Fadl Shaker to perform in Mawazine festival

Organisers of Mawazine (Rhythms) international musical festival, to be held in Rabat in May, said that the Lebanese singer Fadl Shaker will definitely be performing in the festival. They also dismissed rumours that Shaker was about to retire. Aziz Daki, manager of the festival, said: “Fadl Shaker’s participation in the festival is doubtless, as the agreement was made with him directly.” Regarding a question about the star’s desire to sing religious songs in Mawazine, Daki said Shaker would come to Morocco to sing his normal, famous songs. For his part, Mahmoud al-Mesfer, another manager in the festival, said: “Fadl Shaker will participate in the festival without any problem or hesitation...I know him personally and talked to him at length. Shaker revealed that his statements about the course of his career was interpreted wrongly.” Meanwhile, a Lebanese newspaper reported that Shaker, now in Doha, received a death threat on his cell phone.