Iraq’s Mosul revives shattered cultural scene with traditional music festival

For those trying to salvage Mosul’s artistic scene, the festival marked an important milestone in the city’s healing process. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 15 April 2022
Follow

Iraq’s Mosul revives shattered cultural scene with traditional music festival

  • The festival featured performers from different cultures and ethno-religious backgrounds
  • Music and the arts were brutally suppressed during Daesh’s four-year rule over Mosul

MOSUL, Iraq: Five years since the battle to dislodge Daesh from Iraq’s northern city of Mosul, a four-day festival of traditional music has taken place with the aim of salvaging the region’s shattered arts scene and promoting cultural coexistence.

The festival, which ran from March 24 to 27 with the support of UNESCO, featured musicians from Mosul and the surrounding province of Nineveh, together with several visiting performers from Europe and further afield.

“It was a dream to have a festival like this,” Khalid Alrawi, an oud player from Mosul, told Arab News. “I hope this kind of festival continues in future. We look forward to it becoming an annual festival, expanded with more activities.”




The festival featured musicians from Mosul and the surrounding province of Nineveh. (AFP)

Besides seeking to revive the city’s once flourishing music scene, ruined by war and the flight of artists abroad, organizers wanted to reflect the region’s true cultural vibrancy and diversity, unbowed by Daesh extremism.

“A new culture of music is here,” Harth Yasin, the festival’s coordinator, told Arab News. “This event will open the door to tourists and let others know more about the city of Mosul, and it will create opportunities for our young talented musicians and artists.”




Seventeen acts took part in the festival, together reflecting the region’s broad ethnic and religious makeup. (AFP)

Seventeen acts took part in the festival, together reflecting the region’s broad ethnic and religious makeup, including Arabs, Kurds, Turkman, Assyrians, and others. The festival also featured performances by musicians from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Nepal.

“We hope there are more events like this with more support in the future in the places that represent the culture and history of Mosul,” Yasin said.




Daesh was dislodged from Iraq’s northern city of Mosul five years ago. (AFP)

Daesh seized control of Mosul and large swathes of Nineveh in June 2014, imposing its extreme interpretation of Islam on the population, which stamped out cultural activities that did not fall in line with the group’s rigid ideology.

In July 2017, after nine months of ferocious urban warfare, the government in Baghdad formally declared Mosul had been liberated, depriving Daesh of its last major stronghold in Iraq.

Victory, however, came at a great cost to the city’s infrastructure and proud identity. Since then, governments and aid agencies have funded projects to help rebuild the precious architecture of the historic old city and its surrounding districts.

Recovering from this period of darkness will take many years, as displaced communities try to salvage their homes and restart the local economy. But, thanks to festivals like this one, color is slowly returning to daily life.




Organizers wanted to reflect the region’s true cultural vibrancy and diversity, unbowed by Daesh extremism. (AFP)

“Mosul was closed to the world. No one knew anything about it. Now, they will know it better,” Talal Al-Shimali, president of the Musical Association’s Nineveh branch, told Arab News.

“It is a very important event here in Mosul. It will strengthen the music scene, and encourage musicians and artists in Mosul to develop and engage with other cultures and music. It is a good initiative, it will benefit the city and its people. The festival represents all voices and the music of all ethnicities and minorities in Mosul.




In July 2017, after nine months of ferocious urban warfare, the government in Baghdad formally declared Mosul had been liberated. (AFP)

“My message to all is to support music in Mosul. Mosul city is tired and needs more support. We ask all international organizations to support and help Mosul. Music in Mosul has been dying day by day over the last couple of years. We can still save it with the help of international and local organizations in Mosul.”

For those trying to salvage Mosul’s artistic scene, the festival marked an important milestone in the city’s healing process.

“Art is the substance of community, economic development, and the backbone of society,” Basma Al-Hussiani, founder of the Iraqi Al-Amal Association, told Arab News.

“Art is fundamental for everything here. That is why I tell everyone who is working toward rebuilding Mosul — let art be a big part of it.”


