Faris Harram (pen name)
Education
• (2024) Ph.D. in Contemporary Arab Thought, University of Kufa.
• (2015) M.A. in Philosophical Literature, University of Kufa.
• (2008) B.A. in Philosophy, University of Kufa.
• (1995) Diploma in Electronics, Institute for the Preparation of Technical Trainers, Baghdad.
Published Books
• (2025) Am I We? — poetry collection — Dar al-Shu'un al-Thaqafiyya (Department of Cultural Affairs), Iraqi Ministry of Culture.
• (2023) Land Ready for Fascists: A Report on the Execution of Those Who Will Not Be Executed — a study of the return of fascism after the fall of its political regimes, comparing post-2003 Iraq with post-1945 Germany — Nabu Publications, Baghdad.
• (2019) To Overturn the Idea — poetry collection — Dar al-Rafidain, Beirut.
• (2007) Iraq – 360 Degrees — in both Arabic and English — a book of travels and cultural encounters in the countries surrounding Iraq, co-authored with the Iraqi writer Abdul-Mohsen Saleh — published by the German foundations MICT and Friedrich Ebert, Berlin.
• (2005) Once — poetry collection — Ministry of Culture, United Arab Emirates.
International and Iraqi Awards
• (2025) Writing Grant, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC), for the book Oppression by Interpretation: The History of Using Abstract Concepts to Control Arab Societies.
• (2015) Kamel Shiaa Award for Enlightenment Culture, Third Iraqi Press Festival, organized by the newspaper Tariq al-Shaab.
• (2011) "Open Eye" Photography Award, Berlin, Germany.
• (2010) Abdul Aziz Saud Al-Babtain Prize for Poetic Creativity, Kuwait.
• (2007) Golden Award for Best Screenplay, Oran International Film Festival, Algeria, for the Iraqi film Underexposure.
• (2005) Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity in Poetry, United Arab Emirates.
Brief Biography
• (2019 – present) Lecturer in Philosophical Literature, Political Philosophy, Modern Philosophy, and Logic, Department of Philosophy, College of Arts, University of Kufa.
• (2018–2019) Lecturer in Contemporary Arab Culture, Arabic, and the History of Islamic Thought, Shanghai International Studies University, China.
• (2015–2017) Lecturer in Philosophical Literature and Islamic Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, College of Arts, University of Kufa.
• (2010–2016) Elected President of the Union of Writers and Authors in Najaf for two consecutive terms.
• (2005) Roving journalist in literature, culture, and the arts across Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon for the radio program Iraq – 360 Degrees, broadcast in Iraq and several neighboring countries, on behalf of the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
• (2004) Editor-in-Chief in Berlin, Germany, of the German radio program Telephone FM, broadcast in Arabic in Baghdad, on behalf of the German MICT Foundation.
• (1999–2003) Worked in the cultural field as a language editor for the magazines Afaq Arabiyya (cultural) and Al-Tali'a al-Adabiyya (literary), both published in Baghdad by the Iraqi Ministry of Culture.
Notable Cultural Activities
• (2003) One week after the occupation of Iraq and the fall of Saddam's regime in April 2003, co-founded in Baghdad, with a number of friends, the Najeen (Survivors) Group for Culture and Arts, and wrote the group's founding manifesto, The Najeen Manifesto on What Happened, published in Baghdad on 26 April 2003 in Arabic, Kurdish, and English. He also contributed to the group's first work, the panorama They Passed Through Here, staged on the ruins of the burned and destroyed Al-Rasheed Theatre on 3 May 2003.
• (2003–2004) Co-wrote the screenplay of the Iraqi feature film Underexposure with his friend, the film's director Oday Rasheed. Filmed in Baghdad, it won several international awards, including Best Asian Film at the Singapore International Film Festival (2005), the Golden Tiger for a first feature at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, the Netherlands (2006), and the Golden Award for Best Screenplay at the Oran International Film Festival, Algeria (2007).
• (2009) Published in the newspaper Al-Sabah a Manifesto for Reforming the Cultural Situation in Iraq, which drew discussion in the cultural press.
• (2010) Presented A Vision for Rescuing Iraqi Culture at the symposium "Who Is the Intellectual, and What Does He Want?" held by the Al-Sabah Studies Center, Baghdad; the vision was republished in more than ten Iraqi print outlets.
• (2010) After his election as President of the Union of Writers and Authors in Najaf, authored the Union's cultural strategy, presented it to the administrative and general boards, which approved it, and it was then issued as a booklet the same year — the first cultural strategy for a quasi-governmental institution in Iraq after 2003. The strategy argued that the core problem of cultural activity in Iraq is the fragmentation of the cultural public and the decline of society's interest in literary life, and set out practical visions and programs to address these challenges.
