Zaki al-Sarraf

Family al-Sarraf hails from the prominent literary Bedget family of the Asad tribe. His ancestors settled in Karbala more than a thousand years ago, before the battle of Karbala, and had the honour of serving in the Imam Husayn and al-Abbas shrines', as well as holding custodianship of the two shrines.

His surname al-Sarraf was derived from his father's job, which was a money changer. His lineage is as follows: As a child, al-Sarraf would often accompany his father on his business trips to Iran. So much so that, al-Sarraf eventually picked up the Persian language, and through this, he went as far as to become fluent in the language, study it, and write books and prose in Persian.

Education He grew up in Karbala, and completed both elementary and high school there. He then went to Baghdad for university, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Arabic literature from the University of Baghdad. In 1962, he travelled to Iran to study Persian literature at the University of Tehran, but due to clashes with an Israeli student, he did not complete his studies and travelled to Egypt to achieve his masters (on Fakhr-al-Din Iraqi) from the University of Alexandria. He earned his doctorate (Journalism in modern Persian literature) from the University of Ain Shams in 1972. In 1978, he took sabbatical leave to carry out a study at Oxford University, on the life of Rumi.

Career After graduating from university, al-Sarraf began to teach in a high school in Baghdad. He also worked in journalism, starting as an editor at the al-Hatif magazine, that was issued by prominent Iraqi writer, Jafar al-Khalili. al-Sarraf was the first Iraqi journalist to hold an interview with Iranian revolutionary, Navvab Safavi, when he was in Baghdad. He then did reporting at a Lebanese magazine called al-Adib, that was issued by Lebanese laureate, Albert Adib. He also worked at two other magazines, also Lebanese, al-Adaab and Egyptian, al-Kaatib, where he produced many articles and interviews. Between 1967 and 1972, he worked at the Council of Arab Economic Unity in Cairo. He then returned to Iraq after completing his doctorate, and began teaching at the University of Baghdad, in the Eastern Languages department. In 1980, al-Sarraf's health deteriorated, and so he travelled to London to seek treatment. However, not long after his arrival, the Iran-Iraq war set off, rendering it difficult for al-Sarraf to return home. So he remained in the United Kingdom, and had to resign from the university.

Whilst in London, al-Sarraf continued his literary activities, writing articles, books, prose, and poetry. He always dreamt of returning to Iraq, where the Baath was no more, and wrote poetry criticising Saddam Hussein: Then when Saddam started the Gulf War, al-Sarraf wrote:

Personal life and death al-Sarraf was married and had one son, Qusay and one daughter Nihal. He died on 11 March 1996 in his home in London.

Works

Layali al-Shabab (Nights of the Youth – Poetry Collection) Abdullah bin al-Muqafa''' (Abdallah Ibn al-Muqaffa') Hareeq Maktabat al-Iskandariya (The Fire of Alexandria) Wijhat al-Adab Fi Iran (The Face of Literature in Iran) Karbala FI Uyoon al-Rahala al-Gharbiyin'' (Karbala in the eyes of Western travellers)