The Life of Abdel-Karim Qassim - Special: The Militant Poet

To understand the identity of Abdel-Karim Qassim, we have to look at the personalities that affected his life, people who formed and molded him into the man he later became. The special editions will concentrate solely on each family member, friend, colleague and role model. While other parts of this chronicle will document his biography - where we together - will relive these events that influenced him along the road of life.

The Militant Poet - Ma'rouf Al-Rusafi
One of the personalities that formed the views of Abdel-Karim Qassim on politics and Iraq in general was one of the great poets of Iraq, Ma'rouf Al-Rusafi. The poet was born in Baghdad in 1875; his father Abdel-Ghani Mahmoud, was of Kurdish decent from Kirkuk and his mother Fatima bint Jassim Al-Shammar, of Turkmen decent from Baghdad.

The father, a God fearing man, was an officer outside Baghdad and therefore Ma'rouf was raised by his mother, whom was as religious as the father. The poets early years were spent in mosques and katateeb, where he learnt the Quran by heart. After three years of elementary school he was transferred to Al-Rushdiyah Al-Askariyah School, where he failed his studies and therefore couldn't continue on to military college to achieve a position in government services. A position that could give you a comfortable life, something all Iraqis dreamt off during Ottoman rule.

The failure reflected on his next choice, he switched studies and started to study Islamic law under the supervision of the Salafi scholar Mahmoud Shukri Al-Alousi, known as the Mufti of Baghdad. For twelve years, he also studied under the teachings of Sheikh Abbas Al-Kassab and Imam Qassim Al-Qaysi. Where his interest in the words of poetry, was evoked by the poetic construction of sentences in the holy Quran.

As a "gift" for graduating, he was giving a turban and cloak, ready to preach as one of Al-Alousi's finest disciples. The imam also rewarded Ma'rouf with the artistic name: "Al-Rusafi" (derived from the name of the western bank of Tigris). As opposed to the Sufi saint Ma'rouf "Al-Karkhi" (derived from the name of the eastern bank of the river Tigris), on a side note; Al-Alousi was not very fond of Sufi-Islam.

For those who don't know the poet, he became extremely secular later in life. Neither when, nor why is documented. It is widely believed that it happened during a chapter of his life, where he worked as a teacher in elementary schools in Baghdad (and later Diyala) after finishing his religious studies.

After returning to Baghdad, he passed an examination in Arabic language and literature, so he could work in high schools. In the years up to 1908, he managed to get several of his poems published in Egyptian magazines such as Al-Muayad and Al-Muktataf with several other Iraqi writers. 

The Iraqi writers couldn't get published in Ottoman Iraq, the main reason was that there weren't any publications allowed and also, because of the rising amount of poets who were using a nationalistic rhetoric. While in Egypt, the British rulers were supportive of any criticism directed at the Ottomans.

The Iraqi writers started to gain recognition as their words of resistance reached the entire Arab world and as far as the United States, where young Arab emigrants were memorizing the poems to keep in touch with the motherland.

By that time, he had made a transformation from religious to political poetry. During his religious studies and shortly after that, he made poetry praising the beauty of God's creations. While at the turn of the century, his poetry became more and more militant and aggressive towards the Ottomans. Reciting the words of his poems, as if they were bullets shot at the longtime occupier of Iraq.

At that time, the young academics started to move away from the idea of Islamic Unionism and the outdated system in the Ottoman Empire, a system that was kept alive for 600 years on the basis of "it's God's will". As for Ma'rouf, he started to move towards nationalism and the ideals of the French Revolution.

In his poems and public appearances; he demanded freedom of thought, resisted imperialism, promoted scientific and cultural revival after the European model, preached for the need of modern inventions, defended victims of social injustice and lamented the deteriorating conditions of the Ottoman Empire and its provinces, in particular Iraq.

Ma'rouf even went as far as using the slogan of the French Revolution; "Liberty, Justice and Equality" in his poetry. Words he freed from the Ottomans torture chambers and returned to the mind of the Iraqi populace, after 600 years of feudal slavery.

