Marion Farouk-Sluglett’s Followers (1)

Marion Farouk-Sluglett

Born

in Berlin, Germany

March 01, 1936

Died

February 25, 1996

Genre

History, Politics

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Marion, a native of Berlin, traveled to Baghdad as a teenager with her family in the early 1950s. There she met and married Omar Farouk al-Awqati, a young officer from Mosul attached to the court of King Faisal II. He only revealed his affiliation with the banned Communist Party of Iraq at the moment of the July 1958 revolution that overthrew the monarchy. Marion, her anti-fascist commitment formed out of her German childhood, instinctually associated herself with the Iraqi left in the subsequent years of recurrent clashes with Baathist forces. The Baath seized power in a bloody putsch in February 1963, and tortured and killed thousands of communists, among them Omar Farouk. Marion fled to Berlin that summer with Omar’s parents and her baby Marion, a native of Berlin, traveled to Baghdad as a teenager with her family in the early 1950s. There she met and married Omar Farouk al-Awqati, a young officer from Mosul attached to the court of King Faisal II. He only revealed his affiliation with the banned Communist Party of Iraq at the moment of the July 1958 revolution that overthrew the monarchy. Marion, her anti-fascist commitment formed out of her German childhood, instinctually associated herself with the Iraqi left in the subsequent years of recurrent clashes with Baathist forces. The Baath seized power in a bloody putsch in February 1963, and tortured and killed thousands of communists, among them Omar Farouk. Marion fled to Berlin that summer with Omar’s parents and her baby sons, Marwan and Sha‘lan.

Marion remained engaged with the life of her adopted county, and her tiny Berlin apartment hosted scores of solidarity meetings on Iraq. She also began doctoral studies at Humboldt University. It was while working in the British Public Record Office that she met Peter Sluglett, who was himself researching Iraq’s British mandate period. To those of us who knew them, they always conveyed an unabashed enthusiasm for each other’s company, all the more so for those frequent times when jobs and research grants placed them apart. As a team they produced a wide range of essays on land tenure, labor movements, ideological trends and historiography. It is worth recalling that the highly critical appraisal of Iraq that Marion provided in these pages and in her book was produced at a time when most writings in the West were deferential, if not openly apologetic, to the regime in Baghdad. In the 1980s, as Baghdad warred against revolutionary Iran, this deference fully accorded with the political agendas of the great powers. This was a time when Marion was active in launching the Committee Against Repression and for Democratic Rights in Iraq, and bringing the work of dissident Iraqi intellectuals to the attention of Western readers. ...more

Combine Editions
Marion Farouk-Sluglett’s books

Average rating: 3.67 · 52 ratings · 4 reviews · 3 distinct works

	Iraq Since 1958: From Revolution to Dictatorship by Marion Farouk-Sluglett, Peter Sluglett 3.67 avg rating — 51 ratings — published 1987 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Times Guide to the Middle East: The Arab World and its Neighbours, A Political Guide by Peter Sluglett (Editor), Marion Farouk-Sluglett really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1992 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Der Irak seit 1958: Von der Revolution zur Diktatur 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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