Muslim, Christian musicians seek to deliver message of tolerance

The music band "I am Egyptian", comprised of Christian and Muslim musicians, aims at spreading a message of religious tolerance and "acceptance of the other" among the Egyptians with the songs they compose. The group's lead song, which is named after the band, starts with the lyrics "Muslim, Christian, farmer, I am Egyptian, I am from Sinai, I am from Arish, I am Egyptian," and it is an eastern-western operatic crossover advocating the idea that Egyptians are equal no matter which religion and community they belong to. Group's Mirvan Iskender told The Anadolu Agency they brought Coptic hymns and Sufi tunes together in their songs.   "We are the first music band that has combined opera music with eastern music. The band has produced a new style by blending Coptic hymns, Sufi melodies and opera music. We have started to get different messages across following the country's situation after the January 25, 2011 revolution," said band member Ranya el-Adevi, an opera singer. Adevi said as Muslims and Copts they faced many problems such as train accidents and harassments, and they tried to bring up these issues in a way that people could understand.