Khalil al-Zahawi
Encyclopedia
Khalil al-Zahawi was one of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

's most prominent Arabic calligraphers
Islamic calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy, colloquially known as Perso-Arabic calligraphy, is the artistic practice of handwriting, or calligraphy, and by extension, of bookmaking, in the lands sharing a common Islamic cultural heritage. This art form is based on the Arabic script, which for a long time was used by all...

. An ethnic Kurd and a native of Diyala Governorate, he began studying calligraphy in 1959, and moved to Baghdad in 1963, where he gave his first exhibition in 1965. He later graduated from the Fine Arts Institute of Baghdad, and proceeded to work for the State Directorate for the Plastic Arts in the 1980s. Eventually, he found work as a lecturer at Baghdad University. He lived in eastern Baghdad's Na'eriyah neighbourhood, a predominantly Shi'a area and part of the New Baghdad administrative district. He had received threats before his death, and had been preparing to leave Baghdad for Irbil.

Al-Zahawi was especially active in the 1990s, when he had realized the beauty of calligraphy and when he taught students from various countries of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 and beyond. He was considered the foremost calligrapher in the Ta'liq method; his style was notable for lengthening individual letters until they appeared as long as words. His textbook of Ta'liq was used in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 as well as in his home country. According to the Sunni Muslim Scholars' Association, he was considered the "sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...

" of Iraqi calligraphers, and only calligraphers who had passed his review could be considered proficient.

On 25 May 2007, al-Zahawi was ambushed by gunmen outside his home in the district of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

 while waiting for a taxi, and shot to death. His body was returned to his hometown for an Islamic funeral
Islamic funeral
Funerals in Islam follow fairly specific rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia calls for burial of the body, preceded by a simple ritual involving bathing and shrouding the body, followed by salah...

.
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