The Arab world is known for its musical divas: Egypt’s Umm Kulthūm, Syria’s Asmahan and Lebanon’s Fairouz, to name but a few. However, the original Arab diva was Layla Murad (1918–1995). Once the highest-paid star in Egypt, her movies were among the top-grossing box office hits of the 1930s and 1940s. She starred in 28 films, nearly all classics in Arab musical cinema today.

Born in Cairo, she lived in the middle class enclaves of al-Zahir and al-’Abbasiyya in her youth. Her father, Ibrahim Zakī Murād (né Mordecai), was a popular hazan, composer, and producer. Little is known of her father’s background; he was either of Iraqi or Moroccan origin, his family having come to Egypt sometime in the second half of the 19th century like many other Middle Eastern and North African Jews. Her mother was of Polish origin, but from a family integrated enough into Egyptian society to have given their daughter an Arabic first name—Gamilah Salmon.

Like many middle class Jewish girls, Murad attended a Francophone Catholic school, and it is thought that her first vocal training was in the school choir. Although initially her father was successful enough to provide for the family, the great depression of the 1930s seriously affected his career. Given her extraordinary talent, it was therefore decided that Layla would become a professional singer and act as her family’s main breadwinner, despite the fact that she was not yet even a teenager.

The timing of Layla’s arrival on the Cairo music scene was fortuitous in that it coincided with the spread of radio broadcasting in Egypt and talking films. In 1932, at the age of just 14, she had her first major hit Hayrana laih [Why Can’t You Decide?]. The song was composed especially for her by Dāʾūd Ḥusnī (1870–1937), a Karaite Jew considered one of the great Egyptian composers of his age. Leila’s fame continued to grow with her appearance in the musical film Yaḥyā al-Ḥubb [Long Live Love] (1938). Following her cinematic debut, from 1939 to 1944 she starred in five musical romance films directed and produced by Togot Mizrahi, cementing her reputation as one of Egypt’s top actresses.

In 1946, Murad married a Muslim actor-director-producer, Anwar Wajdī, an event that captivated the Egyptian tabloids and made them the ”it couple” of Cairo. Shortly after her marriage, in 1947, she submitted a formal request to the government to document her conversion to Islam, stating that she had converted in 1946. The precise reasons for Murad’s conversion are unknown. In her own biography she maintained that she had converted for her marriage, but the full story is most likely more complicated. Throughout her career, her Jewish heritage made her the subject of malicious rumors even after she had converted. The rising anti-Jewish sentiment in Egypt due to the creation of the State of Israel meant that Jewish celebrities were under particular scrutiny, at times both adored and detested. This reality surely affected Murad’s decision to convert.

Her marriage lasted seven years, and during that time she co-starred in seven films with Wajdī. However, this was not an easy period for Murad, as the political situation was unstable and her marriage was rocky. In 1952, the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram reported that Murad had visited Israel and had donated money to the Israel Defense Forces. These allegations led to her being blacklisted by the Arab Boycott Committee in Damascus. Murad fought these allegations and was officially exonerated in Egypt, but the claims were said to have taken a toll on her health and reputation. As part of a campaign to rehabilitate herself in the public eye, she recorded a rendition of the patriotic song ʿAlā al-Ilāh al-Qawiyy al-Iʿtimad, [We rely on the Powerful God] in 1952. However, not even President Nasser, following the 1958 unification of Syria and Egypt, was able to have Murād’s name removed from the Syrian blacklist.

After starring in twenty-eight films and recording hundreds of songs, Murad shocked her fans by officially retiring in 1956 at age 38, a decision surely influenced by the political instability in Egypt and the extra public scrutiny for those of Jewish heritage. Murad retreated from the public eye and refused to give interviews or to end her self-imposed seclusion, although she continued to live in Cairo under growing financial constraints until her death on November 21, 1995. She went so far as to decline to attend a ceremony honoring her at the Cairo International Film Festival in 1992, citing health reasons.

Despite her early retirement, her contribution to Arab music and cinema is undeniable, with nearly three films still shown on Egyptian television and nearly 1200 songs still played on Egyptian radio. Today, even decades after her death, public interest in her life continues, and new generations of Egyptians still love her work. In 1999, the Egyptian government even issued a commemorative postage stamp with her portrait to mark the fourth anniversary of her death.