allahu akbar

a phrase that was common here in the news went something like "the demonstrators chanted allahu akbar". everybody i know seems to know allahu akbar, to know the meaning, to possess a certain context into which allahu akbar belongs. but all of a sudden i realized that apart from the usual azan 5 times a day, i recall allahu akbar in a radically different context. it was the broadcasts of um kalthoum's concerts on syrian tv. large theaters, filled with mixed crowds, women and men were dressed up in their most fancy clothes, cheering the grand lady after the end of some of her wonderous variations on some marvelous tunes. all up to their feets and many scanding allahu akbar. that is my memory of the phrase.