Iraqi Book Club

The President's Gardens : Muhsin Al-Ramli

Together, we share our stories about Iraq and meet new people in a supportive environment. We do this by talking about books.

About this event

We are a community group of people who have a relationship with Iraq. Some of us were born there, some of our parents were born there, some have lived and worked there and some are just curious.

Together, we aim to share our stories about Iraq and meet new people in a supportive environment. We do this by talking about books.

We talk about books written by Iraqi authors, both non-fiction and fiction. We like to read traditionally minority voices, like those of women, religious minorities and people who are queer. We do this so we can get the full picture of what it means to live in 🇮🇶 Iraq.

We meet every other month online to learn and get to know new people. Every so often we have a get-together in person somewhere in the UK. All sessions are appropriate for anyone with an open mind and heart, of any ethnicity and background!

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BOOK OF THE MONTH | The President's Gardens - Muhsin Al-Ramli

On the third day of Ramadan, a small village in Iraq wakes to find the severed heads of nine of its sons stacked in banana crates by the bus stop.

One of them belonged to one of the most wanted men in Iraq, known to his friends as Ibrahim the Fated. How did this good and humble man earn the enmity of so many? What did he do to deserve such a death?

The answer lies behind the locked gates of The President's gardens, buried alongside the countless victims of a pitiless reign of terror.

Join us to chat about our responses to these writings and (if we have them our own dreams for the future of Iraq