Egypt’s Ancient Islamic Chanting Renowned Artist Mahmoud al-Tohamy

Sounds that Transcend Genres

Mahmoud al-Tohamy, is a master of Islamic chanting, an almost 2,000 old art form known as "inshad."

Son of celebrated singer Yassin al-Tohamy, the 41-year-old, was born to a family of religious chanters in the southern governorate of Asyut, Egypt and is inspired by the mystical Sufi branch of Islam and deeply committed to the spiritual essence of the ancient performance of devotional poetry and odes.

Inshad Goes Global

The students at his Cairo-based school for Islamic chanting established in 2014 can be proud of their instructor who is a globally-renowned artistic pioneer — whose innovative cultural fusions and seen him perform at numerous international festivals and even have one of his foreign-artist album collaborations snag him a Global Music Award in 2017.

The self-described lover of Sufism ritualistic dancing, singing and the recital of prayers — decried by some fundamentalist branches of Islam as "heretical," and believes that Sufi Islam and its artform have "played a major role in correcting beliefs and ideas in times of extremism, violence and terrorism."