‘He was an Iraqi icon’ – Baghdad mourns loss of deceased poet Karim al-Iraqi

« Iraqi poet and lyricist Karim al-Iraqi, aged 68, was laid to rest on Saturday evening at the General Union of Iraqi Writers headquarters in Baghdad.
The writer passed away early on Friday morning at a hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Footage features mourners gathering to carry the coffin as they pay their respects and express their profound grief at the passing of the literary figure.
« It is a hard and heartbreaking loss. Honestly, I’m saying that not because we were friends, and colleagues and worked together, but Karim was not just a poet, » said Dr Hussein Ali Harf, an academic.
« He was beyond this description; he was an Iraqi icon who honoured us. He was a poet, a playwright, and a scenarist, he even wrote beautiful poetry for children. He was a lyricist who offered lyrical masterpieces, » he continued.
Distinguished Iraqi writers and poets, among others, attended the event. The decision to bring Karim al-Iraqi’s body back from the UAE to his homeland was made by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, who instructed the Minister of Transport to facilitate the process.
During the farewell ceremony, close relatives of the departed poet expressed their gratitude to all who had supported Karim during his illness and to those who played a pivotal role in bringing his body back from the Emirates to Iraq.
According to local media sources, the official funeral procession was led by poet Dr Arif Al Saadi, who is also a cultural adviser to the Iraqi Prime Minister, and actress Asia Kamal, a representative of the Iraqi Artists Syndicate, along with other cultural, artistic, and literary figures. »



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