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Turkmen Culture and Literature in Northern Iraq – True Identity vs. Fake Kurdish Propaganda

By: Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

[ Posted On: 2008-12-03 ]

In four previous articles, entitled "William Guthrie’s Turcomania: the Correct Name for Inexistent Kurdistan", "Jews and Turkmen Can Prosper Again in Tuz Khurmatu – With Turkey Annexing North Iraq", "Iraq’s Turkmenia to Merge with Turkey: Primary Concern of All Turks and Muslims", and "Tombstone on Fake Kurdistan: Turkmen Political and Religious Movements in Iraq", I published the first three chapters of an insightful book published by Mofak Salman Kerkuklu, one of the Turkmen foremost intellectuals, on "The Turkmen City of Tuz Khormatu".

As the book bears witness to the Turkmen identity of the Northern Iraqi city, it consists in an excellent refutation of disastrous plans that provide for the formation of a fake state ‘Kurdistan’ which will plunge into strife and disaster the subjugated non-Kurdish nations and ethno-religious groups, either those identified as other (Turkmen, Aramaean, Jewish) or those labeled "Kurds" (Zaza, Sorani, Yazidi, Ahl-e Haq, Feyli, etc.).

In the present article, I publish the book’s fifth chapter, which is dedicated to the Turkmen Culture and Literature in Northern Iraq, and more specifically the city of Tuz Khurmatu. Through various testimonies, the unbreakable interconnection with Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, Azebaijan and Central Asia is highlighted.

The Turkmen historicity of many lands falsely claimed as ‘Kurdish’ will be one of the obstacles to the evil plans of the Apostate Freemasonic Lodge to set up a bogus-state called Kurdistan that will be the Hell-on-Earth.

The Turkmen City of Tuz Khormatu
By Mofak Salman Kerkuklu

Chapter Five: Culture and literature

The city of Tuz Khormatu has produced a number of famous singers, artists and writers. These intellectuals have participated tremendously in the promotion of Turkmen literature at the national and international level and they have played a great part in keeping the Turkmen culture alive. As a matter of fact, without the Turkmen intellectuals, the Turkmen culture would have vanished, and the Turkmen nation would have been diluted into an Arab society long ago. Herewith, I would like to mention some of the Turkmen intellectuals in Tuz Khormatu.

5.1 Akram Tuzlu

He was born in 1933 in Orta Mahallesi (Orta neighbourhood) in Tuz Khormatu; he completed his primary schooling in 1949 and his intermediate schooling in 1954.[1] He then joined the institute of teaching and graduated as a primary school teacher. The death of his father and the necessity to live have led him to leave the teaching profession and he worked for two years as a carpenter in Tuz Khormatu, to support a family of eight.

However in 1960, he re-joined the teaching profession and worked as a primary school teacher in Suleyman Bag village, which is linked to the Tuz Khormatu district. He taught in the village for three years and was then transferred to Tuz Khormatu. After that, he was transferred by the government to the sub-district of Al-Zab, which is linked to the district of Debis outside Kirkuk and he worked as a teacher for a further three years. His love of literacy, poems and singing began when he was a child, but his involvement in political activities commenced when he was at secondary school, especially when he acted in a play and read the work of the poet Keel Pasha, and the following poem:

(Verses in Turkmen – in Arabic-based alphabetic writing)

He read this poem on the school stage in the presence of the Councilor of Tuz Khormatu, who was one of the guests at the event. His reading of the poem angered the Councilor, who left the event, in consequence. After that, Akram Tuzlu was called by the headmaster and was dismissed from the school and then was summoned to the court, which sentenced him by sacking him from his job for a period of three days and severely reprimanding him.

Because of his political beliefs and his nationalist activities in Tuz Khormatu in 1959, the communist activists attacked him while he was sitting with friends in one of the Tuz Khormatu coffee shops. He fought the attackers, defending himself but he was stabbed in the head with a dagger by one of the attackers and was transferred to Tuz Khormatu hospital. Then he was again arrested by the authorities and was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment. In 1961, he participated in the Turkmen Brotherhood festival held in Baghdad. Nine of the Iraqi ministers had attended the event and during the event he read very patriotic poems as shown bellow:

(Verses in Turkmen – in Arabic-based alphabetic writing)

After reading these poems in the festival, he was taken away from the stage by security forces, who were present at the event. He was imprisoned, subjected to beating and torture during interrogation and then released from the prison. The security forces arrested him again in 1982 when he read the following poems and he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.

(Verses in Turkmen – in Arabic-based alphabetic writing)

He was released from prison after completion of his sentence but he was arrested again by the security forces while he was teaching at the Tarik Ben Zeyad school under the pretext that he was a member of the Turkish Ultra Nationalist Movement (Turani) and he was kept for a period of two years in the security jail without being charged. During his imprisonment his family was arrested (his wife, daughter and three sons, Shahin, aged six, Erkan, five, Zynab, four, and Yasin, three).

His wife was pregnant when she was arrested by the Iraqi security forces, then his family were completely deported to Al_Khinak Prison, which is located in the Meysan (Al Eimara) province in south of Iraq. While she was in a prison, Akram Tuzlu’s wife gave birth to a boy named Abbas.

