Talib al-Naqib
Talib Al-Naqib | |
|---|---|
| File:Talib Al-Naqib.jpg | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 February 1862 Basra, Iraq |
| Died | 16 June 1929 (aged 67) Munich, Germany |
| Political party | Free and Neutral Party Freedom and Coalition Party |
Talib Pasha bin Rajab Al-Naqib (Arabic: طالب باشا بن رجب النقيب ) He was a well known Iraqi politician, who effected the British Mandate of Iraq and its politics.
Family
He is Talib bin Rajab bin Talib Al-Naqib. Al-Naqib family descends from the city of Mandali, where Talib (the grandfather) emigrated with his two sons, Muhammad Sa'eed and Abdul Rahman, to Basra between 1811-1814.[1] After Talib became the son-in-law of Darwish Al-Refa'i, the Naqib of nobles (Sheikh of nobles) of Basra, the family became the sheikhs of nobles, with Talib being the first one of them. After Talib's death, the sheikdom became in the hands of his son, Abdul Rahman in 1874,[1] Then Muhammad Sa'eed, who became the vice-chairman of the properties of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. When Muhammad Sa'eed became old, he qualified his brother, Rajab to be the vice-chairman of the Sultan's properties.[1] After the death of Muhammad Sa'eed in 1896, Rajab became the sheikh of nobles.Because of his courageousness, bravery and boldness, Rajab was feared by anyone who wont obey his orders, including the Valis of Basra.[2] People called him Robin Hood.[3]
Early Career
In 1899, Rajab sent his son, Talib, to Istanbul, for solving the problems between the first ruler of Kuwait, Mubarak Al-Sabah and the Vali of Basra, Hamdi Pasha, about the 1899 treaty between the United Kingdom and Kuwait. He succeeded in solving the problem. After that, Hamdi Pasha was deposed, replacing him with Muhsin Pasha[1] Then he solved the problem between the sheikh of Mohammerah, Khaz'al al-Ka'bi and the Ottoman Empire, about Khaz'al's properties in Basra.[1] In 1901, Talib was set as the governor of Al-Hasa in Najd.[4]
Ottoman Representative
After two years, he quit his job and returned to Istanbul to work in the civil department of the state consultative council until restoring the constitutional monarchy of the Ottoman Empire in 1908. Talib was elected in the first term as a representative in the Ottoman Parliament, before re-electing him in 1912 and 1914.[5] In 1909, he created the Free And Neutral Party. He also created a branch of Freedom and Coalition Party in Basra, in 6 August 1911. The Constitution newspaper was the speaker of the party, which was first published in 9 January 1912.[6] In the 1912 elections, the Freedom and Coalition party got two seats in the parliament, and Al-Naqib was one of them.[5] Because of the of decentralized governance in the Ottoman Empire after they clashed with the Arab political assemblies and cultural ones, Al-Naqib canceled his party's branch in Basra,[7] and created the Reformist Assembly of Basra, which called for creating local councils for the Arab Vilayets, including Basra Vilayet.[7] In 1914 elections, Al-Naqib increased his party's seats in the parliament by four, having 6 seats, which made him more confident to demand the rights of Arabs and to hear their cases.[8]
Fighting To Be The King
When the British troops arrived at Basra in 1914, Al-Naqib was captured and exiled to Pompeii,[9] because of his objection of the British occupation. He stayed in his exile for five years, before coming back to Iraq and finding about the 1920 Iraqi revolt. He didn't approve on the revolt, because he believes that political situations should be solved by peaceful solutions.[9] Al-Naqib believed that the best solution is to occupy Iraq into Villayets, just like the Ottomans. He was hoping to rule Basra or to rule Iraq and he was against Faisal I being the king of Iraq, with Khaz'al al-Ka'bi and Arnold Wilson supporting him.[1] But his fame got down when Percy Cox became the British high commissioner of Iraq and he was set to be the minister of interior in Abd Al-Rahman Al-Gillani acting government, after setting Faisal as the king of Iraq in the Cairo Conference in 1921.[1] But he objected that and threatened to make a rebellion, cooperating with the tribal leaders.[1] So, he made campaign tour in southern Iraq and the middle Euphrates region.[10] Al-Naqib made a banquet, celebrating an English journalist with the tribal leaders. He stood in the banquet and said: We don't like the people in the house of the mandate, because they are interfering in the nation's matters, which has the only right to order and own anything it wants[10] Then this statement was copied from a person who attended the banquet, called Tod, to the secretary of the British accreditation house in Iraq, Gertrude Bell, and then she told Cox about it, which led Miss Bell to invite Al-Naqib for a cup of tea, arresting him and exiling him to Ceylon.[10] After he returned from the exile, he found Faisal a king, which destroyed his dreams and hopes. So, he decided to retire from politics and avoiding meeting any governmental person,[11] he even refused to meet king Faisal, but after some interferings, they met in 1925 and cleared the problems between them.[11]
Death
Al-Naqib had his healthy issues, so he traveled to Munich to have a surgery, but he died through it in 16 July 1929.[4] His body was sent to Basra, where he was buried in Al-Hassan Al-Basri cemetery in Al-Zubair.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Al-Maliki, Lazim Laftah. "The Family of Naqib and its Political Role in Basra". Basra's Families.
- ^ Al-Omari, Khairi Ameen (1955). Iraqi People. Baghdad. p. 23.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Ireland, Philip; Al-Khaiyat, Jaafar (1949). Iraq, a study in its political growth. Beirut. p. 177.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c Muhammad, Rifaat Abdul Razzaq (16 July 2013). "Happened on this Day: The Death of Talib Al-Naqib". Al Mada (2819).
- ^ a b Al-Faidhi, Sulieman (1956). Midst of Struggle. Baghdad. p. 97.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Al-Faidhi, Sulieman (1956). Midst of Struggle. Baghdad. p. 96.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b Al-Faidhi, Sulieman (1956). Midst of Struggle. Baghdad. p. 98.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Al-Faidhi, Sulieman (1956). Midst of Struggle. Baghdad. p. 190.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b Mentashavielly, Albert; Salih, Hashim (1978). Iraq in the Years of the British Mandate. Baghdad. p. 32.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c Ireland, Philp; Al-Khaiyat, Jaafar (1949). Iraq, a study in its political growth. Beirut. p. 180.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b Al-Omari, Khairi Ameen (1955). Iraqi People. Baghdad. p. 40.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)