Maqam Baghdadi

[AmbroseBierce]

Searching on the internet for the Iraqi violinist and composer Saleh Al Kuwaiti, I found a fotograf of this artist with the band of Baghdad Broadcasting House. The picture shows (from right to left) sitting: Ibrahim Taqu (cello); Daoud al-Kuwaiti (lute); Mohammed al-Qebbantchi; Yousef Za'arour (zither); Husain Abdallah (percussion). Standing: Yacoob Murad al-Emari (flute); Saleh al-Kuwaiti (violin).
(source: http://www.dangoor.com/72page41.html)

I also came across an interesting article:
http://www.aljadid.com/music/IraqiTraditionalMusicRevisitedinaWarEra.html
Do you think there is truth in the claim that efforts were made in the 1970's to eradicate the memory of Jewish contributions to Iraqi music - and that with collaboration of Munir Bashir?

[أبو علاء]

I'm not conversant with the history of Iraqi music even though I've come to know that the Jewish had a decisive role in it. But, knowing the Baas ideology quite well, that wouldn't astonish me. Baasism is fundamentally an extemist nationalist ideology comparable to Nazism and I remember very well the presence in their writings of frequent references to German nationalism theorists.
P.S. Sorry, I know what I'm going to write now is contrary to one of the rules I put myself along with Najib and Hatim, but this is a necessary exception to avoid misinterpretations. What I wrote above does in no way excuse the whole American dirty business in Irak and about it. I have also to add that the state of Israel doesn't have a different approach to the Arabs and their history in Palestine.