While the family was in the prison in the south of Iraq, Akram Tuzlu was sentenced by Saddam Hussein’s regime to twenty years imprisonment: during his imprisonment at Abu Garib Prison, he was beaten continuously and he was also tortured by the Iraqi secret service officials in order to confess and also to provide names of the Turkmen leaders working in the Turani organisation. His refusal in exposing and providing names of the other Turkmen activists made the Iraqi secret service torture him on a regular basis and use the following methods on him; electric shocks, electric irons and other torturing apparatus. Akram Tuzlu’s involvement in the politics have been reduced dramatically since the removal of the tyrant and almost every individual could defend his nation, as he says in one of his poems:

(Verses in Turkmen – in Arabic-based alphabetic writing)

Akram Tuzlu is the most popular Turkmen singer in Turkmeneli and he brought happiness, joy and smiles to the face of every individual Turkmen. His songs are played in every occupation. Nevertheless, he has played a very effective role in the promotion and defence of Turkmen culture by fighting for Turkmen rights with his traditional and patriotic songs, which landed him in prison under the previous regime of Saddam Hussein for over ten years in the Abu Ghraib prison.

5.2 Salahadin Naci Hamid Wali (Salahadin Nacioglu

Salahuddin Naci Hamid Wali was born in 1945 in Tuz Khormatu, in the Mulla Safer neighbourhood and belongs to the Alhamush family, which is of the Dogerli tribe. Salahaddin Najioglu was born into a family who love poems, writing and literature. He learned literature and poetry from his father Mulla Naji, who was one of the prominent poets and a master of local poems (khoriyat), traditional and classical Iraqi songs, known as Makemamat.

Salahaddin Najioglu completed his primary school in Tuz Khormatu: while he was in primary school he spent a lot of his time reading literature, and Kardeslik magazine. In addition, Salahaddin Najioglu read large numbers of books by Turkmen writers and poets, such as Atta Terzibashi and the poets Othman Muzlum, Mohammed Sadik and Buyuk Mulla Hafizoglu Mohammed Kerkuklu. After completing his secondary school he joined the institute of teaching for men.

He graduated in the 1966 and worked as a primary school teacher in one of the villages adjacent to Tuz Khormatu and retired from teaching in 1993.

During this period, he became more active in literature and he began writing Turkmen poems, which are known as Khoriyat, and he wrote his first article, entitled Akber Buyuk Muaamer in Tuz, Buyuk Lal. In addition he wrote several biographies of the Turkmen poets, and artists in Tuz Khormatu, which were published in Kardeslik magazine.

In 1972, he wrote a book named Tuzden Sesler which means ‘Voices from Tuz’. This book contained data about the Turkmen poets and their poems. Salahaddin Najioglu also did a tremendous amount of work and research on Turkmen literature and folklore. These works were published in several chapters in Kardeslik, Yurd and Birlik Sesi magazines.

Moreover, he wrote poems about the Azerbaijani poet Mohammed Hussein Sharebaz under the title of Gulam Babaya Selam. These poems were written in the style of a legend and were published by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1993 in Baghdad.

(Verses in Turkmen – in Arabic-based alphabetic writing)

In the meantime, Salahaddin Najioglu was forced into retirement in 1993; since then he has been spending more time on literature and the Turkmen cause. Salahaddin Najioglu has been a member of the Iraqi Union for Writers and of the Arab Union for writers and he has several publications in the field of poems, literature, history and culture. I would like to mention some of his publications:

Yurdim Iraq ‘Iraq is my homeland’, 2002, Kirkuk

(Verses in Turkmen – in Arabic-based alphabetic writing)

Ashek Baghden ‘Love in my orchard’, 2002, Kirkuk

(Verses in Turkmen – in Arabic-based alphabetic writing)

Kim Olersin ‘Who you want to be’, 2002, Kirkuk

(Verses in Turkmen – in Arabic-based alphabetic writing)

Tuz Shierlari ‘Poets from Tuz Khormatu’ was published in the Turkmen language, in 2002 in Iraq.

Ghminler Kerwani ‘Caravan of sadness’, Tuz Khormatu, 2003, Kirkuk

(Verses in Turkmen – in Arabic-based alphabetic writing)

Ak Suden Sesler ‘Voices from Ak Su’, 2003, Tuz Khormatu

Tuz Khormatu Hadithen and Kadimen ‘Tuz Khormatu in the present and the past’, 2005, Tuz Khormatu

Muhabit Kaynaghi, ‘The source of love’, religious poems

Mowsuaa Tarihiya li Al_Shair Turkmeni in Iraq ‘Historical encyclopaedia of the Turkmen tribe in Iraq’, 2006, Tuz Khormatu

Book entitled Tuzden Sesler ‘Voices from Tuz Khormatu’, written in the Turkmen language and published in 1972 in Iraq.

Book entitled Ghulam Babaya Salem ‘Regards to father Ghulam’, written in the Turkmen language and published in 1973 in Baghdad by the ministry of culture and information.

