After decades of war, sanctions and violence, Iraq’s book publishing and bookselling industry has struggled to survive. But Baghdad’s al-Muthanna Library, one of the country’s oldest and most traditional book publishers, has just released its first catalog of fiction for international market since 2003.
The stories in this collection touch on everything from dictatorial rule to political intrigue and economic sanctions. They also focus on the devastating effects of the war on Iraqis’ lives.
1. Al-Muthanna Library
The Al-Muthanna Library is one of the oldest book publishers in Baghdad, and it has an extensive collection of Arabic books. It has been selling these books to researchers, scholars and academics since the 1930s.
The book store began as an idea in the early 20th century, and it has grown to become a significant part of Baghdad’s cultural scene. Today, the store has a huge inventory of Arabic books, and it continues to expand as it finds new sources for its stock.
It is also famous for its extensive collection of Iraqi books, which includes rare editions from the country’s past. In addition, it has an impressive list of Arabic books for children and youth.
Al-Muthanna is a leading book publisher in the Middle East, selling Arabic and Islamic books to universities and other institutions across the globe. It is an essential resource for students, scholars and researchers alike.
While Al-Muthanna has a strong commitment to serving its local customers, it has also developed a global reputation for offering an impressive selection of English language titles. It has a large collection of books on philosophy, astronomy, history, and other topics of interest.
Many of these titles were published in Iraq, but the company has also expanded to cover other countries in the region. It has also developed a growing network of distributors in Europe and North America, as well as an online presence.
The book market in Baghdad has been a challenging business for years, with the government censoring and banning some books. However, as the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003 opened up the book market again, booksellers were able to bring in some rare titles that had been banned during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
In the years following the war, the Iraqi government introduced new restrictions on importing books. While the government allowed some people to bring in more than 100 copies of certain types of books, others were arrested and sent to jail for bringing in inflammatory material that threatened the state.
Although the Iraqi government has changed and a new regime has emerged, Al-Muthanna’s commitment to bringing in unique and hard-to-find books is as strong as ever. As long as the government isn’t blocking its way, Al-Muthanna will remain at the top of its game.
2. Bara’a Bookstore and Publishing House
Along one of Baghdad’s most historic streets, Bara’a Bookstore and Publishing House is making waves not only for the titles it sells but also for the woman who owns it. It is run by 30-year-old Bara’a Abdul Hadi Mudher al-Biyati, the first female bookseller in this city of around 7 million people. She started her career with an internship, but in February 2017, she opened her own shop and published her first six books.
She believes that women should be more involved in the workplace, and that a better environment can make them more productive. She also hopes that her success will inspire other women to reach their goals.
In her store, al-Biyati stocks books that deal with love and the role of women in Iraqi society. She says she wants to promote a more positive image of women and encourage them to become leaders in their homes, work places and communities. She aims to do this by establishing a nonpolitical women’s rights organization.
The bookstore has a large inventory of new titles and used books as well. It also provides services such as book translation and printing.
Although the number of people who buy books in Iraq has decreased, the demand for literature remains strong. However, higher customs duties to offset lower oil revenues and uncertainty following elections in May have hurt business, booksellers say.
Despite these challenges, Diab believes there is still room for book publishing in the Arab world. He says there is a growing market for non-fiction analytical books. He adds that short stories also have a high rate of sales.
“We sell more non-fiction than novels, but novels are still very popular in Baghdad,” he added. He also said that the quality of novels has been declining.
He also mentioned that his booksellers were having trouble getting copyright infringement cases dismissed by courts in the country. He noted that his booksellers had to pay heavy customs duties on imported books.
Hissam also said that the influx of new books in 2003 had a huge impact on the local book industry. Many of the new books were from abroad, so it made the local market even more lucrative.
3. Al-Muthanna Publishing House
Al-Muthanna Publishing House is one of Iraq’s most renowned book publishers. The store has been in business for over a century, and has become a mainstay of Baghdad’s bookselling community. Today, the store does much of its business as a book supplier exporting books to foreign universities and libraries. However, Ibrahim and his family would like to one day bring back its publishing arm.
The store is a popular place for tourists and expatriates to shop for Arabic and Kurdish books, as well as some English-language titles. It also stocks a variety of books on science, history, and politics.
Ibrahim Anas Al-Rajab started the bookstore in 1935 as a small library in the middle of the book market on Mutanabbi Street in the Saray district of Baghdad. He worked with the famous modern library owner, Hajj Noman Al-Azami, until he opened his own, which he renamed “Al-Muthanna.”
Ahmed Al-Mallah, a writer and researcher, notes that Rajab had a big role in bringing books to Iraq that were not available in other Arab countries. He told Al Jazeera Net that Rajab began in the printing industry with a set of books and encyclopedias from Germany and the Netherlands. This allowed him to break into the market and become a leader in his field.
According to Al-Mallah, Rajab had an exceptional talent and a great passion for books, which is reflected in his memoirs. He also devoted a lot of time to searching for books that were not available in Iraq and importing them, so that people could have access to them.
During the American invasion in 2003, many booksellers were eager to import books that had been banned during Saddam Hussein’s rule. Some dealers even smuggled in inflammatory literature from Iran and Saudi Arabia, which caused problems for the Iraqi population.
In addition to being a book supplier, Al-Muthanna also publishes literary and cultural works. It has published such works as The House of Wisdom by Aghlabid, a Persian text by the renowned poet Abu Faraj Al-Isfahani and the novel Baghdad’s Dead by Jamal Hussein Ali. It also publishes scholarly works, such as the Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences, which is open access.
4. Al-Muthanna Bookshop
Despite decades of war, sanctions and violence, the book industry has remained an important part of Baghdad’s heritage. One of the top book publishers in the city is Al-Muthanna, a traditional bookstore and publishing house founded in 1936.
In this rare and exclusive profile, Publishing Perspectives explores the history of Al-Muthanna, from its early 20th century roots to today’s international reputation for booksellers and writers alike. In the first of a two-part interview, Ibrahim Anas al-Rajab discusses the store’s evolution and how it has become a key player in Iraq’s literary world.
The story of Al-Muthanna is a tale of repression and survival, but it is also a testament to the human spirit. It was founded by Qasim al-Rajab, an aspiring bookseller who started off on just four dinars and sold his first book for 8 dinars.
Over the years, Al-Muthanna has expanded to include branches in southern Iraq and Beirut. But the family’s fortunes were tarnished in the 1970s when Ba’athist nationalization began to take effect.
As the country’s economy deteriorated and its political and economic systems crumbled, it became increasingly difficult for al-Muthanna to continue selling books. In 1970, the government began requiring that any imports be approved by a government agency, a change that Ibrahim says has had a huge impact on the book industry in Baghdad.
After the 1990 invasion, the shop was ransacked by soldiers. Bashir went to his publishers one by one and asked them how much he owed them but all of them told him that any debt he owed them before the invasion would be wiped clean and he could start fresh.
Since then, Al-Muthanna has continued to publish books and supply universities and institutions with its products. It is a leading publisher of Islamic, Arabic and Iraqi books.
Al-Muthanna has also published general interest titles as well. For example, it has published a cookbook of Iraqi cuisine.
In addition to its own publishing, Al-Muthanna has a contract with the State of Kuwait and is a distributor for many foreign publishers in the country. Its catalogue includes many titles that have been translated into Arabic, providing students and scholars with a wide variety of texts.
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