8/7/2025–|Last update: 19:52 (Mecca time)
Tripoli- From the heart of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, the “Al -Malouf” tones are back to become again, announcing the start of the 12th session of the Tripoli International Festival of Malouf, after a 10 -year interruption due to conflicts and divisions.
The festival, which this year bears the name “Sheikh Mustafa Muhammad Abu Jarad session”, was launched on July 5 and continues until the tenth of it, at the Levant Palace, one of the most prominent historical monuments of the city.
Under the slogan of loyalty to heritage, the General Authority for Cinema, Theater and Arts organizes in partnership with the National Center for Arab Music Research and Studies this festival, in which many see the beginning of Tripoli’s restoration of its cultural role, and the return of the authentic Libyan voice to the front of the scene.
An art that rises from memory
The art of Malouf, with Andalusian roots, is linked to the cultural identity of the Arab Maghreb. In Libya, he gained a special character, inherited by the Sufi corners, and the pioneers such as Hassan Uraibi, Muhammad Boujdrad, Ahmed Al -Harai and others sang.
Al -Malouf is known as a complex art, based on multiple musical attacks, which start with a clash and is interspersed with sound clips and traditional rhythms using machines such as oud, tissue and bander.
Ahmed Daoub, the festival’s executive director, says in a special statement to Al -Jazeera Net, that he is one of the oldest Arab audio arts, and his texts extend for more than 500 years, and he has striking roots in the civilization of Andalusia, adding that one of his purposes is monotheism and praise, and under which the buyer texts are included, relative to the Sufi poet Abu Al -Hassan Al -Shashri, whose poems spread throughout the Maghreb.
A cultural message after a decade of interruption
During his talk to Al -Jazeera Net, Abdel Basset Boukanda, Chairman of the General Authority for Cinema, Theater and Arts, expressed that this session is not just an artistic celebration, but rather carries deep cultural and historical dimensions, describing that Libya lived for more than 14 years in light of wars and extremism, and the control of the “dark” who fought all forms of arts, and adds the return of the Malouf Festival after 10 years that means that the Libyans want art and life Culture is the way towards security and stability.
“We not only restore the festival, but we restore our heritage, and we link the young generations to its roots, and this is what we see today from a great presence of families, youth and children. The Libyans have lived years of cultural desertification, and now we launch a message that life returns, and that art is the way out of darkness.”
Wide presence and youth attention
11 musical bands from various regions of Libya participate in the festival, including bands from Tripoli, Misurata, Sabha, Derna, Zliten, Kamam and Tajura, in addition to a guest group from Tunisia.
The offers vary between the owners, the praises and the praises, and are presented amid a remarkable public presence in the Palace of the Mole.
Salem Abdel -Wahab, the artistic supervisor of the new dawn group of Sebha, says to Al -Jazeera Net, “We are pleased with our experience today, and with this audience the tastes that he hears and understands the meaning of the owners”, adding that there is an increasing interest from young people in this art, especially in the south, where teams such as his group embraces the emerging talents since the nineties, and confirms that the owners do not need great potential, but rather a real love for art beauty.
Honoring pioneers and linking generations
Each of the festival courses bears the name of one of the Libyan Pioneers, in fulfillment of those who contributed to the consolidation of this art.
Among the attendees, Issam Al -Kahouli says to Al -Jazeera Net, “Malouf means the Libyan identity and memories … We used to go to the angles in the Prophet’s birth to hear the muwashahat, and this art brings us back to our spiritual depth.”
He added, “I was impressed by the southern division, and the most beautiful is that I see the Libyan youth today adhering to their identity and proud of it.”
A new technical map
The Malouf Festival is one of the most prominent titles of the return of cultural activity to the Libyan capital, and Abdel Baset Bouqanda says, “We launched several festivals this year within the plan of the Film, Theater and Arts Authority, including the Children’s Arts Festival and the Film Festival, and now the Malouf Festival, and in September next September the Libyan Song Festival in Labda.”
He stressed that their goal is to restore Libyan art to the forefront, and to build an integrated cultural scene that expresses the identity of the Libyan society and makes a space to meet between its past and present.
While the festival’s activities are concluded next Thursday, the tone of Malouf seems more than just music; It is a return to the self, and the celebration of cultural roots that have remained steadfast despite wars, and the festival of the Malouf in Tripoli may not be merely an artistic demonstration, but rather a renewed birth of a city memory, and the narration of a people who are still looking for their voice in the time of noise.