Mall in Erbil plays song praising Saddam Hussein

Mall in Erbil plays song praising Saddam Hussein

kurdsatnews

Nov 10, 2022

Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan region, Iraq.

Today, Thursday, Erbil central district mayor Nabaz Abdulhamid told Kurdsat English that the incident occurred three days ago. Now the mall was shut down for playing a song dedicated to the late Ba'athist regime, and the mall owner was investigated."

The mall is located on the Erbil-Kasnazan thoroughfare and was just opened last week, a KurdSat English reporter in Erbil said. The reporter mirrored the mayor's words and said the song was played unintentionally. "He is not from the Kurdistan region but a Kurd from Turkey," the reporter added. Most Kurds from Turkey do not speak Arabic, as education in the country does not include Arabic. The mall has been closed for the last three days and is closed for a week, per officials familiar with the matter. The lyrics to the song praise the former dictator and praise him as a benevolent leader rather than a tyrant.

Mayor Abdulhamid noted, "the owner of the mall is not an Arab, but from Turkey, and investigation had revealed that the song was played on YouTube and unintentionally played the song [apparently the mall had Autoplay on], the music was complimenting Saddam Hussein.

In July 2021, a hotel also played a song complimenting the late Baathist dictator Saddam Hussein has been; the hotel was shut for playing a piece of music flattering about Saddam Hussein.

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