Iraq

The region where the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers is where Mesopotamia lies; where civilization was born and where most part of what today is known as Iraq, is located. Iraq, or formally called the Republic of Iraq, is situated in the Middle Eastern section of Asia. However, with the geographical location of Iraq in relation to Europe, the United Nations and other international organizations use Western Asia rather than Middle East when describing the region where Iraq is located.

Iraq covers a wide land area that spans the eastern portion of the Syrian Desert, the northern section of the Arabian Desert and the northwestern tip of the Zagros, the largest mountain range that runs in Iraq and neighboring Iran.

The country is steeped in history and a location where several civilizations started and colonizing empires, both indigenous and foreign had their influence in its culture and its people. Iraq became a country torn by several power struggles in modern times, and had turned into a battlefield between dictator President Saddam Hussein and his followers and the US-led forces that wanted them ousted.

International communities are exerting efforts to aid Iraq on its road to recovery and reconstruction after years of war with Iran and the ravages brought about by the ousting of Saddam Hussein. It is, however, a very slow process marred with different forms of challenges for both the people of Iraq and the international communities that are helping them.

:: Background of Iraq ::

Today’s Iraq was part of Mesopotamia, dubbed as the cradle of civilization, where a portion was the settlement of the Sumerians. They were the tribes that as early as the fourth century before the birth of Christ had already been practicing organized agriculture year-round. They established weaving, pottery, masonry, metalwork and leatherwork industries and developed the early form of writing called cuneiform. Iraq then was a very fertile agricultural land, brought about by the flooding and draining from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Many past empires clamored to rule Iraq, not only because of its very fertile agricultural lands but also because the country was strategically located as the gateway to easily invade Europe, Asia and Africa.

The Assyrians and the Babylonians were the dominant rulers of Iraq for 14 centuries and the country was the seat of power. With the Roman invasion during the first and third centuries, Christianity had a foothold in Iraq and Assyria, which became the center of the Christian faith in the region. However, with the Muslim invasion during the seventh century, Islam was established in Iraq and it quickly became the leading metropolitan area for the Muslims and the Arabs. Baghdad was built by the Abbasid Caliphate and transformed it into a multicultural place that was a center of learning. Baghdad was a city with a population of over a million people even during the Middle Ages. Islam experienced its golden age during this period.

The Abbasid Caliphate was completely destroyed and the city of Baghdad was almost totally annihilated during the Mongol invasion led by Hulagu Khan in 1257. Another Mongol, Tamerlane invaded Iraq in 1401. He, too, demanded total submission and those who opposed were massacred.

The Ottomans came next and once again the once fertile lands of Iraq became the battleground for the opposing forces, including the fights between the White Sheep Turkmen against the Black Sheep Turkmen in the 14th and 15th centuries. The constant wars weakened the Ottoman Empire and eventually nomadic tribes began to take control of some of the areas of Iraq, with Bedouins scavenging for wartime spoils.

During the First World War, the Ottoman rule in Iraq finally came to an end and the British took over three of the provinces of Iraq, Mosul, Baghdad ands Masra. These regions were unified by the British to form Iraq despite the fact that the Turks deliberately kept them apart. It was because the different tribes with opposing views and customs were occupying different areas. The Shiites were the dominant force in the south; the Sunnis occupied the central region encircling Baghdad; and the Kurds wielded their power in the north. The British made Iraq a kingdom and installed Faisal as its head. Faisal was one of the leaders of the Iraqi revolt against the Ottomans. After Iraq gained its independence from Britain in 1935, two political groups formed – the Communists with roots from the Soviet Union and the Baathists whose ideology was more closely identified with the Nazis under Hitler.

Iraq’s monarchy was overthrown and murdered by General Abd al-Karim Qassem in a 1958 coup with the support of the Communists. Saddam Hussein was a Baathist supporter and even participated in the attempt to assassinate General Qassem. In the struggle for power between these political forces, many lives have been sacrificed, as their battles were often bloody and atrocious. The Baathists finally succeeded in overthrowing General Qassem in 1963.

The Baath political party rose to power after the Communists were discredited when they were defeated in the six-day war against Israel in 1967. From this emerged a new leader, Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr, a brutal leader who ordered suspected traitors killed. Saddam Hussein was head of the secret police and chief administrative assistant during that time. With political ambitions of his own, he began placing his cronies in important government positions.

Over ten years of planning gave Saddam enough power to eventually force al-Bakr to step down from his position in 1967. Saddam financed his mighty military force, accumulated modern weaponry and researched on nuclear and chemical weapons with oil revenues. He dreamt of surpassing the world’s super powers like the Soviet Union, China and the United States. He began his campaign in 1980 by invading Iran, a war that will last for eight years and caused great human and financial losses to the country. A stalemate was brought about by the intervention of the United States but Saddam continued his quest to develop weapons with nuclear capability. In his effort to find additional oil revenues, he launched an invasion of Kuwait in 1990, resulting in the 1992 Gulf War. He failed to foresee that the Allied Forces would retaliate. Although Saddam Hussein was thoroughly beaten, he was able to remain in government and his military force continued to be intact.

Therefore, while Hussein was not able to launch other attacks outside of Iraq, he continued his dream of being the leader of a world super power and continued amassing weaponry and strengthening his army. His dictatorial rule worsened and it was estimated that as many as 300,000 Iraqis became victims of torture chambers, prisons, concentration camps and mass killings. He continuously flaunted that he had developed new types of weaponry that could cause mass destruction, prompting the Allied Forces and the United Nations to intervene and request inspection of Hussein’s nuclear facilities. Already considered a threat compounded by the horrific incidents that occurred in 2001 and the failed attempts to get approval to inspect military and research facilities in Iraq, the Iran War ensued on the 20th of March 2003 to end the threat. The United States and Great Britain led the invasion of Iraq and swiftly took over the country and deposing Saddam Hussein in the process. He was later tried and convicted under Iraqi law and was later executed by the newly formed government.

The Iraq War officially ended on the 15th of December 2011 and the last group of US soldiers left Iraq on the 18th of December 2011.

:: Geography of Iraq ::

Iraq is basically made up of river plains, mountainous regions as well as deserts. The country occupies part of the Syrian Desert and a section of the Arabian Desert. The alluvial plains of the two rivers running through the country, Tigris and Euphrates are on the eastern part of the country. Above the centrally located capital city of Baghdad are the river basins, which are separated by an upland portion, called Al Jazira that is almost like a desert. Below the capital city are the low and marshy plains.