• (2010–2011) Through the Union of Writers and Authors in Najaf, launched his bold initiative the "Street Lectures Series" as part of the events of Najaf, Capital of Islamic Culture 2012, delivering the first lecture himself among passersby in the old city of Najaf under the title "How Do We Reclaim Our Cultural Public?" It was followed by lectures and events in the streets of Najaf and Kufa by a number of academics, intellectuals, writers, and artists. Media inside and outside Iraq took interest in this experience, the first of its kind in the history of Iraqi culture. During a stay in Kuwait in 2012, he was invited by the "Tanweer" Cultural Dialogue Center in Kuwait to give a lecture on the "Street Lectures Series" initiative.
• (2012) While heading the delegation of Najaf's intellectuals to the "The Intellectual and Reconciliation" conference held by the Iraqi government in Baghdad, he presented an initiative for a joint declaration with the intellectuals of Anbar on cultural paths to achieving civil peace in Iraq, and wrote the text of the declaration, which was signed by the intellectuals of both provinces; the conference considered it its principal outcome, and various media welcomed and highlighted it.
• (2014) After ISIS seized Mosul and other cities, oversaw the launch of the initiative "Najafi Writers and Elites for Civil Peace in Iraq," announced in July 2014, writing its text, which was signed by 161 figures from Najaf — writers, clerics, academics, artists, and public figures. It emphasized that ISIS does not represent the Sunnis of Iraq, and offered cultural visions to confront the dangers of terrorism in Iraqi society and to establish civil peace.
Chaired the Following Conferences and Activities
• (2010) The First International "World of Poetry" Forum in Najaf, with some 250 intellectuals from Iraq and neighboring countries.
• (2011) The First Children's Literature Festival in Najaf — the first of its kind in the history of Iraqi culture — with some 100 intellectuals and writers specialized in children's literature.
• (2011) The Second International "World of Poetry" Forum in Najaf, with some 300 intellectuals from Iraq and neighboring countries.
• (2013) The Arab–Kurdish Culture Forum in Najaf, with some 250 Iraqi intellectuals from inside and outside Iraq.
• (2015) The conference "Najaf: Current Cultural Challenges."
• (2015) The conference "Literature Builds the Human Being."
• (2016) The conference "Research Centers in Iraq and Their Impact on Cultural Life and Decision-Making," in cooperation with the Kufa Studies Center, University of Kufa.
Research Papers and Lectures
• (2026) What If al-Wardi Entered Our Universities Now? A Reading of "Academic Dissonance." — Paper presented at the symposium "Ali al-Wardi Today," held by the "Tafkeer" Cultural Organization. Karbala, 17 July.
• (2026) Our Moral Crisis and the Alternative. — Lecture at the "Martyr Abd al-Abbas al-Mas'udi Forum," Karbala. 26 February.
• (2026) Pragmatism and Opportunism in Opposition Political Work. — Lecture at the Reading Club in Najaf. 21 February.
• (2025) Moderation in Media Discourse and the Rejection of Extremism and Hate Speech. — Lecture at the Kufa Studies Center, University of Kufa. 14 December.
• (2025) The Intellectual and the Politician in Iraq: The Impossible Friendship. — Lecture at the "Iraqi Cultural Forum in al-Shamiya," Diwaniyah Governorate, Iraq. 29 November.
• (2025) Which Is More Dangerous — the Tyrannical Leader or His Public? — Lecture at the Monday Knowledge Forum, Baghdad. 1 February.
• (2025) Trivial Art in Our Society: Production and Reception. — Lecture at the Union of Writers and Authors in Najaf. 18 January.
• (2025) The "Ten Steps to Rescue Iraq" Initiative: Circumstances and Future. — Lecture on an initiative launched by the "Iraqis" (Iraqiyyun) initiative, which Faris Harram helped draft with a group of academics and researchers. "Nawafidh" Center for Culture and Sustainable Development, Najaf, 17 January.
• (2024) The Return of Tyranny — The Dwindling of Hope. — Lecture at the National Forum for Thought and Culture Research in Najaf, on the persistence of political, religious, and social tyranny despite Iraq's entry since 2003 into a new phase after the fall of Saddam's tyrannical regime. Najaf, 23 March.
• (2024) The Impossible Idea of De-Rooting (Ijtithath). — Lecture at the Philosophical Forum in the Iraqi city of Karbala, on the failure of the new political system in Iraq after 2003 to address the legacy of dictatorship; the lecture included a signing of the book Land Ready for Fascists. Karbala, 1 March.
• (2024) Living in Two Separate Worlds. — Participation as a keynote speaker at TEDx Basrah, held in the Iraqi city of Basra; the talk addressed the contradictions of lived reality in Iraq. Basra, 15 March.
• (2023) Eight Possible Reasons for Iraq's Return to Dictatorship. — Participation as a speaker at the "Annual International Conference of the Iraq Initiative," organized by Chatham House, London, 11–12 November.