Book entitled Yurdum Iraq ‘My homeland Iraq’, written in the Turkmen language and published in 2001 in Iraq.

Kim Olarsin ‘Who you are’, published in the Turkmen language, in 2001 in Iraq.

Ashik Baginda ‘Love in the Orchards’, published in the Turkmen language, in 2001 in Iraq.

Book entitled Tuz Khormatu Haditheen and Kadimen ‘The past and the present of Tuz Khormatu’ written in Arabic and published in 2005 by the EL_Noor bookshop in Tuz Khormatu.

Ghamler Garwani ‘Sad travellers’, published in the Turkmen language in 2003 in Tuz Khormatu, Iraq.

5.3 Hassan Wali Ali Demerci (1924–1995)

He is known as Hassan Koram, he was born in Tuz Khormatu in 1994 and he died on the 1995. Hassan Koram lost his eyesight in childhood and is the brother of the Turkmen poet Eryan Wali Ali Demerci. He is one of the most popular and well known Turkmen writers and poets in Iraq in general and particularly in Tuz Khormatu district. He was a very religious person, as was his father. His father was known as a Mullah Wali, a religious figure in the area, and he loved poetry since his childhood. He was very bright, eager, enthusiastic and keen and interested in literature in general but especially poetry. He was also encouraged by his poetry master, Mohammed Mehdi Ak Su, and his father.[2]

Hassan Koram played a tremendous role in promoting Turkmen literature. He was nicknamed Abu Alyaie of the Turkmen in Iraq and his poems were published in various newspapers and magazines produced in Iraq–Kirkuk, such as the Afak Newspaper, Besir and Yurd.

5.4 Mr Mohammed Mehdi Bayat (1950)

Mohammed Mehdi Bayat is known as Mohammed Mehdi Mohammed Ali Bayat. He is a well known Turkmen in Tuz Khormatu and he originated from the Turkmen tribe of Bayat, who live in Tuz Khormatu and the surrounding region of Tuz. He was born in 1950 in the Chakla neighbourhood ‘Cakla Mahallesi’, in the district of Tuz Khormatu and he graduated in Literature from university in 1975. He is married. He has loved poetry and literature since childhood; he spent a large part of his time reading in the Tuz Khormatu library.[3]

5.5 Mr Mohammed Mehdi Khalil (Ak Su) (1906–1974)

Mr Mohammed Mehdi Khalil Ak Su participated in the Art contest for all Iraq, which was organised by the ministry of culture and education in Baghdad, and was awarded first prize in late 1962 for the best oil painting, for a portrait of the well known philosopher Al_Kendi. Mr Mohammed Mahdi Khalil Ak Su was born in Tuz Khormatu in 1906 and his father and his uncle were well known in the fields of Arabic calligraphy, art and poetry, and have sold all their artwork.[4]

5.6 Eryan Wali Ali Demerci

Eryan Wali Ali Demirci is one of many Turkmen poets from Tuz Khormatu. He was born in 1946 in the Orta Neighbourhood ‘Orta Mahallesi’, in the district of Tuz Khormatu. He is married and belongs to the Demirci tribe, which inhabited the Tuz Khormatu region. He obtained his primary, intermediate and secondary education in Tuz Khormatu and, after completing his secondary education, he was offered a place at Al_Mustanseriya University in Baghdad at the Department of Arabic Languages. After graduating from at Al_Mustanseriya University, he worked in the civil service and held several Government positions in Iraq. After his retirement he became self-employed. His literary works included short stories, poetry and literary criticism. His poems are related to facts, reality, homelands, love, romance, nations, passion and admiration. He used to read his poems at ceremonies, celebrations and many social occasions.

Eryan Wali Ali Demirci produced a large collection of known literary works. He continued to produce a large quantity of mostly literary traditional and Arabic literature and his poems were published in various newspapers.[5]

5.7 Ramzi Naji Chaoish

Ramzi Naji Chaoish is one of the most popular Turkmen poets and writers, and has played a tremendous role in the promotion and preservation of Turkmen culture in Iraqi history. He was born in the city of Tuz Khormatu, Elyas Neighbourhood, on the 23rd September 1945.

Ramsey Chaoush participated in many literary festivals in Iraq, including an annual festival for poetry, the Maharajan Al_merbad. He has been a member of the General Federation of Literature for Iraq since 1983 and is a member of the Turkmen Federation for Literacy.[6] He began writing poems and other works in 1970 and has published four poems:

1. Ay Yuzu Dunmeiz Sehrim ‘My town fixed face, Yaweceh Madenati Althabit’: published in 1976 in Iraq.

2. Asik Mosemi ‘Love seasons, Mowsim Alashik’: published in 1979 in Iraq.

3. Ay Bu Sozlerin Yanari ‘Yanabaa Hathei Alkalimat’: published in 1988 in Iraq.

4. Yarali Dus ‘Injured dream, Al_hilm Al_jarih’: published in 2000 in Iraq.

He has also had several literary articles published in various newspapers and literary magazines since 1980.