Up the northeastern section of Iraq lie the Zagros Mountains where a few peaks rise from about 3,000 to 3,600 meters. The rest of the mountain peaks are substantially lower in height.

Water is basically provided by three sources, the two rivers and the Shatt al-Arab. The Tigris has the Little Zab, Diyala and Great Zab as its tributaries while the Euphrates has no permanent tributaries within Iraq. The occasional rain creates several small lakes while floods occur usually during springtime when the snow melts. Marshlands cover part of the southeastern section of Iraq although these are slowly being reduced due to the drainage programs overseen by the government since the early part of the 1990s.

Location
Traditionally, Iraq’s location is in the Middle East, just like its other oil-producing neighbors. Internationally the location is called Western Asia, according to the United Nations. Baghdad, Iraq’s capital city and the second largest city after Tehran in Iran, in all of Western Asia, is located almost in the center of the country.

Geographic Coordinates
Iraq’s longitude is 44° 00’ 00” east of Greenwich while its latitude is 33° 00’ 00” north of the equator.

Area
The total land area of Iraq encompasses 438,317 square kilometers. It is divided into a land surface of 437,367 square kilometers and a very small portion or just about 950 square kilometers is covered with water. Comparatively speaking, the total land area of Iraq is slightly over than double the land area of Idaho or almost the same size as the land area of California in the United States.

Land Boundaries
Iraq is nestled among larger Western Asian nations and has a border that extends for 3,631 kilometers. Its longest border is shared with Iran on its eastern side for 1,458 kilometers. One hundred eighty one kilometers separates Iraq from Jordan in the west. Kuwait borders Iraq for 240 kilometers in the south while the country shares a border with Saudi Arabia for 814 kilometers, also on its southern side. It also has a neutral zone shaped like a diamond that it shares with Saudi Arabia. Turkey borders its northern side for 331 kilometers while Syria borders the northwestern side for 605 kilometers.

Coastline
A small part of Iraq, between Kuwait and Iran, juts out toward the Persian Gulf, giving Iraq a coastline that runs for 58 kilometers.

Maritime Claims
Although Iraq’s continental shelf is not specified, it has a territorial sea claim of 12 nautical miles

Climate
Iraq is basically a desert country and as such a major part of it experiences hot and arid climate, although a subtropical climate also exerts influence in some parts of the country. Summers in Iraq can be quite unbearable, particularly for those who are not accustomed to very hot weather conditions. The temperature during summer time in Iraq averages more than 40 °C, or a searing 104 °F. Extreme temperature can go up to 48 °C or over 118 °F in most part of the country at times. Summer skies are cloudless and the weather is hot and dry. The country, however, experiences winters that can be mild or cool, depending on the region. Near the mountains along its borders with Turkey and Iran, winters can be harsh, and the region sometimes experience heavy snowfall that quickly melt at the onset of spring, which can cause widespread flooding in the southern and central parts of Iraq. Low winter temperatures generally register about 15 °C to 19 °C, or about 59 °F to 66 °F. On the average, winter temperature is about 21 °C or just about 69 °F. The evening temperatures are much lower, usually dropping somewhere between 2 °C to 5 °C or about 36 °F to 41 °F. The winter months receive the highest rainfall and it’s very rare that the country experiences rainfall during summer, except in areas near the mountains in the north.

Terrain
Iraq is composed mainly of wide expanse of desert flat plains, with rugged sections running along the Turkey and Iran borders where most of the mountains are. Along the border with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in the southeast are marshes crowded with reeds. Deep fertile valleys have been created near the Euphrates River as well as the Tigris River. The country’s only access to the Persian Gulf is through the Shatt al-Arab region, the section that juts out towards the Gulf. The desert areas are located on the southwest and western parts of the country whereas rolling plains are located are found on the north and northeastern parts near the mountains.

Elevation Extremes
The highest point in Iraq is Kuhe Haji Ebrahim, which stands at 3,595 meters. This is located within the Zagros Mountains along the border separating Iraq from Iran. Another peak is higher than Kuhe Haji Ebrahim at 3,611 meter but it is unnamed. Iraq’s lowest point is the Persian Gulf at zero meters.

Natural Resources
Just like the other oil-producing nations in Western Asia, Iraq is rich in natural resources like natural gas and petroleum. Sulfur and phosphate deposits are also found in the country.

Land Use
The delta plains north of the capital city of Baghdad and the upper valleys near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are the most suitable areas for agriculture in Iraq. The rest of the country is made up of desert plains, craggy mountains and marshlands. The total arable area is only equivalent to 13.12% of the total land area, with less than one percent or 0.61% planted with permanent crops. Most of the land area or over 86% is allocated for other uses.

Natural Hazards
Due to the large part of Iraq being part of the desert, sandstorms and dust storms are frequent. Some parts of the country are also prone to flooding particularly during spring when the snow from the mountains rapidly melts due to the heat.

Current Environmental Issues
Water, particularly potable water, is quite scarce in Iraq, as the country receives very little rainfall. The extreme heat continues to dry up more areas, contributing to increasing desertification of parts of the country. Air and water pollution is also becoming a far greater problem. There is also a problem with soil degradation and increasing salinity. Its wildlife population is getting threatened due to the destruction of their natural habitat. The drying up of the marshland inhabited by the Marsh Arabs for water control projects has displaced these indigenous inhabitants.

International Environmental Agreements
Iraq has taken part is a few international environmental agreements, including ozone layer protection, biodiversity and law of the sea. It has signed but is yet to ratify the environmental modification agreement.

:: People of Iraq ::

The nationals living in Iraq are called Iraqis, a term that can be used both as a noun and as an adjective.

Ethnic Groups
The inhabitants of Iraq are predominantly composed of Arabs, which comprise about 75% to 80% of the population. The Kurdish takes about 15% to 20%. Five percent of the population is composed of Assyrian, Turkoman and other minor ethnic groups.

Languages
Arabic (official), Turkoman (a Turkish dialect), Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Armenian, Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic)

Religions
Like most of the Arab world, Muslim is the official religion in Iraq and is followed by 97% of the population, further broken down into the Sunni with about 32% to 37% and the Shia, which comprise 60% to 65%. The rest of the population practices Christianity and other forms of religions.

