Ayatollah Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیت‌الله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Etymology The title is originally derived from ...

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...

Mohammad Bahr al-Uloom ( ar, محمد بحر العلوم‎; 17 December 1927 – 7 April 2015) was a

Twelver Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...

Shi'a Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...

leader and politician in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, who served as the President of the Governing Council of Iraq ( 43rd

Prime Minister of Iraq The prime minister of Iraq is the head of government of Iraq. On 27 October 2022, Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani became the incumbent prime minister. History The prime minister was originally an appointed office, subsidiary to the head of state, ...

Biography

Bahraluloom was born in Najaf in 1927 to Ali Bahraluloom, the son of Hadi Bahraluloom (d. 1904). He grew up and studied in Najaf, under his father, as well as other notable scholars of the religious seminary of Najaf. He was a long time opponent of the rule of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

. By 1992 he had moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

where he opposed Saddam's rule for many years. He was an active member of London's

community and was the head of AhlulBayt Centre in South London. In November 1992, at the '' Salahuddin gathering'', within the safety of the southern air exclusion zone, along with

Masoud Barzani Masoud Barzani ( ku, ,مه‌سعوود بارزانی, translit=Mesûd Barzanî}; born 16 August 1946) is a Kurdish politician who has been leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979, and was President of the Kurdistan Region of ...

and Colonel Hassan al-Naqib, he was one of the three men to be appointed to the presidential council by the

Iraqi National Congress The Iraqi National Congress (INC; Arabic: المؤتمر الوطني العراقي ''Al-Moutammar Al-Watani Al-'Iraqi'') is an Iraqi political party that was led by Ahmed Chalabi who died in 2015. It was formed as an umbrella opposition group ...

. Mohammad Bahraluloom continued to live in London prior to the 2003 Iraq invasion. After the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

deposed Saddam Hussein in 2003, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Bahraluloom was appointed to the

Iraq interim governing council The Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) was the provisional government of Iraq from 13 July 2003 to 1 June 2004. It was established by and served under the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). The IGC consisted of various Iraqi pol ...

. He agreed to participate in the interim government and was appointed to the nine-member rotating presidency. He was the first president of the council, in an interim capacity, serving in that position from 13 July 2003 until 1 August 2003. In August 2003, Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, a friend of Bahraluloom, was killed in a car bombing. Shortly after, Bahraluloom announced his voluntary suspension from the council, citing the failure of the council's ability to maintain law and order in post-war Iraq. He later returned to the council, and became president again on 1 March 2004, serving until 1 April 2004.

Personal life

Bahraluloom was married to the daughter of Muhammad-Husayn al-Shirazi (d. 1955), the grandson of

Mirza Shirazi al-Mujadid al-Shirazi, ar, المجدد الشيرازي , birth_name = , birth_date = April 25, 1815 , birth_place = Shiraz, Qajar Iran , death_date = , death_place = Samarra, Ottoman Iraq , resting ...

. He had four daughters and three sons. His son, Ibrahim, was the Oil Minister of Iraq from September 2003 to June 2004, and again during 2005. His son, Muhammad-Husayn is the Ambassador of Iraq to the United Nations.

Death

Bahraluloom died due to complications with his kidneys in 2015.

References

External links

Bahraluloom Charitable Foundation
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahr al-Ulloum, Mohammad 1927 births 2015 deaths British people of Iraqi descent Iraqi ayatollahs Iraqi politicians Iraqi Shia Muslims Islamic Dawa Party politicians