BEIRUT: Even a performance by Lebanon s top diva Fayrouz, a singer revered across the Arab world, can cause a fuss between the Lebanese and the Syrians, who these days seem to find cause for friction beyond politics. Almost three decades after her last performance in Syria, Fayrouz traveled to Damascus Thursday, ignoring appeals by some anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians to stay away. She is to take the stage Monday for a six-night run of the musical "Sah El-Nom - one of her classics - that is part of yearlong events Syria is hosting to mark UNESCO selecting Damascus as the 2008 Capital of Arab Culture. But in Lebanon, where anti-Syrian politicians blame Damascus for Lebanon s current crisis - its deepest since the 1975-90 civil war - and where everything has a political undertone, some politicians took offense at Fayrouz s trip. Walid Jumblatt, a leading anti-Syrian politician, alluded sarcastically to Fayrouz. "Some capable singing voices are volunteering (to sing) for Syria s intelligence agencies which understand only the culture of killing, tyranny and oppression and do not appreciate art, he said. A lawmaker from Jumblatt s bloc was more blunt, pleading that Fayrouz not sing in Syria. "Those who love Lebanon do not sing for its jailers, said Akram Chehayeb. "Our ambassador to the stars, you painted for us the dream nation, so don t scatter that dream like the dictators of Damascus scattered our dreams of a democratic free country. Many Lebanese singers have performed in Syria since the Syrian army was forced to leave Lebanon amid international pressure in 2005, ending nearly three decades of political control. Since then, anti-Syrian politicians controlling the government in Beirut have accused Damascus of orchestrating the chaos and assassinations that have spiked in Lebanon.But Fayrouz s showing up in Damascus is different. The 73-year-old singer, whose patriotic Lebanese and nationalist Arab songs are regularly played on Arab radios, is regarded as a Lebanon icon and has attained near-mythic status since the civil war, when adoring her songs was the only thing feuding sides could agree on. She is often referred to by Lebanese as "our ambassador to the stars and broadcasters play her songs whenever the going gets especially tough in the country. The reclusive Fayrouz did not comment on the criticism, which drew angry retorts from her entourage. Composer and lyricist Mansour Rahbani, the brother of Fayrouz s late husband Assi, said the singer s performance is "a message of love and peace from Lebanon to Syria. A message of friendship, not subservience. "So, please refrain from thrusting our name in the political mud, he added in a statement last week. The Rahbani brothers wrote most of Fayrouz s work, including "Sah El-Nom. Others also rushed to the singer s defense.Columnist Elias Harfouche in the pan-Arab Al Hayat daily wrote on Sunday that Fayrouz, who "bore the wounds, the cross and nostalgia of her nation around the world ... finds herself cornered by a debate that stinks of politics in its narrowest form. Sah el-Nom, or Good Morning in a loose translation from Arabic, tells the story of an autocratic ruler who wakes up from a deep sleep only when the moon is full. He listens to petitions from his subjects and forces them to give him bribes and services, then grants only three petitions each time before returning to his slumber. It was staged for the first time in 1970 and was performed again in Lebanon in 2006. The excitement was palpable in Syria, where the state Sana news agency reported Fayrouz s arrival Thursday. But for many Syrians, the tickets price range between 2,000 and 10,000 Syrian pounds ($40-$200) for the musical is out of reach. Syrians dismissed Lebanese demands that Fayrouz not sing for them."Fayrouz is above all such rancorous voices, said Youssef Mohammad, a 42-year-old Syrian government employee. Syrian lawyer Shadi Koussa, 26, said Fayrouz has come to sing for "the Syrian people who adore her, not for the political regime. "Don t politicize art, he added.
