* Mohamed Abdel-Wahab; Father of Modern Arab Music

Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, 90, considered the father of modern Arab music. He won millions of admirers across the Arab world for his compositions including the Egyptian national anthem. Abdel-Wahab composed the music for about 1,800 songs and was called the “Musician of the Generations” because of his appeal to both young and old for more than half a century. He also composed the national anthems of the United Arab Emirates and Oman. His scores for the late Om Kalthoum, a fellow Egyptian singer, brought both fame. Abdel-Wahab’s own singing was extremely popular in the Arab world. He combined the quarter-tone melodies of traditional Arabic music with Western themes. He also made half a dozen movies, which are shown regularly on Egyptian television. Thousands of mourners, chanting “God is great,” on Sunday attended his military funeral in Cairo, where he had died on Friday.