BEIRUT (AP) 鈥� Lebanese singer and actress Najah Sallam, who surged to fame in the mid-20th century in the Middle East for her songs promoting pan-Arabism, has died, her family said Thursday. She was 92.
Her family did not disclose the cause of her death.
Sallam was born on March 13, 1931, and became popular as a singer in the 1950s, especially in Egypt during the 1956 Suez Canal when then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal and broke Egypt from its colonial past.
The move angered Britain, France, and Israel, which invaded the country, sparking the second Arab-Israeli war. Nasser later granted Sallam an honorary Egyptian citizenship.
Sallam was also a well-known actress and was involved in about a dozen Arabic-language films in the 1950s and 1960s.
In 2018, then-Lebanese President Michel Aoun honored Sallam and other iconic artists in a celebration marking the 80th anniversary of Radio Lebanon, one of the region鈥檚 oldest radio stations.
鈥淭he journey has ended,鈥� her daughter Samar Alattafi posted on Facebook. 鈥淢om is under the mercy of God.鈥�
Though she remained under the radar in her later years, Sallam's songs are still remembered and listened to across the Arab world.
Sallam's former husband, Mohammed Salman, was a famous Lebanese comedian also known around the Arab world. He died in 1997.
Sallam is survived by two daughters and a sister.
The Associated Press