• (2023) Why Have We Failed to Confront the Legacy of Tyranny? — Opening lecture of the Najaf International Book Fair, Najaf, 4 May.
• (2021) From Weapons to Understanding: Toward a Cultural Solution to Violence in Iraq. — Paper published in French in the French journal Esprit, Issue 3, 2021.
• (2021) On the Civil State Among Najaf's Religious and Cultural Elites. — A concentrated concept paper presented at the symposium "Najaf's Religious and Cultural Vision in Support of the Concept of the Civil State," held by Al-Alamain Institute for Graduate Studies in Najaf, 7 July.
• (2021) The Tishreen Protests: Political Change or a Conflict of Values? — Participation as a speaker in the online seminar "The October 2019 Protests/Revolution in Iraq as Told by Its Actors," held by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Doha, Qatar, 18 May.
• (2021) Illness in Philosophy and Friendship in Poetry: Nazik al-Mala'ika's Poem "Cholera" from a Hermeneutic Perspective. — Paper presented at the international online seminar "Pandemic and Freedoms," organized by the Collège de France and the French Cultural Center, Baghdad–Paris, 16 May.
• (2019) The Role of Iraqi Intellectuals in Facilitating Mutual Understanding as a Path to Peace. — Paper presented at the international conference "France and the Middle East (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon): From Violence to Hope," organized by the Collège de France, Paris, 22 March.
• (2010–2018) The Cultural Solution to What Is Happening in Iraq. — A series of lectures in several venues in Baghdad and Najaf.
• (2018) The Cultural Solution to What Is Happening in Iraq and the Arab World. — Lecture at Shanghai International Studies University before a gathering of its faculty and students, Shanghai, 3 June.
• (2017) Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi: Where Do Philosophy and Poetry Meet, and Where Do They Part? — Lecture at the College of Arts, University of Kufa, before a gathering of its faculty and students. 28 February.
• (2017) Is There a Real Rapprochement Now Between the Religious and Civil Currents in Iraq? — An extended intervention in the "Iraqi Dialogues" workshop for a number of civil-society leaders, held by Chatham House (UK) and the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation (Germany), Beirut. 22–23 May.
• (2017) How Do We Market Philosophy in Our Society? — Paper presented on the occasion of World Philosophy Day, held by the Department of Philosophy, College of Arts, University of Kufa. 27 November.
• (2015) My Lost Bird. — A paper on invisible beauty in Iraq, published in English in the book Invisible Beauty in Iraq, produced for the Iraq Pavilion by the administration of the annual Venice Biennale; publisher: Mousse Publishing, Milan, Italy.
• (2016) What After the 2015 Iraq Protests? — Testimony at the international round table "Strengthening the Role of Civil Society in Consensus-Building," organized by the Jordanian Al-Quds Center for Political Studies, Beirut.
• (2016) Intellectuals and the Religious Authority (Marja'iyya) in Najaf and the 2015 Protests. — Testimony at the workshop "The Civil Movement in Lebanon and Iraq," organized by the Carnegie Middle East Center, Beirut.
• (2013) Cultural Activity in Najaf After 2003: From Homes to Street Lectures. — Paper at the international conference "Najaf, City of the Shiite World," organized by the French Institute for the Near East (IFPO), at the Arab World Institute, Paris.
• (2012) One Table in the Street and a Chair. — Testimony on the crisis of reading in Iraqi society, published in Arabic and English in the book Iraq – I, issued by the German WPI Foundation.
• (2011) To Live as a Ghost. — Testimony on the impact of the international sanctions on the cultural reality of Najaf, delivered at the international conference "Geopolitics in Najaf," organized by the Geopolitical Academy, UNESCO Hall, Paris.
• (2011) Poetry as the Maker of My Country. — Paper at the international forum "Poetry for Tolerance and Peaceful Coexistence," organized by the Abdul Aziz Saud Al-Babtain Foundation (Kuwait), Dubai.
• (2010) A Vision for Rescuing Iraqi Culture. — Paper at the symposium "Who Is the Intellectual, and What Does He Want?," held by the Al-Sabah Center for Strategic Studies, Baghdad; republished in many newspapers and magazines inside and outside Iraq.
• (2010) How Do We Reclaim Our Cultural Public? — A street lecture among passersby, Najaf, as part of the "Street Lectures" series held by the Union of Writers and Authors in the province.
• (2010) Iraqi Universities: From the Logic of Revolution to the Logic of Development. — Paper at the national symposium "The Role of Universities in Cultural Development," held by the University of Kufa.
• (2009) A Manifesto for Reforming the Cultural Situation in Iraq. — Paper at a symposium held by the Society for the Support of Iraqi Culture, Baghdad; published in the newspaper Al-Sabah the same year.
