In Iraq, coffee is key. Friends, neighbors and, especially business associates eager to make a deal, will invite you into their living room to enjoy a cup of bold Iraqi coffee, welcoming you to their home or community, giving everyone a chance to chat (or negotiate!).
In class we’re going to explore a disappearing style of Iraqi dance, one that has deep roots in the Roma/Gypsy village of Qawliya…a village that the Shiite Mahdi Army of Moqtada Sadr demolished in 2004. The Mahdi Army justified destroying the village of about 150 homes in Southern Iraq and dispersing its residents because of the occupations of ill-repute it accused of having a home there. Whatever was taking place in Qawliya, in the absence of the town, and without the small community of Iraqi Roma/Gypsy people to support it, the dance, also called the Qawliya, will be hard pressed to survive.
The Qawliya is a dance similar to most belly dances but with one distinct exception:
performers, always female, grow their hair long and flail it around wildly as part of the dance. This is blasphemous in Islamic circles that encourage or even require female head coverings.
On YouTube with only a small amount of searching (best not to direct-link this one in case you think belly dancing in blasphemous too) you’ll find famous Iraqi Qawliya dancer Malayeen waving her long hair to wow the crowd. The dance was popular among the elite at the time of Saddam, which may have been yet another reason the Mahdi Army wanted to do away with it.
Grow your hair as long as you can before the next class so we can all revive the Qawliya.
Classical Iraqi music, like much Arab classical music, is deeply passionate, poetic and has a complex internal structure based on “maqams,” interlocking scales (for those familiar with musical terminology, more like “modes“) that indicate a relationship of notes that creates a particular desired emotion or mood. In essence Iraqi maqamat (the plural of “maqams”) originated over a thousand years ago, but they came together in their modern form in the mid-1800s. Iraqi maqamat are slower than most others in the Arab world and are predominantly in minor keys.
Each melody in a maqam performs a particular role; learning a bit about them may help shed light on what may seem to be an impenetrable musical labyrinth. (Thanks to Safaafir.com’s “About Maqam” page for this outline.)
— the muqaddima, a rhythmic instrumental piece that precedes the maqam
— the tahrir: the opening melody/main theme that appears throughout the maqam
— the qita’ and awsal: both secondary melodies that help provide structure for the composition
— the jelsa: a small melody that precedes the climax
— the meyana: the climax, usually one of the qita’ or awsal sung in a high register
— the qarar: descent into a lower register
— the teslim: a melody that concludes the maqam, leading to the pesteh, which is a light song that comes after a maqam.
In the 1920s and ’30s a disproportionate number of the musicians performing increasingly popular forms of classical Iraqi music in the nightclubs of Baghdad were Jewish. Oud players, percussionists, cellists who played Arabic classical music on Iraq radio…some were graduates of a prominent music school for blind Jewish children, others adopted the profession because being an instrumentalist was, essentially, the family business. While some Iraqi vocalists were Muslims or Christians, many prominent vocalists of the time were Jewish as well. The most famous Iraqi singer of in the ’30s and ’40s was the widely adored Salima Pasha, later known as Salima Murad, who often performed with her husband, vocalist, actor (non-Jewish vocalist and actor) Nazim Al-Ghazali. Both were well-known for their pestehs (see above). The Iraqi public’s loving respect for Salima Pasha was extraordinary because at the time being a female vocalist in Iraq was not the most respected profession–most female Iraqi vocalists originally worked houses of ill-repute. In the 1950s when almost every Iraqi Jewish musician emigrated to Israel, Salima Pasha chose to stay. She continued to sing to adoring crowds and passed away in Iraq in 1974.
More about the contribution of Jews to early 20th century Iraqi music:
Watch Salima Pasha with an extraordinary band, many members of which were graduates of the Jewish school for the blind | Listen to Pasha and Al-Ghazali perform together | The Journal of Babylonian Jewry’s “Jewish Role in Iraqi Music” | The path of Iraqi Jewish music: Iraq => Israel => …Canada? | TuningBaghdad.net: preserving the Iraqi Jewish tradition on the web | Being a musician in Iraq during the reign of Saddam was a tricky business; Saddam only allowed music that supported his rule.
