1. Singing With Imam (Collective Singing)
Collective singing is where the Club begins, and where it always returns. We are working to build a regular rhythm of gatherings where people come together to listen, learn, and sing Sheikh Imam's songs side by side. The sessions are informal but gently guided, designed to welcome both those hearing Imam songs for the first time and those who have sung them for decades. Repertoire, memory, and confidence grow gradually, together.
If you would like to host or join a singing gathering, in your city or online, we would love to make it happen with you.
2. Imam Nights (Concerts & Themes)
Beyond the intimacy of the singing circle, we are developing a programme of concerts and themed musical evenings that bring different dimensions of Imam's repertoire into sharper focus. Some evenings will be rooted in collective singing; others will explore a particular period, theme, or political moment in his work, set within historical context and open interpretation. We see these nights as spaces where music and memory can speak to the present.
If you have an idea for an Imam Night, a theme, a collaboration, a venue, we are open to hearing it.
3. Imam's School of Song (New Interpretations)
Imam's songs were never meant to be preserved under glass. This strand of the Club's work is dedicated to encouraging new musical and artistic responses to his legacy, fresh arrangements, new compositions that echo or extend his concerns, and experiments with contemporary forms: music, short films, reels, visual poetry, and whatever creative language feels alive today. We aim to support anyone who wants to make something new in the spirit of Sheikh Imam, and we welcome collaborators at every stage.
4. Traces of Imam (Research, Archive & Writing)
We are building a living digital library, an open hub that brings together everything available about Sheikh Imam in one place: playlists, documentaries, interviews, academic research, essays, recordings, and creative writing, alongside the Club's own growing body of work. The aim is not only to preserve what exists but to make it accessible and useful for anyone who wants to know, study, or write about Imam.
This strand also encompasses the Club's own research: fieldwork and interviews tracing Imam circles in different cities, conversations with participants and academics, and articles and documentation that explore, contextualise, and creatively engage with his legacy.
We warmly invite contributions of any kind. If you have materials we may have missed, want to add something to the library, are working on a research project or documentary, or simply know of something that belongs here, please share it with us. We will do our best to support the production of new work and to ensure that all existing work finds its way into this shared resource.
5. Imam's Global Network (Connecting Clubs & Communities Worldwide)
Sheikh Imam's music has travelled far beyond Egypt, taking root in singing circles, listening sessions, and informal gatherings across dozens of cities and countries. The Club is working to connect these scattered communities into a single, growing network, a directory of Imam clubs, fan communities, and cultural initiatives that can find, support, and inspire one another.
Whether you run a regular singing circle in Khartoum, host an occasional listening session in Amsterdam, or simply carry Imam's songs in your heart in São Paulo — this network is yours. We encourage you to connect with us and become a member of Imam's Global Network. Reach out, tell us about your group or your own connection to Imam's music, and help us grow this worldwide community together.
6. Transcribing Imam (A Collective Music Archive)
Most of Sheikh Imam's music does not exist in written notation. It has survived and spread the way great folk music always does, by ear, by cassette tapes, by shared memory, and by love. That is both its strength and its fragility. The Transcribing Imam project exists to build a lasting educational archive: a collective effort to render Sheikh Imam's music into written scores and make them available to musicians, educators, and clubs around the world.
This archive cannot be built by one person or one organisation alone. We are actively inviting contributions. If you would like to contribute a transcription, correct a chord, or help in any other way, write to us at contact@sheikhimam.com or visit the project page.
Get Involved
Every activity described on this page is being shaped gradually and collectively, and there is genuinely room for you in all of them. Whether you have an idea for a concert, a research project, a creative piece, an archive contribution, or simply a wish to collaborate in any form, we would love to hear from you. The Club grows through the enthusiasm and imagination of its community, and every suggestion, skill, or initiative is valued.
Please reach out at contact@sheikhimam.com or on our Contact page, and let us know how you would like to get involved.