Dream deferred: Soaring costs drive Iraqi exodus from Turkiye

Shafaq News Hanine Jabbar packed her bags and took one last look at the street she had lived on in Turkiye before deciding to return to Iraq. Living quietly in Istanbul since... Read more »

Tracing the Intellectual Heritage of Grand Ayatollah Sistani’s Political Thought

(Photo: Al-Khoei Foundation) In a message last week conveyed through one of his representatives, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani called on Iraqis to remain steadfast in their national principles and maintain hope for... Read more »

Imagining Najaf After Sistani: Continuity or Change for the Shia of Iraq?

(Grand Ayatollah Sistani leading Janazah prayer over Grand Ayatollah Khoei/Photo: Ijtihad Network) The conclusion of the papal conclave in Rome has raised questions about the process of succession in the Najaf seminary... Read more »

Iraq faces fractured path to reintegration of al-Hol families

Shafaq News – Saladin/Nineveh Iraq’s attempt to reintegrate families returning from Syria’s notorious al-Hol displacement camp has triggered deep societal unease, rekindling old wounds and exposing unresolved tribal feuds. While the government... Read more »

Arab League Summit in Iraq Falls Short

Last week Iraq hosted the Arab League Summit for the fourth time in its history. The last time Iraq hosted the summit was in 2012, when the new Iraq was attempting to... Read more »

The Lost Memory of Iraqi Female Prisoners

Standing in Abu Ghraib, the politics of forgetting in Iraq were revealed in stark relief. The story of female political prisoners during Saddam’s reign is a complex one. The intricacies of their... Read more »

Translation of Speech on Regional Situation by the Representative of the Supreme Religious Authority in Najaf

On June 26, 2025, coinciding with the first day of the Islamic month of Muharram, a sacred period of mourning that commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of... Read more »

Iraq’s political crossroads: Al-Sadr’s boycott, Al-Hakim’s mediation

As Iraq prepares for its parliamentary elections in November 2025, an uncertainty surrounds the political scene: Will influential Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr participate, or will his boycott continue to shape the electoral... Read more »