Modernism and the Middle East: Architecture and Politics in the Twentieth Century

3. Visions of Iraq: Modernizing the Past in 1950s Baghdad

On August 23, 1921, the citizens of Baghdad witnessed a hastily arranged, historic, and somewhat comical ceremony. In the courtyard of the Serai, a grand-looking 1861 Ottoman palace, British military and civil administrators stood solemnly during a symbolic transfer of power. The leader that the British had hand-picked to govern Iraq, Faysal ibn Husayn, sat on a throne hurriedly made from Indian beer cases. Flanked by the British o‹cials, he listened to the formal proclamations declaring him king of the newly established Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq. He then stood up, uttered a few words, and tentatively stepped forward on a red Persian rug, while a British military band played the British national anthem, “God Save the King”—the Iraqi anthem had yet to be composed.1 This coronation was very much a British aªair and hardly pregnant with Iraqipatriotism.Fromaninternationallegalperspective,Iraqwasanewentity ontheworldstage.Inmanyways,itsinitialexistencewaspredicatedonBritish geopolitical concerns.2 But Iraq at this point was a state in search of a nation. As sociologist Sami Zubaida points out, it was the state that initially made the nation.3 Thenewnational governmentinheritedfromtheOttomanEmpirediverse urban and rural communities with diªerent economic orientations and historical memories. Under the watchful eyes of British advisors, Faysal and his government proceeded to nurture relevant institutions befitting a modern country in the postcolonial era. The events of World War I, the British occu81 3 Visions of Iraq Modernizing the Past in 1950s Baghdad magnus t. bernhardsson pation, and the breakup of the Ottoman Empire had created fresh facts on the ground. The Iraqi nationalist challenge was to eªectively respond to these new realities and develop a sense of belonging among the many Iraqi groups. The government had to compete in the marketplace of loyalties by defining andpromoting amodern Iraqi sensibility.Given thefragility of theIraqieconomy , the context for this articulation was particularly di‹cult. Further, the British restricted the actions of the Iraqi government so that it would not imperil British imperial interests, especially in the areas of defense and economicdevelopment .Forexample,theIraqiPetroleumCompanyhadamonopoly on oil production in the country and was dominated by British and other Western concerns. Iraq had no shareholders in the company. During the first three decades of Iraq’s existence, an insignificant amount of the oil revenue stayed in Iraq. This arrangement exploited Iraqi natural resources, with no material benefits to Iraqi society. The British also continued to maintain military bases in Iraq and thus restricted Iraqi sovereignty and control over its own defense. Despite these limitations, Iraqis did develop a multifaceted national identity. As in other countries, this was an intricate and convoluted process, constantly changing with political and cultural circumstances. Iraqi national identity has always been fluid, based on many competing, even contradictory visions of what modern Iraq should be.4 Is Iraq part of the pan-Arab nation whose destiny was largely shaped by its Islamic heritage, or is it a unique nation due to its Mesopotamian, pre-Islamic history? These notions were not viewed as mutually exclusive, but rather enjoined under the broad rubric of Iraqi nationalism. Iraqis have defined their national identity by appealing to a broad spectrum of images, memories, dynasties, and histories. The question—What is Iraq?—has many diªerent answers persistently subject to change and interpretation. This essay investigates this question in the realm of architecture and urban planning, showing how architects contributed to a vibrant cultural experiment that forged a distinct but multifaceted Iraqi voice and aesthetic in music, visual arts, and poetry. Focusing on the ambitious and fantastic plans to modernize Baghdad in the 1950s, we can see the roots of a nationalistic modern architecture predicated on a rereading and appreciation of the distant Iraqi past. For young and ambitious Iraqi architects, the Islamic and pre-Islamic past was modernized and ancient forms and motifs put to use for the contemporary Iraqi nation. These eªorts took on an interesting twist because some of the world’s most famous architects, such as Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd Wright, became part of the conversation during the 1950s. The activities during this 82 Magnus T. Bernhardsson decadelaidthefoundationforamodernIraqiarchitectureinwhichIraqiarchitects sought creative paradigms drawn from Iraq’s near and distant history. Reflecting the local environment and local traditions, this architecture was intended to convey a distinctly nationalist political and cultural spirit, while also embracing universal elements influenced by foreign techniques and trends. When evaluating the architectural trends of the 1950s, the vitality of the...