At least 58 corpses found in Libyan hospital, ministry says

Updated 6 sec ago
Follow

At least 58 corpses found in Libyan hospital, ministry says

  • The corpses found on Monday are the second set of unidentified remains discovered in recent days

TRIPOLI: At least 58 unidentified corpses were found on Monday in a hospital in Tripoli that was under the control of a militia whose leader was killed last week, the interior ministry said.
The corpses were found in a morgue refrigerator in Abu Salim Accidents Hospital in the densely populated Abu Salim neighborhood, following a report from the hospital, the ministry said in a statement.
Pictures of corpses with numbers and censored faces were posted by the ministry, showing remains in various states of decomposition on steel carriers and beds. Some of the remains were burnt. An investigation was underway to establish the identities of the deceased.
“So far, 23 corpses have been examined, and all necessary legal procedures have been taken, including documenting data and collecting samples,” the ministry said.
Abu Salim was home to a militia known as the Stabilization Support Apparatus, whose chief, Abdulghani Kikli, widely known as Ghaniwa, was killed in unconfirmed circumstances last Monday.
Kikli’s killing led to the sudden defeat of the SSA by factions aligned to internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
On Tuesday, Dbeibah ordered armed groups to be dismantled, triggering the fiercest clashes Tripoli had seen in years between two armed groups. The clashes killed at least eight civilians, according to the United Nations.
The corpses found on Monday are the second set of unidentified remains discovered in recent days. On Saturday, officials said nine corpses had been found in a morgue refrigerator in Al-Khadra hospital, another SSA-controlled hospital in the Abu Salim neighborhood.
The militia had not reported the corpses to the relevant authorities, the interior ministry said.
Dbeibah said on Saturday that eliminating militias was an “ongoing project,” as a ceasefire after last week’s clashes remained in place.
The GNU posted a video on Monday showing bulldozers demolishing the so-called 77 camp, one of the biggest facilities that was under control of SSA. The camp is to be turned into a national park.
Libya has had little stability since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising ousted longtime autocrat Muammar Qaddafi. The country split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions, though an outbreak of major warfare paused with a truce in 2020.


Netanyahu says UK-French-Canada condemnation gives ‘huge prize’ to Hamas

Updated 20 May 2025
Follow

Netanyahu says UK-French-Canada condemnation gives ‘huge prize’ to Hamas

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday hit back at condemnation of his country’s military offensive in Gaza by the leaders of France, Canada and Britain saying they had given a “huge prize” to Hamas.
“By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities,” Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to the October 2023 attack that set off the Gaza war.


Palestinian hospital chief calls for pressure on Israel

Updated 20 May 2025
Follow

Palestinian hospital chief calls for pressure on Israel

HELSINKI: An East Jerusalem hospital chief told AFP on Monday that Gaza was in a “catastrophic” state after weeks of a complete blockade of humanitarian aid and called on countries to act to end the suffering of civilians.
Fadi Atrash, chief executive of the Augusta Victoria-Hospital in East Jerusalem — which helps Palestinians from the occupied territories and Gaza — said he could no longer “find the words” to describe the crisis faced by people in war-torn Gaza.
“We are facing a very, very critical and catastrophic situation,” he said, with all components of the health care system destroyed, and health care workers “running out of energy.”
Augusta Victoria, which had a hospital in Gaza that has been destroyed in Israeli bombings now provides health care in Gaza with the limited resources available, Atrash said.
Atrash visited Finland — which has not recognized Palestine as a state — on Monday as part of a tour of the Nordic countries.
“My main message for the Nordic countries is to put pressure to stop the war, to stop the killing.”
Humanitarian food, medical and fuel supplies have been blocked from entering Gaza for 11 weeks, and the World Health Organization has warned that two million people face starvation.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb joined other European leaders on Monday to call on Israel to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Stubb also said “forced displacement of populations is a war crime and cannot form part of any solution,” in a post on X.
Israel this month approved an expanded military offensive in Gaza but has agreed to let limited aid into Gaza.


Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

Updated 20 May 2025
Follow

Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

GAZA CITY: A Gaza civil defense official said that 91 people were killed in strikes and attacks throughout Monday as Israel steps up an offensive in the Palestinian territory.
The deaths had been recorded since the early hours of Monday, according to Mohammed Al-Mughayyir, an official in the civil defense agency of the Hamas-run territory. The department had earlier given a toll of 52 dead.


Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

Updated 20 May 2025
Follow

Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

SANAA: Yemen’s Houthis said Monday that they would target Haifa port in Israel as part of a “naval blockade” in response to Israeli escalation in the Gaza war.
The Houthis would “begin working to enforce a naval blockade of the port of Haifa,” said military spokesman Yehya Saree.
“All companies with ships present in or heading to this port are hereby notified that, as of the time of this announcement, the aforementioned port has been included in the target bank,” the Houthi spokesman added.
The move was “in response to the Israeli enemy’s escalation of its brutal aggression against our people and in Gaza,” he said, adding their attacks on Israel would “cease once the aggression on Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted.”
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will “take control” of the whole of Gaza, as rescuers reported dozens killed in a newly intensified offensive.