Population
Iraq population estimate for 2011 is 31,234,000, with a population growth rate of nearly 2.4%. It is also estimated that the total fertility rate is about 3.67 children born for every woman old enough to bear children. The population increase is through birth only as there is zero net migration rate in Iraq.

Age Structure
According to 2011 demographics, the dominant age group belongs to the 15 to 64 age bracket, representing 58.9% of the population. In terms of gender, there are 9,076,558 males and 8,826,545 females in this age group. Thirty-eight percent represent the 0 to 14 age group, broken down into 5,882,682 males and 5,678,741 females. For the older section of the population, those who are 65 years and over represent only 3.1%, with the females numbering 499,138 while the males are only about 435,908.

Sex Ratio
In terms of sex ratio, males are more dominant than females in Iraq. At birth, the rate is 1.05 male versus female. In the under 15 years category, there are 1.04 males for every female while in the 15 to 64 category, the rate goes slightly lower at 1.03 males over female. The ratio goes further down in the 65 years and over age group, with about 0.88 male for every female. For the entire population, the average sex ratio is placed at 1.03 male against each female.

Median Age
The median age of the population of Iraq is quite young, averaging 20.9 years for the entire population. If it is broken down between genders, the male population’s median age is slightly lower at 20.8 years. The female population’s median age is higher than the country and male average, placed at 21 years.

Birth and Death Rates
The birth rate in Iraq is quite healthy, estimated in 2011 to be around 28.81 births/1,000 population. The death rate on the other hand is estimated to be around 4.82 deaths for every 1,000 inhabitants of the country.

Maternal and Infant Mortality Rate
According to the 2008 census figures, maternal mortality rate in Iraq is quite low, with only 75 deaths/100,000 live births recorded. Infant mortality rate is slightly higher, with about 41.68 deaths for every 1,000 live births, the average for the whole country. Broken down into genders, there are 45.93 deaths for every 1,000 male children born alive in Iraq. For females, the mortality rate is lower, only the record showing only 37.21 deaths for every 1,000 live births, according to 2011 estimates.

Life Expectancy at Birth
For the entire population, the life expectancy at birth is places at 70.55 years. For the females, it is estimated to be around 72.02 years, while for the males, the expectancy is lower, at only 69.15 years.

HIV/AIDS
Ignorance was one of the reasons why a pandemic of HIV/AIDS occurred in Iraq. The first to fall victim to the disease were the hemophiliacs that were administered in 1986 with contaminated blood. Then President Saddam Hussein thought that the disease would spread through casual contact and ordered that those patients afflicted with the disease should be segregated and were either imprisoned or exterminated. There were no facilities then and knowledge about the disease was scarce. According to the World Fact Book, prevalence of HIV/AIDS in children and adults was around 0.1%, based on estimates done in 2001. In 2006 there were about 500 people living with HIV/AIDS while the death toll directly resulting from the disease is still unknown.

Literacy
While Iraqi nationals age 15 years and over can read and write, the literacy level in Iraq is only placed at around 74% for the entire population. The literacy rate is higher for the males, estimated to be around 84% while the female literacy rate is just about 64%. The average stay in school for the whole population of Iraq is around 10 years. The males spend more years in school, estimated to last up to 11 years while the females only manage to stay in school for around 8 years.

:: References ::
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iz.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14542954
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Iraq.html

Geography of Iraq: Important Geographical Information about Iraq

Iraq is divided into four principal regions – the alluvial plains from Tikrit towards the Persian Gulf of Lower Mesopotamia; the rolling uplands of Upper Mesopotamia between the Euphrates River and the upper part of the Tigris River; the desert region on the west and southwest banks of the Euphrates River and the north and northeast highlands of the Kurdistan region of Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan), near the border with Iran. According to official Iraqi statistics the total land area of Iraq is 438,446 square kilometers or 169,285 square miles. The US Department of State however lists the area as 434,934 square kilometers or 167,929 square miles, which is smaller by 3,512 square kilometers from the official Iraqi statistics.

It seems that Iraq has indeed one of the oldest civilizations, and lives up to its name as the cradle of civilization. A clay tablet that historians accepts as the earliest map known to man was discovered in an excavation near Kirkuk and Harran in 1930. The excavated area was just 200 miles or 322 kilometers from the known site of Babylon. The tablet is believed to have existed around 3800 BC.

Upper Mesopotamia is a higher region where the water from the rivers runs through deep valleys making irrigation difficult in the area, thus this region has a desert-like classification. This is in contrast with Lower Mesopotamia where the plains are. Here, irrigation canals distribute water into the agricultural areas, although flooding usually occurs in this southeastern part of Iraq. About 15,000 square kilometers are covered with marshes. Silt from the Tigris and Euphrates leave a thick layer of sediments and loam soil over the land, usually turning to mud when flooding occurs. Salt from the two rivers increase the salinity of the topsoil, thus lowering the agricultural productivity of the region.

Iraqi Kurdistan and northern Iraq have several mountains, with only a few valleys. The area is suitable for grazing and minor crop cultivation as the area receives enough rainfall. These areas though are the most profitable and productive for Iraq for this is where the large oil fields near Kirkuk and Mosul are located. This is also the region where most of the Iraqi Kurds dwell.

One section of Iraq, lying west and southwest of the River Euphrates is a desert, part of the Syrian Desert that extends into Saudi Arabia, Syria and Jordan. This region is sparsely populated, mostly by pastoral nomads.

The Tigris and the Euphrates and their tributaries bring much-needed water into Iraq for irrigation and other purposes. However these rivers are also a threat to several regions of Iraq as they swell and flood several areas when the rains come particularly in the months of March, April and May. The government of Iraq had been trying to institute measures to properly use the water system for better irrigation control but is now also concerned on how to control the annual flooding.

Iraq though, is not totally a desert country. It can experience extreme temperatures of over 48 °C or 118 °F around July and August. The country also has several periods when it receives heavy rainfall, particularly during winter until well past springtime. Rainfall during these months range from 100 to 180 millimeters on the average and areas like those in the south and southwest of the Zagros Mountains receive an annual rainfall of around 320 and 570 millimeters. From the months of April until October, Iraq experiences the hottest and driest times of the year. While for some countries rain is beneficial to crops, it does not do much for most parts of Iraq as the country can only grow one crop a year and the long, hot and dry months invariably lead to failed crop growths. That is why a proper irrigation system is badly needed by the country.

