Egypt (Youssou N'Dour album)

Egypt is an album by the Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, accompanied by the Egyptian Fathy Salama Orchestra, released by Nonesuch on 8 June 2004; in Senegal it came out as Sant Allah, "Thanks to God". ^{1 2} The English article describes it as a departure from his earlier releases, with Arabic influences and a focus on Muslim religious themes. ¹

Most of the album was recorded in Dakar in 1999. It was due out as early as 2001 but was held back until 2004 to avoid any association with the September 11 attacks, as the article reports from Reuters and the Village Voice. ¹ Oud and traditional orchestra were added in Cairo, where the Fathy Salama Orchestra joined N'Dour's quartet on most songs; Fathy Salama arranged, conducted and co-produced. ¹ The record joins West and North African instruments such as the kora and the oud, and runs 41 minutes and 10 seconds. ¹

The songs are in Wolof and praise the Mouride way, the Senegalese Sufi order to which, the article says, N'Dour belongs; most are dedicated to the masters of the Senegalese brotherhoods, among them Amadou Bamba, founder of the Mourides. ¹ The eight songs are 'Allah', 'Shukran Bamba', 'Mahdiyu Laye', 'Tijaniyya', 'Baay Niasse' (for Ibrahim Niass), 'Bamba the Poet', 'Cheikh Ibra Fall' and 'Touba - Daru Salaam'. ¹ The title is a tribute to the Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, a favourite of N'Dour's father and an influence on him as a child. ¹

Western critics welcomed it. Charlie Gillett in The Observer called it a "devotional album" and one of N'Dour's best; Jon Lusk for the BBC warned that some fans might miss his rhythmic music but called it "a breath of fresh air"; and Robert Christgau wrote that, after September 11, it was "a persuasive political act" for African Islam. ¹

In Africa and in Muslim societies the release was contested. Media in Senegal argued that bringing Islam into popular music was inappropriate and insulting to the religion; the album was boycotted there for two years, with shops returning copies and radio stations not playing it, and it was banned in Egypt, as the article reports from the Associated Press. ¹ N'Dour was shunned on a pilgrimage to Touba and threatened with a lawsuit by members of the Mouride brotherhood; he told Reuters he was frustrated, and that people need time to accept a break with tradition. ¹ The 2008 documentary Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, follows this controversy. ¹

The album won the Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music Album, N'Dour's only Grammy; the album's article calls it the 2004 award by release year, and the category's article lists it under 2005, the year of the 47th ceremony. ^{1 3} It also won the Critics Award for album of the year at the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in 2005, and N'Dour won the MOBO Award for Best African Act the same year. ^{4 1} It peaked at number 6 on Billboard's World Albums, 34 on the French albums chart, 81 on the Swiss, 57 in Flanders and 70 in Wallonia on Ultratop, 35 on the Finnish chart, 100 on the Dutch Album Top 100 and 148 on the UK Albums Chart. ¹

• English Wikipedia, 'Egypt (album)', revision 1373956979 of 8 September 2026, citing the Village Voice, Reuters, the BBC, The Observer, NPR, The Guardian, Popular Music and the Associated Press. ¹
• Wikidata item Q5348317. ²
• English Wikipedia article on the Grammy category. ³