The same slogan was used by the Committee of Union and Progress, the umbrella organization founded by the Young Turks. They fought against the Ottoman system, wishing to replace it with a pan-Turkish empire. The idea spread like a wildfire, now all the nations within the empire started their own branch. The goal was to secure autonomy for their own nation within an ailing empire, as Istanbul was rapidly falling into the hands of the popular Young Turks.

In Baghdad, the secret organisation was led by Murad Bey Suleiman, a man inspired by the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi; an Italian general who led the unification of the Italian kingdoms, given the honorific titles of "The Father of the Fatherland". 

He officially became an active member of the resistance in 1908, what made him differ from the other poets; was that he acted upon what he preached and didn't leave his followers to fight the fight alone. Unlike the other poets, he refused to limit his resistance to ink on paper, quite the contrary, he wanted to lead the masses into judgment day; together we get our freedom or together, we die fighting for it.

As the Young Turk Revolution succeeded in 1908 and the Ottoman Empire became a constitutional monarchy. Ma'rouf, already a trusted member of the C.U.P. branch in Baghdad. Was given an invitation by Murad Bey, to edit the political and cultural journal in the party's local bulletin, he also wrote poetry dedicated to the party's resistance against the Ottoman administration. 

Even though the revolution succeded and the "new" constitution was implemented, with a new parliement and parties were once again allowed to participate with representation coming from every corner of the empire. They were met with fierce opposition from Sultan Abdul-Hamid II and his aristocrats, whom gave up their political powers reluctantly. 

The Sultan resisted the autonomy given to the wilayat of the empire, something the many branches of the C.U.P. had fought for, as they resisted the centralistic nature of the Sultan's empire. The revolutionary Young Turks had won the battle, but not the war, as they continued their resistance towards a possible counter-coup by the Sultan. 

One of Ma'rouf's most daring actions within the resistance was his attack on Al-Wazir mosque, build by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1599. A mosque known for spewing propaganda for the Sultan, advocating sectarianism with Friday sermons dominated by racist rhetoric towards the ethnic and religious minorities of Iraq.

As Ma'rouf became fed up with the mosque and it's brainwashing of the local youth, he gathered a group of Iraqi nationalists of Jewish, Christian and Muslim background. Most of them comrades representing minorities, therefore making them victims of the mosques preaching. 

During one of the Friday sermons, they occupied the mosque; the poet pushed down the Imam from his pulpit, while comrades barricaded the doors from the outside; forcing the praying to stay inside, as the poet "dressed down" the worshippers rhetorically. 

For foreign readers, a "dressing down" or "getting someone naked" in Iraqi sense, is to destroy someone's reputation, honor and self-esteem in public; all through the use of words, words that can annihilate the most confident human being on earth. 

Shortly after, mobs of angry conservatives surrounded the mosque and the governor Nazim Pasha's residence. As they demanded the hanging of the poet or they would take the matter in their own hands and lynch him themselves. As the governor was a secret admirer of Ma'rouf's poetry, he put him in a house arrest for his own safety, saving him from an incident that could have ended his life. 

As the Ottoman Empire was self-destructing, the poet had built himself a reputation of being a lion amongst sheep. With his words he moved the masses to action, so they could end the miserable state the empire was in. Starting the first of many battles for Iraqi self-realization and independence. Wishing to remove the mental shackles imposed on them and once again makes them a free nation. 

To be continued... In the upcoming article: "The Militant Poet, Part II".

Ma'rouf Al-Rusafi in the early 1900's

Sources

1. The academic paper "Two Baghdadi Poets, One from Rusafa and One from Karkh" by Dr. Yasin T. Al-Jibouri.
2. The book "The Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 6" by the author Clifford Edmund Bosworth.
3. The academic paper "Ma'ruf al-Rusafi: His life and works" by Dr. Joynul Hoque.
4. Image #1 from the website; "Muntada Ayamna".