The country also experiences cool temperatures when the thermometer reading drops down to near freezing during winter near the mountains while it can be between 2 °C to 3 °C, which is about 35 °F to 37 °F in the desert. Around Baghdad, the average minimum temperature is around 16 °C to 17 °C or about 61 °F to 63 °F. Summer temperatures seesaw between 27 °C to 34 °C, which is roughly about 81 °F to 93 °F. There are two wind patterns in Iraq that bring in dust storms in the summer – the dry and dusty wind from the south and southeast called sharqi that occurs from April to the early part of June and again towards the end of September until November, and the north and northwesterly dry wind call the shamal, blowing in from the middle of June up to the middle of September. While the dry air and the summer heat cause fast evaporation detrimental to plant growth, the breeze does provide some cooling relief.

Iraq has vast oil reserves. Currently known are their oil reserves of about 112 million barrels but it is estimated by the US Department of Energy that the figure only represents about ten percent of the total oil reserves in Iraq. Potentially 90% is still waiting to be explored, which can yield up to 100 billion barrel more. While oil production costs in Iraq ranks among the world’s lowest, there are only more than 2,000 oil wells in Iraq. With just that number, Iraq still ranks as the second largest oil producer in the world after Saudi Arabia.

:: References ::
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Iraq
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~mariposa/iraq.htm

Information about the Iraqi Flag: Colors and Meaning of the Flag of Iraq

:: Meaning of the Iraqi Flag ::

Iraq’s flag is quite young, with the first design put into use only in 1921. Through ten design changes, the national flag of Iraq has evolved into its present-day design that was adopted only in 2008.

The first flag design was used by the Kingdom of Iraq, and put into use from 1921 to 1959. It was inspired by the flag used during the Arab Revolt and consisted of three horizontal stripes of equal size. The top one is black, the bottom one is green with a white stripe in between. On its hoist side is a trapezoid in red with two white seven-point stars lined up in a vertical row on the narrower side of the trapezoid. The stars represent the Arabs and the Kurds, the principal group of people in the Kingdom of Iraq.

In 1958 the flag underwent minor changes and the red trapezoid became a red triangle extending into the white middle stripe. The two stars were removed. This was to honor the merger of Syria and Egypt with the United Arab Republic and the establishment of the Arab Federation with Jordan and Iraq.

The Iraqi Revolution in July 1958 abolished the Hashemite monarchy of Iraq. The revolution was led by Abdul Karim Qassim. Iraq became a republic and under Law 102 of 1959 adopted a new flag. The flag still used three colors, with the stripes going in a vertical direction. It was used from 1959 up to 1963. The black stripe was near the hoist side; the white stripe was still in the middle; and the green stripe was on the flying side of the flag. In the middle of the white stripe was a red star with eight points. Inside the star was a yellow circle. The colors of the stripes represented Pan-Arabism; the red star of Ishtar denoted the ancient heritage of Iraq; while the yellow sun stood for the minority group in Iraq, the Kurds. This flag is still allowed to be used in the region where Kurds live.

In 1963, Qassim was overthrown by the Baath Party and the new government decided to use a modified version of the flag patterned after the flag design of the Arab Liberation, consisting of three equal horizontal stripes in red (top), white (middle) and black (bottom). In the white stripe are three green five-pointed stars. The three stars represent the hope of Iraq joining Syria and Egypt in a mutual union. This new design of the flag of Iraq was used from 1963 to 1991. In 1996, under Law 33 when Saddam Hussein was already in power, the meaning of the three green stars was changed into unity, socialism and freedom, the three tenets of the motto of the Baath party. In Arabic, the words mean wadah, ishtirakiyah and hurriyah.

Yet another change was done to the Iraq national flag from 1991 to 2004. During this period the flag, under the orders of Saddam Hussein included the Takbir, an Arabic word meaning “God is Great” or Allahu Akbar. The words were added between the stars, using the same color as the stars.

After the Iraq War in 2004 and up to 2008 with the interim government in place, there were several suggestions to amend the design of the Iraqi flag. Since the flag being used contained the Takbir allegedly using the actual handwriting of Saddam Hussein, the Takbir was modified and stylized by using Kufic script. As there were several oppositions, the government decided to conduct a contest for a new design. In early 2008, a new flag design was unveiled, retaining the current tricolor consisting of red, white and black horizontal stripes, with the Takbir in Kufic script in green written in the middle of the white stripe.

:: References ::

Flag of Iraq

http://www.flags-flags-flags.org.uk/iraqi-flag.htm
http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/iraq-flag.html

Extensive List of Languages of Iraq: Spoken and Extinct Languages

:: List of Languages ::

Adyghe
[ady] 19,000 in Iraq (1993). Alternate names: Adygey, West Circassian. Classification: North Caucasian, West Caucasian, Circassian

Arabic, Gulf Spoken
[afb] 40,000 in Iraq. Population total all countries: 3,599,000. Zubair area, Fau Peninsula. Also in Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. Alternate names: Gulf Arabic, Khaliji. Dialects: Zubair-Faau Arabic. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic

Arabic, Judeo-Iraqi
[yhd] 120 in Iraq (1992 H. Mutzafi). Most in Israel. Alternate names: Arabi, Iraqi Judeo-Arabic, Jewish Iraqi-Baghdadi Arabic, Yahudic. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic

Arabic, Mesopotamian Spoken
[acm] 11,500,000 in Iraq. Population total all countries: 15,100,000. Tigris and Euphrates area. Also in Iran, Jordan, Syria, Turkey (Asia). Alternate names: Arabic, Baghdadi, Furati, Iraqi Arabic, Mesopotamian Gelet Arabic, Mesopotamian Qeltu Arabic. Dialects: Anatolian Cluster, Tigris Cluster, Euphrates Cluster. Geographical and sectarian divisions correlate with Iraqi dialects. The vernacular standard based on Baghdad speech. Also Bedouin dialects. Nearly unintelligible to speakers of certain other vernacular Arabic varieties. Anatolian Cluster in Turkey. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic

Arabic, Najdi Spoken
[ars] 900,000 in Iraq. Central Najdi in western desert, used by Bedouin; North Najdi is south between the rivers up to the Syrian border by Bedouin. Dialects: North Najdi (Shammar), Central Najdi. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic

