Ibrahim Ahmed: Remembering Great Kurdish Intellectual & Politician

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Great Kurdish figure Ibrahim Ahmed.

Today, 8 April 2025, is the anniversary of the passing of renowned Kurdish politician, struggler, and writer Ibrahim Ahmed, father of the former and current Iraqi first ladies, Hero Ibrahim Ahmed and Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed. Ahmed died in London on 8 April 2000, at the age of 86, following decades of fighting for his people's righteous cause, leaving a legacy of literary treasures. 

Ibrahim Ahmed was born on 6 March 1914, into a well-known family in Sulaymaniyah. He studied law at the University of Baghdad and graduated in 1937.

Ibrahim Ahmed continues to be a symbol of the political and cultural movements, as well as a major pillar of literary innovation. He was interested in politics from a young age, and he was a key figure in the 6 September 1930 uprising in Sulaymaniyah alongside fellow poet Fayaq Bekas. From here, his struggle began, lasting seven decades, with enormous sacrifices and generous contributions to his people.

He also played a crucial part in inciting the residents of Sulaymaniyah to demand acknowledgement of the Kurdish people's national rights in the 1930 treaty signed by the British and Iraqi governments during the 6 September 1930 uprising. However, the ruling authorities of the time replied to the masses' demands in an aggressive and violent manner, resulting in the bloody events known as the Battle of Sara in Sulaymaniyah, in which citizens of all backgrounds took part. The violence killed and injured fifty civilians.

Ahmed began his journalism career at the age of 18, with articles published in the Kurdish newspaper "Zhian." Between 1939 and 1949, Ahmed, along with Alaaddin Sajadi, published the magazine "Galawezh." He also owned and served as editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Kurdistan." He then launched a magazine named "Rizgari." He also secured a licence for "Khabat," a newspaper that he owned and edited. 

Under martial law in late 1948, he was sentenced by a special Iraqi court, established by the royalist regime, to two years in jail, which he spent at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, and two years of local arrest in Kirkuk. Despite the persecution, he remained persistent, determined, and committed to noble patriotic and humanitarian principles.

He was among the first politicians imprisoned during Iraq's monarchy rule for his tireless political and literary activity. He continued to write political commentary, including editorials for Kurdish newspapers. The Iraqi government shut down Khabat and Kurdistan publications in 1961, and Ibrahim Ahmed was detained again.

In 1944 he became the head of the local branch of Komeley Jiyanewey Kurd in Sulaymaniyah. Subsequently, this branch evolved to serve the entirety of the Kurdistan Region. When the Komeley Jiyanewey Kurd later changed its name to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

Ahmed, along with a handful of activists and comrades, formed the KDP in 1946 to advocate for Kurdish national rights in Iraq. At the second KDP Congress, he was elected Secretary-General by a majority vote and served in that capacity until 1961.

Following the events of 14 July 1958, and the fall of Iraq's monarchy, he led a Kurdish delegation to Baghdad to meet with prominent authorities and defend Kurdish rights, and to also include Kurdish rights in the new Iraqi constitution.

In 1964, a political division occurred among the ranks of KDP, with Ahmed on one side and Mustafa Barzani on the other.

This division lead to the formation of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in 1975. After 1975, Ibrahim Ahmed migrated to the United Kingdom as a political refugee. 

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, 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 and published in Iran in 1980, and into Turkish and French in 1994.

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.
1.    Yadgarî Lawan (Memories of Youth), Collection of poems and stories, Baghdad, 1933.
2.    Kwêrewerî (Misery), Collection of short stories, Baghdad, 1959.
3.    Bawik û Kur (Father and Son), short story, published in the magazine Çirîkey Kurdistan, England, 1979.
4.    Pirsey Şehîd (The Vigil of Martyr), short story, published in the magazine Çirîkey Kurdistan, England, 1980.


Novels

1.    Janî Gel (The Suffering of the People), Novel, 1972, Iraq.
2.    Dirk û Gul (The Thorn and the Flower), in two volumes, 1991. (written in 1961)
3.    Awat û Nahumêdî (Expectations and Desperation), written in 1933, not been published yet.
4.    Herzekarî û Hejarî (Negligence and Poverty), written in 1972, unpublished.
5.    Jiyan û Xebat (Life and Struggle), written in 1961, unpublished.

Articles

1.    Ibrahim Ahmad, The Republic of Kurdistan: A Personal Memoir.



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