 | ||
Lyrics Moh. Younis Alkady, 1878 Adopted 19231952 (unofficially)1979 (officially) | ||
Bilady, laki hubbi wa fu'adi ("My homeland, you have my love and my heart"; Arabic: بلادي لك حبي و فؤادي Bilādī, Laki ḥubbī wa-fu’ādī) is the national anthem of Egypt. The melody was composed by Sayed Darwish (1892–1923) and was adopted in 1979. This anthem replaced Walla Zaman Ya Selahy as the national anthem.
History
The lyrics were written by Mohamed Younis Al-Qady and Sayed Darwish composed the music and maintained close ties with early leaders of the national movement for independence in Egypt, such as Mustafa Kamel. In fact, the chorus of Egypt's national anthem was derived from one of Kamel's most famous speeches.
Egypt's first national anthem dated back to 1869 when a royal anthem was composed to honor the monarch. It is unclear how long this anthem was in use. Although the monarchy was deposed in 1952, the anthem was used as part of the anthem of the United Arab Republic with Syria in 1958.