Arabic, North Mesopotamian Spoken
[ayp] 5,400,000 in Iraq (1992). Population total all countries: 6,300,000. Tigris, part of the Euphrates valleys north of Baghdad. Also in Jordan, Syria, Turkey (Asia). Alternate names: Mesopotamian Qeltu Arabic, Moslawi, Syro-
Mesopotamian Vernacular Arabic. Dialects: Very similar to Judeo-Iraqi Arabic [yhd], but with important sociolinguistic differences. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic

Arabic, Standard
[arb] Middle East, North Africa. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic

Armenian
[hye] 60,000 in Iraq. Dialects: Western Armenian. Classification: Indo-European, Armenian

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
[aii] 30,000 in Iraq (1994). Population total all countries: 219,330. Ethnic population: 4,250,000 (1994). Northern Iraq, Baghdad, Basrah, Karkuk, Arbil. Also in Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russian Federation (Europe), Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey (Asia), United Kingdom, United States. Alternate names: Aisorski, Assyrian, Assyrianci, Assyriski, Lishana Aturaya, Neo-Syriac, Sooreth, Suret, Sureth, Suryaya Swadaya. Dialects: Urmi Assyrian (Urmi, Sipurghan, Solduz), Northern Assyrian (Salamas, Van, Jilu, Gavar, Qudshanis, Upper Barwari, Dez, Baz), Central Assyrian (Mar Bishu, Nochiya, Shamezdin, Tergawar, Anhar), Western Assyrian (Tkhuma, Lower Barwari, Tal, Lewin), Sapna (Aradhin, Tina, Daudiya, Inishke, Benatha). Similar linguistically to other Northeastern Aramaic varieties. Inherent intelligibility is difficult to estimate due to intense exposure throughout the Assyrian diaspora to many dialects, especially Urmi and Iraqi Koine. As a result, intelligibility between dialects is as high as 80%–90%. Urmian group subdialects: Urmi, Sipurghan, Solduz; Northern Group: Salamas, Van, Jilu, Gavar, Qudshanis, Upper Barwari, Dez, Baz; Central Group: Mar Bishu, Nochiya (Shamezdin), Tergawar, Anhar; Western Group: Tkhuma, Lower Barwari, Tal, Lewin; SapnaGroup: Aradhin, Tina, Daudiya, Inishke, Benatha. Standard literary Assyrian is based on Urmi. Many left original areas and developed a common spoken and written form based on the prestigious Urmi dialect as spoken in Baghdad, Chicago (USA), and elsewhere (Iraqi Koine). Most Christians understand it. This Urmi subdialect is different from Lishán Didán Urmi subdialect. All dialects of Western, Northern, and Central Assyrian are spoken in Syria. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Eastern, Central, Northeastern

Azerbaijani, South
[azb] 600,000 in Iraq (1982). Kirkuk City, Arbil, Rowanduz, other areas southeast from Kirkuk as far as Al Miqdadiyah, Khanaqin, and Mandali; some in Mosul region. Dialects: Kirkuk. Classification: Altaic, Turkic, Southern, Azerbaijani

Bajelani
[bjm] 20,000 (1976 S. Sara). Qasr-e Shirin, Zohâb, Bin Qudra, Quratu, north of Khanaqin, also in Mosul Province. Kurdish areas. Alternate names: Bajalani, Bajoran, Bejwan, Chichamachu, Gurani. Dialects: In the Gurani and Zaza group. Closely related to Gurani, Shabak, Sarli (less closely to Zaza dialects). Contact with Kurdish. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern, Zaza-Gorani

Chaldean Neo-Aramaic
[cld] 110,000 in Iraq (1994 H. Mutzafi). Population total all countries: 216,000. Mosul, Baghdad, Basrah, southeast Iraqi Kurdistan. Also in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Lebanon, Netherlands, Sweden, Syria, Turkey (Asia), United States. Alternate names: Chaldean, Fallani, Fellihi, Kaldaya, Kildani, Lishana Kaldaya, Modern Chaldean, Neo-Chaldean, Soorath, Soorith, Suras, Sureth. Dialects: Mangesh, Alqosh, Tel Kepe, Tisqopa, Bartille, Shirnak-Chizre (Bohtan), Dihok. High intelligibility of Lishana Deni [lsd] and Ashirat [aii] (western dialect group of Assyrian Neo-Aramaic); little or no intelligibility with other Northeastern Aramaic varieties. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Eastern, Central, Northeastern

Domari
[rmt] 22,900 in Iraq (2000). Alternate names: Middle Eastern Romani. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Dom

Farsi, Western
[pes] 227,000 in Iraq (1993). Alternate names: Persian. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern, Persian

Gurani
[hac] 21,100 in Iraq (2000). Several hundred thousand for Gurani speakers in both Iraq and Iran (Blau 1989). Population total all countries: 44,000. Near Halabja, east of Suleimaniye, Topzawa near Tawuq, pockets from Mosul to Khanaqin. Also in Iran. Alternate names: Gorani, Hawramani, Hawrami, Hewrami, Macho. Dialects: The Zaza-Gurani group includes Dimli [diq] (Zaza) (Turkey), and Gurani [hac], Bajelani [bjm] (Bajalani), Shabak [sdb], and Sarli [sdf] (Iraq); Hawrami [hac] (Iran). Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern, Zaza-Gorani

Jewish Babylonian Aramaic
[tmr] Extinct. Alternate names: Babylonian Talmudic Aramaic. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Eastern, Central, Northeastern

Koy Sanjaq Surat
[kqd] 900 (1995 H. Mutzafi). Northern Iraq, Koi-Sanjaq, Armota. Alternate names: Koi Sanjaq Soorit, Koi-Sanjaq Sooret, Koy Sanjaq Sooret, Koy Sanjaq
Soorit. Dialects: Related in certain morphological and lexical respects to Senaya [syn]. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Eastern, Central, Northeastern

Kurdish
[kur] A macrolanguage. Population total all countries: 16,025,505.

