Arabic classical music
Indeed, the intriguing story of 20th century expressions of Arabic classical music is a study in the development of national styles emerging during the first decades of the 1900s. Cairo and Beirut were key cities in this efflorescence. The presence of a strong recording and media industry in Cairo together with the happy collision of Egypt’s wealth of folk traditions, the European classical music tradition (right from the 1870s Cairo could boast of an opera house) and classical urban music from the Ottoman period can be cited as signature features of Arabic classical music.
The typical Arab small ensemble unit, the Takht (comprising a Ney, Oud and Qanun)
Tunisia is interesting as the one other place in north Africa, after Egypt , with an active classical Arabic music scene.

The other point I would make is that some of the musical establishments of the Arab world, their conservatoires, are elitist, often with a predilection for classical western music. That is why some of the more interesting musical developments can be seen in hip-hop, which is anti-establishment in origin and direction. DAM, the Palestinian rap band, is one such example, as are some Arab diaspora acts like the Iron Sheikh in the US .
(Collect names of Lebanese Rap groups please.)

…to ensure that the language and diction ..are correct, as do I seek to embrace all the conventions of classical Arabic singing, I combine the influences to which I have been exposed in the diaspora, most particularly Jazz, Gulf Arab, Egyptian, Persian and Turkish music. Moreover, ….., especially involving instruments such as the double bass, which can be readily used to produce micro-tones. …

(add to that, Arabic artists earn much more from concerts made in Arabic countries than selling cd’s and royalties thereof)

Tunisian music is characterized by the diversity of its modes