IRAQ History e-Newsletter - December 2005

Inside This Issue:

1. IRAQ: Jewish Library’s Fate
2. IRAQ’s Manuscripts Suffer Under Occupation
3. Announcements
4. Introducing the Historians Behind This Newsletter
5. The Purpose of These Monthly E-Newsletters & How To Join This Group List

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1. IRAQ’s Jewish Library’s Fate
Translated to English by Wafaa

آخــر تحديــــث 2004-06-11 الاحتلال يتيح للكيان نقل مكتبة يهودية من العراق عمرها 25 قرناً

كشفت مصادر عراقية أن جهاز الاستخبارات ”الإسرائيلي“ (موساد) تمكن من السيطرة على أكبر مكتبة يهودية أثرية في العراق، كانت محفوظة في دائرة المخابرات العراقية السابقة. وذكرت أن فريقا متخصصا من “الموساد” قام في أبريل/نيسان ،2003 بعد أيام من سقوط النظام العراقي السابق، بالتعاون مع ضباط من وكالة الاستخبارات المركزية الأمريكية “سي.آي.إيه” بالسيطرة على المكتبة اليهودية القديمة في بغداد، التي كانت تخضع لإشراف حكومي برعاية المخابرات العراقية. وتضم المكتبة تحفا نادرة لا تقدر بثمن من كتب التوراة “والتلمود” و”القبالة” و”الزوهار”، المكتوبة على لفائف البردي وجلد الغزال، ويعود تاريخها إلى أكثر من 2500 سنة، وبقيت في العراق منذ السبي البابلي لليهود، إذ قام كتبة يهود في ذلك الوقت بحفظ الكتب اليهودية في العراق، وإعادة كتابة التوراة و”التلمود”.وقالت المصادر إن القوات الأمريكية كانت قد اكتشفت الشخص المسؤول عن هذه المكتبة بعد احتلال العراق، وقامت باصطحابه إلى موقع المكتبة في قبو بدائرة المخابرات العراقية، حيث تم الغوص في الماء للوصول إليها بعد انفجار أنابيب المياه الثقيلة في القبو، وجرى انتشال الكتب من الماء، وكانت بحالة جيدة، ثم تم نقلها بوساطة طائرة في رحلة مباشرة من بغداد إلى تل أبيب .ا

Last Updated November 6, 2004
The [American] occupation allows Israelis to move a 25-Century-old Jewish library from IRAQ

Iraqi intelligence sources disclosed that the Israeli Mossad was able to take over the largest historic Jewish library in Iraq, which was kept in the office of the previous Iraqi intelligence office. They [the Iraqi sources] stated that in April 2003, few days after the fall of Baghdad, a specialized team from the [Israeli] Mossad in collaboration with the [American] C.I.A. took full control of the ancient Jewish library. This library includes invaluable and rare manuscripts and books such as the Talmud, Torah and [other ancient books] from the Babylonian time, during which some Jewish specialists rewrote the Torah and Talmud. The [Iraqi] sources indicated that the C.I.A. discovered the person in charge of the library and accompanied him to the library. Because the water pipes of the intelligence building broke, the water covered the entire library. They were able to scuba dive in the water and confiscate the books from the water, which were in good condition. Then they were taken by airplane from Baghdad to Tel Aviv!


2. IRAQ’s Manuscripts & Books Suffer Under Occupation Translated to English by Wafaa

http://www.asharqalawsat.com/details.asp?section=4&issue=9771&article=320310

خبير يتهم القوات الأميركية بالسطو على مخطوطات عراقية
أكد أن بين المنهوبات مصحفا بخط الإمام علي ولفائف لأسفار التوراة