Kurdish, Central
[ckb] 462,000 in Iraq (2004). Population total all countries: 3,712,000. South of Great Zab River, Suleimaniye, Arbil, Kirkuk, and Khanaqin and Mandali provinces. Also displaced. Diaspora communities in other areas, including western Europe, USA. Also in Iran. Alternate names: Kurdi, Sorani. Dialects: Hewleri (Arbili), Xoshnaw, Pizhdar, Suleimani (Silemani), Warmawa, Rewandiz, Bingird, Mukri, Kerkuki, Garmiyani. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern, Kurdish

Kurdish, Northern
[kmr] 2,800,000 in Iraq (2004). North of Great Zab River, Dohuk and Mosul provinces. Surchi near Great Zab River. Alternate names: Badinani, Bahdini, Behdini, Kirmanciya Jori, Kurmanji. Dialects: Surchi, Akre, Amadiye, Barwari Jor, Gulli, Zakho, Sheikhan. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern, Kurdish

Kurdish, Southern
[sdh] South of Xanaqin, Kirind, and Qorwaq. Dialects: Kolyai, Kermanshahi (Kermanshani), Kalhori, Sanjabi, Maleksh ahi (Maleksh ay), Bayray, Kordali, Feyli, Luri. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern, Kurdish

Mandaic
[mid] 5,000 in Iraq (2006). Population total all countries: 5,500. Ethnic population: 30,000. Baghdad, Basra. Also in Australia, Iran, United States. Alternate names: Mandaean, Mandi, Modern Mandaic, Neo-Mandaic, Sabe’in, Sabean, Subbi. Dialects: Iraqi Neo-Mandaic. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Eastern, Mandaic

Sarli
[sdf] Fewer than 20,000. Kirkuk Province, north of Mosul; many displaced. Alternate names: Sarliya. Dialects: In the Gurani [hac] (Gorani) and Zaza group. Closely related to Gurani, Hawrami [hac], Shabak [sdb], Bajelani [bjm]. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern, Zaza-Gorani

Shabak
[sdb] 15,000 (Blau 1989). North of Mosul, Ali Rach, Yangija, Khazna, Talara villages; many displaced since 1980’s. Dialects: In the Gurani [hac] (Gorani) and Zaza group. Closely related to Gurani, Sarli [sdf], Bajelani [bjm]. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern, Zaza-Gorani

Syriac
[syr] A macrolanguage. Population total all countries: 416,731

:: Reference ::
Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/

Famous Iraqi People: Iraqi Artists, Scientists, Leaders, Musicians, Politicians and Athletes

Iraq, the cradle of civilization, has been under several different dynasties that helped shaped the nation and its people. Although recent events, border wars and other political turmoil led to Iraq being war-torn, it still has a number of citizens who rose to prominence. Some of the famous people from Iraq on this page excel in the literary field, in music, sports and in politics.

:: List of Famous People from Iraq ::

Yûnis Reuf
Yûnis Reuf, more popularly called Dildar was born on the 20th of February 1918 during the reign of the Ottomans in a town called Koi Sanjaq. His school years were spent in Kirkuk and Baghdad. He finished law in 1945. Outspoken and fiercely nationalistic, he became a political activist as well as a poet. While in prison, where he was frequently tortured by the jail guards, he wrote a poem in Soranî-Kurdish entitled Ey Reqîb. It translates to Hey, Enemy or Oh, Enemy. The poem valiantly states that the Kurdish people and the youth, though suffering from oppression still have the power to live, to make sacrifices, to fight for their country and to move on. Although Dildar died at the age of 31 in 1948, his legacy lives on. His poem was adopted as the national anthem of the Kurds in 1946. While the Kurdistan Republic was short-lived, the anthem was adopted as the national anthem of the Iraqi Kurdistan region (federal south Kurdistan) by the Kurdistan autonomous government. The anthem is sung in Kurmancî and Sorani dialects.

Sheikh Riza Talabani
Riza Talabani was from Kirkuk where he was born in 1835. He was a poet who wrote his poems in Arabic, Turkish, Persian and Kurdish. He went to Istanbul when he was around 25 years of age and visited the gravesite of Sheikh Nurredin Brifkani, a Kurdish Sufi. There he recited a poem written in Persian, telling of his journey from Kirkuk to Turkey. He expressed his political views through his poems, mainly using satire, arguments (flyting) and ribaldry. His works are considered by historians to be very much related to the identity of the Kurds living in the city of Kirkuk. Editions of his poetry continue to be published, with editions in Baghdad, Iran, Sweden, As Sulaymaniyah (Northern Iraq) and in Arbil, Iraq.

Tawfeq Mahmoud Hamza
Tawfeq Mahmoud Hamza, also known as Piramerd or Pîremêrd (Kurdish) was born in the city of Sulaymaniyah in 1867. He was a journalist, a poet, novelist and writer. Partukxane i Zanistî, the very first private Kurdish school built in Kurdistan was established by Hamza. He started working at the age of 15 and worked in different government offices in Iraq for 28 years. At the age of 31 he was invited by Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid II, an Ottoman, to go to Istanbul. Through his work the Sultan endowed him with the title of Bey. After a year Hamza was appointed to be a member of Istanbul’s High Majlis and as a faculty member of the law school in Istanbul. Hamza became a prominent political figure in Istanbul. He joined the Komela Kurd, a Kurdish organization in 1907 and served as governor of several districts in Kurdistan and Turkey from 1909 to 1923. He went back to Iraq and his hometown in 1925 and by 1926 was the editor of Jîyan, a Kurdish newspaper and became the publication’s manager after six years. He later shortened the name of the paper to Jîn in 1938. Hamza continued to manage the publication until his death in 1950.

Taufiq Wahby
Taufiq Wahby was a politician, writer and linguist. He was born in 1891. He served as colonel in the Ottoman army and later transferred to the Iraqi army after the creation of Iraq in 1920. He rose to prominence and was a minister in the Iraqi government for eight terms. Wahby made significant contributions in designing the new Kurdish alphabet, using the modified letters of Arabic as his basis.

Rafiq Hilmi
Born in 1898, Rafiq Halmi became a writer, politician as well as historian. He hailed from Kirkuk. He was the author of several books on the history of the Kurdish language as well as the history of Kurdistan itself. He was educated in Baghdad, Sulaimaniyah and Istanbul.