Says expatriate Iraqi musician Rahim Al Haj, “In the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq War, we listened in Iraq only to war music. I once counted 669 songs about Sadam Hussein.” In the difficult years of sanctions after the 1991 Gulf War being making a living as a musician in Iraq became nearly impossible; most professional Iraqi musicians sought their careers abroad.
Unfortunately life for Iraq’s musicians since the fall of Saddam has become even more complicated. Since 2003 Iraqi religious extremists have organized attacks against Iraqi musicians and even those who sell music, claiming most forms of music, especially those with instrumentation are haraam/forbidden because they lead to wine drinking and other sins. The must-see film Heavy Metal in Baghdad documents the many struggles of the four members of what was perhaps Iraq’s first heavy metal band, Acrassicauda, as they tried to navigate the religious and political extremes of wartime Iraq.
In class we’re going to listen to:
— Rida El Abdallah: “Mara Mara”
Rida El Abdallah is one of Iraq’s most popular homegrown pop stars. His music blends classical Arabic maqamat with popular contemporary styles and his lyrics address social and political issues by exploring the dynamics of human relationships. Rida was born in Baghdad and began singing at an early age. He studied music at a conservatory in Baghdad and was on his way to becoming a composer, performer, oud player and even an artistic critic of the Saddam’s regime–his songs during the 1991 Gulf War urged citizens to put down their guns and play instruments in their place–when he graduated from the Academy of Arts, Music and Theater and was drafted for his eighteen month compulsory military service.
From this point Rida’s life takes a horrifying turn. His story is a rough one and not necessarily appropriate for kids (or, for that matter, for grownups), but you should absolutely read the biography on his website. In a nation that has endured trauma after trauma, Rida’s trials are sadly all too familiar to his fans. On the other hand, so is his determination to survive so he can continue to sing.
More information:
Rida Al Abdullah’s home page: the guy sure knows how to make an entrance. And how to pick a scarf. (Find his biography here, though be aware it’s not for kids.) | Watch Rida perform on a TV show in front of a live studio audience full of people having a grand time | Watch a confident and captivating Al Abdullah sing “Ya Rab Aleik El Awad”
— Kadim Al Saher: “Habibati”
Kadim Al Saher is one of the best-selling singers and composers in the Arab world, and also one of the most hyperbolically nicknamed: according to his Wikipedia page, Kadim is known not only as the “Caesar of Arabic Song”, but the “Elvis of the Middle East”, “Iraq’s Diplomatic Ambassador to the world”, and “Iraq’s Ambassador for Peace.” During the 1991 Gulf War Kadim relocated to Jordan where his music career blossomed. (Note Rida Al Abdullah’s very different path to Jordan as alluded to above.) Kadim was careful throughout his time in Iraq to not run afoul of the ruling regime by talking politics. He has since gone on to become internationally respected artist, a committed musical humanitarian, and, also according to Wikipedia, since “he is not settled yet in one country and moves mainly between Cairo, Dubai, Beirut and Paris” apparently a very frequent flyer.
More information:
Listen to almost every song Kadim has released at his page on Ahlasoot.com (and marvel at the consistency of his choice of subject for his album covers) | Watch a dapper
Kadim woo a woman and conquer a dozen examples of computer-generated nature in this video for “Habibati”
In the United States we may not hear about Iraq on the news as much as we did for the many years of active War, but when Iraq was front and center in every single news report for years and years and years…you’d think we would have all become experts in Iraqi history, geography, politics, culture………. Nope. When we Americans sit back and think about the country, its people and life there, even apart from what we learned about its immediately recent history – mainly Saddam and the War — what did we really learn?
Before we embark on our music class tour, let’s take a moment to do something few of us did in all the years of war…. Let’s stop for a moment and take a good long look at a map of Iraq. Let’s go with this one from PBS that indicates some of the nation’s religious and ethnic demographics…. (Maybe that’s something the British should have done before bringing in the Hashemite Monarchy in the ’20s….)
What this see is a country in four divisible sections:
— a distinctly Kurdish northeast with cities such as Mosul, Erbil and Kirkuk
— a mixed, though mainly Sunni center, featuring the capital of Baghdad
— a primarily Shia southeast, with cities like Karbala, Najaf, Nasiriya and Basra
— a sparsely populated no-man’s-land in the west
Do these ethnic, religious and linguistic (Arabic vs. Kurdish) differences matter? Often, yes. Or, at least, maybe they shouldn’t, but as we’ve learned from historical experience, they just well might.
