Source:
Washington Post<
snip>
"Arab pop stars descended on Khartoum this week to perform concerts to aid war-torn Darfur, in a rare show of solidarity with the millions of Muslims caught in the conflict in western Sudan.
Most of the billions of dollars in aid to fund the world's largest humanitarian operation in Darfur has come from the West. And Arab leaders have been politically more sympathetic with Khartoum, sparking criticism from U.N. officials.
While Hollywood stars have been lobbying for years on Darfur, this was the most high-profile attempt by Arab artists to help those suffering more than four years of conflict between Darfuri rebels and the central government, which has forced 2.5 people million from their homes.
Sudan, under a strict version of Islamic sharia law, rarely enjoys visits from pop artists, and some Islamic scholars protested the week-long set of concerts by stars like Sherine, Hani Shakir, Mounira Hamdi and Mohammad Mounir."
Read more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/07/AR2007060700826.html