Today, France 24 described Mr. Ziad Rahbani as an “oriental jazz pioneer and giant of Lebanese theatre“. Indeed, he “wrote plays and satirical radio shows centered on his violent environment that mock the sectarian divisions of his country” (https://tinyurl.com/2z6k66m6). As a comment on an earlier post (see further below), Aline wrote the following in the Arabic language (an English translation follows): كبير آخر من بلادي. يرحل بصمت تاركاً إرثاً موسيقياً . وفلسفة حياة عظيمة..وفكر متقدم بالنسبة لشعوبنا العربية” “✝️🙏رحمة الله عليه [“Another great artist from my homeland. He leaves behind a musical legacy, a great philosophy of life, and an advanced, or progressive, thinking for our Arab populations. May God have mercy on him“]. Well said, thanks to Bambi’s reader and friend.
Bearing the above in mind, and according to Confucius, “sincerity and truth are the basis of every virtue“. Mr. Ziad Rahbani embodied sincerity, mixed with artistic genius, to the full extent. Indeed, in Bambi’s mind, it is perhaps the sincerity of this GREAT artist/man that made people love him to that extent, as you can see in the brief videos shared below. The pictures show us moments from Mr. Ziad Rahbani’s funeral, which took place in Lebanon today. What a dignified and highly moving street expression of love and public ceremony at church.
The thought about the strong value of sincerity came to Bambi’s mind early this morning. Upon opening her eyes from sleep, after calling her dad, she took the time to search the internet for videos about Mr. Rahbani’s farewell. She shed a lot of tears when she watched the spontaneous scenes of sorrow and tribute by SO MANY people. Old and young. Into politics or not. Left or right. They all came to the hospital in the Beirut’s Hamra neighbourhood to greet him and pay tribute to him by walking behind his hearse.
For those who do not know him, Mr. Rahbani was a principled leftist, with a golden heart and an open mind. Not only he composed songs on poverty, he used to regularly make his plays accessible to the public for a symbolic price, Bambi learned from a friend today. He used to spend quality time with people in the Hamra district of Beirut. He respected people. He loved them. They loved him and respected him back.
The same could be said about people who were inmates. He shared his art with them in jail, along with a piece of his heart. Of note, his songs and plays touched people of all ages with a vibrant impact on older and newer generations.
All his life, Mr. Ziad Rahbani loved the Palestinian people. He defended their well-being and rights in his country. He also loved Palestine and the Palestinian cause. He did not do it like in today’s virtue signalling. He did it sincerely, out of deep human and political convictions. Not out of political correctness or out of hatred toward anyone. Despite his convictions, he respected those who perhaps may have not shared his own views on this or that matter.
Mind you, on the streets and at church, we could see a few young men and women with kifiyas, along with the majority who does not appear to be into kifiya outfits. Many chose to wear the black colour, as per the cultural tradition. Everyone is free. So is Mr. Rahbani and this is the beauty of Lebanon.
Basically, Mr. Rahbani was for real. In the end, people appreciated the congruence in his artistic productions, personal values, and social actions. Stated differently, he was into social justice, as a way of living/being, without bragging or lecturing about it. He was revolutionary and yet grounded. He was simple despite the richness of his spirit and mind. Yes, despite his genius, he was humble and filled with authenticity. This is why he earned the utmost respect and love by the entire Lebanon. Of course, as a musician and thinker, he also shined abroad!
Interestingly, Mr. Rahbani had a great character of his own. Indeed, he assumed it until his last breath with his personal choices regarding heath, life, and death. Regardless of any physical pain or moral suffering , he lived and died with a free mind. May his legacy on earth inspire each one of us to be and remain free—true to ourselves. May his memory in heaven be eternal.
For all his sincerity, he was adored by many. Indeed, people of all walks of life, and across generations, cried at his funeral. He united them all under the banner of humanity and of the love of their country, which remains a dream of project in progress.
