From Repentance to Pious Performance

Abstract

Since the 1980s, many Egyptian singers, dancers, and actresses, donning the veil, stepped down and publicly denounced art as shameful. Recently, such performers have reappeared veiled on screen. This article highlights the changing discourses on art that inform the artists’ choices. These celebrities have been instrumental in fashioning Islamic lifestyles suitable for the higher classes, a phenomenon which ultimately gave birth to a market for pious performances.