Baghdad honors prized poet Jawahiri with museum

The Baghdad municipality dedicated the house of the late Iraqi poet Muhammad Mahdi Al Jawahiri last Saturday (Aug 13) as a museum to honor his life and work. The poet had left Iraq over four decades ago due to his political stance against the regime of Saddam Hussein.

The city took possession of the house after its heirs relinquished it in 2011 and began a restoration in 2017. Iraq’s acting Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, the Minister of Culture and Mayor of Baghdad all attended the museum’s inauguration.

Al-Kazemi’s office issued a statement to emphasize “the importance of the opening of the Al Jawahiri house to recognize one of the main pillars of poetry and journalism in Iraq.” The house is 500 m2, with a backyard that contains the poet’s possessions, books, photos, studies, and awards he received throughout his career.