Thankfully, Mr. Rahbani refused sectarianism and rose elegantly beyond it. We could easily see it today at his funeral. Religion, socio-economic status, political affiliations, gender, directions of right, left, centre… all these details did not matter to him. Yes, he had his personal political conviction and he assumed it. He treated people as dignified whole beings. He loved all his fellow citizens. His art and music united everyone. So did his respect and love for Lebanon.
Thanks to his genius, he sublimated his own pain and the pain of the wounded or traumatized people into masterpieces of songs, music compositions, and satirical plays. He made younger generations see the absurdity and danger of sectarianism. He also denounced systemic financial corruption with sarcasm.
Although Mr. Rahbani endorsed the principles of communism, all the bells of churches rang to honour him all along the drive of his hearse. Someone in the walking public was carrying the red flag of his preferred political party. Yet all were walking behind it, regardless of what political ideology they personally preferred or not.
Many grieving fans held his pictures. Others threw rice on his hearse, as they do at weddings in the Middle East. Yet others offered him flowers. People applauded. Others sang his famous lyrics.
All what Bambi tried to describe in detail thus far came from her internet morning moments. Later, at the end of the day, she took the time to watch Mr. Rahbani’s funeral service on YouTube. It was highly moving again yet beautiful.
By beautiful, she means all the following: the presence and expression of love and respect by the public as well as by other artists, directors of cultural festivals, and political figures. They came to support his family, and especially his silently stoic mom Fairuz (along with her daughter Rima), the meaningful loving presence of Ziad Rahbani’ cousins (all great artists too, it is in the family. Of note, Ziad is the son of the great/late Assi Rahbani), the soothing prayers (moving to see/hear “Abouna” or Father Elias among ALL the clergy!), and the WISE words of the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Mount Lebanon Selouane Moussa.
Indeed, as cited in This is Beirut, “in his homily, Bishop Moussa honored Rahbani said “a committed creator, deeply moved by the suffering of his people.” He continued, “Ziad saw the suffering of the people. He carried it like a cross and, in his own way, transformed it into resistance and light. He fought with his words and his music, in the service of the truth as he perceived it. The evil that gnawed at him internally had become a source of creation, light and awakening” (https://tinyurl.com/3pj3we8t).
The homely mentioned above was spontaneous, it seems, except for two very relevant chosen Bible stories. The first story highlighted the concept of freedom, which resonated a lot in Bambi’s mind. This means the freedom to believe or not, the freedom to be whom we want or not, and the freedom to return to God, if we later wish it or not. Archbishop Moussa also spoke about the concept of sincerity. Bambi was happy to hear this word because it aligned well with this post, which she envisioned in the morning, even if she is preparing it late in the evening.
A beautiful yet emotional moment of the funeral was when Archbishop Selouane turned to Fairuz and said: “The Rahbani family has become the family of an entire country. Thanks to you, we are one big family called Lebanon”, thanks to This is Beirut for the English translation (https://tinyurl.com/3pj3we8t).
Last but not least, at the end of the religious ceremony, Mr. Rahbani was awarded “the National Order of the Cedar, Commander rank” postmortem. It is one of Lebanon’s highest honours, it seems. Thanks to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam who awarded it to him on behalf of President Joseph Aoun. Mr. Salam also said a few deeply moving words that went like this, and thanks again to This is Beirut for the English quote (https://tinyurl.com/3pj3we8t): “Words fail me. My heart is heavy as I stand before a grieving mother, a family, friends and an entire country gathered in mourning. Ziad, rebellious genius, you raised the voice of our generation with courage and truth. You said what many dared not say, ‘Belnesbe la bokra shou?’ ” The latter words are the title of a play, which literally means: What About Tomorrow? He also has another great one, from the era of civil war, entiled “Film Amiriki Tawil” [“A Long American Movie“], which was cited by the Archbishop.
To conclude this long post, Bambi’s heart goes again to Mom Fairuz and Sister Rima et al. May Ziad Rahbani’s soul rest in peace. Long live music, culture, sincerity, and… long live the united Lebanon.
—
