Lebanon bids farewell to Ziad Rahbani, a visionary artist and popular hero

Nahar Net

28-07-2025

by Naharnet Newsdesk 28 July 2025, 13:04
The coffin of Ziad Rahbani -- a visionary Lebanese composer, playwright, pianist and political provocateur -- arrived at noon Monday at a Bikfaya church for the funeral service, after hundreds of fans bid him farewell outside the Khoury Hospital in Beirut's Hamra area.
Lebanon has not declared a day of national mourning, but First Lady Nehmat Aoun, Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab and Speaker Nabih Berri's wife Randa Berri offered condolences at the church to legendary Lebanese diva Fairuz, Ziad's mother.
The funeral service was being held at the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in Bikfaya and the late artist is expected to be laid to rest around 4:00 pm.
The Hamra area, where Ziad lived for decades, had witnessed a very emotional farewell earlier in the day, with fans clapping, cheering, crying, chanting songs composed by Rahbani and throwing flowers at his coffin.
Son of iconic singer Fairuz and a musical pioneer in his own right, Rahbani died on Saturday aged 69 after a decades-long career that revolutionized the country's artistic scene.
Tributes poured in for Rahbani, also a playwright and considered the enfant terrible of Lebanese music, who left a huge mark on multiple generations with his often satirical plays and songs that for many reflected a deep understanding of Lebanon's political and economic reality.
According to Culture Minister Ghassan Salame, Rahbani needed a liver transplant but refused to undergo such an operation. Salame wrote on X that "we dreaded this day as we knew his health was worsening and that his desire for treatment was dwindling."
Rebellious and visionary, Rahbani's work foreshadowed Lebanon's civil war before it erupted in 1975, and later reflected the conflict and the harsh realities of the ensuing economic crisis.
His fame extended to the rest of the Arab world and beyond.
One of his most famous theater pieces, "Film Ameriki Tawil", or "The American Motion Picture", was a satirical depiction of Lebanon during the civil war, set in an asylum populated with characters who represented different facets of society.
President Joseph Aoun said in a statement that Rahbani was "a voice that rebelled against injustice, an honest mirror for the oppressed and marginalized."
- 'Our conscience' -
Rahbani was the son of Arab musical icon Fairuz, who turned 90 last year, and the late Lebanese composer Assi Rahbani, who along with his brother Mansour modernized Arab music by blending Western, Russian and Latin American sounds with Eastern rhythms.
Already adored by older generations, Fairuz became a youth idol when her son began composing jazz-influenced songs for her, calling the result "Oriental jazz".
While Fairuz transcended Lebanon's deep sectarian divides, her son was fiercely left-wing, secular and a supporter of the Palestinian cause -- but was also beloved by many on the opposite side of the political spectrum.
He spent his life decrying the divisions that brought ruin upon the country.
In 2018, he performed at Lebanon's annual Beiteddine festival with a musical showcase of his and his family's decades of work -- one of his last major onstage appearances.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said "Lebanon has lost an exceptional artist and creative, a free voice who stayed faithful to the values of justice and dignity," and who said "what many don't dare to say".
Lebanese actress Carmen Lebbos, his former partner, wrote on X: "I feel like everything has gone. I feel like Lebanon has become empty."
Lebanese journalist Doha Shams, who knew Rahbani for three decades, told AFP that "Ziad was our conscience, the conscience of Lebanese society, and the person who understood Lebanese society the most -- and knew where it was going".