29 اغسطس 2005 العدد 9771

القاهرة ـ رويترز: قال خبير في المخطوطات العراقية ان مسؤولين أميركيين نقلوا الى بلادهم مجموعة من المخطوطات العراقية منها لفائف جلدية لأسفار التوراة بعد سقوط بغداد في ابريل (نيسان) 2003، غير مبالين بتحذيرات العراقيين من سعي اسرائيل لحيازتها.ا
وقال أسامة ناصر النقشبندي، ان القوات الأميركية عثرت بعد احتلال بغداد على كمية من المخطوطات والكتب منها لفائف جلدية لأسفار التوراة موضوعة داخل اسطوانات خشبية في أحد مخازن جهاز المخابرات السابق «فاستولت عليها ووضعتها في شاحنة كبيرة مكيفة».ا
وأضاف النقشبندي الذي تولى منصب مدير عام المخطوطات العراقية منذ تأسيسها عام 1988 حتى عام 2002، أن خبراء من دار المخطوطات والمتحف العراقي قدموا تقريرا الى هيئة الآثار شدد على أنها «مواد تراثية يشملها قانون الآثار ويجب أن تسلم الى هيئة الآثار والتراث»، ولم يبال بهم أحد.ا
وقال في دراسة عنوانها (استهداف المخطوطات في العراق خلال الحرب 1991 ـ 2003) ونشرت الدراسة أمس في العدد الجديد من مجلة «تراثيات» نصف السنوية التي يصدرها مركز تحقيق التراث في دار الكتب والوثائق القومية بالقاهرة، ان ممثل وزارة الدفاع الاميركية (البنتاغون) الدكتور اسماعيل حجارة، وهو أميركي الجنسية «أرسل من أميركا للاشراف على هيئة الآثار والتراث كان وراء نقلها الى أميركا فحاولت اقناعه بعدم الموافقة لأن اسرائيل تسعى للاستحواذ على الاسفار اليهودية منذ السبعينيات وهي بأقلام مشاهير الخطاطين اليهود في بغداد فلم يكترت. ونقلت هذه المجموعة خلسة الى نيويورك».ا
وأضاف أنه بعد مرور شهر على نقل لفائف التوراة الجلدية الى أميركا «طلب مني الكولونيل مكدونس قائد مفرزة القوات الأميركية التي أرسلت لحماية المتحف العراقي بعد أن نهب، الكشف على المخطوطات الموجودة في الملجأ، فطلبت منه حضور بعض الفضائيات العربية والأجنبية لتصوير عملية فتح الملجأ والكشف عن صناديق المخطوطات المحفوظة فيه. واطلعوا على الكمية الهائلة من المخطوطات. تم تصوير بعضها للتأكد من أنها مخطوطات وليست صواريخ أو ما شابه ذلك لحماية الملجأ من التعرض للدمار».ا

وروى النقشبندي كيف استطاع الأهالي التصدي لمحاولات الأمركيين شحن المخطوطات بعد أن أوضح لهم أنها «تمثل تاريخهم وتراثهم الفكري والحضاري ومن بينها مصحف كريم نسبت كتابته للامام علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه فهاجت الجموع وبدأوا بالاحتجاج والهتاف ، وقال ان «الكولونيل أصر على نقل هذه المخطوطات التي تبلغ نحو 50 ألفا الى مقرهم، وعجز خبراء المخطوطات العراقيون عن منعه، وأحضر الأمركيون خمس شاحنات كبيرة وعددا من الدبابات والآليات العسكرية وعشرات الجنود الأميركيين، و تجمع أمام الملجأ مئات العراقيين، وأبدوا معارضتهم لتسليم المخطوطات الى الأميركان، فعرض الكولونيل مبلغ خمسة دولارات لكل شخص يشارك في نقل صندوق فرفض المواطنون».ا

An Expert Accuses the American Forces of Iraqi Manuscripts Burglary
Among The Stolen Manuscripts were an Ancient Torah and Imam Ali’s Hand Written Qur’an
August 29, 2005

Cairo – Reuters

An expert in Iraqi manuscripts said that the Americans robbed a bunch of manuscripts in April 2003, which included a Torah [written] in leather and did not care about Iraqi warnings that Israel has been working to get them.

Usama An-Naqshabandi said that the American Forces, following the occupation of Baghdad, found a variety of manuscripts and books that included a Torah made of leather and placed in a wooden cylindrical [container] in one of the storages of the past Iraqi intelligence building, and that “they took and placed them in a large air-conditioned tanker.”

An-Nakecbandi, who assumed the post of director general of Iraqi manuscripts since its founding in 1988 until the in 2002, added that experts from Manuscripts Center and Iraqi Museum submitted a report to the Antiquities Committee and stressed that they are «heritage materials covered by the law and must be delivered to the Antiquities and Heritage Committee», but no one paid attention to them.