5.8 Mohammed Koja

Mohammed Wahid Abbass was born on the 5th of April 1964 in the Mullah Safer Mahallesi ‘Mullah Safer neighbourhood ‘in Tuz Khormatu district and he is known as a Mohammed Koja. His title ‘Koja’ is derived from a branch of his main tribe, Al_Bayat, which is one of the famous Turkmen tribes living in the Tuz Khormatu region.[7]

He completed his primary, intermediate and secondary education in Tuz Khormatu. After secondary school, he studied physical education at the Mosul University. He graduated with a B.Sc. in 1986 and he obtained an M.Sc. from the same university in 1994. The Ministry of Education employed him in Iraq as a teacher from 1989 to 1992, but because of his political beliefs and harassment from the Saddam Hussein regime, he was forced to leave the country in 1994. While he was living in Iraq, he held several managerial positions inside Iraq; also, he worked as a lecturer at the University of El Fatih from 1995 to 1997.

Moreover, he is a member of the Royal Dutch Physiotherapists, KNFG, and also a member of the Press Syndicate and the literary expatriates in the Netherlands, ON FILE, and a member of the Iraqi Forum in the Dutch town of Barneveld. His publications are mainly related to the Middle East in general and the Turkmen cause in particular.

He has written a large number of articles related to the general situation of the Turkmen, his homeland Tuz Khormatu, Kurdification and the existence of foreign forces in his homeland, and he has also written a story Al_biyet ‘home’, although this has not yet been published. His articles always emphasis the unity, integration and teamwork of the Turkmen organisation and he always tries to indicate in his writing that the rights of Turkmen have to be taken into account and that Turkmen should work together to obtain those rights.

He has produced a downpour of known literary works: he has continued to produce a large quantity of mostly traditional and Arabic literature. His work has included literary short stories, articles and literary criticism. He has been serving as a deputy for the Turkmen Times, which is a web newspaper. The Turkmen Times mainly covers a wide range of subjects, short stories, interviews, artists and current news, as well as articles in various subjects related to the Iraqi issues. It is produced in Norway by the editor Mr Abdul Salam Mullah Yasin.

Mohammed Koja has participated in various meetings related to the Turkmen and he has also attended several official government meetings in regards to the Turkmen cause. He has written a huge number of articles related to the Kurdification of the Turkmen, criticising the Turkmen organisation and defending Turkmen rights. His articles have been published in various newspapers and websites. In fact, Mohammed Koja has played a significant role in promoting the Turkmen literature.

5.9 Ak Su Doygun Nuri Ahmed (Ak Su)

Ak Su Doygun Nuri Ahmed, known as Ak Su, is one of the Turkmen poets. The title Ak Su was given to him as a nickname, and means ‘white water’. The Ak Su River, which happens to be the only river that goes through the Tuz Khormatu district, plays a very vital factor in the economy of the town and this clearly indicates the importance played by the poet in the district of Tuz Khormatu.

Doygun Nuri Ahmed was born in 1962 in Tuz Khormatu in the Mustafa Agha Neighbourhood ‘Mustafa Agha Mahallesi’. He obtained his primary education in Tuz Khormatu and after completion of his secondary school in 1979, he moved to Kirkuk where he continued his education at the Kirkuk Industrial School ‘Sinaat Kirkuk’, graduating in the 1983. He loved poetry and Turkmen traditional songs, which are know as Khoriyat. He had been passionate about poetry and literature since childhood.[8]

5.10 Cevdat Zaynal Abdin Amin (Qazioglu) (1968)

Cevdat Zaynal Abdin Amin is known as Qazioglu by the locals in Tuz Khormatu. Qazioglu means ‘the son of the barrister’ in the Turkmen language. He was born in 1968 in the Agha neighbourhood ‘Agha Muhelesi’ in Tuz Khormatu; he obtained his primary, intermediate and secondary education in Tuz Khormatu. After completing his studies in Tuz Khormatu, he studied at Salahuddin University in the city of Tikrit, which is the birthplace of Saddam Hussein.
He produced a downpour of known literary works and, in this period, he has continued to produce a large collection of writings. He has written a large quantity of poems on various subjects and he is extremely passionate about and in love with the writing of literature and poems.[9]

5.11 Kawser Saqi Bagwan (1946)

Mr Kawser Saqi Bagwan is one of the Turkmen poets from Tuz Khormatu. He is known as ‘Kawser’. He completed his primary, intermediate and secondary education in Tuz Khormatu and graduated from the Institute of Teachers in Kirkuk in 1969. He held various government positions and is currently retired.

He has written huge numbers of literature and poems, called ‘Khoriyat’ in the Turkmen language. His poems and literature have all been published in various newspapers, such as Kardeslik ‘Brotherhood’ magazine, which was published in three languages.[10]

5.12 Mullah Abdul Kareem Sadik Dada Ghaib

Mullah Abdul Kareem Sadik Dada Ghaib is one of the Turkmen poets from Tuz Khormatu. He was born in 1929 in the Chakla neighbourhood, Cakla Mahallesi, in the district of Tuz Khormatu. He was a well known poet; his poetry has been dramatically influenced by the famous Turkmen poet Mullah Ali Akber Bakichi.

