God has made death the end of human life as we know it on this earth. However, to a Muslim, death is the prelude to a new kind of life about which we know only what God has chosen to tell us. Nevertheless, the death of a loved relative or a close friend fills us with grief and sadness, and some people are missed beyond their circle of friends and relatives. Mahmood Kahil was one of these.
Gentle, decent, polite and with a radiant friendly smile, he always gave you the feeling that you were welcome at his office. Moreover, he steered away from the personal conflict, and the disputes that are inevitable in a journalistic environment.
People generally think of a cartoonist as either a person who wants to give readers a laugh, or a satirist who presents people and things in exaggerated lines. Mahmood Kahil, however, was a journalist of the highest caliber, though he used his drawings, not words to present his views and analysis of events. Among Arab cartoonists, he was perhaps supreme in letting his sketches speak for themselves. Yet his cartoons reveal his deep understanding of the very complex problems of the Arab world, and the feelings of the Arab masses toward the Palestinian problem, and toward Israel and the United States. He did not hesitate to present these in his fine artistic way. In this, he was like the conscience of the Arab world.
Similarly, on the Lebanese problem, particularly during the civil war, his cartoons give a complete picture of the intricacy of the problem and its development. A historian who wishes to give a clear analysis of the Lebanese problem will find Kahil’s cartoons a great help in understanding the feelings of the general public toward the problem and those who fueled conflict. While Kahil will be missed by readers of Arab News and its sister publications, he will certainly be missed much more acutely by those who knew him personally. As one who knew him well, I feel his loss very keenly. May God have mercy on Mahmood Kahil, grant him full forgiveness and bless his soul.
Arab News Features 15 February 2003