Archive Spotlight: The Mosul Music Teacher Fighting Extremists with the Strength of Strings

Visual by Hazem Atraqchi. Image provided by the author. Rights reserved.

What are the effects of a war waged against art? Established Iraqi-Kurdish journalist, novelist, and literary critic Nawzat Shamdin dives into this in “The Mosul Music Teacher Fighting Extremists with Strength of Strings.” Shamdin tells the story of Asad Aziz, an Iraqi citizen and musician who lives in fear of the Islamic State sanctions imposed on artists. Nearly every evening, he travels quietly to the home of his music student, Ahmed. Ahmed’s basement becomes their practice room — an escape from censorship, and a place for them to play their ouds. Shamdin immerses the reader into Aziz and Ahmed’s hideout and demonstrates how, when fear and violence police self-expression, even picking up an oud can be a monumental act of resistance.