The Life of Abdel-Karim Qassim - Part 4: High School Years

Date; 1927-31. 
Place; Baghdad, Kingdom of Iraq.

Abdel-Karim Qassim's shenanigans and boyish pranks ended when he finished elementary school at Al-Rasafa and entered Baghdad's Central High school. After leaving his old gang of misfits back in the neighborhood, he had to rebuild his social life at school. 

It was hard for Abdel-Karim to fit in amongst the students, as he was shy by nature and only relaxed when he got to know them. At the same time, they could only get acquainted with him if they made some sort of an effort to approach him.

Without his old friends, he lost his confidence in socializing and in himself. In return, that encouraged him to study harder and concentrate at school. He had always been an excellent student, yet his only problem in the past was his friends that distracted him into a point, where he could have gone a completely different road than education.

According to former classmates, he wasn't the most popular guy in the institution; Abdel-Karim was one of the quitest students during his high-school days, during the breaks he would spent the time all alone in a corner by himself, embarrassed about his appearance and lack of money. 

He stood out with a strong facial structure, dark skin and a tenuous body type. On top of that, he had an infection that made his jaw and lips look freakishly large, with the upper lip halting to the left.  

His appearance gave him a very negative self-understanding and made him feel inferior to the rest of the students. He did anything to avoid contact with his fellow pupils and would rather sit in the corner, all gloomy and sad about his very own existence.

About his attendance during class, more or less the same was said by fellow classmates: Abdel-Karim was extremely clever and fast-learning, when asked something by the teacher, he would come with an overflowing amount of answers from different theories. 

At times, it reaches a point where he wouldn't know where to start and end. Even his speaking would become impaired, as he tries to organize his thoughts into a meaningful sentence, as fast as possible, so he doesn't take up time from his fellow students. 

Usually, the Iraqi and British teachers of human sciences, would ask the students a surprise question to test their knowledge. Abdel-Karim would be in such a hurry to answer the question, that he would stutter in the process. Which in return, would always lead to scattered laughter and giggling in the classroom, leaving Abdel-Karim embaressed over his own impatience. 

The teachers didn't hesitate to put the pupils in their place, telling them; that they could laugh as much as they wanted, for in the future, Abdel-Karim will become somebody, while the others can contemplate why they never amounted to anything.

While he was doing very well in the human sciences classes, one of the teachers in natural sciences, Sheet Ne'ma, thought otherwise when it came to Abdel-Karim's attendance in his classes: 

"I have three points concerning his attendance in my natural sciences classes: A) He would always sit in the rearest seats, avoiding participation completely during class. B) He would always show up in dirty and untidy clothes, which showed that he woke up late on the days he was supposed to show up for my classes. C) He had the highest percentage of absence in the class and would at all times avoid our quizzes. 

In the human sciences classes, he was well-prepared for every class and would look his best. He would try to impress his teachers in any way, not only with his intellect, but also with his appearance. 

During class, if the students were asked a question, he would be the first student to lift his arm. When he was picked, his face would turn red and his chest would expand, as if his lungs were overworked with the amount of oxygen, reserved for the different theories he wanted to use as answers to the teachers questions.

But in the natural sciences classes, his appearance and participation in class was abysmal. He dreaded the days where he had his natural sciences, he wasn't prepared and didn't even bother getting dressed appropriately. He would also try avoiding any kind of contact with the teachers, sitting in the back with his arm over his head, as if it made him magically invisible.

When it came to his interests, such as Arabic literature. He would go out of his way to read the works of all the different writers, even the ones he didn't have any homework on. He would spend all of his spare time on reading and every now and then, he would take a break, walking back and forth in the study room like a mad scientist. 

Thinking, philosophizing and theorizing about the written words and the sentences it constructed, trying to encode every meaning of each and every piece of the literary work. His favorite poet was Ma'rouf Al-Rasafi, he would memorize all of his works and would recite them frequently to his closest friends.