He was a writer for the official publication of the Kingdom of Kurdistan, Rojî Kurdistan and also wrote for Bangî Kurdistan, another newspaper. His talent as a literary critic was recognized when the second volume of Kurdish Poetry and Literature that he wrote got published in 1956. Hilmi also tried his hands at politics in 1938 when he founded the Hîwa Party, meaning hope. At first it was a secret organization that was established in Kirkuk and had civil servants and intellectuals from the Kurdish community among its members. It was a nationalistic group with the aim of pushing for Iraqi Kurdistan’s autonomy. While Hilmi was pro-British, most of the members of the Hîwa Party were left-leaning and established links in 1942 with the Komala JK in Mahabad in Iran, a Soviet Union-supported movement. The association was short-lived though because the Mahabad Republic in Iran collapsed in 1947. While still active in the Hîwa Party, Hilmi also served as the 1943 Education Director in his hometown of Sulaimaniyah. In 1954 he was the Deputy Governor of Baghdad and by 1959 was Iraq’s Cultural Attaché in Ankara.

Ibrahim Ahmad
Translator, novelist and writer Ibrahim Ahmad, a Kurd, was born in 1914 in Sulaimaniyah, a village in Iraqi Kurdistan. He was a law graduate from the University of Baghdad and became a judge in Halabja and Irbil from 1942 to 1944.

Before serving as a judge he was the publisher and editor-in-chief of Gelawêj, a Kurdish literary journal he founded with Alaadin Sajadi in 1939 and continued publishing the journal until 1949.

Right after his stint as a judge he became involved in politics and headed the Sulaimaniya branch of Komeley Jiyanewey Kurd, which later covered the whole of Iraqi Kurdistan. The group changed its name to Kurdistan Democratic Party in 1945 with Ibrahim Ahmad as the branch chairman. He was also the editor of the party’s magazine called Dengî Rastî. Ahmad became more actively involved in the political party and became its Secretary General in 1947. His involvement in the party did not sit well with the royalist regime and he received two 2-year convictions, and served one in a Baghdad prison and the other via local arrest in Kirkuk. He still managed to be the editor of the party’s newspaper while under local arrest. He went to Britain as a political refugee in 1975.

His 1956 novel Janî Gel deals with his people’s war of independence. It had been translated into Persian, Turkish and French.

Muhamad Salih Dilan
Dilan was considered as one of the most prestigious of Kurdish poets and Maqam singers of the 20th century. His influence in these the literary field brought a surge of interest in Kurdish literature and poetry. Maqam or by its long form Al-Maqam Al-Iraqi is a genre of Arab music found in Iraq and has existed for four centuries.

The poet cum singer was born in Goizha near Sulaimaniyah in 1927. His father was also a poet and Maqam singer, and was very influential in Dilan’s love for poetry and Maqam music.

Dilan and his musician brother, Qadir Dilan, met the elderly Tawfeq Mahmoud Hamza or Piramerd in 1948. Piramerd wrote a poem for Newroz and requested the brothers to write the melody for the poem and for Dilan to sing it. After a short time, the melody was perfected by Qadir and Dilan sang what will become a timeless classic for the first time on the 21st of March 1948. The song is still being played in Kurdistan during Newroz. Newroz or Nowruz is the equivalent of the New Year in Iran and in Persia. For the Kurds, Newroz is celebrated in remembrance of their deliverance from the clutches of a tyrant. The holiday also lends support to the continuing struggle of the Kurds. In Iraq it is celebrated during the spring equinox.

Dilan’s nationalism became evident in his poems and his involvement with the movement for Kurdish independence attracted the radar of the government and he was arrested several times, imprisoned and tortured in a span of thirteen years. He was sentenced to one-year imprisonment in 1963 for writing a poem entitled Rez, or Vineyard in English. It alluded to Omar Kayyam’s poem about drinking wine and the wind breaking the wine glass; to Plato who supposedly did his deep thinking inside a wine vessel and to the burning of the Kurdistan vineyards by the Iraqi government.

His poems were compiled and turned into a book called Diwani Dilan. It was published by his colleague, Abdulla Agreen in 1987. Dilan died in 1990.

Saad Eskander
Saad Eskander was born in 1962 in Baghdad. He is of Kurdish ancestry. He is an academic and researcher. He studied at the University of North London where he earned his bachelor’s degree in modern history then enrolled at the London School of Economics for his Ph.D. in history and international relations.

In 1981, Eskander became a member of the Kurdish Peshmerga (armed Kurdish freedom fighters) and for four years decided to live in the Iraqi Kurdistan Mountains before going to Syria and Iran. After finishing his studies he returned to Iraq in 2003 after his country was invaded and became the Iraq National Library and Archive’s director, He also wrote a blog from November 2006 up to July 2007 that chronicled the agonizing and torturous experience of being in Baghdad during the civil war. His blog was eventually published on the website of the British Library.

The Scone Foundation of New York awarded Eskander with the Archivist of the Year Award on November 12, 2007. In the same year he also won the MESA Academic Freedom Award, given by the Middle East Studies Association. He received an Honorary Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals award in December 2008 for his distinguished service. The ceremony was hosted by the British Library.

Adnan Karim
Born in 1963 in Kirkuk, Kurdistan, Adnan Karim is an outstanding Kurdish singer whose family was forced to flee their hometown and had to settle in Sulaimaniyah during the first Iraq war. Although financially challenged he continued his education and graduated as a musical artist. His early exposure to story telling and traditional Kudish music had a great influence in his musical development. His musical style is considered by the Kurdish people to be pure in relation to traditional melodies. He immediately gained popularity in the Kurdish community because of this.

The threats and attacks on the Kurdish people during the regime of Saddam Hussein in the 1990s forced his family to live in exile in Sweden. He did not abandon his music while in his new homeland and took special courses to develop his style further. He sings his songs in different Kurdish dialects to bring his songs closer to his varied listeners, earning him praise and recognition in different Kurdish communities in parts of Europe and the Middle East. He still composes his songs and prefers to sing them with different musical instruments as accompaniment, most of the time playing them himself. He has participated in several international concerts and released several albums.

Chopy Fatah
Chopy Fatah is a Kurdish singer who was born in Kirkuk in 1983. She was five when her family migrated to the Netherlands. This is where she developed as a Kurdish singer, first joining a school choir in 1990 and enrolling in a music school in 1996. Chopy enrolled in the Kurdish Music Academy in Germany in 1999 and the following year had a performance at The Hague. She has also participated in Shanisheen, a TV program shown on MedyaTV. Chopy has so far released four albums in 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2011. She has had many international concerts in several countries in Europe and also had performances in Canada, United States, Australia, United Arab Emirates and Ukraine and enjoys great popularity in the Middle East. She has not forgotten where she was born and also held several concerts in different parts of Iraq, including her hometown of Kirkuk, even if security conditions were uncertain.