If we look at this map of Iraq from Lonely Planet you’ll see the nation is in a pretty hopping neighborhood. We have Saudi Arabia to the southwest, Jordan to the West, Syria
to the northwest and a bit of Turkey to the North. Iran, a mainly Shia nation, forms our entire eastern border, with a tiny stretch of the southeast remaining for Kuwait. Each of Iraq’s neighbors has a stake in its continued well-being. Each also has troubles of its own.
Now that we have our bearings, let’s begin.
Iraq as nation formed thousands of years ago to essentially unite the owners of fertile farmland between two celebrated ancient rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates come together. This land–the Greeks called it “Mesopotamia,” which means “between two rivers”–is home to one of the world’s longest known continuous civilizations. For over 10,000 years people have lived and farmed this part of the Middle East, which those who
respect the region’s role in human history call not just “The Fertile Crescent,” but “The Cradle of Civilization.”
Ten thousand years of civilization is a whole lot of civilization. Even in the last five thousand
years, a lot of empires have had the chance to come and go. Among the most notable ancient empires to rule Iraq were:
— the Sumerians
(3500-1750 B.C.): the first known civilization to practice intensive, year-round agriculture, store food and work according to a division of labor. Sumer also developed one of the earliest systems of writing. (Did the Sumerians get their good ideas from aliens?)
— the Akkadians: (2350-2112 B.C.): a Semitic empire including the reign of Sargon the Great, one of the ancient world’s most legendary conquerors, a self-made man whose gardener father–so the legend goes–found him floating as an infant in basket on the river.
— the Babylonians (1792 BC to 563 B.C.):
Descendants of the Akkadians. During the their reign, which included both that of King Hammurabi, who is known for implementing a groundbreaking legal code, to Nebuchadnezzar II (605-563 BC), who is known both for his hanging gardens and for sending the Israelites into exile, Babylon, Iraq, was “the most famous ancient city in the whole world.”
— the Assyrians: (2400 BC to 612 BC):
Also descendants of the Akkadians, they were a Semitic people who were ethnically different from the Jews and Arabs. They also exiled the Jews from Jerusalem. Today Assyrians are primarily Christian.
— the Persians and the Greeks:
(539 BC to 637 AD): We focused on the Persians last week, we’ll focus on the Greeks when we visit Greece.
— the Arabs: (637-1258) We’ll focus on them when we explore Saudi Arabia.
— the Ottomans (1533-1918): During most of their rule Iraq was divided into three sections
because of ethnic and religious differences: Mosul Province, Baghdad Province and Basra Province.
The Ottomans ruled Iraq until they and the Central Powers lost World War I. The British occupied Iraq after the War and the League of Nations granted them formal control. Seeming to give very little thought to Iraq’s different ethnic and religious groups, the British imposed a Hashemite monarchy on the nation under King Faisal I in 1921. The Hashemites are an Arab ruling family whose members claim to be descended from Ali ibn Abi Talib and his wife, Fatima, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. Hashemites have long been important players in the Middle East. They ruled part of what is now Saudi Arabia before the Saud family took over, controlled Iraq (and briefly Syria), and still are the ruling family of Jordan. During the British occupation the Shi’ites in the south and Kurds in the north fought for independence but the Hashemites defeated them.
Iraq became independent when the British Mandate ended in 1932, but that didn’t stop the tumult. During World War II, pro-Nazi military officers took power in a coup, only to have the British quickly defeat them in the Anglo-Iraqi War. The British eventually used Iraq as a base for attacks against the Axis-supporting Syria and for its and the Soviets’ joint invasion of Iran. A military coup led by Colonel Abdul Salam Arif overthrew the Hashemite monarchy in 1958.
In 1961 Britain granted Kuwait its independence; Iraq immediately claimed sovereignty over it and threatened to invade but the British stood in the way. In 1963 Iraq put the Kuwaiti issue on the back burner when the Ba’ath party took over in a coup.
