Humat Al-Hima - History

History

The lyrics of this anthem come from a poem written in the 1930s by Egyptian-born Syrian poet Mostafa Saadeq Al-Rafe'ie. Although some say the melody was composed by Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Tunisian musicologist Salah El Mahdi claims the melody for the anthem was composed by the poet Ahmed Kheireddine while the original music for the poem was composed by Zakariyya Ahmad.

The last verses of the anthem were written by Aboul-Qacem Echebbi. According to El Mahdi, these verses were appended to the anthem in June 1955 by nationalist Mongi Slim.

Known as the Hymn of the Revolution, it was sung during the meetings of the ruling party, the Neo Destour which later changed its name to Socialist Destourian Party. Humat al-Hima was temporarily used as a national anthem between the end of the monarchy on 25 July 1957 and the adoption of Ala Khallidi as the official national anthem on 20 March 1958. Humat al-Hima replaced Ala Khallidi following the coup which brought Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to power on 7 November 1987.

Kesang Marstrand an American folk singer living in Tunisia wrote a re-interpretation of Humat al-Hima that became a hit during the first weeks of the tunisian revolution.