When the British forces entered Iraq, they sought to issue many publications for their own interests. According to Eḧmed (1978), when the British began to expel the Ottomans in Basra Vilayet in 1914, they also quickly took control of the printing presses in the city and they published a newspaper entitled Basra Times. Later, in 1918, they issued the Baghdad Times and other journals in Arabic, English, Kurdish, Persian and Turkish, across the various cities, in an attempt to bring the people of these nations and regions on to their side. These publications explained the views of Britain and France towards Islam, they showed the terrible acts that had occurred under the Ottoman rule that were against the people of the region, and they also provided an update of news of their victories in the war and conflicts of that time (El- Bettî, 2011). In the aftermath, which included the expulsion of the Ottomans, under the British occupation of Iraq, a new atmosphere was created. The Kurdish press had a little more freedom; however, as Eḧmed (1978, p.85) states, during the British occupation of Iraq, between 1918 and 1932, more than 200 newspapers and magazines were published, but only six of them were in Kurdish. Furthermore, these Kurdish publications were only released for short periods as the Kurdish press, in general during this period, was still facing many difficult situations. Hassanpour (1996, p.56) illustrates the harsh situation experienced during this period:
2 12 7 41 54 68 105 135 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140
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Even in Iraq, where the League of Nations monitored progress in implementing limited self-rule under the British mandate, the Kurdish press suffered from repression.
Hassanpour (1996) further explains that the Iraqi government and the British mandate authorities were both opposed to permitting the publication of a Kurdish daily newspaper, since they thought the existence of such Kurdish publications could threaten Iraq as it could increase national awareness amongst the Kurds. Therefore, throughout the monarchy rule and the British mandate over Iraq, the authorities did not formally permit any Kurdish political publications (Edmonds, cited in Hassanpour, 1996).
For the Kurds, the press field, like political life, had an unstable journey. ‘Umer (2001, p.117) refers to many reasons for this unsettled situation; but, ‘Umer clearly indicates that the government in Iraq had a narrow and restrictive policy of Arab nationalism, which disrupted the Kurdish. Even though the British were there to resolve the situation in Iraq, which was still unstable especially after the country had been reformed and the Kurds had been deprived from their own national state, they were there to support the Iraqi government and as a result, they fought the Kurds at different points. In addition, work in the press field was new for the Kurds as many of them were illiterate. Furthermore, El-Bettî (2011), believes that the Kurdish press was not only primitive, but it was also weak because of the following reasons: firstly, because of a lack of printing presses in the Kurdish cities; secondly, because of the high rate of illiteracy amongst the Kurdish; thirdly, because of lack of financial sponsorship to sustain the publication of periodicals, over a long period of time; and, finally, because of the absence of professional journalists within the field. It is worth noting that the vast majority of people who contributed to the issuance of the newspapers and magazines were either poets, novelists or historians (Hassanpour, 1992, p.256).
Nevertheless, the rebirth of the Kurdish press, during this period in Iraq and across the Kurdish territories, was primarily made by the British. Before the occupation of Mosul Vilayet by the British in November 1918, a Kurdish newspaper was issued in Baghdad entitled Têgeyşitinî Rastî (Understanding of the Truth); it was issued on the 1 January 1918 and aimed to encourage the Kurds to oppose the Ottomans (Eḧmed, 1978; ‘Umer, 2001). This newspaper was issued on a bi-weekly basis and 67 issues were published for just over one year (El-Bettî, 2011). The policy of this newspaper was
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to show the grace of the Great British people to the Iraqi people, attracting Kurdish people to their side and praising Britain’s role. For instance, the newspaper published in the first issue an article entitled (The grace of the Great Britain’s government for Iraq) which was showing the suffering of the Iraqi people before the coming of the British to liberate them from the Ottomans. This article describes the British as a rescuer who had been sent by God to save the people from Ottoman’s suppression and provide wheat and barley to the farmers. The article ends arguing, “Under the English rule over Iraq, we will spend a golden and silvery age” (Eḧmed, 1978, p.114). In another article entitled (The England and the Islam) published on 13 May 1918, issue (28), Têgeyşitinî Rastî attempts to stir a religious sense of the Kurdish people stating that in history, Great Britain has helped the Muslims several times; it even rescued the Ottomans from the death only for the sake of Muslims (Eḧmed, 1978, p.114). Moreover, Têgeyşitinî Rastî tried to present the detestable aspects of the Ottomans and attacked them on many occasions. In an article published on 25 March 1918, issue (21), Têgeyşitinî Rastî presents the damage that was made by the Ottomans to Islam arguing that the Ottomans have tried to weaken this religion and they have even changed and erased many of Islam’s morals main keys (Eḧmed, 1978, p.115). This newspaper published many reports and news about the war and the victories of the British and its allies around the world, but one notable point of its policy was its attitude towards the Kurdish people. In many articles, the newspaper describes the positive attitude of the English towards the Kurds. A good example of this is an article published in the newspaper on 2 March 1918, issue (18), which argued that “more than any other people, the English are friends to the Kurds and liked their courage because they have heard about Kurdish courage, therefore they love the Kurds very much”. In another issue, Têgeyşitinî Rastî states that the English like the Kurdish people very much because they are famous and have a considerable name in the world and they should not be dispersed, promising to help them since the British came to liberate the Arabs, Kurds and the Armenians (Eḧmed, 1978, pp.117-118).
