Assala Nasri

Assala Nasri أصالة نصري
Assala Nasri in 2015
Background information
Birth name	Assala Mostafa Hatem Nasri
Born	(1969-05-15) 15 May 1969 (age 47)
Origin	Damascus, Syria
Years active	1991 - present
Labels	Rotana, Farasan, EMI

Assala Mostafa Hatem Nasri (Arabic: أصالة مصطفى حاتم نصري‎‎ aka Asala, Asalah and Assalah; born 15 May 1969) is a Syrian musical artist.

Assala was born in Damascus, Syria to a middle class couple. Mostafa Nasri, Assala's father, was a revered Syrian composer and singer. Assala began her musical career by performing patriotic, religious, and children's songs when she was four years old. She sang the theme song "Qessas Al Sho'oub" (Arabic: قصص الشعوب), of the cartoon show, Hekayat Alamiyah (Arabic: حكايات عالمية). In 1986, Mostafa Nasri died after suffering from internal bleeding caused by a car accident. Aged 17 she helped care for her siblings, Reem, Amani, Ayman and Ayham with her mother.

Assala's commercial musical career debuted in 1991 with Law Ta'rafou (Arabic: لو تعرفو). The album had 4 songs in the oriental operatic tarab style. The album was an instant hit with heartbreaking songs like "Ya Sabra Yana" and "Samehtak Ketir". She quickly cemented her presence in a growing industry brimming with singers like Najwa Karam, Saber Rebaï, Angham, and Abdelmajeed Abdullah.

Ever since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, in 2011, Assala Nasri claimed her support for the Syrian rebels and her commitment against Bachar el Assad. Her positions towards the Civil War are human : she wants the conflict to end for the sake of the Syrian civilians. She had her first composing experience in the writing of one song, released in 2011. For her commitment in the conflict, Assala sang at the International Peace day as a new ambassador for "Peace Building Through Music."

Assala hosts a television program, Soula (Arabic: صولا‎‎), on Dubai TV. The show presents guest musicians as though they were visiting Assala in her home.

Assala has four children, two from her first marriage to Ayman Al Dahabi, and twins from her second marriage to a Palestinian-American director Tarek Al Eryan. She currently has custody of both their children, Sham and Khaled. She was pregnant with Tarek's child in early 2007, but suffered a miscarriage halfway through the pregnancy. Assala is a Sunni Muslim. She was granted Bahraini citizenship by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa a few days after she gave a performance in the operetta Love and Loyalty in celebration of Bahrain’s Independence Day. Assala holds two citizenships; Syrian (primary nationality) and Bahraini (second nationality) .