Masoud El Amaratly

Masoud El Amaratly (; 1897 - 9 October 1944) was an Iraqi folk singer, who became famous for his poetry and folk music in the 1920s and 1930s. El Amaratly's first record was recorded in 1925 and his recordings became extremely popular across the Levant. He specialised in abuḏiya (ar), a form of Ahwari poetry, and rifi, rural folk music. El Amaratly's life as a mustarjil is cited as an example of past acceptance of LGBT people in Iraq.

Life and career Born in the marshlands of southern Iraq to parents who were servants of a local chief, El Amaratly's year of birth is uncertain. Eli Erlick cites it as 1897, Born female, El Amaratly enjoyed singing from a young age and became known locally for his voice. In 1925, whilst living in Al-Amara (the place from which he took the name El-Amaratly),

In 1936 he performed live on Radio Baghdad, reaching new audiences, and subsequently travelling and performing in Syria and Lebanon.

Amaratly had married a maid called Ashnina at an unknown date. Research has been undertaken by Professor Salman Khayoush into El Amaratly's life, and it is his opinion that further research into documents removed from Iraq by the British government may reveal more about El Amaratly's achievements.

Popular culture

El Amaratly was portrayed by Saadoun Jaber in a 1996 television special. Marwan Kaabour in his account of El Amaratly's life, described the dichotomy between the extensive praise attributed to El Amaratly's singing in the biographical article on Arabic Wikipedia and the continued use of his deadname.