Cairo: Thousands of Egyptians paid a tearful farewell to veteran lyricist Abdul Rahman Al Abnoudi, who died on Tuesday. He was 77.
Senior officials and celebrated singers attended Al Abnoudi’s funeral before his burial late Tuesday in a tomb near his house in the Suez Canal city of Esmailia.
Al Abnoudi, Egypt’s most famed lyricist in the past five decades, had stayed in Esmailia since early 2000 due to a lung disorder, leaving densely populated Cairo where he had lived since the 1960s when he had came to the Egyptian capital from his village Abnub, around 700 kilometres south of Cairo.
During his career, Al Abnoudi, who was skilled in writing poetry in the Egyptian dialect and his southern vernacular, produced 22 collections of lyricism. He also wrote lyrics for several of Egypt’s most celebrated singers, including Abdul Halim Hafez, Shadia, Najaat, Mohammad Munir and Ali Al Hajar.
He also penned lyrics for celebrated Lebanese singers Sabah and Majda Al Rumi.
His poems focused on the suffering and aspirations of the poor, landing him in trouble with Egypt’s rulers.
In 1966, when Jamal Abdul Nasser was Egypt’s president, Al Abnoudi was detained for joining a communist group. After his release, Al Abnoudi remained an opponent of Nasser. But after Nasser’s death in 1970, Al Abnoudi displayed a U-turn in his view of the late leader, becoming one of his staunchest supporters. Al Abnoudi attributed this radical change to what he called “Nasser’s siding with the poor”.
Al Abnoudi had strained relations with Anwar Al Sadat, who succeeded Nasser in power until 1981. His writings critical of Al Sadat’s regime brought him under investigations, forcing Abnoudi to leave Egypt and live in self-exile in Britain for three years. He returned home after his close friend, singer Abdul Halim Hafez, interceded with authorities on his behalf. Al Abnoudi again angered Al Sadat when he wrote The Legal and the Illegal, a poem in which he sharply criticised the Egyptian leader’s peace treaty with the Israeli regime.
Al Abnoudi fell out of favour with Hosni Mubarak who succeeded Al Sadat in presidency from 1981 due to his antigovernment poems. However, Al Abnoudi was awarded the prestigious State Merit Prize in 2000 when Mubarak was still in power. Al Abnoudi was a prominent backer of the 2011 revolt that forced Mubarak out of power. He published a series of poems lauding the uprising and eulogising the young protesters slain during the revolt.
He lashed out at the Muslim Brotherhood during their year-long rule, criticising their curbs on artistic freedom and perceived monopoly of power. In 2013, the army, led then by Abdul Fattah Al Sissi — Egypt’s incumbent president — ousted president Mohammad Mursi from the Muslim Brotherhood following enormous protests against his rule.
The Brotherhood’s removal drew strong backing from Al Abnoudi. He maintained good relations with Al Sissi, who became Egypt’s president in June last year.
Al Sissi called Al Abnoudi’s death a “great loss for Egypt and the Arab world”.
“His pen has enriched the lyrical poetry with poems that reflected the Egyptian citizen’s roots and realities,” the presidential office said in a statement.
The opposition also paid homage to Al Abnoudi.
“He lent to songs a new political and humanitarian dimension,” said Mohammad Abul Ghar, the head of the Social Democratic Party. “His main concern was Egypt and its future. He had a strong populist sense.”
Following his death, state and private TV stations began airing shows focusing on Al Abnoudi’s life and works instead of their regular programmes.
Several institutions, including Egyptian Opera House and the Journalists’ Syndicate, have unveiled plans to pay tributes to Al Abnoudi.
He is survived by his wife, TV presenter Neal Kamal, and two girls Aya and Nur.
