Ibrahim Ahmad (6 March 1914 – 8 April 2000) (alternatively spelt Ibrahim Ahmed or Ibrahîm Ehmed) ( kmr, Ibrahîm Ehmed, ckb, ئیبراهیم ئهحمهد) was a
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
writer, novelist, judge and translator who founded the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK; ku, یەکێتیی نیشتمانیی کوردستان, translit=Yekîtiya Nîştimanî ya Kurdistanê) is a political party active in Kurdistan Region and the disputed territories in Iraq. The PUK describe ...
in 1975. He is the father-in-law of
Jalal Talabani
Jalal Talabani ( ku, مام جەلال تاڵەبانی, translit=Celal Talebanî; ar, جلال طالباني ; 1933 – 3 October 2017) was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the sixth president of Iraq from 2006 to 2014, as well as ...
and
Abdul Latif Rashid
Abdul Latif Rashid (; born 10 August 1944), also known as Latif Rashid () is an Iraqi Kurdish politician and the ninth president of Iraq, following the 2022 Iraqi presidential election. He was previously the Minister of Water Resources under th ...
through both of his daughters.
Biography
Ahmad was born in
Sulaimaniya
Sulaymaniyah, also spelled as Slemani ( ku, سلێمانی, Silêmanî, ar, السليمانية, as-Sulaymāniyyah), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, not far from the Iran–Iraq border. It is surrounded by the Azmar, Go ...
in the Ottoman Empire and studied
Law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
at the
University of Baghdad
The University of Baghdad (UOB) ( ar, جامعة بغداد ''Jāmi'at Baghdād'') is the largest university in Iraq, tenth largest in the Arab world, and the largest university in the Arab world outside Egypt.
Nomenclature
Both University ...
, graduating in 1937. From 1942 to 1944, he served as a judge in the cities of
Irbil
Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000.
H ...
and
Halabja
Halabja ( ku, هەڵەبجە, Helebce, ) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the capital of Halabja Governorate, located about northeast of Baghdad and from the Iranian border.
The city lies at the base of what is often referred to ...
. In 1939, he, along with
Alaaddin Sajadi, founded the
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
literary periodical ''Gelawêj''. He acted as the publisher and the Editor in Chief of that journal. ''Gelawêj'' was published until 1949. It was during this period that he became involved in politics.
In 1944 he became the head of the local branch of
Komeley Jiyanewey Kurd
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI; ku, حیزبی دێموکراتی کوردستانی ئێران, Hîzbî Dêmukratî Kurdistanî Êran, HDKA; fa, حزب دموکرات کردستان ایران, Ḥezb-e Demokrāt-e Kordest ...
(J.K.) in
Sulaymaniyah
Sulaymaniyah, also spelled as Slemani ( ku, سلێمانی, Silêmanî, ar, السليمانية, as-Sulaymāniyyah), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, not far from the Iran–Iraq border. It is surrounded by the Azmar, Go ...
. Subsequently, this branch evolved to serve the entirety of
Southern Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also incl ...
. When the J.K. changed its name on 16 July 1945, to the
Kurdistan Democratic Party
The Kurdistan Democratic Party ( ku, Partiya Demokrat a Kurdistanê; پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Gov ...
(K.D.P.), Ibrahim Ahmad became its chairman in Iraqi Kurdistan. This branch of the K.D.P. published a magazine titled ''Dengî Rastî'' with Ibrahim Ahmad as editor.
After 1947, he became an active member of the
Kurdistan Democratic Party
The Kurdistan Democratic Party ( ku, Partiya Demokrat a Kurdistanê; پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Gov ...
, and rose to the role of
Secretary General
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
of the party in 1953. In 1949, he was sentenced by a special Iraqi court, established by the royalist regime, to two years of prison in
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 ...
, and two years of local arrest in
Kirkuk
Kirkuk ( ar, كركوك, ku, کەرکووک, translit=Kerkûk, , tr, Kerkük) is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, located north of Baghdad. The city is home to a diverse population of Turkmens, Arabs, Kurds, ...
. From 1949 to 1956, he served as the editor of the K.D.P's newspaper, ''Rizgarî''. The party's newspaper was renamed to ''Xebat'' in 1956 with Ibrahim Ahmed as the editor. In 1964, a political division occurred among the ranks of K.D.P., with Ahmad on one side and
Mustafa Barzani
Mustafa Barzani ( ku, مەلا مستهفا بارزانی, Mistefa Barzanî; 14 March 1903 – 1 March 1979) also known as Mela Mustafa (Preacher Mustafa), was a Kurdish leader, general and one of the most prominent political figures in mode ...
on the other.
This division lead to the formation of
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK; ku, یەکێتیی نیشتمانیی کوردستان, translit=Yekîtiya Nîştimanî ya Kurdistanê) is a political party active in Kurdistan Region and the disputed territories in Iraq. The PUK describe ...
in 1975. After 1975, Ibrahim Ahmed emigrated to
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
as a
political refugee
The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...
. Ibrahim Ahmed started writing novels in Kurdish in 1933. This was an important milestone in Kurdish literature. His most important novel is ''Janî Gel''. It was written in 1956 and is about the Kurdish war of independence, with a nod to the Kurdish situation. When selecting this title, Ibrahim Ahmed was playing on the double meaning of the Kurdish phrase which can mean the agony of giving birth to a child as well as the agony of giving birth to a people or a nation. It was translated into
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and published in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
in 1980, and into
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
and
French in 1994.
Works
Short stories
Ahmad's short stories, articles and poems were published in three different magazines: ''Gelawêj'', ''Hawar'' and ''Jiyan''. He has also published many books.
# ''Yadgarî Lawan'' (Memories of youth), Collection of poem and stories, Baghdad, 1933.
# ''Kwêrewerî'' (Misery), Collection of short stories, Baghdad, 1959.
# ''Bawik û Kur'' (Father and son), short story, published in the magazine ''Çirîkey Kurdistan'', England, 1979.
# ''Pirsey Şehîd'' (The vigil of martyr), short story, published in the magazine ''Çirîkey Kurdistan'', England, 1980.
Novels
# ''Janî Gel'' (The suffering of the people), Novel, 1972, Iraq.
#''Dirk û Gul'' (The thorn and the flower), in two volumes, 1991. (written in 1961)
# ''Awat û Nahumêdî'' (Expectations and Desperation), written in 1933, not been published yet.
#''Herzekarî û Hejarî'' (Negligence and Poverty), written in 1972, unpublished.
#''Jiyan û Xebat'' (Life and Struggle), written in 1961, unpublished.
Articles
# Ibrahim Ahmad, ''The Republic of Kurdistan: A Personal Memoir'', in the
International Journal of Kurdish Studies
The ''International Journal of Kurdish Studies'' () is an academic journal published by the Kurdish Library, and was edited by Vera Beaudin Saeedpour. It publishes scholarly articles about Kurdish culture, literature, and history
History (d ...
, Vol.11, Nos.1-2, 1997, p. 19.
References
*.
Ibrahim Ahmed, The Rebirth of a Kurdish Novelist, The Middle East magazine, November 1996Jana Gel, by Ibrahim Ahmad*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad, Ibrahim
Kurdish-language writers
Kurdish people
Iraqi emigrants to the United Kingdom
1914 births
2000 deaths
20th-century Iraqi writers
Iraqi Kurdistani politicians
University of Baghdad alumni
Kurdish nationalists
20th-century Iraqi novelists
Iraqi short story writers
20th-century Iraqi journalists