Kuwait mourns Abdulkarim Abdulqader

Kuwait, The Gulf Observer: Renowned Kuwaiti singer Abdulkarim Abdulqader was laid to rest at Sulaibikhat cemetery on Saturday, leaving a great void in the hearts of his fans and a rich legacy of immortal works, which abound in the Kuwaiti, Gulf and Arab musical heritage. The mourners’ hall at the cemetery witnessed the presence of a large crowd of colleagues, friends and relatives of Abdulqader, who passed away on Friday.

Minister of Information and Culture Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi said Kuwaiti, Gulf and Arab art has lost a model artist with high morals. “His journey extended to about 60 years of giving, and today we console ourselves as we console the family of the deceased. We ask God to have mercy on him and forgive him,” he said. An earlier statement by Mutairi recalled Abdulqader’s massive artistic impact on the Gulf scene, enriching Kuwaiti and Arab musical heritage throughout his career.

“The artistic scene has lost a great artiste and one of the pillars of Kuwaiti singing, whom we loved as a human being and an artiste. He was a dear friend and companion.

Today we can only pray to God to have mercy on him and to dwell in His spacious paradise,” veteran singer Nabil Shuail said.

Poet Abdul Latif Al-Bannai mourned Abdulqader, calling on God Almighty to inhabit him in His spacious gardens and give patience and solace to his family and loved ones. Composer Anwar Abdullah expressed his deep sadness and regret at the passing of ‘Bu Khaled’, recalling a series of collaborations that brought them together, including the song “Mahal” and others. “May God have mercy on him — he lived quietly, he died quietly,” he said in a brief speech.

Journalist Mohammed Al-Masri said: “He was a human being who was loved by everyone and had no differences with anyone. Personally, I knew him closely during our repeated meetings in the office of poet Khaled Al-Badhal, and I found him to have all the qualities of a respectable person and a humble artist,” he said.