He [An-Naqshabandi] wrote in a study entitled, “Striving for Iraqi Manuscripts During the War 1991-2003,” which was published yesterday in the new issue of the semi-annual Turathiyyaat Magazine, produced by the Center for Heritage Analyses of the National Book and Manuscript House in Egypt, that the representative of the American Defense Ministry (Pentagon) Dr. Ismael Hajjara (who is an American citizen) “was sent from the States to supervise the Committee of Archaeology and Heritage who was behind transferring them [the manuscripts] to the U.S.. I tried to convince him not to transfer them because Israel has been trying hard to get these ancient Jewish manuscripts, by famous Jewish calligraphers in Baghdad, since the 1970s, but he didn’t care. So they were taken secretly to NY.

An-Naqshabandi stated how Iraqis were aware and able to interfere with the American attempts to deliver the manuscripts [out of Iraq] after they realized these manuscripts and books represent their history and cultural heritage; amongst them was a Qur’an written by Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib [Cousin of the Prophet Muhammad]. So they began yelling in protest.

Then he said, “the colonel insisted on transferring 50,000 manuscripts to their [American] headquarter. Iraqi manuscripts specialists failed to stop him. Then the Americans brought five large tankers and few military tanks and equipment and tens of American soldiers, while hundreds of Iraqi civilians gathered in front of the shelter [where the manuscripts are kept] and protested against the transfer of the manuscripts. It was then when the colonel offered five dollars to each Iraqi who participate in moving a box, but they all refused.”


Note: The fifth paragraphs of this article were not translated to English.

If anyone knows how I can reach Dr. Ismael Hajjara of the Pentagon and Usama An-Naqshabandi in Baghdad, please email us at historyofiraq@gmail.com  I hope to interview them.


3. Announcements

1. Visit Our Iraq History New Blog at http://iraqshistory.blogspot.com/

2. Research Project: Arab Women Musicians in Pre-Islamic & Medieval Times
This is part of a one-year research on Arab women musicians by Wafaa, which she hopes to publish by the end of 2006!

Ra’iqa was a famous pagan singer in pre-Islamic time. She taught well-known Azza Al-Mailaa’ among other musicians. Arabic music and musicians’ accomplishments preceded Islam by at least a millennium.

The Arabs and Persians possessed a theory of music long before they became influenced by the translations made from the Greek at the end of the 8th century and beginning of the 9th century under Islam. By the end of the 9th century, the effects of the writings of ancient Greeks on music, which has been translated into Arabic, began to be felt. The Science of Music now became one of the courses of ('uloom riyadhiyya) the quadrivium or mathematical sciences, and was studied by most scholars during this period.

There are many misconceptions this research (on Arab women musicians) will correct:
* That Arabic music (like all aspects of Arab history) began with Islam.
* That there were NO or very few Arab women musicians in pre-Islamic and/or medieval-Islamic times.
* That Arabic music did not have harmony, and that the latter is a western invention!

In addition, the research will highlight the accomplishments of many Arab women musicians. It will include anecdotes and biographies of post-Islam Arab women musicians such as Akeela, Atika, Atarred, Azza Al-Mailaa’, Bazbaz, Farida, Hababa, Hamdoona, Hind, Jameela, Khalida, Khoula, Qamar, Rabi’a, Selma Al-Qass, Salma Az-Zarqaa’ and others. In this male-dominated, war-driven world, documenting such unique information is a MUST.

If you are interested and would like to volunteer your time participating in this research beginning in 2006, please email us at INEAS_1994@yahoo.com

Included below are excerpts from a book mentioning an Arab (woman) musician and singer.

Music: The Priceless Jewel From the book “Kitab al’iqd al-Farid” of Ibn Abd Rabbihi (d. 940)
Edited & Translated by Henry George Farmer, D. Lit. Ph.D.
Pages 24-27

He [i.e. the narrator] said, “And there stood by him a woman, and around him were the disciples. Then she said, ‘you are he who is called The Virtuous Man, and it was you who said: “When I find the fire of my love in my heart, I take myself to the common water-carrier for coolness. Granted I have been cooled by the external water, but who can avail against a fire in the vitals? Nay, by Allah, [she said], no virtuous man ever said.”

