Jahida Wehbe Opens the Iraqi "Babylon Festival"

Lebanese singer Jahida Wehbe, known as the "Priestess of Theater," will inaugurate the "Babylon International Festival of Cultures and Arts" tomorrow, April 19, in the Iraqi city of Babylon. Wehbe expressed her great happiness about participating in this historic festival through her social media pages, especially since this is her first visit to Iraq, the land of civilizations. The musical ensemble will be led by Iraqi artist Osama Abdul-Rasoul, who resides in Belgium. The concert program will include songs from the Rahbani brothers, and she will sing works inspired by poets Mahmoud Darwish, Nobel Prize-winning German author Günter Grass, and Abou Firas Al-Hamdani. Additionally, she will perform a piece from the poetry of Iraqi poet Muzaffar Al-Nawab and some Sufi compositions. Notably, Wehbe will present the iconic song "I Now Have a Rifle" (lyrics by Nizar Qabbani, composed by Mohamed Abdel Wahab and sung by Oum Kalthoum) as a tribute to Palestine, which is this year's guest of honor at the festival.