After the closure of this newspaper, the British started to issue another Kurdish publication across the Kurdish territory from the 29 April 1920. The British had brought a small printing machine to Sulaimanyiah city. This press paved the way for the printing of many Kurdish publications and this event can be seen as a trigger to a radical shift in cultural and press life for the Iraqi Kurds, who had never previously had a printing
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machine in their homeland (Remezan, 2008). As a result of this, they began to issue a weekly newspaper entitled Pêşkewtin (Progress); this was the first Kurdish newspaper to be published in the Kurdistan region (Hassanpour, 1996). Eḧmed (1978) claims that this newspaper was supervised by Major Ely Bannister Soane 6 and in total 144 issues were published, until 29 June 1922. Furthermore, despite the fact that the newspaper was in Kurdish, it was praising Great Britain with their leadership and their civilised role in the world, whilst also educating the local people on agriculture, health, economics and trade. This can be viewed as a significant milestone based on the essential role it played in improving Kurdish writing, since it was used for writing, publishing internal and external news, various articles and reportages (‘Umer, 2001). For understanding the newspapers’ policy well, it is better to present some of its article titles as follows (‘Umer, 2001, p.78):
1- Sultan Sellahedîn and the Turks (Issue 8)
2- The English government, Persians, Turks, Russians and the Germans (Issue 9) 3- England and Islam (Issue 13)
4- What is the Britain, France, America and Italian’s attitude towards the east nations? (Issue 18)
5- What should the Kurdish leader do? (Issue 19)
6- What is the difference between the English government and the Turks? (Issue 44)
7- The Turkish government been weakened (Issue 50) 8- Why the Turks government fight? (Issue 38)
9- Intellectual and national liberation (Issue 57) 10- The future of the world (Issue 62)
Both Têgeyşitinî Rastî and Pêşkewtin were issued and supervised by the British and had a significant influence on Kurdish journalism and writing systems in the future. According to ‘Umer (2001, p. 79) both newspapers that were supervised by Major Soane, drafted many Kurdish new terms and concepts that are still used in the Kurdish
6 - Major Ely Bannister Soane (1881-1923) was a British political officer who was the political governor of Sulaymaniyah city in 1919. He was a writer and well informed about Kurdish culture and he wrote several books about the Kurdish language and the geography of Kurdistan such as To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise in 1912 (for further details, see Academic 2013; ‘Umer, 2001, p.110; Eḧmed, 1978).
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language in addition to promoting the Kurdish writing system. Furthermore, they formulated the foundation of Kurdish journalism, since for the first time in the Kurdish press both newspapers resorted to various journalistic techniques such as reportage and interviews in addition to publishing photos. Major Soane benefited from the British newspapers in many aspects especially in terms of journalistic techniques and design, to some extent. Thus, these two newspapers became the basis for many other periodicals that were issued in the following years in the Kurdish territory.
When Sheikh Mahmoud Barznji 7 returned to Kurdistan after his exile, a prosperous phase had begun for the Kurdish press as many new Kurdish newspapers were issued at this time. The short era of Kurdish self-rule, under the leadership of Sheikh Mahmoud, was effective in encouraging the Kurdish press during the period that followed and it initiated remarkable developments in intellectual movements (Xeznedar, 1973). According to El-Bettî (2011), ’Elî (2010) and Salḧ (2003), during Sheikh Mahmoud’s rule over the city of Sulaymaniyah, and even after his withdrawal from the city, four weekly newspapers were printed, all of which included political, social and literary information across four pages, each of which will now be listed.
1- Bangî Kurdistan (The Call of Kurdistan)
When Sheikh Mahmoud formed the government in Sulaymaniyah, the Kurdish newspaper of Bangî Kurdistan was published (Chaliand, 1994, p.52). The first issue, which acted as the mouthpiece of Sheikh Mahmoud’s government was circulated on 2 August 1922. Seventeen issues were released until 8 June 1923 (Xeznedar, 1974). This newspaper was printed in Kurdish, Persian and Turkish (‘Umer, 2001).
