US navy serenades sweet somethings to Egypt army chief

A video surfaced on Wednesday of the US navy’s official chorus serenading Egypt’s army chief of staff with a patriotic Egyptian song during his visit to America earlier this year.

The US Navy Band Sea Canters sang the well-known song in Arabic to Lieutenant General Mahmoud Hegazy when he visited the US last May.

“It is our pleasure to perform this special song which celebrates the beauty, enticing culture, and sweet spirit found throughout the land of Egypt. This is ‘Feeha Haga Helwa’ (There Is Something Sweet About It),” one of the chorus members said before the performance.

The song was originally composed by famed Egyptian composer Omar Khairat and sung by Riham Abdelhakim.

It first made its appearance in the 2010 comedy film Assal Eswed (Black Honey), with popular Egyptian actor Ahmed Helmy playing the lead role.

Hegazy, whose daughter is married to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s son, visited the US last May in response to an invitation by the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford.

The top Egyptian military figure met Dunford to discuss regional and international developments, the "war on terror", and boosting military cooperation between the countries.

Egypt is the second-largest recipient of US foreign aid after Israel, with whom Cairo signed a peace treaty in 1979 and in turn decades of close relations with America.

The Obama administration froze the aid after Sisi led a military coup against Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013.

Despite not calling the military seizure of power a coup, Obama’s decision still upset Egypt’s military rulers, and relations have not recovered since, despite Obama lifting the aid freeze in 2015.

The original song, with more than 1.5 million views

While the song’s performance comes at a turbulent time in Egypt-US relations, it could be a sign of things to come.

‘Fantastic guy’

Sisi, who was Egypt’s defence minister under Morsi, and President-elect Donald Trump have showered each with praise in recent months.

The Egyptian president was the first Arab leader to congratulate Trump on his election win, and said he hoped the president-elect would “pump new life” into Egyptian-American relations.

He later told CNN that he had “no doubt” Trump would be a strong leader.

Trump, in response to Sisi’s praise in the interview, said he was a “fantastic guy.”

Referring to their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September, Trump said: “I thought it was very productive. He’s a fantastic guy.

“I thought it was a great meeting. We met for a long time, actually. There was a good chemistry there. You know when you have good chemistry with people. There was a good feeling between us.

“He took control of Egypt. And he really took control of it,” Trump said at the time.

Sisi’s post-coup crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hailed, and its supporters led to the killing of hundreds of unarmed protesters, and the jailing of thousands.

On 14 August 2013, security forces violently dispersed protests at Rabaa square, the focal point of pro-democracy protests during the crisis.

More than 1,150 people were killed across Egypt – 817 in Rabaa alone - in what Human Rights Watch has called the “worst single-day killing of protesters in modern history.”

During their meeting at the UN in September, Trump told Sisi that "under a Trump administration, the United States of America will be a loyal friend, not simply an ally, that Egypt can count on."

Surprise hit

The response on Egyptian social media was generally positive, with comments under the YouTube video praising the Sea Canters.

“You have surprised me guys – amazing,” said on commentator.

“How did you learn it! Great effort guys,” said another.

The video was circulated on Egyptian Facebook pages as well, where it garnered thousands of views and hundreds of shares.

“They’re so good it makes me happy,” read one comment. “And there is really something sweet about it.”