He [the narrator] said, “ ‘abd ar-Rahman [Ibn Abi Ammar], nicknamed Al-Qass, was with the people of Mecca, in the same rank as Ata Ibn Abi Rabbah in piety. And one day he passed by [the dwelling of] Sallama [t al-Qass], and she was singing. So he stood to listen to her singing. And her master [Suhail Ibn Abdal Rahman Ibn Auf] saw him, and said to him, ‘would you care to come in and listen? He refused. Then the master so insisted until he went in. And he [the master] said to him, ‘I will put you in a place where you will see her but she will not see you.’ Then she sang to him and delighted him. Then her master said to him, “would you like that I should bring her to you?” He refused that. But he [the master] insisted until he consented. So he continued listening to her fixing his gaze upon her, until he fell in love with her. And when she perceived his Gazing at her, she sang to him:

“Many a time two messengers have sent us
A missive before they departed.
They used neither shoe nor hoof,
Nor a tongue eloquent of love,
Until they departed with their answer,
Having ensured success by the propitious omen,
We both exchanged glances,
Which pled for a decision being explicit.”

He [the narrator] said, “Then he [the listener] fainted and almost perished. Then she [the singer] said to him, “One day, by Allah, I love thee! He said to her, ‘And by Allah I love thee.’ She said, ‘I wish that I could kiss you’. He said, “And by Allah, I also.’ She said, ‘And what prevents you from that?’ He said, ‘I fear that the friendship that is between you and me should become enmity on the day of resurrection. Have you not heard Allah Most High say, the intimate friend, on that day [shall be] enemies unto one another: except the pious? Then he rose up and returned to the manner of life in which he was engaged, and he improvised saying:

“I was blaming for folly her people,
And was astonished at what the day brought.
But today I excuse them, and know that path of peccability*
And rectitude are but parts [of a whole]”

And about her [he said]:

Verily [‘t was] Sallama who
Caused me to lose my hardihood
If you saw her lute (‘oud),
When it appears and she begins [to perform]
To the two Jarirs and Al-Gharidh
And to the master Ma’bad,
You would think that they were amidst her lute,
And the frets, and the hand [which played over them]


Note: The anecdote above does not include the important footnotes as they appear in the book.

* The capability of sinning.

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4. Introducing the Historians Behind This Newsletter

http://iraqshistory.blogspot.com/2005/12/iraqhistory-e-newsletter-contributors.html



5. The Purpose of the IRAQ History Monthly e-Newsletters & How to Join the Group List!

This group focuses on documenting and discussing various fields in IRAQ's history (politics, sciences, religions, law, the arts and other areas). The IRAQ History Group consists of a Writing/Editing Team made of historians and scholars and of Translating Team made of researchers and translators (translating from and to Arabic). The group's e-newsletters will be sent to the group list subscribers on monthly bases. The purpose of the group list goes beyond documenting to encourage discussions on regular (not daily) bases and the exchange of information and announcements. Those interested in learning about and/or in discussing IRAQ's history are welcome to subscribe, but subscribing to the list does not mean participation in the writing/editing of IRAQ's history.

These e-newsletters will eventually be posted on a special website/blog for Internet use. We hope to receive grants/contributions to be able to compensate historians/scholars of the writing/editing team should we invite them to participate in events related to IRAQ's history or for writing essential studies/essays for the purpose of publishing them in journal/book forms and not placed freely on the Internet.

We appreciate your recommendation of two non-Moslem Iraqi women historians to join the writing/editing team.

The IRAQ History Group List was initiated and launched by Wafaa, an independent writer, editor, translator and an art researcher and critic.

Writing/Editing Team (in First-Name Alphabetical Order):

Prof. Abdul Jabbar Naji

Anees Al-Qaisy

Aseel Nasir Dyck

Dr. Mahmood Al-Qaisy

Nahar Mohammed Nuri

Saba Hussein Al-Moula

Dr. Sinan Sadiq Az-Zaidy

Dr. Suhaila Shindi Al-Badri

Tariq Majeed

Translating/Research Team:

Hanan Mohammed Mahdi

Wafaa, IRAQ History Group List Moderator

IRAQ History: November 2005 e-Newsletter

1. IRAQ's Modern History
The Arab Majority and The Minorities
By Aseel Nasir Dyck

The policy of "Divide and Rule" is unfortunately alive and well and has been used by all imperialists down the ages. The British used it well in Iraq and played off tribe against tribe, Arab against Kurd, Sunnis against Shiites, farmers against landowners and merchants, and so on. We rarely hear nowadays that Iraq is predominately an Arab country with ethnic and religious minorities, which is the case in most countries in the world in that there tends to be a majority ethnic group and a minority of other diverse communities. We have to thank such quislings like Kenan Makiyya, a shameless Iraqi who encourages the U.S. occupiers of Iraq to institute a new state with no mention of "Arab" in it! He wants to "de-Arabize" the new Iraq.