2- Roj Kurdistan (The Day of Kurdistan)
The first issue of this newspaper, which again acted as a mouthpiece for Sheikh Mahmoud’s government, was launched on 15 November 1922, but it only lasted for around six months (Salḧ, 2003). The final issue was printed on 3 May 1923. Sheikh
7 - Sheikh Mahmoud Barznji led the Kurdish revolt in 1919 against the British. The revolt was as a result of the Kurds being deprived from their rights during the occupation of Iraq. But, in July 1919, the British troops captured Mahmoud in a battle near Sulaymaniyah and he was sent into exile. After two years the British allowed him to return in order to use his rule against the Turkish influences on the region. He was quickly appointed by the British as a general governor, but his national ambition and his disappointment for the Iraqi British agreements for recognition of the Kurds’ rights in Iraq, made him establish a Kurdish Kingdom in November 1922, at which time he proclaimed himself to be the King of Kurdistan (see Salḧ, 2003, for more details).
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Mahmoud and his partisans at this point left Sulaymaniyah and with them they took the printing press to Jasana cave in the Sûrdaş mountain 8 in an attempt to escape attacks and air bombardments from the British (Eḧmed, 1978).
3- Bangî Haq (The Call of the Right)
This newspaper’s life was much shorter than the others, because the British troops marched towards Sheikh Mahmoud’s stronghold in the mountainous countryside which forced him and his partisans to leave the area (‘Umer, 2001). The Sheikh was therefore only able to publish three issues between 8 March and 12 April 1923. According to Fwad (2001), this newspaper was the first newspaper to be launched by a Kurdish armed movement; therefore, it is a valuable document as it provides significant value and information to help with the understanding of the truth about Sheikh Mahmoud’s revolution. Moreover, Eḧmed (1978) claims that this was a semi- clandestine publication.
4- Umêd Îstîqlal (The Hope of Independence)
After the British army left the area, Sheikh Mahmoud returned to the city of Sulaymaniyah and issued another newspaper entitled Umêd Îstîqlal. This newspaper was launched by Sheikh Mahmoud’s revolt supporters; it was issued in Sulaymaniyah on 2 September 1923 by a number of Kurdish intellectuals (Emîn, 2001) and, 25 issues were released until the summer of 1924 (El-Bettî, 2011).
These four newspapers were published in difficult circumstances and were only short lived; however, many Kurdish intellectuals such as Eḧmed Ḧemdî Begî Saḧêbqirran, Sheikh Mḧemedî Xallsî, Şukrî Fezlî, Cemîl Saîb, Eḧmed Xwace, Refîq Ḧîlmî, Ḧusên Nazm, Eḧmed Fewzî, Eḧmed Faîz, Bêxud, Reşîd Kaban, and Faîq Zêwer contributed to their issuance and they played a significant role in increasing national awareness amongst the Kurds. By recording historical events which represent an important phase of the Kurdish struggles they managed to focus on the main features of the Kurdish written system (Salḧ 2003) (see Appendix 1).
With the aftermath of Sheikh Mahmoud’s revolts and rule, and with the monarchy’s power over the region in 1932, other newspapers and magazines appeared which were characterised by several distinctive characteristics. ‘Umer (2001) believes that the
8 - Jasana cave is located in the Sûrdaş Mountain, 45 kilometres north-west of Sulaymaniyah city.
