Iraqi Culture & Society

Introduction and summary After years of fighting, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIL) control over territory in Iraq has crumbled.1 Yet the fate of Iraq’s religious minorities remains unclear. When it was in control, ISIL treated all populations under its rule with great brutality, but the jihadist group specifically targeted Iraq’s Christian and Yazidi communiti

Mohammad Hassan worries about the steady decline in the number of customers who come to his shop in Baghdad’s Souk al-Safafeer, the legendary copper market in the neighborhood of Bab al-Agha. The shop sports Hassan’s handmade copper products, mostly miniatures of Iraq’s symbols and monuments, such as the palm tree, the Lion of Babylon, the Malwiya Minaret in Samarra and Mosul

With the trials and horrors of sanctions and war retreating into the past, Iraqi artists are looking for their muse and markets as they seek to rebuild a creative culture. NOVEMBER 28, 2017  BAGHDAD—The young Iraqi painter can’t help herself: She loves Iraq, she loves Baghdad, and she is determined to illuminate minds with her art despite monumental challenges. The art mark

BAGHDAD — On Aug. 7, Dhi Qar province, south of Iraq, formed a security force to protect its archaeological sites and monuments. The province is one of Iraq’s richest in archaeological sites, some of which are 7,000 years old. The new force intends to enforce strict security measures to curb antiquities trafficking in areas with considerable archaeological sites. However, l