He left the Tuz Khormatu district during the Rashid Ali Gaylani uprising and in 1955–1958 worked in the Dakin Petrol Station as a clerk. At the same time, he owned a shop in Tuz Khormatu.[11]

5.13 Fazil Mehdi Bayat

Dr Fazil Bayat is a well known Turkmen writer, poet and historian. He was born in Tuz Khormatu. His full name is Dr Fazil Mohammed Mehdi Ali Bayat: the title of Bayat was derived from his tribe, the Bayat, which is settled in Tuz Khormatu and its surrounding region. He is also the author of a book entitled ‘Tarih Al_Turkmen Fi al-Iraq’. He attended primary, intermediate and secondary school in Tuz Khormatu. He graduated from university in 1969 and completed his Ph.D. in Turkey in 1974.[12]

5.14 Shakir Khorsheed Ali (Shakir Terzi) (1943)

Shakir Khurshid Ali is known as Terzi, which means ‘tailor’ in the Turkmen language. He was born in 1943 in the Agha neighbourhood ‘Agha Mahallesi’ in Tuz Khormatu and he was married in 1972. He is self-taught and has loved poems, literature and traditional Turkmen songs since childhood.

During his youth, he used to invite the local poets in the town to his shop and he would arrange group songs and challenging poem competitions.

He is very keen, eager and passionate about the traditional Turkmen poems, which the locals call Khoriyat. His poems were influenced by the well known Turkmen poet writer Yawuz Jafer Kara Gunul and Shakir Khurshid Ali who is well known in the region for his readings of traditional poems and Khoriyat.

In 1972, Shaker Khurshid Ali’s poem was broadcast for the first time by the Kirkuk radio and TV station. Shaker Khurshid Ali is also a regular columnist of the Yurt Newspaper and other newspapers.[13]

5.15 Sakinna Mehdi Kazanci (Kazanci Kizi) (1959)

Sakinna Mehdi Kazanci is known as ‘Kazanci Kizi’, which means ‘daughter of pot maker’ in Turkmen; she was born in 1959 in the Orta neighbourhood ‘Orta Muhelesinda’ in the Turkmen city of Tuz Khormatu. She is married and has two children.[14]

She loved school and was always the top student in her class; she is very keen, interested and has a tremendous passion for reading. She reads a broad spectrum of material. She started publishing her poetry in 1974. She has a passion for poetry and she reads poems from various poets, but her own work is not influenced by any specific poet. Her first poems, under the title of ‘Burnt From World Atrocities’, were broadcast by the radio station in 1975. She has written and had published various poems, such as ‘From past today’ and ‘I am growing up’.

5.16 Ali Hassan Mauruf

Ali Hassan Mauruf, known as Ali Mauruf Oglu, is one of the Turkmen poets. He was born in 1927 in Tuz Khormatu. In his lifetime, he was very close to his uncle. This close relationship has affected his lifestyle a great deal and influenced his work dramatically. His father and his teacher had a discernable effect on his life.[15]

Ali Mauruf Oglu began his primary education at six years of age in Tuz Khormatu. His teachers, in particular, Mohamed Mahdi Khalil, in addition to the Turkmen artist Rashid Kazim Beyatli, have played a great part in encouraging and supporting his writing of poems and other literature.

Owing to a lack of secondary schools in his hometown Tuz Khormatu, he went to Kirkuk to complete his secondary schooling in 1939, but was forced to drop out of school in 1941 because of a lack of funding. However, because of Iraq’s participation and involvement in the Second World War, this war left a tremendous impact on the future and on the lives of Ali Mauruf Oglu’s family.

The war doubled the prices of food and commodities, thus forcing Ali Mauruf Oglu to help his father in the fields and on the family farm, to ensure the livelihood of the family, consisting of eight persons. Mr Ali Hassan Mauruf married in 1945. He left his family home in 1955 and has been working in commerce to this day.

Ali Hassan Mauruf was arrested in 1954 by the Nuri Al_Saeed authority for his opposition to the government and for his support of the opposition candidate. For supporting the opposition candidate, he was sentenced for 19 days. He was arrested again in 1958 during the reign of Abdul Karim Qasim and was charged with organising demonstrations and a hostile attack of the communist’s library in Tuz Khormatu and spent nineteen days in solitary confinement. The Communist Party arrested him again in 1959 and he was accused of participation in the Revolution Colonel Shawaf. Nevertheless, in 1967 he was granted permission to open a pharmacy in Tuz Khormatu, which he ran with his eldest son, a father of five children.

However, his love for literature and poetry began since childhood, since he was a student in the primary stage, as he read books belonging to his father that were written in the Turkish Ottoman Empire script. He was fascinated by the epic Hero Ghazi ‘Batal Gazi’ and the Legend Original Karam ‘Aasli Kram’. His love and passion for reading encouraged him to show more interest in the Turkish literature and he began to learn Arabic letters and written Turkish. In 1950, he began a serious study of Turkish literature and became a regular and entrenched visitor to the city library. The first-known work of Ali Mauruf Oglu is a poem written in 1952, which was published in 1956 in the Alafak newspaper (Prospects), the second work, Choruses, was published in the newspaper Al-Bashir (The Messenger).

