Iraqi Communist Party
The Iraqi Communist Party (Arabic: الحزب الشيوعي العراقي al-ḥizb aš-šiyūʿī al-ʿirāqī; Kurdish: حیزبی شیووعیی عێراقی, romanized: ḥizbī šiyūʿītē ʿirāqī)[18][19] is a communist party and the oldest active party in Iraq. Since its foundation in 1934, it has dominated the left in Iraqi politics. It played a prominent role in shaping the political history of Iraq between its foundation and the 1970s. The Party was involved in many of the most important national uprisings and demonstrations of the 1940s and 1950s.[20] It suffered heavily under the Ba'ath Party and Saddam Hussein but remained an important element of the Iraqi opposition and was a vocal opponent of the United Nations sanctions imposed on Iraq after the Gulf War of 1991. It opposed the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003 but since then has participated in the new political institutions. It received little support in the Iraqi general elections of 2005. The party gained some seats in each province in which the 2013 Iraqi governorate elections were held.[21]
Iraqi Communist Party الحزب الشيوعي العراقي
ICP (حشع)
31 March 1934[4]
Al Nithal Street, Baghdad
National Union Front
(1954–1958)[13]
National Progressive Front
(1974–1979)
People's Union
(2005–2010)[14][6]
Civil Democratic Alliance[15][16]
(2013–2018)
Alliance Towards Reforms (Saairun) (2018–2022)
"A free homeland and a happy people"[17]
(وطن حر وشعب سعيد)
The party joined the newly established Sairoun Alliance in the 2018 parliamentary elections, who gained the highest number of votes and a total of 54 seats in the Iraqi parliament. A communist woman representing the alliance, Suhad al-Khateeb, was also elected in the elections to represent the city of Najaf, deemed to be one of the holiest religious and conservative cities in Iraq. Al-Khateeb, who is a teacher and an anti-poverty and women's rights activist, said upon her victory "the Communist party have a long history of honesty – we were not agents for foreign occupations. We want social justice, citizenship, and are against sectarianism, and this is also what Iraqis want."[22][23]
History[edit]
Roots of the party, 1924–1929[edit]
The history of Marxist ideology and organization in Iraq can be traced to a single individual, Husain al-Rahhal, a student at the Baghdad School of Law, who in 1924 formed what is now seen as the first "Marxist" study circle in Iraq. This group of young intellectuals initially began meeting in Baghdad's Haidarkhanah Mosque (a location also famous as a meeting place for revolutionaries in 1920) and discussing "new ideas" of the day. They eventually formed a small newspaper, Al-Sahifah ("The Journal"), which detailed a decidedly Marxist ideology. Membership in this circle included such influential Iraqis as Mustafa Ali, Minister of Justice under Abd al-Karim Qasim, and Mahmoud Ahmad Al-Sayyid, considered Iraq's first novelist.[24] Al-Rahhal, an accomplished polyglot, was able to translate articles from various European Communist and Marxist newspapers, thus introducing many new ideals into Iraqi intellectual society.[25] While the paper lacked a definite agenda or program, the majority of the writing was centered on the need to break down the strong influence of tradition in Iraqi society. This included equal rights for women and the abolition of feudal practices.[26] After six issues and several government crackdowns, the paper published its final issue in 1927 and was permanently shut down. From this point on Al-Rahhal exerted his influence only from the background, most notably through the youth organization Nadi Al-Tadamun ("The Solidarity Club"). Through this organization he helped to inspire Iraq's first student demonstrations on 30 January 1927 (over the firing of certain controversial teachers) and 8 February 1928 (over the visit of prominent British Zionist Alfred Mond to Iraq).[27]
1930s[edit]
In 1929, a sharp decline in international commodity prices caused a more than 40 percent drop in the value of Iraqi exports. This led to a national economic depression and massive wage reductions for many of Iraq's workers.[28] It was at this time that Communist circles began growing among young men in Basra (led by Ghali Zuwayyid) and Nasiriyyah (led by Yusuf Salman Yusuf, "Comrade Fahd"). Several circles were also growing in Baghdad, led by such notables as Asim Flayyeh, Mahdi Hashim, and Zaki Khairi. These young men had first met during the student demonstrations of 1927 and 1928.[27] These groups were brought together through the boycott of the British-owned Baghdad Electric Light Company, lasting from 5 December 1933 until 2 January 1934.[29] Finally, on 8 March 1935, Jamiyyat Dudd Al-Istimar ("The Association Against Colonialism") was founded. Three days later a manifesto was issued, calling for the unification of all workers and peasants and demanding cancellation of debts, redistribution of lands, and extensions of worker's rights, including an eight-hour day.[30] The organization, with its founders acting as regional leaders, set about publishing Iraq's first underground paper, Kifah Al-Shab ("The Struggle of the People"), and began attacking prime minister Yasin al-Hashimi, resulting in swift police crackdown and the arrests of almost all of the major leaders. By December 1935, the paper ceased to exist, having reached a circulation of about 500.[31]
After the coup of 29 October 1936, the Iraqi Communist leaders and organizers who had eluded imprisonment helped to lead the wave of peaceful demonstrations occurring across the country, such as Ghali Zuwayyid in Basra.[32] The party found supporters on the "Committee for National and Progressive Reform" (which organized popular support in Baghdad) and even secured two supporters in the newly elected parliament.[33] Bakr Sidqi, the leader of the coup and now the new power in the government, quickly issued attacks on the party, and was met with labor strikes across the nation. Sidqi responded with further crackdowns, and many of the Communist reformers fled the cause. Despite the assassination of Sidqi in 1937, the damage had been done, leaving the leadership of the party in the hands of Zaki Khairi, who sought new support for the party among the lower ranks of the military throughout the late 1930s.[34]
The Iraqi Communist Party stood firmly against anti-Semitism and was wary of fascist trends among right-wing parties.[35]