Firdos Square ( ar, ساحة الفردوس, Sāḥat al-Firdaus) is a public open space in central

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. It is named after the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

word ''Firdows'', which means "paradise". The site has been the location of several monumental artworks.

Description

The 17 Ramadan Mosque and two of the best-known hotels in Baghdad, the

Palestine Hotel The Palestine Hotel (Arabic: فندق فلسطين), often referred to simply as ''The Palestine'', is an 18-story hotel in Baghdad, Iraq located on Firdos Square near from Saadon, across from the Ishtar Hotel. It has long been favoured by journa ...

and the

Sheraton Ishtar The Ishtar Hotel is a hotel in Baghdad, Iraq located on Firdos Square. At 99 meters tall, it is the tallest building in Baghdad and the tallest structure in Iraq after the Baghdad Tower. History Named after the ancient goddess Ishtar, the hot ...

, are located on the square. The

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

in the center of Firdos Square has been the site of several monuments beginning with the completion of the monumental arch ''The Unknown Soldier'' in 1959. It was subsequently replaced by the statue of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

that was removed by U.S. coalition forces during the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...

in 2003. A green, abstract

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Bassem Hamad al-Dawiri Bassem Hamad al-Dawiri (died 19 September 2007) was an Iraqi sculptor and artist. He helped create a Baghdad artist association, called the "Survivors' Group" following the fall of the Saddam Hussein government in 2003. Life and career Al-Dawir ...

was commissioned to replace the Saddam statue. In 2009, the architect of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier

Rifat Chadirji Rifat Chadirji ( ar, رفعت الجادرجي ''Rifa'a al-Khādarjī'', also Romanized ''Rifa'at Al Chaderchi''; 6 December 1926 – 10 April 2020) was an Iraqi Turkmen architect. He was often referred to as the father of modern Iraqi architect ...

expressed interest in rebuilding the monument on its original site. As of 2013, the al-Dawiri statue and the surrounding columns have been removed from Firdos Square.

Statue destruction

In April 2002, a statue, designed by Iraqi sculptor, Khalid Ezzat, was erected in honour of

's 65th birthday. In 2003, the statue was pulled down by Iraqi citizens, with the help of American forces during the

in front of a crowd of around a hundred Iraqis. The event was widely televised, and some of this footage was criticized for exaggerating the size of the crowd.

Robert Fisk Robert Fisk (12 July 194630 October 2020) was a writer and journalist who held British and Irish citizenship. He was critical of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, and the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. His stanc ...

described it as "the most staged photo opportunity since

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

Replacement statue

The site of statue now houses a green, abstract sculpture intended to symbolize "freedom", designed by sculptor

and built by a group of artists calling themselves, Najin (The Survivors). The replacement sculpture was constructed quickly and completed within months of its predecessor's removal. Of necessity, the statue makes use of basic construction materials and methods. It is made of painted plaster, seven metres (23 feet) in height and includes a symbolic Iraqi family holding aloft a crescent moon, which represents Islam and the sun representing the ancient Sumerian civilization."New Statue Replaces Saddam", BBC News, 30 May, 200
Online:
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2005 protest

On April 9, 2005, the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the square was the center of a large-scale demonstration from tens of thousands of Iraqis protesting the American occupation. The demonstration was organized by

Moqtada Sadr Muqtada al-Sadr ( ar, مقتدى الصدر, Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr; born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi politician and militia leader. He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies, a successor to the militia he had p ...

, a

Shi'ite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...

cleric, and supported by Sheikh Abd al-Zahra al-Suwaid, a follower of the Green Party. Suwaid was quoted as stating to the gathered "The rally must be peaceful. You should demand the withdrawal of the occupation forces and press for quicker trials for Saddam Hussein and his aides before an Iraqi court."

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Baghdad Monuments and memorials in Iraq Iraq War United States Marine Corps in the Iraq War Squares in Iraq

Description

Statue destruction

Replacement statue

2005 protest

See also

References