This poem was included in the lament submitted by Lieutenant Hidayat Arslan. Perhaps one of his first successful attempts at publication was when one of his patriotic poems was transmitted by the national broadcast of the Turkmen section of Radio Baghdad in 1959 while he was serving imprisonment because of his hatred for communism. After that, a large number of his work was broadcast on the radio.

The 1960s saw a downpour of well known literary works and especially after the publication of the magazine Kardeslik (Brotherhood) he extended his attention to Persian and Azerbaijani literature. In this period, he continued to produce a large quantity of mostly traditional, but also modern, Turkish and Arabic literature. Since the 1960s, his work included short stories, poetry and literary criticism. The most popular stories that have been published for him are:

1. The eyes will not close ‘Eyoon Len Tugmath’,

2. Man to dust ‘Almuataf Alagber’,

3. The hunter Ali ‘Alsayad Ali’,

4. Dove ‘Al yamama’,

5. Cheek wound ‘Jurih ala alkhad’,

6. Horse’s story ‘Kisat alkhil’.

Ali Mauruf Oglu is most notably known his writings on national history, traditions and customs of the Turkmen rights and legends. He has written four other stories:

1. Limping wasp ‘Alzanbur Alararaj’

2. Letter thrown from plane ‘Resala Mulkat Min Taera’

3. A death – which restores life ‘Almut Althea Yayeed Alhayat’

4. Cannabis of the city ‘Whoosh Almadina’

The following articles have been published for Ali Hassan Mauruf:

1. Stories ‘Al-Hikayat’ of Tuz Khormatu,[16]

2. Love emerging, ‘Hub althhoor’,[17]

3. Historian’s lament, ‘Rathaie Almuarikh’,[18]

4. My sadness (poetry), ‘Hasrati’,[19]

5. Literature and poetry for the magazine fraternity, ‘Edab ve Shier’,[20]

6. Types and brands of poem, ‘Anwaa weasnaf shier’,[21]

7. Free and traditional poetry, ‘Alshier alhur wea altaklidi’,[22]

8. Respect, (poetry) ‘Ihtiram alshier’,[23]

9. Ethics of richness, ‘Althraie alaklaki’,[24]

10. Appeal belief (poetry) ‘Nidai Alakida’,[25]

11. Shepherds’ poem (poetry) Kasedat alruat’,[26]

12. Audio excerpts of poetry in Turkish, ‘Almakatie alsowtiya in Alshier alturki’,[27]

13. Ramadan; a political article on Maobarak ‘Ramathan Mubarak’,[28]

14. A Kirkuk epic (poetry) ‘Malhamet Kirkuk’,[29]

15. Poets spinning ‘Shuara alkgazel’,[30]

16. Letter thrown from the plane (short story) ‘Resala Mulkat Mine Taera’,[31]

17. Will power ‘Kowat al alerada’,[32]

18. Man to dust (short story) ‘Almuataf Alagber’,[33]

19. Slice, the slice voice ‘Almaktaa WA almaktaa alsuwti’,[34]

20. From father to the great wonderful daughter (poetry) ‘Mine al ab al atheem el ebnat alraeaa’,[35]

21. The art of poetry ‘Fen alsheaar’,[36]

22. Criticism, ‘Nakid’[37]

23. Water roses (criticism) ‘Maae alward’,[38]

24. ‘Well known poet, Muhammad Ali Yokid’,[39]

25. Force is not disrupted, ‘Kowa latatamazak’,[40]

26. Then, it is true (poetry in Latin script) ‘Ethen cana sahihen’,[41]

27. Accounted (criticism) ‘Almuhtasab’,[42]

28. The hunter Ali, ‘Alsayad Ali’ a short stories,[43]

29. Nightingale Kirkuk, ‘Andaleeb Kirkuk’ poetry Dove, ‘Alyamama’ Story,[44]

30. Diary in wars, ‘Mukdak Fe Al_hurub’ poetry,[45]

31. Models of poetry,’ Namathij shariya’,[46]

32. Said and said, ’Qulat Weqal’,[47]

33. Wounded sword, ‘Jureh Alsayif’, a story,[48]

34. In the grip of monsters, ‘ Fi Kaptheat Al_wohush’,[49]

35. Horses story, ’Kusat alkhyil’ a story,[50]

36. Praise, poetry, ‘It _rae’,[51]

37. Poem surplus, Ramadan, ‘Kaseda min faeth alramathaniya’,[52]

38. Mr Doctor, ‘Alsyid altabib’ poetry,[53]

39. Poem from the stand filled Panahy, ’Kaseeda min wakif mullah benahi’,[54]

Ali Hassan Mauruf wrote several books, which are not published:

• An interview: facts, part II ‘Hadith awakaee’,

• Diwan poem ‘Diwan shier’,

• Diwan poem across the sea ‘Diwan shier fi bahar Urith’,

• Alkhoriyat (Turkmen poems known as Alkhoriyat),

• Stories from national folklore (written in three parts), ‘Alkusas alwataniya fi flokranna’,

• Explanations of poems of Fuzuli, ‘Shareh kasaed Fuzuli’,

• Nosy messages of the heart ‘Rasael kalbeya’,

• Literary criticism ‘Nakid aludabaa’,

• Explanations of popular sayings ‘Shreih alamthal alshabiya’,

• Criticism of society ‘Nakid al_Muchtamaa’.

