“It’s impossible,” one of Iraq’s most famous calligraphers described his suffering after he was forced to work in the construction field to secure a livelihood for his family. Dozens of medals, medals, certificates of thanks and appreciation and honorary doctorates were awarded to him in appreciation of his effective participation at the local and international levels. and push it towards neglect and marginalization.
Like others, the fingers of the Iraqi calligrapher Jamal Rasoul Hussein, known as Jamal Mulla (50 years), were written to strip their smoothness and turn into a rough and solid mass. She carries daily dozens of blocks of "concrete bricks", along with other construction equipment and materials that are used in construction such as sand, gravel and cement For a daily wage not exceeding $20.
In 1984, the first signs of talent in calligraphy began with Mulla, who was born in the city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1971 and currently lives in the district of Rania, which is affiliated with it.
His deepening in his talent pushed him to work for two of the most famous calligraphers in his city in 1985, namely Amir Nabi and Falah Khader, who owned a Rania calligraphy office at the time. Baquba, in Diyala Governorate, where he completed the Military Industrialization Institute, then moved to Rania and settled and completed his career and talent in the line.
Mulla: The large number of printing presses that rely on technology to draw calligraphy affected my work as a calligrapher (Al Jazeera)
A builder
In the past, people were very interested in calligraphy and drawing it in different forms, especially in storefronts and giant buildings, but this interest has declined a lot during the past few years with the development of technology.
And about that, Mulla told Al Jazeera Net, "Our work has declined a lot because of the large number of printing presses that rely on technology to draw calligraphy and writing, and our talent has no financial return and is no longer useful to secure a living."
Mulla: Our talent no longer has any financial benefit and is no longer useful for securing a living (Al Jazeera)
As a result, the Iraqi calligrapher was forced to work as a "construction worker" for a daily wage (30,000 Iraqi dinars), which is equivalent to about (20 dollars) to secure a livelihood for his family of 11 members, without receiving any support from government agencies other than a salary. My modest pension of 540,000 Iraqi dinars (about $364) is not enough for him to cover his home expenses for several days, he says.
Gamal Mulla received many honors, medals, and certificates of thanks and appreciation in appreciation of his talent. He also won many awards in local and international exhibitions and competitions in which he participated, including being ranked second in the Diwani Calligraphy Competition in Egypt out of 39 countries. He also received two honorary doctorates, One of them is from the Misr Academy for Development and Training.
Mullah displays samples of the Diwani script in which he specializes (Al-Jazeera)
Calligraphy and medicine
Mulla likens calligraphy to “medicine” and stresses that the talented person must learn all the stages and types of calligraphy at the beginning of his career, and then specialize in one type of calligraphy, as he did by specializing in Diwani calligraphy.
The Iraqi calligrapher complains about the neglect and neglect of government agencies in the Kurdistan region and Iraq for his talent and the great achievements he has achieved at the local and international levels. Many officials - specifically members of Parliament - fulfilled their promises to help him and develop his talent and art.
Selim: The absence of support from the concerned authorities prevents Mala's continuation of creativity in his field of specialization (Al Jazeera)
lack of support
Confirmation of Mulla’s talk about the absence of government support for talents, Omar Salim, head of the Sulaymaniyah branch of the Kurdistan Calligraphers Association, points out that the calligrapher Jamal possesses a rare innate talent at the level of Iraq and the region. However, the absence of support from the concerned authorities stood in the way of Mulla and many creators like him, preventing them from reaching the world and participating in international competitions, while receiving many invitations to participate.
In his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, Salim gives an example of the creativity of calligraphers in Iraqi Kurdistan by recalling the calligrapher Nehru Qadir Rashid, who is one of the most prominent calligraphers in the region and Iraq, and who drew and planned many mosques, religious shrines and giant buildings in the region.
Mustafa warned of the tragic cases that many artists and writers are experiencing due to economic conditions (Al-Jazeera)
For his part, activist and journalist Ari Mustafa says that the district of Rania is known throughout Iraq for its love of arts and literature, and many well-known writers and writers came out of it, but the absence of media about it during the past years and the failure to shed light on its creators made it in a completely forgotten corner.
Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Mustafa warns of tragic cases experienced by many artists and writers in the judiciary due to the economic crisis and their inability to work, which means that the continued absence of government agencies' support for them financially and morally may force many of them to go to arduous professions such as calligrapher Jamal Mulla. to secure a livelihood.