After the 1979 signing of the peace accord with Israel, Egypt adopted a new, more peace-oriented national anthem.The music was composed by Sayed Darwish, a pioneer of Arabic music and a leader of the modern Egyptian renaissance at the turn of the 20th century. He also maintained close ties with early leaders of the national movement for independence in the Middle East, such as Mustapha Kamel. In fact, the words of the chorus were derived from one of Kamel’s most famous speeches. The music was popular in Egypt, especially after the establishment of the republic, and was long considered an unofficial national anthem until it was officially decreed as such.

The anthem officially consists of three verses, but only the first verse is commonly sung, being both preceded and followed by the chorus.

Special thanks to: Michael Bristow for some of this information.