Singer for the Sunlight poet Jawahri dies
Iraq, People, 7/28/1997

Mohammed Mahdi Al Jawahri, the renowned Iraqi poet whose struggle against repressive regimes led many to call him the "The singer of the sunlight" died on July 27. He was 97.

Jawahri died in Damascus. He had lived in Damascus since the 1970's after fleeing an Iraqi crackdown on dissidents. In l995, Saddam Hussein's government took away his citizenship after he attended a cultural festival in Saudi Arabia.

Jawahri, the last of the classical Arab poets, was born in Najaf to a poor Shiite family in 1900. He soon became famous for his poetry and in his early twenties was a courtier of King Faisal.

But Jawahri left his post to become an independent journalist after disagreements with the monarch. He later used his position at Rail Al Am newspaper to write against the monarchy and its British protectors. He was repeatedly jailed and later fled.

He returned to Iraq after the 1958 army coup but left after disagreements with the government.

He returned again after 1968 coup. Jawahri last fled Iraq in the early 70's, after the regime began a brutal campaign against leftists.

Jawahri had said he wanted to be buried in his birthplace, but it was not clear if Iraq would permit the burial.

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