Mulla Abu Bakr Effendi
Mulla Effendi was born in 1863 in Arbil, Iraq to a family of illustrious Islamic scholars. Effendi grew up to be a prominent Islamic philosopher, Kurdish Muslim cleric, astronomer, politician and scholar. His family was held in prestige throughout Kurdistan centuries before Mulla Effendi was born. He was educated at the Great Mosque where his ancestors learned and taught, and he too, followed in their footsteps. Throughout his lifetime he established many mosques and schools in several villages, financed his students’ daily living and school allowances and granted hundreds of scientific licenses for scholars coming from the Middle East, Iran and of course, Iraq. He became the arbitrator and settled many tribal conflicts during the reign of the Ottomans, thereby receiving the highest recognition from Sultan Abdul Hamid II. He inspired and directed public opinion during the British Mandate and the creation of Iraq and supported the annexation of Mosul Wilayah to Iraq and honoring the rights of the Christians living in Ankawa. He opened his house as a safe haven for the royal family of Iraq in 1941. Upon the reinstatement of King Faisal II, Mulla Effendi was awarded the first order of Wisam al-Rafidain. Honors and tributes were accorded to Effendi during his lifetime and long after he was gone.

?ala? ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub
In the western world he is more known as Saladin, the first sultan of Syria and Egypt and the founder of the Ayyubid Dynasty. Saladin was born in Tikrit, Iraq circa 1138. When he was barely one year old his father, Najm ad-Din Ayyub was banished from their village and they moved, together with his uncle Asad al-Din Shirkuh to Mosul. His father later joined the Imad ad-Din Zengi, the Turkish emir of Mosul and served as a commander of the Baalbek fortress.

During his reign, Saladin led the Arab and Muslim opposition of the Franks and the Crusaders from Europe. He also extended his sultanate to reach across Mesopotamia, Yeman, Hejas and Kurdistan, aside from Syria and Egypt. Saladin led his forces personally to recapture Palestine from the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin on the 4th of July 1187, which led to the eventual collapse of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Saladin was a strict follower of Sunni Islam and his reputation as a chivalrous and noble person impressed many people, including the Crusaders, particularly Richard the Lionheart.

Jalal Talabani
Jalal Tabalani is the first non-Arab and current President of Iraq. He was born on the 12th of November 1933 in Kelkan, a village in Talaban and a descendant of the Talabani tribe. At a young age he was already playing politics, forming a secret Kurdish student organization at the age of 13. Mustafa Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party sent him to Syria to study law in the 1950s. President Talabani is fluent in Arabic and Kurdish and has a working knowledge of English and Persian.

Talabani founded and became secretary general of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the main political parties of Kurdistan and is a strong advocate of Kurdish rights and democracy in the country. Prior to being Iraq’s president, he was an outstanding member of the Interim Iraq Governing Council after Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003. His youngest son, Qubad lives in Washington, D.C. and is the Kurdistan Regional Government representative.

Abd al-Karim Qasim
Abd al-Karim Qasim, born in 1914 in Baghdad was a nationalist general in the Iraqi Army. He rose to power when he led a coup d’état in July 14, 1958 against King Faisal and his court. He immediately installed himself as the Prime Minister of Iraq after the elimination of the Iraqi monarchy. He was also the Defense Minister during his reign. His co-coup planner and executor, Colonel Abdul Salam Arif was installed as Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

He started his reign by adopting an interim constitution on the 26th of July 1958, whereby they declared Iraq as a republic, part of the Arab nation with Islam as the state religion. Kurdish freedom fighters that were in prison were released and allowed to return to their homes and Iraqi citizens were granted freedom regardless of race, religion, language and nationality. Political prisoners were also freed.

However, as his reign continues, it became more of an autocratic form of government rather than republican and he found himself counterbalancing the pan-Arabic and communist influences. He freed all communists that were in prison, the military became communist-controlled and the ban on the Iraqi Communist Party was lifted. He tried to institute agrarian reform and distributed farm lots using lands his government seized from the Iraq Petroleum Company owned by the British. He increased the size of the middle class and provided housing for the lower classes. He also rewrote Iraq’s constitution to increase the participation of women in society. His policy changes did not meet with one hundred percent approval from his cabinet and internal dissension arose. The dissent overflowed into the public and with the Kurdish autonomy remaining unfulfilled, civilian unrest soon ensued, instigated in part by the communists. He also made several errors in his foreign policies thereby isolating Iraq from the larger Arab community and with the internal conflicts within his cabinet, he, too became isolated. Qasim was overthrown by a Ba’athist-led coup on the 8th of February 1983.

Qasim’s rule had many positive results that benefited the Iraqis. He abolished polygamy and protected women from impulsive divorces and increased their participation in society. His land reform measures benefited farmers and removed oil fields and land holdings from foreign hands. Social welfare, education, housing and health care reforms were also started during his regime.

Hawar Mulla Mohammed Taher Zebari
Iraqis also love football and one of the most popular ones is Hawar Mulla who was born in Mosul on June 1, 1981. He currently plays for Zob Ahan in Iran as a winger and wingback, the club he joined on July 11, 2011. He was part of the Iraqi national football team that won the 2007 Asian Cup crown.

In 2008 he was signed up by Anorthosis Famagusta FC of Cyprus and became the first football player from Iraq to play in a UEFA Champions League game. He helped his team hold off Werder Bremen of Germany to a scoreless draw and kicked the winning goal against Greek super club Panathinaikos.

Hawar Mulla’s career started with Mosul FC and after three years he was under contract with the Al Quwa Al Jawiya in Baghdad and often got called up to the national team, earning 101 international caps and contributing 21 goals. While he is an Iraqi Kurd, he refused to play for the Kurdish national football team. There was no reason given and the media did not pursue it. He had short stints with other football clubs, including Al-Ansar (Beirut), Apollon Limassol (Cyprus), Al-Ain on loan (UAE), Al-Khor (Qatar), Persepolis (Iran), Arbil SC (Iraq) and Esteghlal (Tehran).

:: References ::
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kurdish_people
http://newstechno.org/other-techno-news/discover-23-famous-people-from-iraq-kamaran-abdalla-massoud-barzani-saddam-hussein-and-many-more/10546.html