A poet that left a big mark on Abdel-Karim, forming his ideas and values on what Iraq is and what it represents. A man he could relate with, as they were both from the lower middle-class and of mixed ethnicity; Arabic and Kurdish. A patriot he admired, as he was mesmorized by the romantic idea of sacrifising yourself and setting aside your own ambitions and needs for the good of the people and country. 

Many years later, as he became the Prime-Minister of Iraq, he would personally attend an annual memorial for the poet. He prepared a speech about the poet, where he would go on and say: "I am one of his greatest admirers, I can recite every single one of his poems and in my humble opinion, he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest poets to have ever lived".

In 1931, he graduated from high-school at the age of 17 with average grades.

Abdel-Karim Qassim in his high-school days,

2nd from the left in the back-row.

Anno late 1920's.

Sources

1. From the memoirs collected by Abdel-Karim's classmates, among them Rasheed Sutlak, whom later became the Minister of Tourism in the first government of the Iraqi Republic. The memories are collected and published by the writer Ahmad Fawzi in the book "Abdel-Karim Qassim and His Last Hours".
2. Image #1 from the facebook page; "Illustrated Archive of the Leader Abdul-Karim Qassim".

The Life of Abdel-Karim Qassim - Part 3: The Gang

Date; summer of 1927.
Place; Qanbar Ali, Baghdad, Kingdom of Iraq.

Nine teenagers are sitting in a circle around some sand and stones, the seriousness in the boys' faces make them look like a group of military officers planning a coup d’état. The core of the group; an Arab (Hamza), a Jew (Dawoud) and Abdel-Karim Qassim, are kneeling in front of the sand and with sticks: They are strategizing their next mission. 

The alpha male of the group is Hamza, simply because he is the biggest, tallest and strongest of them all. He trains them in combat and physical training, the rest of the group follows his orders. At times, the skinny Abdel-Karim and the stocky Dawoud need to physically gang up on Hamza to get their way. It was a necessity to avoid compromising their missions, because of Hamza’s stubborn nature and abuse of strength to get his way. 

Even though Abdel-Karim was known to be shy and the one who spoke the least in the group, he was very good at pushing his friends towards the direction he wanted them to go, especially when he spoke individually with each member of the Qanbar Ali gang. 

He was also the bravest and most daring, known as the motivator in the direst times. The one who stood in front of his "soldiers" and motivated them to continue; even in the face of inevitable defeat. The title of leader was of no importance for him, he'll let someone else get occupied with that status, while he makes sure he is the one who makes things happen in the background.

Dawoud was the gang’s intelligence officer, the local who knew everything about Qanbar Ali. The area is one of the richest in Baghdad, with a mixed population consisting of Arabs, Kurds and Assyrians, while the Jews made up the the majority. The richest were the shop owners who had the best chicken and eggs in all of Iraq, which was the ultimate goal for today's mission or more like, almost every mission. For the Qanbar Ali gang it didn't matter what came first; the chicken or the egg? Ultimately, they are both kosher and delicious.

Dawoud knew every single shop owner and their routines, he also taught the group the Jewish dialect into an extent where Abdel-Karim became the first and only head of state in Iraq, that could communicate fluently in that dialect. Dawoud also gave them disguises to fit in with the locals and made them memorize known Iraqi tunes composed by Jewish orchestras, melodies played by all of the local restaurants, cafes and shops. 

All of these expertises are used in their cunning plan, so they could mix in while walking the street and whistle the tunes like proper local boys. The plan is to split into three units; 'The Deceitful' led by Dawoud, 'The Brave' led by Abdel-Karim and 'The Thieves' led by Hamza. After going into detail with the plan, training and motivating each other, the Qanbar Ali gang was ready to get some food on the table tonight.

As 'The Deceitful' group walk the street, they know exactly who to steal from today. They are all dressed in local clothes, whistling the latest tunes as they playfully spin their sebha's around their index and middle-finger. As they reach the poor shop owner, they distract him with their talking: "What is this?", "How much does this cost?" and "Can i get it for half the price?"

