Lebanese singer and composer Ahmad Kaabour, the voice behind the pro-Palestinian anthem Ounadikom, has died at the age of 70.
His death was announced by his son, visual artist Marwan Kaabour, in a statement posted on Instagram on Thursday. It said funeral prayers would be held the following day at Al Khashoggi Mosque in Beirut, before burial at the Martyrs’ Cemetery.
Tributes came from across the Arab world, with artists and cultural figures taking to social media to recall the composer's work and influence.
Lebanese actor Talal Al-Jardi wrote: “A very harsh and painful piece of news … the death of the beloved Ahmad Kaabour. Your songs and works will remain,” while actress Carmen Lebbos said he was among the artists who “painted a beautiful image of Lebanon”.
Born in Beirut in 1955 to a violinist father, Mahmoud Al Rashidi, Ahmad Kaabour studied theatre at the Lebanese University and began performing in small cultural gatherings.
At the start of the Lebanese civil war in 1975, he composed Ounadikom, setting a poem by Palestinian writer Tawfiq Ziad to music. The song was taken up in universities and camps and later performed at demonstrations and cultural events across the region.
Its opening lines became widely recognised: “I call out to you, I clasp your hands, I kiss the ground beneath your feet.”
Kaabour addressed its origins in an interview on the Arabic podcast Stories from Palestine: “The song became more famous than I did. I never imagined that something written during a night of war, first sung in a field hospital, would later be taken up by people.”
His songs were typically built around simple arrangements, often led by guitar and delivered in a matter-of-fact style without theatrics.
Kaabour also maintained ties with cultural initiatives in the UAE. In 2022, he worked with the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre on its Eloquent Child project, contributing to a series of educational songs introducing the Arabic alphabet.
He also performed in the UAE, including at a 2009 charity concert in Abu Dhabi organised by Al Quds University Friends Committee, where he sang a selection of his work, including Ounadikom, at an event to raise funds for students in Jerusalem.
While often described as a political singer, he rejected that framing. “I say the basic measure of a song is whether it succeeds. You can sing a song for a martyr, for example, but if it does not have the artistic and aesthetic elements, the cause dies and the song dies,” he said in Stories from Palestine.
“Ounadikom did not succeed only because it dealt with a national cause or because it was written by Tawfiq Ziad. It succeeded because it had aesthetic value.”
He recorded across several decades, with albums including Houb (1982), Nihna El Nas (1984), Bayna W Baynak (1990), Baddi Ghani La Nas (2008) and Lamma Tgheebe (2019).
He was also active in children’s theatre, working with groups including Firkat al-Sanabel and the Lebanese Puppet Theatre, where he wrote and composed for more than 20 productions.
Kaabour is survived by his wife, the artist Iman Bikdash, and their son Marwan. A biography on his official website ends with a line that reflects his outlook: “When asked what song is closest to his heart, he answered: the one I haven’t composed yet.”
