Hussein Abdullah, 73, wraps his mustache around his neck and puts it inside his shirt sometimes to maintain his vitality as he was in the spring of his youth, fearing that he will be harmed.

At the end of the sixties of the last century, "Abu Shawareb", who lives in Soran District, Erbil Governorate in Iraqi Kurdistan, was a theatrical actor, and he was always entrusted with the roles of sheikhs, aghas, and owners of thick mustaches. .

Abdullah believes - as is customary - that a man has prestige and a prestigious social position with his mustaches (Al-Jazeera)

Abdullah's failure to shave his mustaches for many years made them reach about 2.40 meters, and this is what made him unrivaled in the length of mustaches, whether in the region or Iraq, as he confirms in his speech to Al Jazeera Net.

The length of the mustache created exceptional joy in the soul of its owner, but at the same time it exposed him to profound sadness twice during those years due to his burning, the first in 1994 while working, and the second at the end of the nineties while he was in his garden, and he was forced to do so each time Cut his whiskers to more than 20 cm.

Hussein’s goal of not shaving his mustache until today is due to his adherence to the customs and traditions of his generations in the middle of the last century, including that a man has prestige and a prestigious social status with his mustache, and also considers him an apparent symbol and identity for a man to be known among people.

However, "Abu Shawareb" does not deny that he aspired to achieve fame in his city with a work that distinguished him from others, so he chose the length of the mustache as a door to reach that fame, and this made him nicknamed "Hussein Abu Shawareb".

Hussein's goal of not shaving his mustache back to adhere to the customs and traditions of his generations in the middle of the last century (Al-Jazeera)

Criticisms and embarrassing situations

Abdullah was exposed to several embarrassing situations over four decades due to the length of his mustache, but the most embarrassing situation was at the airport about two months ago when he went to perform Umrah, so many travelers stopped him at the airport to take pictures with him, which led to the delay of his travel.

As for the second embarrassing situation, it happened when he went to the Passports Directorate to renew his passport in 2000, and the Directorate’s employees asked him to cut his mustache so that the picture in the passport would be clear and appropriate, but he refused their request, and expressed his willingness to waive the issuance of the passport in order to preserve his mustache. He got the long mustache passport.

Despite the positives achieved from the length of his mustache, Abdullah has not yet been spared the criticism and the hurtful words directed at him because of his mustache, but he says that he replaces criticism with praise and praise from his fans and everyone who knows him.

Abdullah, in order to preserve his mustache, would have given up the issuance of a passport (Al-Jazeera)

Will he shave his mustache?

After a companionship that extended for 4 decades, "Abu Shawareb" is now thinking of shaving his mustache and placing it inside a glass frame and keeping it inside his home or placing it in his city's museum to remain a symbol and a memory for him.

His son Bazian says that he and his brothers used to see their father from a young age with long mustaches, and it became a title, nickname, and a prominent feature for him and them in the city, until they became known among the people as "Awlad Abu al-Shawarib al-Tawla."

This title increased the pride and pride in the children's hearts, but Bazian - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - supports the idea of ​​shaving the mustache after all these years, because he sees that his father has reached an advanced age, and his mustache needs great time and care.

The length of Abdullah's mustaches made him a popular figure in men's councils (Al-Jazeera)

Features of the golden age

As for the researcher in the field of heritage and folklore, Zubair Balah, he believes that the length of Hussein’s mustaches made him a popular figure in the men’s councils.

And his mind - to Al Jazeera Net - says that he discovered during his friendship with Abdullah that lengthening the mustache and not shaving it is spiritually linked to the love and passion of its owner since his youth for thick and long mustaches.