Ali Hassan Mauruf has also translated several books, such as:

• Betrayed by my country; an interpretation of the Persian poet Abu Kasim ‘Khunta watani’,

• Quartets from the ‘Rubaiyat’ of Omar Khayyam ‘Rubeeyat alkhyam’,

• Doctrine of disabilities, ‘Methhab almuawakin’, an interpretation of the Egyptian writer Abbas Mahmoud Alakad.

5.17 Abdullatif Benderoglu

One of the best known Turkmen writers in Tuz Khormatu is Dr Abdullatif Benderoglu, who was born in Tuz Khormatu; he wrote several books of poetry about the Turkmen in Iraq. He also wrote a Turkmen and Arabic dictionary and a large number of books on Turkmen poems and several books that are related to the Turkmen.[55]

He held several government positions during the Ba’ath regime and held the directorate of the Turkmen Brotherhood Club in Baghdad for several years. However, several committee members of the Turkmen Brotherhood Club were arrested and executed by the Saddam Hussein regime in the mid 1980s.

Dr Abdullatif Benderoglu was a dedicated person and a member of a Ba’ath party but during this period, activities of the Turkmen Brotherhood Club were very limited and totally controlled by Saddam Hussein’s regime. After the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime by US forces, he was appointed as a minister by the Kurdish Autonomous Region Government, which was led by Massuad Barzani in North Iraq.

Moreover, Abdullatif Benderoglu has continuously kept in touch with other organisations, such as the Turkmen Museum in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. This museum has been established by Professor Qazanfer Pasayev, who kindly collected a wide range of traditional objects, materials and books related to Turkmen culture, literacy and history. Professor Qazanfer Pasayev has also played a great and indispensable role in the promotion of Turkmen literature and history by writing several books in various languages about the history, tradition, culture, religion, art and poetry of the Turkmen. Dr. Abdullatif Benderoglu died on Saturday February 2, 2008 in hospital in Amman, Jordan after undergoing surgery.

5.18 Hussein Ali Moussa Demerci ‘Temble Abbas’

The artist and playwright Hussein Ali Moussa Demirci, known as Temble Abbas (lazy Abbas), was born in Kirkuk, in the Besiktas neighbourhood in 1950. Friends and colleagues note that he was a beloved artist who responded courageously to chauvinism and the injustice of totalitarianism and of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

In the afternoon of the 7th November, 1971, Hussein Ali Moussa Demirci left home to go to the Theatre of the Red Crescent Society in Almas Street for a performance of the play Temple Abbas, while his brother Kaimaz accompanied his father to attend the ceremonial of the wounded Imam Ali Abi Talib in a Shi’aa shrine in Kirkuk; this ceremonial falls on the 19th day of the month of Ramadan. The script of Temple Abbas was edited by the Turkmen poet Mr Salah Norse and the play was directed by Anwar Mohammed Ramadan.

However, while Mr Hussein Ali Moussa Demirci was going to the theatre to perform in the play Temple Abbass, he was arrested by the Iraqi security forces and taken to the directory of security of Kirkuk. However, his body was later found near the Kirkuk TV station, on the main road between Baghdad and Kirkuk and bore the marks of beating, torture and burning irons. It was later revealed that his torture was supervised by Taha Aljazarawi, who is one of the security officials of the Ba’ath regime in Kirkuk.

He was a very patriotic and courageous freedom fighter: he fought and stood against the tyrannical regime of Saddam Hussein using his knowledge and experience of the theatre and his sarcastic stand against the dictatorship was an important step in Turkmen history. Hussein Demirci’s brilliance in the lead role Temple Abbass dominated even in the play and the personal name of this role became his nickname, more commonly used than his real name. He has become known all over Kirkuk for his involvement in this role of boldness and courage in dealing with the authoritarian system.

Mr Hussein Ali Moussa Demirci became famous in the play Temple Abbass. This farce ran for two consecutive months, and was also performed in the cities of Baghdad, Mosul and Tal Afar. He was very impressed by the public’s response to this play. In reserving seats, people showed a clear disregard for the fascist regime, and a respect of national and humanitarian values. The populace took to the street, and this certainly hastened the end of his life. After more than a quarter century, the method of the martyrdom of Hussein Demirci forms an anomaly with the task that the Iraqi Ministry of Culture and the Department of Cinema and Theatre have of reviving his memory and his play. A day for the martyr of Iraqi theatre and of the struggles, in turn, defines the forces of oppression and tyranny.[56]

