Khaberni - The year 2025 witnessed the departure of several prominent artistic and cultural figures in the Arab world, who left a deep imprint in the conscience and contributed to shaping the features of the creative scene over decades of giving.
On December 27th, the innovative director Daoud Abdel Sayed passed away at the age of 79, after a battle with kidney failure. His last work – nicknamed "Philosopher of Cinema" – was "Extraordinary Abilities" in 2015, after which he announced his retirement due to producers' disinterest in his work.
A few days earlier, the internationally renowned Palestinian director and artist, Mohammad Bakri, passed away at the age of 72, after a health crisis affecting his heart and lungs. He left behind works that focused on the Palestinian cause, contributing to his extended artistic career.
A short while later, the Egyptian actor and author Tarek El Amir passed away after a health crisis that lasted for weeks during which he went into a coma.
In December as well, the Egyptian actress Soumaya El Alfi passed away at the age of 72 after years of battling cancer. Alfi was one of the foremost actresses of the 1980s in Egyptian drama.
The artistic community also bid farewell to one of the pillars of Sudanese singing, the researcher in heritage and music, Abdel Qader Salem, at the age of 79, after an artistic journey that left a mark on the Sudanese artistic conscience.
The Egyptian actor Said Mikhtar also passed away, having been killed after a fight with his ex-wife and her husband that led to an attack with a bladed weapon.
On November 25th, the artistic scene in Algeria lost one of its comedy icons, the actress Baya Bouzar, known artistically as "Biouna," aged 73.
Following a car accident, the popular Egyptian singer Ismail El Leithy passed away at the age of 36 due to severe injuries, a year after the death of his son, who was known as Dada.
In November as well, the artistic scene lost the Egyptian writer Ahmed Abdullah at the age of 60, who was one of the most prominent drama writers of the last two decades.
The Arab and Iraqi scene in 2025, specifically on October 3rd, also lost the artist Eyad Al-Taie, who was one of the most influential figures in drama and theater over a career that spanned more than three decades.
After a short artistic career and a musical album titled "Traveler" released in 2012, the young Egyptian singer Amro Steen passed away, leaving behind a state of sadness in the artistic community.
On August 26th, the Iraqi artist Salima Khudair passed away after an artistic journey that began in the 1950s, becoming one of the most important pillars of Iraqi art for decades.
In August also, the artistic community was saddened by the sudden death of artist Baha Al-Khatib, at the age of 41, who died following a heart attack during a football match with friends.
The artistic community also experienced a devastating loss with the death of the Egyptian cinematographer Taimur Taimur, who drowned while trying to save his young son, causing shock among his colleagues and friends.
In August, Damascus police found the body of Syrian artist Diyala Salhi Al Wadi strangled in her apartment in a robbery-motivated murder.
On July 30th, the Egyptian artistic community bid farewell to the artist Lotfy Labib at the age of 77 after years of suffering from illness, having had to withdraw from acting a few years before his passing .
Lebanese musician and theater artist Ziad Rahbani also passed away at the age of 69, after a career during which he crafted a unique artistic style that mixed satire with depth. Ziad is the eldest son of Lebanese singer Fairuz and the late composer Assi Rahbani.
On July 10th, the Egyptian cultural scene bid farewell to director Sameh Abdel Aziz (49 years old), after a health crisis led him to hospitalization and a viral infection, before his condition deteriorated and he passed away, leaving a mark in the world of drama and cinema.
The Iraqi artistic scene also lost the artist Iqbal Naeem at the age of 67, who was one of the most prominent theatrical faces in Iraq, with a long-standing career in theater and art.
In 2025, the artistic scene in Tunisia also lost the director and artist Mohamed Ali Balharith after an artistic journey that spanned nearly five decades, during which he produced prominent works in Tunisia and the Maghreb.
The Iraqi artistic and cultural scene also said goodbye to one of the icons of women's theater, the artist Ghazwa Al-Khalidi, who passed away at the age of 82 at her residence in the United States, after an artistic career that left a mark on the history of modern Iraqi theater.
The artist Samiha Ayoub also passed away – one of the pillars of Egyptian and Arab theater – who died at the beginning of June 2025 at the age of 93, after an eventful artistic career that she started in the 1940s.
