It's ancient greek music that influenced middle eastern music. middle easterners took greek cultures in hellenistic period to byzantine period. earlier semitic music did not come to byzantine music. disseminating back to levant and middle eastern was happening in hellenistic period way before byzantine period. middle east had long been part of hellenic culture in byzantine period. it's the bedounin that learn greek style music in byzantine period. greek music influenced european music not arabs. as muslim copied greek music already before they brought greek sounding music to europeans...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKABwoWrMAAwatch this...the music that middle easterners received in hellenic period is developed new style of greek music. middle easterners don't have this greek sounding music before they were becoming part of greek empire as it was the newly developed greek music. systemic musical scaling, cords, harmony and many other music theory and musical concept were new invented by greeks in hellenistic period. before in ancient world, there was no such concept and musical theory. It's same as greek sculpting and greek drawing that egyptians and middle easterners in byzantine period. it's all newly invented and developed greek art that middle easterners received. you cannot say those greek art is middle easterner art just because egyptian art was affecting greek art at beginnig stage.
modern Barbarians germanic people contacted with greek music by modern arab people so they have very strong false stereotype that greek music that arabs listen to is arab music so when they listen greek music which is actually origin of modern arab music, they still insist it's middle eastern sound without knowing anything, and whne it's acutally arab music that is greek sounding music. It's not only music but also in greek art, greek architecure, greek math and greek science, barbarians germanic people contacted with those greek civillization throught arabs. barbarians germanic people would have thought those are arabian civillization, if arabian author did not clearly state that studying was learned from greek scholars in the book. but the music is different. It's just listening not in the book which state the greek origin. same with food, arabs and north africans now eat greek foods and people in other world think those are middle eastern foods because foods is not study which uses the book which states the origin and authors even though there is documentation that suggests greek origin but since food is not the study, scholars don't care about the documentation nor origin...music is same case...
Arabs translated and developed Greek texts and works of music and mastered the musical theory of the music of ancient Greece (i.e. Systema ametabolon, enharmonium, chromatikon, diatonon).[1]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elERNFoEf3Y