As they talk, 'The Brave' group arrives with Abdel-Karim. They try to act as suspicious as possible: Standing next to the boxes of eggs, looking side to side, outside and inside the shop. They also look at the owner long enough to get eye contact with him and then look away, as soon as they get his attention.

When his suspicion for Abdel-Karim's group grows, the others start contributing by keeping the man busy with questions. The shop owner pretends listening to Dawoud's group, while keeping an eye on the others. Then, Abdel-Karim's boys deliberately steal an egg each and makes a run for it, every one of them goes into different directions.

As they run away, the shop owner runs after them and Dawoud's boys "join" him in trying to catch "the thieves". When the shop owner is far enough from the shop, 'The "Real" Thieves' with Hamza come in and takes all the chicken and eggs they can carry. An hour later, they meet behind the mosque and eat a feast fit for kings. 

Abdel-Karim knew all of this was wrong, as he was well raised by his father. A man who taught him religious moral codes, that prohibited such things. Also because he had a near death experience in Suwayra, that should have taught him a valuable lesson. But he can't help listening to the demons inside him, whom keep on daring him to do these kind of dangerous things. 

He didn't do it to fill up his stomach, nor to steal from anyone, he was just simply hooked: He has become an addict to the planning, the adrenaline rush and the danger behind these "missions". It has imprinted itself into the core of his bones. 

He made up his mind; i want to be a soldier, travelling the world and experiencing an adventure after another. 

That summer, a general was born.

An old painting of Qanbar Ali.

Sources

1. Stories from the locals in Qanbar Ali, note: The names Hamza and Dawoud are fictional, to protect the real identities of Abdel-Karim Qassim's childhood friends, in the stories written by the author Ahmad Fawzi in the book "Abdel-Karim Qassim and His Last Hours".
2. Image #1 from the website: "Al-Noor".

The Life of Abdel-Karim Qassim - Part 2: Summer in Suwayra

Date; summer of 1962 & 1922.
Place; Suwayra, Baghdad, Republic of Iraq & Kingdom of Iraq.

The stage light is beaming on Abdul-Karim Qassim, the sweat is finding its way from his forehead to his neck, his handkerchief is dripping wet from all the times he has wiped his face. The Prime-Minister is standing on a podium in Suwayra, for the opening of a local school he donated to the village. It is in the middle of the summer, the climate is humid and large swamp darners are flying in and out of the tent. 

The air inside the tent is full of smoke coming from the cigarettes exhaled by the local sheiks; they are the honorable guests from the tribal council. Each one of them is watching his every move, trying to read his body language; is he pressured? Is he defeated? Is he scared? They are looking at him like vultures observing a wounded lion, wondering how much more can he take?

The Prime-Minister is pressured on all fronts; his neighbors are constantly testing the sovereignty of Iraq. The opposition (and at times, members of the government) can be found on the payroll of the CIA, MI6, GIS and KGB. Tribes are combating the reforms written by academics, considered too radical for their taste. Imams are busy deeming lawmakers as heretic and, and, and... The list goes on.

He was speaking about his father's old farm house, which was located in a desolate area within Suwayra. He donated the house to the locals after the revolution in 1958 and promised to add a school, when the community grows around the house. A school he was opening today.  

While speaking about his past in Suwayra, he was running the palm of his hand on the surface of his military suit. In the middle of an anecdote, he cracked up a spontaneous laugh; he just realized he has more bullet wounds than friends.

By the end of his speech, a barefooted man with ragged clothes and messy hair appeared amongst the crowd. The sheiks turned their faces towards him in disgust, while for Abdul-Karim Qassim it was a much welcome and familiar face. 

He couldn't believe it, this tired man with a dark face full of wrinkles and a white five o'clock shadow was his childhood friend, Jabbar Al-Aaraj, a kid he had met four decades ago in Suwayra. As their eyes met, a pleasant smile appeared on Jabbars face, a smile that put the Prime-Minister on a trip down memory lane.

