Muqdishso(INO)-Hibo Mohamed Hudoon (Hibo Nuura), one of the most prominent Somali singers who captivated thousands of fans with her nationalist and love songs in the late 1980s, has quit the music industry, citing religious reasons.
Hibo Nuura, who called in a popular religious conference call with over 2,000 people around the world on Saturday night, said she was leaving the music industry for the sake of Allah and asked people not to listen to her songs.
In an interview with the BBC Somali Service, Hibo Nuura said she has been deliberating about her decision for a long time. She said she has consulted with religious leaders, who told her that singing accompanied by music is haram.
Hibo Nuura said she started her singing career when she was a teenager in 1976. In the late 1980s, she was part of Somalia’s foremost musical group, Waaberi, or “Dawn” in Somali.
Hibo Nuura, now in her 60s, returned to Mogadishu in September last year to host a music festival after 22 years of living abroad.
She said she will keep singing patriotic national songs.
“The arts can play a decisive role in the development of Somalia at this juncture,” she said in an interview with Sabahi Online in October. “If [art is used] every day to tell people about matters related to progress and mass media is used to encourage development, people will become optimistic and carry positive attitudes.”
Idale News Online/English News Service.