Temple Abbass, Bazaar Agahsi, ‘Chief of the market’, Yarasa, ‘Bat’, Estath Tran, ‘The master Taran’, Charsi, ‘The market’, Hakimler sag olsun, ‘Long live the doctors’ Yulciler, ‘The passengers’. These are all plays written by the theatrical writer Salah Nursi, who is one of the most prominent Turkmen poets. In addition, Salah Nursi participated in the performance of his theatrical band. Nevertheless, the impact of the tragic incident damaged the National Turkmen organisation and then he suffered along with other theatrical Turkmen. Turkmen theatre then sank into a deadly silence that lasted for more than twenty years, as playwright and researcher Nusrat Mardan says in his writing about the Turkmen theatre.[57][58]

Notes

1. Mofak Salman Kerkuklu, interview with Ekram Tuzlu, 2006

2. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Shierlerri, published by Abdulwahab Ochi Bilkisayar Basim evi, Kirkuk 2002, page 56.

3. Ibid, page 123.

4. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Shierlerri, published by Abdulwahab Ochi Bilkisayar Basim, evi, Kirkuk 2002.

5. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Shierlerri, published by Abdulwahab Ochi Bilkisayar Basim evi, Kirkuk 2002, page 108

6. Ibid.

7. Mofak Salman Kerkuklu, postal interview, 2006

8. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Shierlerri, published by Abdulwahab Ochi Bilkisayar Basim evi, Kirkuk 2002, page 177.

9. Ibid, page 151

10. Ibid, page 111.

11. Ibid, page 64.

12. Ibid, page 104, page 104.

13. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Shierlerri, published by Abdulwahab Ochi Bilkisayar Basim evi, Kirkuk 2002, page 16.

14. Ibid, page 173.

15. Mr Habib Hurmuzlu, Global Strategic Institute, Ankara, Turkey 2006

16. Bashir, No 4, the first year, 1958, page 5

17. Ibid, No 11, the first year, 1958, pages 4–7

18. Ibid, No 12, the first year, 1958, page 4

19. Ibid, No 17, the first year in 1959, page 4

20. Ibid, No 1, the first year in 1961, pages 34–35

21. Ibid, No 2, the first year, pages 36–37

22. Ibid, No 3, the first year, pages 42–43

23. Ibid, No 3, the first year, pages 38

24. Ibid, No 8, the first year, pages 35–36

25. Ibid, No 12, the first year, page 35

26. Ibid, No 1, the second year, pages 46–47

27. Ibid, No 8, the second year, pages 26, 27 and 39

28. Ibid, Nos 12–11, the second year, 1963, pages 34–36

29. Ibid, No 1, the third year, page 43

30. Ibid, No 6, the third year, pages 36–38

31. Ibid, Nos 9–8 and 10, the third year, pages 46–50 and 42–45

32. Ibid, No 11, the third year, pages 34–35

33. Ibid, Nos 2–1 and 3, the fourth year, pages 38–40 and 37–39

34. Ibid. No 4, the fourth year, pages 29–31

35. Ibid. No 9, the fourth year 196, page 44

36. Ibid, No 5, the fifth year, page 25–26

37. Ibid, No 6, the fifth year, page 19–20

38. Ibid, Nos 2–1 and 4, the sixth year, 1966, pages 30–31 and 30–31

39. Ibid, No 3, the sixth year, pages 27–28

40. Ibid, No 8, the sixth year, page 21–23

41. Ibid, No 9, the sixth year, 1967, page 47

42. Ibid, Nos 2–1, the seventh year 1966

43. Ibid, No 4, seventh year, pages 20–21

44. Ibid, No 6, seventh year, pages 25–26

45. Ibid, No 10, seventh year 1968, page 40

46. Ibid, Nos 12–11, seventh year, pages 23–24

47. Ibid, No 11, seventh year, page 45

48. Ibid, No 2, eighth year, pages 33–34

49. Ibid, No 3, eighth year, pages 19–20

50. Ibid, Nos 5–4, eighth year, pages 23–24

51. Ibid, No 6, eighth Year, page 23

52. Ibid, Nos 9–8, eighth year in 1969, pages 26–28

53. Ibid, No 2–1, ninth year, page 37

54. Ibid, No 2–1, ninth year, page 39–40

55. Professor Qazanfer Pasayev, Bu Sevda Olunceev, Baku, Azerbaijan

56. Al Sabah, last page, number, 8th November, 2006: Tuesday 14/11/2006 Sameer Almushaal

57. Ak Su newspaper, article written by Mr Hussein Shakur Juma Kassab, under the title, Yowman Khlidan Laferak Baynuhuma, page 2, issue 34, year three, August 2006.

58. Zahid Bayati; writer and media, published in The Turkmentimes 22/11/2006, the Chief Editor of the site Abdul-Salam Mullah Yassin, see www.turkmentimes.net/.

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

About The Author: Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis - is Orientalist, Assyriologist, Egyptologist, Iranologist, Islamologist, Historian and Political Scientist. Dr. Megalommatis, 52, is the author of 12 books, dozens of scholarly articles, hundreds of encyclopedia entries, and thousands of articles. He speaks, reads and writes more than 15, modern and ancient, languages.

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