.jpg)
Interview with Dr Kamal Mudhir:
The Kurdistan Tribune recently briefly interviewed the Kurdish historian Dr Kamal Mudhir on his return from an important conference in Washington.
Tell us about this conference.
Zhalmai Khalil Zad, the former American ambassador in Baghdad, invited us to the conference. He was born in Afghanistan and the conference considered the culture and histories of the Afghan and Kurdish people. Many people participated and I made a presentation on the history of the Kurds and Kurdistan.
How did you analyse the recent events in the Middle East?
If it wasn’t for the corrupt Arab leaders, the Arab nation could be the most powerful nation in the world, culturally and historically. Despite the historic achievements, for example of ancient Egyptian civilisation, the people of these countries have become isolated from the rest of the world. The domination of despots has caused the Arab nation to move backwards and become alienated from the Kurdish people. If we look back to the early days of Islam, the relationship between the Kurds and Arabs was much better. The Kurds had a role in spreading the message of Islam in the Arab world shoulder to shoulder with their Arab brothers. In most cases the deterioration in the relationship between the Arab and Kurdish peoples is due to the actions of so many corrupt Arab leaders. The amount of pressure and injustice increased to the extent that the people of Tunisia and Egypt could not accept it anymore and that has been the reason for all the revolutions and uprisings in the history of the Middle East.
How did you assess the recent developments and reforms by the KRG?
I am very optimistic that the dialogue and meetings between all the Kurdish political parties will lead to reconciliation and peace-making. As we speak there is a call from all the Kurdistan parties for reconciliation and agreement.
How do you spend your time these days?
Nowadays, I spend a great deal of time writing my memoirs which I have almost finished. I do a lot of writing and help many students with their postgraduate research though I am not employed by a university establishment.