Historically the Christians of Iraq were primarily Syriac-speaking and the majority was referred to in Church history as the Nestorians. Nestorius was a bishop of Antioch who was elected as Patriarch of Constantinople in the 5th century A.D. At one of the Ecumenical Councils of early Christianity where Christian doctrines were being codified, Nestorius refused to accept the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was the Mother of God. He was condemned by the Council and exiled to Petra where he died. His followers were called Nestorians, although they themselves refused that appellation because it carried with it the stigma of heresy. Indeed, they referred to themselves as "The East Syrian Church". They have a noble and important role in the Abbasid state in culture and science.

As for the terms "Assyrians" and "Chaldaeans," which are used to describe non-Arab Christians (other than Armenians), there is absolutely no historical reference of their association with the Assyrians and Chaldaeans of ancient Mesopotamia. The first reference to such an association began in the 19th century when British Protestant missionaries tried to gain religious influence as part of the general rivalry of Protestant and Catholic missionaries in the area. Previously, the Catholic missionaries in the Middle East as a whole, including Iraq, had succeeded in the 16th century A.D. in converting some of the Orthodox churches' membership to the Catholic Church. These Uniate communities ---in union with Rome--- were the Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox and the independent Nestorians/Assyrians. In exchange for recognizing the Pope in Rome as leader of the Church, they were able to maintain their ancient apostolic liturgies, rites, and customs such as the marriage of priests. Now when British travelers and Protestant missionaries such as Layard, Badger, Wingate and others passed through what is now modern Iraq on their overland route to India and discovered the existence of the East Syrian Church members or Nestorians, they praised them as "the first Protestants". They named the original Nestorians --Assyrians-- and named the majority Catholic or Uniate Nestorians -- Chaldaeans. This is the earliest reference to them by these terms. In Iraq's modern history, those who became known as Chaldaeans tend to use Arabic and identify with Arabs. However, the indigenous Assyrians from Turkey and Iran who were settled in Iraq by the British during World War I wanted to have temporal (political) as well as religious authority as in the old "millet" system of the now defunct Ottoman Empire. Moreover, their leadership did not want to be part of Iraq under King Faisal I, but rather have an independent state of their own carved from Iraq. Such a crisis arouses in Iraq in the 1930s and led to a bloody fight between armed Assyrians and the Iraqi army headed by the Kurd Bakr Sidqi. This is another story Kenan Makiyya chose to twist and distort in his writings. He needs a history lesson---since that is not his field!

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The IRAQHistory e-Newsletter's Contributors

The Historians Behind the IRAQHistory e-Newsletter


Prof. Abdul Jabbar Naji is the chairman of the Historical studies Dept. He earned B.A. and M.A. in history from Baghdad University and Ph.D. from London University (SOAS) in 1970. Part of his research is on Iraq Urbanization during Medieval period. Since 1970, he has been teaching Iraqi history at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition to publishing and translating numerous books on history in Arabic, he is currently working on editing some of the volumes of the, "Baghdad in The Works of Foreign Travelers From the 15th Century till 1958," as well as contributing on the Iraqi scholars of medicine during medieval period. Country of Residency: IRAQ


Anees Al-Qaisy, born in Baghdad, Iraq, has a BA degree in history (1991) from the University of Baghdad, College of Arts, and an MA in 1998. His MA thesis entitled, "Sultan Abdul Hamid II and the Zionist Aspirations in Palestine 1876-1909." From 2001 to 2003, Al-Qaisy worked in Baytul-Hikmah. Jointly with Prof. Abdul Jabbar Naji, he is working to publish a book entitled, "Baghdad: How It Is Seen by Foreign Travelers 1600-1900," including a comprehensive encyclopedia of about 6 or 7 volumes on Baghdad since its foundation in 762 CE (145 AH) till the present. In 2002, he started his (PhD) study at the University of Baghdad. His dissertation's title was "The Ottoman Naval Activity in Mediterranean during the 16th Century". Country of Residency: IRAQ

Aseel Nasir Dyck contributed to the November e-newsletter only and does not wish to continue.