At the age of 77, the Moroccan artist Naïma Bouhmala passed away after suffering from heart diseases, following an extended artistic career that left its mark on Moroccan theater and arts.
The Sudanese artistic scene also lost two of its most prominent figures, singer Ahmed Shawish and poet Makawi Sheikh Al Amin, who passed away in the cities of Atbara and Omdurman respectively.
In May, Palestinian actress Ibtisam Nassar was martyred due to Israeli shelling that targeted her displacement location in the Nuseirat camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip.
The Syrian artistic community bid farewell to the artist Fadwa Mohsen at the age of 84, who was among the leading faces of Syrian drama, particularly in the 1990s and early third millennium. Syria also bid farewell to the artist Adib Qaddoura at the age of 76 after his struggle with illness.
Egyptian artist Sherif Layla passed away, leaving a mark with his diverse roles despite a limited number of works, most notably his participation in the film "Asmaa" in 2011, and his last appearance was in the series "Omar Effendi."
In May of this year, the Tunisian singing community was surprised by the death of rap singer Kafon at the age of 43 due to a health crisis he experienced.
The artistic community in Morocco lost the actor Mohamed Choubi, who enjoyed a significant stature during a career that spanned more than four decades, during which he presented close to 90 works, ranging from theater and television to cinema.
In April, the Syrian artistic scene lost artist Samar Abdel Aziz at the age of 52 after a battle with cancer, and also the music researcher and engineer Saadallah Agha Al Qalaa passed away at the age of 75 after a struggle with illness.
At the age of 56, the Egyptian actor Suleiman Eid passed away due to a sudden heart attack he experienced, after his last public appearance at the funeral of the film producer Salah Hassan.
After a struggle with cancer, Jordanian actress Ranad Thalji passed away at the age of 36 after a notable presence in Jordanian theater and drama.
In late March, Tunisian actress Inas Al-Najjar passed away at the age of 42, due to a deterioration in her health condition after suffering from blood poisoning, and Al-Najjar was known for her participation in Egyptian cinema and drama.
In March also, Lebanese actress and activist Sawsan Shorba passed away after a struggle with illness, and at the age of 90, the Lebanese actor Antoine Kerbage passed away after a battle with Alzheimer's disease, after a long artistic career that made him one of the pillars of Lebanese theater and television.
Also in March, the Jordanian actress Ranad Thalji passed away at the age of 36 after a struggle with cancer, despite her notable presence in Jordanian theater and drama.
In late March, Tunisian actress Inas Al-Najjar passed away at the age of 42 due to a deterioration in her health condition after suffering blood poisoning, and Al-Najjar was known for her participation in Egyptian cinema and drama.
Also in March, Lebanese actress and activist Sawsan Shorba passed away after a struggle with illness.
Also in March, Lebanese actor Antoine Kerbage passed away at the age of 90 after a struggle with Alzheimer's disease, after a long artistic career that made him one of the pillars of Lebanese theater and television.
Also, Egyptian actor Ihsan Al-Turk passed away at the age of 71 after a long struggle and suffering from illness, and the Lady of Contemporary Song in Morocco, Naïma Samih, passed away at the age of 71 after a struggle with illness that lasted for years.
Activist and chanter Qasim Al-Jamous, nicknamed "Echo of Horan," died in a traffic accident on the Bloudan-Dimas road, and the Sudanese art scene also lost the singer Asia Madani, who passed away in one of the hospitals of the Egyptian capital Cairo where she was residing.
After an artistic journey that lasted more than 50 years, the Saudi artist Mohammed Al-Tuwayan passed away, having been one of the pillars of Saudi drama.
On January 27th, the Iraqi artistic scene lost one of its most prominent pillars, director Mohammed Shukri Jamil, who passed away after a struggle with illness.
The artistic community in Morocco bid farewell to Hassan Belmouden, the most famous player of the Amazigh Rabab instrument in Morocco.
At the beginning of the year 2025, the Kuwaiti artist and director Abdulaziz Al-Haddad passed away at the age of 75 after a struggle with illness, which began since he suffered a stroke in April 2024 followed by a complete coma.
