A new monument honoring the revered Kurdish poet Mawlawi was unveiled in Freedom Park during a formal ceremony attended by artists, officials, and the Minister of Culture and Youth. The sculpture, created by artist Mahabad Jamal, stands as a tribute to the poet’s literary legacy and cultural significance.
Jamal, who also serves as the Director of the Arts Department in the Ministry of Culture, revealed that the project took her two years to complete. The monument stands four meters tall and three meters wide, featuring ten carefully inscribed verses from Mawlawi’s poetry. “Any artistic work that doesn’t serve culture and history is incomplete,” Jamal said, emphasizing the importance of art in preserving heritage.
Mawlawi, born Sayed Abdulrahim in 1806 in Upper Sarshata, Halabja, was a prominent Kurdish poet and a Sufi of the Naqshbandi order. Writing in the Hawrami dialect, he became well-known for his romantic and spiritual poetry, often signing his work with the name “Ma’doom,” meaning “non-existent.” He authored four poetry collections before his death in 1882 and was laid to rest in the Ashaba cemetery of his native village.
The monument now stands as a cultural landmark, celebrating the life and work of one of Kurdistan’s most influential literary figures.
