to Tahrir Square if they are not serious about change. Link
8. Omar Sharif, Egypt's most famous export and legendary actor was early on calling on the dictator to step down. The "Lawrence of Arabia" star never hid his disappointment and frustration on how things have been going in Egypt especially with the cinema. In radio interview for France Inter, Omar called on Mubarak to resign as the people clearly reject him. He also warned that the fear of the Muslim Brotherhood is manufactured as according to Sharif the brotherhood has only 20 percent support among Egyptian voters Link
9. Mona Zakky had a lot of love for President Mubarak, but there was an account that the popular Egyptian actress was spotted a the Tahrir Square protest as early as January 27th. But few days later, Mona made her presence known and was accompanied by her husband popular funny man Ahmad Hilmi, the protesters welcomed them both and some asked for their autograph. Mona Zakky and Ahmad Hilmi are the most popular couple in the Arabic entertainment industry. They are both intellectual and took parts of movies that deal with everyday issues. Link
10. Khalid Yousef, the first images of the popular movie director who made a career out of talking about touchy subjects in Egypt was when he rushed to the History Museum in Cairo to try to protect it. Since that day he stood along the protesters when he saw who was attacking the museum. He did have some regrets of his own, he somehow did not do enough to document the revolution. But by adding his voice to theirs and has organized with them to bring down this regime. Link
11. Khalid Nabawy, the Egyptian actor who has appeared on many Arabic films and half a dozen American movies (Fair Game, Kingdom of Heaven) is one of those voices the regime and its men resented. He was vocal and was well regarded in the industry. He was one of the early supporters of the protests and has nothing but love and kind words for the demonstrations. He even took on the state sponsored TV and called them out for living in one giant dark room. Link
12. Legendary Egyptian showgirl, actress Shireehan was not big on the spotlight, she has not given in interview in ages, but she was one of the entertainers who stood for the protesters and called on the regime to step aside. She was welcomed by the protesters who commended her appearance and her stand, while most female entertainers or her era stayed away. Link
13. Ammr Al Sherie, the legendary composer who has been enriching Arabic music for half a century seems like one of the old guards, until he marched in the streets with young man and women to protest the injustice and the death of the scores of Egyptians. He first called on Mubarak to step down because he had enough. Then he went out in the streets and told the protesters he is proud to be among them. There were accounts that he had a heart attack due to stress and pressure. Link
14. Assir Yassin, the raising Egyptian actor, the king of indie movies, and the guy who knows how to bring to life troubled characters was out to give the Mubarak regime some trouble. The actor whose last movie "Sea Massages" was considered for an Oscar Nomination, took part of all the entertainer rallies against the regime, he was a fixture at the Tahrir Square, he swore not to leave it until the regime leaves. Just like thousands of protesters he held his ground until they got what they wanted Link
15. Those artist and 100 more signed a petitions calling on the regime to step aside and on Mubarak to step down.
16. The mixed bag of celebrities showing up support of the protesters late, but as we all know better late than never. Sherine Abel Wahab, Ahmad Saqqa, Khalid Saleh, Amr Adeeb Link