The year is 1922, the exact date is unknown, but it was in the middle of the summer. Jabbar and Abdel-Karim were both standing on the top of a mound, looking down at the majestic river, Dijla (Tigris). The seven year old Abdel-Karim had just moved from Al-Mehdiyah, after his father had lost his job and later on, found work at his brothers farm in Suwayra.

As he was looking down at Dijla, scratching the back of his head; looking at Jabbar, looking at the river, looking at Jabbar again, looking at the river. Jabbar was worried about the silence, the hell raiser Abdel-Karim is once again contemplating one of his great ideas; am i going to be the first boy in the village, to have ever crossed Dijla?

As a child, he had built quite a reputation. Before he came to Suwayra, he was known for being a trouble-maker. At the age of five, his father had enlisted him in one of the Quranic schools run by Al-Mawlaya Fatima. She was the daughter of Al-Haj Mustafa Abdullah Al-Jibouri, the speaker and imam of Al-Fadhil mosque opposite the school.

Even though Abdel-Karim managed to memorize the Quran, he still ran away from school to play with his crew of five year old misfits. Constantly got into trouble and the teachers stood in line to talk with his father, begging him to change the direction his son was going.

Nothing helped and he continued his behavior in Suwayra, but he learned his lesson that summer afternoon. Even though Jabbar insisted on not letting his friend swim across the river, all pleas were ignored by Abdel-Karim, as he started to run down the mound. Daring Jabbar to catch him, before he jumped into the water clouded by the mud and started swimming.

Already halfway, it was obvious that Abdel-Karim was in trouble. It seemed that the dirt in the water had made his clothes heavy and started to drag him down to the bottom of the river. But for a seven year old, Jabbar was extremely brave and didn't hesitate to jump into the river to help his friend.

After heroically retrieving the unconscious Abdel-Karim from the water, Jabbar panicked, thinking he just lost his friend. He started to slap him, beat his chest, holding his legs together; moving them back and forth, as if he was trying to pump the water out of his body.

The two boys were struggling, one to keep his life and the other to save it. All of this in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by complete silence. The only thing that could be heard was the birds chirping and the nervous breakdown of a seven year old, desperately trying to bring back life in his best friend's body.

In a moment of relief, a much welcome sound came out of Abdel-Karim, a gurgling sound of him throwing up water. The next thing he saw - as the eyes were opening - was a blurred vision of the sun's rays. 

40 years later, like the sun - in the, what could have been a disastrous summer afternoon - Jabbars face lightened up the tent for the now Prime-Minister of Iraq. He received a warmth from Jabbars presence, comparable to the sun's warmth he felt, as his soul re-entered his body four decades ago.

After the speech, the Prime-Minister ordered his bodyguard Wasfi Tahir, to get him Jabbar. As they met after the speech, the two men in their late 40's hugged each other and kissed each cheek four times, before they caught up on each other's lives. 

As the Prime-Minister eventually left Suwayra decades ago, Jabbar stayed with his family and from what it seemed, life hadn't treated him very nicely. As they said their goodbyes, the Prime-Minister ordered the officer responsible for his accounting: To take out 60 dinars each month from his personal wage and give it to his savior Jabbar. Back then 60 dinars were worth 150 £, which is the equivalent of 2715 £ (4467 $) as the rate is set on February 2nd 2014.

General Abdel-Karim Qassim at an opening of a school,
with his bodyguard Colonel Wasfi Tahir by his side
and the Chief of Staff Ahmad Saleh behind him.

Anno 1961.

Sources

1. First-hand account from Jabbar Al-Aaraj,written by the author Ahmad Fawzi in the book "Abdel-Karim Qassim and His Last Hours".
2. Image #1 from the facebook page: "Illustrated Archive of the Leader Abdul-Karim Qassim".

The Life of Abdel-Karim Qassim - Special: The Patriarch

To understand the identity of Abdel-Karim Qassim, we have to look at the personalities that effected his life, people who formed and molded him into the man he later became. The special editions will concentrate solely on each family member, friend, colleague and role model. While other parts of this chronicle will document his biography - where we together - will relive these events that influenced him along the road of life.

