Across four decades, Fairouz's songs of freedom, justice and love transfixed Arab audiences, moved millions to tears and gave hope to the Lebanese during the darkest days of their 15-year civil war. At 75, the Lebanese singer still performed, seemingly impervious to age - until now, when a fight over royalties within the Arab world's most famous musical family threatens to silence Lebanon's most beloved diva. The Rahbani family quarrel is being played out on newspaper pages and tabloids in the region, angering many for whom Fairouz is an untouchable figure. Most of Fairouz's songs were penned by her late husband, Assi Rahbani, and his brother Mansour, together known as “The Rahbani Brothers,” and now her nephews are accusing her of not asking their permission to sing that repertoire or paying them the necessary royalties. Assi died in 1986 and when Mansour passed away in January 2009, the long simmering family dispute boiled over. This summer, Fairouz had planned to perform at the Casino du Liban “Ya'ish Ya'ish” (Long Live, Long Live), a 1970 musical written by the Rahbani brothers. But her nephews sent a letter to the Casino's administration reminding them that such a performance would require the approval of the heirs. Mansour's sons are demanding remuneration for each time the diva performs songs or any of the musical plays from the Rahbani repertoire. “All what we are asking for is our intellectual property rights and this is something we will not give up,” Oussama, also a musician, told The Associated Press. He accused Fairouz of trying to wipe out Mansour's name from the Rahbani brothers' legacy. Rima Rahbani, a director and the daughter of Fairouz and Assi, accused the heirs of greed and said there was no formal system of direct payments to the brothers from Fairouz herself. In a telephone interview with The AP, she said Mansour's heirs should collect their money from Sacem, a Paris-based organization whose job is to collect royalty payments and redistribute them to the original authors. Mansour had joined Sacem in 1963. Fairouz, a reclusive figure who very rarely appears in public or gives interviews, has stayed silent on the issue.