Mahmood Al-Qaisy, born in Baghdad, IRAQ in1968. He earned his BA in history from the College of Arts, University of Baghdad in 1989 and earned his MA in history at the same College. The title of his MA thesis was "The commercial and Political Activity of the English East India Company in India 1600-1660 CE" His PhD's thesis title "The External Relations of the Carolingian State During the Reign of Charlemagne 768-814 CE" was published at the same College in 2005. Since 1995 he has been teaching at the University of Tikreet and the University of Baghdad. His fields of specialization and scientific research are in medieval European history, European renaissance, modern American history and philosophy of history. He is a member of the Union of Arab Historians and the Iraqi Historical Society. Country of residency: IRAQ


Dr. Modhaffar Amin has a Ph.D. in modern history of Iraq from the University of Durham, UK in 1980. His thesis was translated to Arabic and published in Beirut, 2001. He co-authored the book al-iraq fi al-tarikh or "Iraq in the History" and participated in the writing of mawsuat tarikh al-iraq or "The Encyclopedia of IRAQI History". In 2005, he participated in writing a paper on the “The Early Death of King Faisal and Its Effect on The Future of the Monarchy in IRAQ” at a conference in Amman organized by the Royal Institute of Inter-faith Studies (RIIFS). Country Residency: UK


Nahar Mohammed Nuri has a BA degree from the Department of History, College of Arts, University of Baghdad in 1999. He completed his MA degree at the same College in 2003. Mr. Nuri's thesis focused on "The Political Developments in Cyprus 1878-1914". Currently he is working on the studies of globalization, orientalism and some aspects of Iraqi history. He is a member in the Union of Arab Historians. Country of Residency: IRAQ


Saba Hussein Al-Maowlaa , born in Baghdad, Iraq, earned a bachelor degree in history from the University of Baghdad and an M.A. from Al-Mustansiriyya University. Her MA thesis focused on the development of commerce in Iraq from 1914 to 1921. At the University of Baghdad, she is currently working on her Ph.D. thesis, "As-Shaikh Zaayid Bin Sultan wa Dawruhu Fee Al-Qathaayaa al-Arabiyya," or "The Role of Sheikh Zayid Bin Sultan in Arab Causes." She now teaches at Al-Mustansiriyya University. Country of Residency: IRAQ


Dr. Sinan Sadiq Hussein Al-Zaidi has earned an M.A. in modern history from Baghdad university in 2001. The title of his MA thesis was on "Policy of US towards Egypt 1952-1956" He earned his Ph.D. from Baghdad University in 2005. The focus of his thesis was "Policy of the US towards Iraq 1958 - 1963" He currently teaches at the College of Education, Al-Mustansiria University. Country of Reisdency: IRAQ


Dr. Suhaila Shindi Al-Badri was born in Baghdad, Iraq. She earned a BA in 1988. Her MA thesis entitled, "Yahoodul Maghribil Aqsaa Wa Dawruhum Assiyaasee Wal Iqtisaadi 1912-1956," or "The Political and Economic Role of Moroccan Jews 1912-1956" was completed in 1998. Dr. Al-Badri's Ph.D., which she finalized in 2005, focused on William Gladstone and the Irish case from 18-68-1894. Country of Reisdency: IRAQ


Tariq Majeed has two masters degrees in modern history of Iraq and is currently working on his thesis focusing on Iraqi-British Relations During The Arif Presidency. He has been compiling documentations pertaining Iraq during the Ottoman and British colonization. Majeed has published a book in 2002 entitled, "Adduktour Najee Al-Aseel: Dublumasiyyan Ra'idan wa Mofakkiran Hadhaariyyan" or "Dr. Naji Al-Aseel: A Pioneer Diplomat and Thinker" in Arabic by Baytul Hikma Publishing Center. He is a member of the Union of Arab Historians, The Association of Iraqi Teachers and an Active member in the Iraqi History Society. Country of Residency: IRAQ