The Ba’aths had begun in the ’40s in Damascus, Syria, as a left-leaning, pan-Arab, Socialist Party, albeit one that was more in tune with independence movements in the Arab world than with Marxism. The Ba’aths in Syria split from those in Iraq, pursuing different shades of Socialist ideology, and have had a rivalry ever since. The primarily Sunni Ba’aths in Iraq became increasingly more statist, increasingly more racist (anti-Persian/anti Shia, specifically, but also anti-Kurd) and increasingly more ruthless in maintaining power. After losing control of Iraq briefly in the mid-’60s Ba’athist Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr took power and kept it until his resignation in July 1979. His successor…? His cousin and Ba’athist co-revolutionary, a mustachioed young general named Saddam Hussein.
Whatever anyone in Iraq may have had to say about Saddam–or, more likely, whatever they thought but in the atmosphere of fear and distrust the Ba’ath party created, were afraid to say–the new political and military commander of Iraq was not shy about making bold (and ultimately disastrous) decisions. Soon after taking power Saddam looked across the border to a revolutionarily chaotic Iran and decided he may have a chance to claim some disputed territory. In 1980 he ordered his troops to invade. For the next eight years Iran and Iraq fought a dismal war. At the end of the war many lives had been lost but no borders changed.
During the Iran-Iraq War, Saddam received military support from the United States, which backed Iraq as a counterbalance against Iran. While receiving U.S. support Saddam not only decimated populations of Kurds and Shiites in Iraq, some using all-important “weapons of mass destruction,” but held all Iraqis under increasingly strict control.
When the Iran-Iraq War ended in 1988 Saddam set his sights on regaining what he considered to be was a lost part of its Iraqi territory. In 1990 Saddam ordered his Army to cross the border with Kuwait to “reclaim” the land. Whether or not the United States had given him permission, international reaction was unfavorable. The United States corralled governments worldwide to support a counter-attack. Anti-war voices rose to support diplomacy and millions around the world protested, rallying around slogans that spoke to the Western powers’ exploitation of the Middle East for its oil. The U.S. and its coalition invaded anyway, and, in what came to be known as The Gulf War, essentially ran Saddam’s troops out of Kuwait in 100 hours. The Coalition decided not to pursue Saddam into Iraq.
After the Gulf War ended the Shia-dominated southern part rose up in a rebellion against Saddam. Kurds in the north did the same. Both have claimed they expected, but did not receive, active U.S. support. Saddam’s loyal Republican Guard was ruthless in its response. Nearly two million Iraqis fled their homes to avoid the fighting. After the rebellion Saddam forcibly relocated the “Marsh Arabs” and literally drained the Iraqi marshlands.
The Coalition’s response was to establish no-fly zones and impose economic sanctions which, whatever their intent, devastated the Iraqi people. (No direct links here because reports about the sanctions and their effects are very much for grown-ups. Do read about the sanctions, especially the “Oil For Food” program, as understanding them is important to appreciating the state of Iraq when the U.S. Coalition entered in 2003). Every so often throughout the ’90s military tensions between Saddam and the U.S. flared up. Very soon (some would say immediately) after the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks in the U.S.,
the United States leadership focused on removing Saddam from power. Though millions around the world yet again protested the impending invasion, in March of 2003 the U.S. led a “Coalition of the Willing” into Iraq, swiftly deposing Saddam. Saddam was tried, and eventually executed, on charges of committing war crimes.
All Around This World isn’t going to editorialize about whether or not the U.S. should have led an invasion of Iraq and we’re not even going to delve into the question of who knew what and when about weapons of mass destruction. There have been, are and will be debates on those points for a long while, and, fortunately or not, those values-based decisions are beyond the scope of even the most values-driven kiddie music class. What All Around This World knows is that life has been very difficult in Iraq since the War began; for many, somehow even more difficult than even the very difficult years preceding it. While active combat has since waned and while many American troops are scheduled to withdraw, Iraq is still a deeply unsettled place. Religious, ethnic and even economic rivalries, the flames of which Iraq’s ruling powers have stoked for centuries as a way to maintain their own power, continue to pose serious threats to the nation’s chance to find internal peace.
One would like to say the future is bright for Iraq and that the Iraqis who have struggled for so long finally will find some well-deserved calm. Maybe Iraq’s next stretch of ten thousand years will be somewhat less eventful than its first…?