The patriarch - Jassim Mohammad Al-Bakr

He was the father of Abdel-Karim, known to be a simple man, his closet consisted only of a few traditional dishdasha's, a smagh and an igaal. A God fearing man who prayed five times a day, fasted during the holy month of Ramadan and could be seen walking through the neighbourhood with a sebha in his hand reciting verses of the Quran in a low voice, as if he was whispering. 

A role model that influenced Abdel-Karim immensely, taught him to live simply and to follow a religious philosophy that says; no matter what financial status or power you might have in the future, everyone will become equals under God when we die.

Jassim went from job to job to support his family, spent the vast majority of his life working to claim the ladder of a feudal class-system created by the occupiers. Trying to carry his family from the lowest conditions of living and into a life of stability and comfort.

His sacrifice meant that little was seen of him in the house, his co-workers knew him better than his own family. Yet, the children idolized him like a living martyr, a man who selflessly works day and night, in order to keep them in school.

Hamid (Abdel-Karim's brother) tells a story about the kids admiration for their father: "We barely saw him, because he was constantly working. But when he finally came home for a small break during noon, all five of us kids gathered around him to share stories about our adventures at school.

But the one who looked up to him the most, was Abdel-Karim. He would tell a story in a story, sometimes forgetting the subject he talked about and without a break, go through to the next one, not giving any of us siblings a chance to cut in".

Hamid also recalls how his father's hard work influenced the way they thought financially: "When Abdel-Karim wanted something, even if he really wanted it into an extent where he would dream about it. He would always end up taking into consideration, his father's hard work and dedication. 

Even if he had enough money to spend, he would patiently save up on the side for that one thing. While keeping the rest of his money for other more important expenses, or just in case situations. He always remembered where he came from, and that money doesn't come by itself".

Loved by his children, Jassim was a reasonable man who didn't believe in violence, as he never laid his hands on his kids. Mostly, their punishment consisted of letting them learn from their own mistakes by themselves. 

He always demanded that they acted in a civilized matter; at all times, in all situations and in all places. Hamid remembers a time where Abdul-Karim, still a little boy, had returned home with a rifle in his hand. Storming through the rooms in a blind rage, he was clearly upset and hurt. 

On his way out of the house, he was walking through the kitchen. Jassim approached him, he could see that Abdel-Karim had received a beating, so he asked him: "What are you going to do with this rifle?"

Abdel-Karim answered: "I was assaulted by an older boy, he is bigger and stronger, and I can't beat him. This rifle will be my answer to his uncivilized ways!"

Jassim: "So your answer is to kill him with it?"

Abdel-Karim: "Yes... No... Never mind..." 

Hamid fondly remembers how Abdul-Karim put down his rifle: "My brother realized the stupidity of solving an uncivilized matter, with an even more uncivilized tool. Our father had his special way of teaching us lessons, he was a simple man, but his wisdom put us to shame. He let our mind do the punishing for him, which let us fear embarrassment more than a beating".

At the Katateeb, Abdel-Karim was known for misbehaving. He would rather use his time on shenanigans with his peers, than learning to recite the Qoran. In a speech during the first conference for trade unions on July 8th 1959, he tells a story of a frustrated teacher who liked him, but had to talk with his father about his recent behavior. 

He told the story as a comparison to the Ba'athists and Nasserists growing cooperation with foreign governments and their intelligence services: "After misbehaving, a teacher told my father that it would serve me good, if he took me away during the summer to work at the shop. That way, the hard work will make me miss school. 

If my memory serves me right, I had the pleasure of meeting the current minister of justice for the first time, Mustafa Ali, who is sitting right there amongst you. He was also nearby, working for his dad that summer, maybe he could confirm this story for you.

During one of the days, I was bored and wanted to play with my fathers tools. As i was trying to reach a big axe in the top shelves, a smaller one fell upon me and gave me a deep cut in my hand. My father came, tended to my wounds and asked me what had happened? I told him that i was fine, and that i was trying to reach the big axe. 

