Remembering Al Mutanabbi

he history of wars lies amongst the stories of the victors and the defeated, but its true

plight lies in the testimonials of poets and writers. Far from the West’s gratuitous

liberation, Iraqi poets like Shakir Al-Sayyab stand firm in their resistance to preserve

their homeland. 

T“I can almost hear Iraq husbanding the thunder,

Storing lightning in the mountains and plains,

So that if the seal were broken by men

The winds would leave in the valley not a trace of Thamud” 

- Shakir Al-Sayyab, Rain. 

Twenty years have passed since the invasion of Iraq, led by the US forces, causing

destruction and violence, and yet Baghdad’s resilience echoes in the Middle East

reaching the exhibition: Baghdad: An Eye’s delight, in Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art.

One enters the dim lighted and black walled exhibition room only to find themselves

surrounded by contemporary Arab art that pays homage to Baghdad’s intellectual,

artistic, and cultural heritage. 

Remembering Baghdad’s past does not come without opening old wounds for Iraqis, but

artist Ghassan Ghaib pays a tribute to the booksellers, poets, and the literary soul of

Baghdad-Al Mutanabbi Street. 

Homage to al-Mutanabbi Street, Ghassan Ghaib (2007)

Near Al Rasheed Street follows an alley leading to several bookstores and cafes

where men and women drink tea and immerse themselves in a life outside of the

imposed war. Named after a famous 10th century Abbasid-Arab era poet, the street’s

roots can be found in Shabandar cafe where every writer seemed to be drawn like ink to

paper. For locals, this street was home to women like Saswan Al-Sayyab who would go

stationery shopping with her mother in the 70s and 80s and for Al-Sayyab a readership

culture found itself to be a part of every household. 

“Every house would have a big library and people would brag about the books

they collected,” said Al-Sayyab.

The literary scene of Baghdad found its heart in Al Mutanabbi street which has a

history of dissident writers and intellectuals resisting its regime. Although the US forces

invaded Iraq in 2003, the city of the poet’s saw a short period of optimism from 2003-

05 especially in Al Mutanabbi.  

“After 2003, this place [that was male dominated] started becoming more open.

A lot of journalists would be there and one of the biggest things was that women could

sit in a cafe, enjoy a conversation while sipping their tea,” said Al Sayyab. 
 By 2007, the horrific Abu Ghraib files and its circulation across the country and

globally had really tarnished the ‘War on Terror’ plan of the United States. Internal

repressions were on the rise while Americans continued to paint the city red. Till 5th

March 2007 Al Mutanabbi street was still sheltered from the catastrophes of war but

that day changed the way viewed the war. 

For investigative war journalist, Phillip Robertson, the invasion in Iraq was much

more than a Western foreign policy to liberate Iraqis from Saddam’s rule. 

“I blame the United States, I blame ourselves for doing this. I think the

consequence of the war is not simply in the lives lost, but the destruction and loss of

culture,” said Robertson. 

Sometime around noon, on the first Monday of March, a suicide car bomb killed

around 40 civilians and from that day forward, the atmosphere changed. Free exchange

of ideas, political conversations, and writing seemed to be restrained like the thick books

Ghaib piles together with a barbed wire - much like the ones Al-Sayyab saw the last time

she visited in 2009. 

For Loretta Fanzio, curator of Iran and Central Asia at Qatar Museums, the work

of Ghaib was essential to add in the exhibition because of what they had to say about the

suppression of culture. 

Recalling the first time she saw the artwork of Ghaib, “I felt very disturbed

because it seemed as if the books were not burned from the destruction but so alive that

they could explode but something keeps them restrained,” said Fanzio. “[The attack]

was a signal to let the people know that their culture is the target.” 
 As one gazes through the exhibition, the words of Sinan Anton’s letter to Al-

Mutanabbi street grips you 

“Every book is a well

From which we drink 

to your health

Learning how to live

With death

And after it!” 

- Sinan Anton, Iraqi poet

During 2003-2008, Iraq was nothing short of a beetles moment for Robertson once

he met men like Ahmed Dulaimi, a young guitarist for Iraq’s only heavy metal band. 

“Those guys were just made of lions. They were living in this world of complete chaos

and making rock n roll music, just the kind of thing that would piss off the
fundamentalists, but those guys didn’t have any problem with it,” said Robertson

recalling the time they would play music in his hotel room. 

There is a hint of sadism in attacking booksellers and writers, a fear that stories can

be powerful enough to change minds so they must end with the lives of the storytellers. 

Odai Sadick, Iraqi born and News editor at Al Jazeera English, was in Doha at the

time of the attack but he remembers his time with Mohamed Al Khishali, owner of

Shabandar Cafe, who lost four of his sons in the attack. 

“This man is a legend,” said Sadick “He immediately asked who my family was

because he ‘recognized the blood’ and after lots back and forth we found out that he

grew up in the street as my grandfather and grandmother and he took me to the street

where they all grew up and showed me the houses.” 

Today, he is known as the ‘Father of the Martyrs.’

Whichever war of history one turns to, the story tells the tale of either genocide,

bloodshed, or eradication. In Iraq, this attack was an attempt to suppress the

intellectuals.   

“It shifted me absolutely because when finding the bookstores and the poets, one

realizes that the war is not just about winning or losing some insurgent battle, but it is

about the suppression of culture, suppression of brilliant minds in the Arab world,” said

Robertson.  

For Al-Sayyab who left Iraq with her mother in 2006, the attack was an attempt to

eradicate the cultural hub of Iraq 

“I think they wanted to prevent people from having this space where they exchanged

ideas,” said Al-Sayyab. “Because this wasn’t Saddam, these are things made by Iraqis

and [politics] was only an excuse to destroy it.”

 Al Mutanabbi’s scene had changed from here on as Iraqis knew a death threat would

be lurking around the bookstore and any westerner was met with caution. Robertson

knew that being an American journalist meant being seen as those associated with the

occupation forces, whether they were or not, but one thing was sure - no one saw them

as liberators. 

“I remember that with intense shame. I went one more time to the bookshop and I

asked the owner ‘is it because of me. Should I leave?’ and because of Arab politeness, he

said ‘no you can stay for as long as you want’ but he meant leave. That’s what he meant.”

said Robertson. “And they had every right”   

Since much of the destruction and violence in Iraq has been televised, it raises the

question of accountability and responsibility. Robertson sees the relationship of Iraq

and the United States to be a result of fascism. 

“The boundaries between me and an Iraqi poet just fell away and in the end my heart

was completely destroyed,” said Robertson.  However, for Al-Sayyab, “The locals will

always remember the destruction and the lives lost in it,” 

Curator Fazio finds these talks to be unpleasant in the company of Western

politicians because it exposes their deep responsibility with their actions. The efforts of

the exhibition were not only to highlight the level of accountability needed but also to

celebrate the soul of the city. 

As for Al-Mutanabbi, the street has revived its cultural scene and the locals have

illuminated the alley with new lighting system to mimic the former nightlife of the poet’s

street. The legacy of poets such as Badr Shakir Al-Sayyab continues to live in Al-

Mutanabbi. Badr Shakir Al-Sayyab. 

 “It was actually one of my uncle’s poems ‘Rain’ translated in English that we saw in

the bookstore and my friend just took it and said I am going to need it,” laughed Al-

Sayyab thinking about her uncle. 

Ghaib’s work in the exhibition remains to be an ode to the lovers of Al-Mutanabbi as

the thick old book on the front almost seems to have survived the wreckage. It is a

representation of efforts to reclaim the street and preserve the legacy of the poets,

writers, artists, and martyrs