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most prominent characteristic of these publications was that they were mostly in Kurdish despite the fact that the Kurdish literature milieu at that time used to be written in Turkish or Persian due to their cultural domination over the Kurdish language. Therefore, when the Kurdish periodicals were issued, besides Kurdish, they were devoting sections to Turkish and Persian languages. Moreover, their issuance periods grew longer than they had been previously because the region witnessed a sort of stability and the Iraqi government controlled the Kurdish territory permanently with the assistance of the British. Finally, the publications played a significant role in transferring Kurdish society during that era from an armed struggle to a civil struggle as the people of the region became more informed about national issues. Kurdish intellectuals believed that instead of military options, periodicals could be an effective means in their hand to demand for national rights and to implement many tasks such as promoting political and national awareness despite educating people and guiding them. Thus they work on this trend. Besides, the heavy British bombardment and attack on Sulaymaniyah, left considerable havoc in the city, which made its residents leave it for a couple of months. Because of this destruction and the new situation, a new belief appeared which preferred peaceful means for demanding the rights of the Kurdish people and self-determination so that may be more meaningful and avoid war from the Kurdish region. A good example for this trend is a newspaper, entitled
Jiyanewe (Rebirth), which was first issued in Sulaymaniyah on 18 August 1924 (El-Bettî,
2011). It was a socio-political newspaper that was supervised and sponsored by the government, it was printed on a weekly basis by the city’s municipality printing press, the final issue was circulated on the 14 January 1926, after 56 issues (‘Umer, 2001). Many famous Kurdish intellectuals, novelists and poets contributed to the writing of this newspaper such as M. Nurî, 'Ewnî Efendî, Fayeq Zêwer, 'Elî 'îrfan, Kurdî, Kerîm Se'îd, Eḧmed Tofîq, Meḧmud Cewdet, 'Ebdulwahîd Emîn Rwandizî, M. Şewqî, Mistefa Wafî, Eḧmed Muxtar, 'Elî Kemal, Bêkes, Kerkukî, Ḧacî Qadrî Koyî, (Eḧmed, 2002; ‘Umer, 2001, p. 121). Jiyanewe was criticising Sheikh Mahmoud and his partisans for the suffering and destruction that have fallen on the Kurds as a result of their military movement. In contrast, the newspaper was praising the British who helped the Kurds to get rid of the Turks and to have a better life (‘Umer, 2001, p. 122). A week after the closure of Jiyanewe, a new newspaper – with almost the same policy and even a similar title emerged – this new newspaper was entitled Jiyan (Life) and was launched
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on 21 January 1926. This newspaper had the longest life, when compared to the previous Kurdish periodicals, its final print was circulated on the 10 March 1938 after 553 issues (Eḧmed, 1978). This newspaper is considered to be a valuable record of Kurdish literary and linguistic products. Many Kurdish intellectuals; poets, novelists, historians and other literate people such as Sheikh Nurî Sheikh Salîḧ, Mḧemed Edîb, Cemîl Saîb, Reşîd Necîb, 'Ebdulla 'Ezîz, Faîq Zêwer, Pîremêrd, Fayeq Bêkes and others contributed in writing to this newspaper (Emîn, 2002). This newspaper published news, articles and reports in various fields especially in politics, social issues and education in addition to literary criticism and poets. As an example, in the issue (61) on 14 April the newspaper published a report about exchanging the governors between Erbil and Sulaymaniyah according to an Iraqi government’s decision. Moreover, the newspaper was published in April and May 1927 with several items of news about the Iraqi army’s attack on Pênciwên town. Besides, in the issue (70) on 21 June 1927, Jiyan newspaper published an article about the negotiation between the British authorities in Baghdad and Sheikh Mahmoud. More importantly, the newspaper gave considerable attention to women and their rights in Kurdish society. For instance, on 29 July 1929, issue (189), in the newspaper, an article asked for equality between men and women because this will lead to integration and development of the Kurdish society. On 18 August 1927, issue (78), an article written by Mḧemed Edîb asked for equal opportunities for girls just like boys to study and to be educated, otherwise the Kurdish people would be called a retarded people and there would be no equality between men and women. Moreover, on 24 May 1927 in an article written by Faîq Zêwer in the newspaper, the writer argued that women in Kurdish society have been deprived from their rights and they should be allowed to study. Concerning Kurdish history, it published many subjects, mainly translated articles from foreign languages. For example, in issues 156, 157 and 158 respectively, the newspaper published a series of translated articles about Kurdish history and archaeological sites in Kurdistan. Furthermore, in issues 184, 185 and 186, the newspaper published a series of a translated study on Kurdish history and its customs and traditions. Meanwhile, the magazine of Diyarî Kurdistan (Gift of Kurdistan) was issued on a bi-weekly basis in Baghdad. It was firstly issued, on 11 March 1925, by Salḧ Zekî Saḧêbqrran who was a Kurdish intellectual, in three languages, Kurdish, Arabic and Turkish (Xeznedar, 1973). Only 16 issues of this
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magazine were published because on 11 May 1926, when its owner joined the compulsory army, its publication was stopped (‘Umer, 2001).
The Kirkuk Newspaper was first issued on 12 October 1926, it was initially printed in Turkish at the Elḧewadîs printing house in Kirkuk city; but, in 1930 the Kurdish section was added to the newspaper and it was then also published in Kurdish (‘Umer, 2001). Many Kurdish intellectuals and poets partook in writing this newspaper such as 'Ebdulxalîq Esîrî, Sheikh Selam, Eḧmed Muxtar Caf, Mḧemed Zekî, Eḧmed Koyî, Hîcrî Dede, Pîremêrd, Nûrî Saîb (‘Umer, 2001, p. 132). It had a much longer life than many publications and the final issue of the newspaper was circulated with a date of 20 August 1972; a total of 2,033 issues were printed and published on an intermittent