I said it in a tone that showed annoyance, not because I got cut, but more because I didn't get the big axe. My father then said; you didn't learn your lesson when the small axe fell, you still want the big one? What will happen if that one falls upon you as well? I answered reluctantly, I would die."

That was one of the very few times Abdel-Karim mentioned his father in public, but the many stories about his childhood and his fathers teachings, showed that they formed his way of thinking. The last story was a grant example, he uses the greed and impatience of a child to describe the Ba'athists and Nasserists.

As if he was saying; you played with fire by inviting dark powers from abroad into Iraq and burned yourselves slightly in the process, but what will happen when the flame grows bigger and it catches up on you? 

The Nasserists found out in 1968 and the Ba'athists found out in 2003.

The father of Abdel-Karim Qassim,
Jassim Mohammad Al-Bakr.

Sources

1. Stories told by Hamid Qassim, older brother of Abdul-Karim Qassim in an interview to Al-Mansoor magazine on October 3rd 1958, documented by Mohammad Rifaat.
2. Childhood story told during a speech at the first conference for trade unions by Abdel-Karim Qassim on July 8th 1959.
3. Image #1 from the facebook page: "Illustrated Archive of the Leader Abdel-Karim Qassim".

The Life of Abdel-Karim Qassim - Part 1: Mother or Child?

Date; October 21st 1914.
Place; Al-Rasafa, Baghdad, Ottoman Empire.

In the neighborhood of Al-Mehdiyah, a mothers tormented screams were echoing through a narrow and crowded alley. A dozen of housewives were standing there, holding their abaya's together with their sweaty palms, while their facial muscles twitched at every heart-wrenching scream that came from the bottom of Kefeyah's lungs. It was no ordinary childbirth, that woman was clearly fighting to hold death back from taking her soul.

As Kefeyah was struggling, every moan became more and more dim. All four of her children were kneeling beside their mother, teary-eyed with facial expressions full of sympathy for her agony, each one of them holding their hands together begging God to show her some mercy. Her sisters, Akab and Wasf watched helplessly on, while shouting for the midwife to come and rescue their sister.

At sundown, the midwife entered the house. The old lady recognized the resigned look on the mothers face and the moans of a tired and defeated woman. In Ottoman Iraq, the midwife has seen it all. The lack of health care or general care by the Turkish pasha's towards the locals, especially the Iraqis, was extreme and at times deliberate. 

Throughout her long life, she had seen many young women die. Without hesitation, she had turned towards the father, Jassim and with an experienced voice and cold look on her face, she asked him: "Mother or child?" as he stood next to his four children and his father-in-law, Hassan. He was visibly shattered by the ultimatum and in a soft voice, he had stuttered his choice: "The mother". 

Losing an unborn child would hurt him, but it was out of question to take a mother away from her young children. As soon as he had turned his back on the midwife, a thunderous scream came from the mother, followed by an infant's cry. Straight away, the women tended to Kefeyah as she was losing a lot of blood. The mother had at the last moment gathered her very last strength and given her unborn child a chance at life and in return, the child's survival motivated Kefeyah to survive the ordeal.

After the successful childbirth, the surprised midwife with disbelief beaming out of her eyes, turned towards Jassim once again and as soon as she had managed to calm down, the question was: "What will you name the blessed child?" 

The proud father answered: "Abdel-Karim", meaning "servant of the generous", Karim (the generous) being one of Gods 99 names according to Islamic tradition.

The happy midwife concurred: "Karoum it is..."

Ally in Baghdad,
anno 1914.

Sources

1. First-hand account by Zakiyah Mahmoud, the neighbour of Abdel-Karim Qassim's grandparents (mothers side), the story of the childbirth was written by the author Ahmad Fawzi in the book "Abdel-Karim Qassim and His Last Hours".
2. Iraq - a country study Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.
3. Image #1 from the website: "Dorar Al-Iraq".