Surat Al-Hajj (Arabic: سورة الحج‎ ) (The Pilgrimage, The Hajj) is the 22nd sura of the Qur'an with 78 ayat.

Verses ^{[Quran 2:62]}, ^{[Quran 5:69]} and ^{[Quran 22:17]} address the Jews, Christians and Sabians. The is the only sura to have two prostations of recitation.^[1]

Ayat 73 states:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ضُرِبَ مَثَلٌ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ لَن يَخْلُقُوا ذُبَابًا وَلَوِ اجْتَمَعُوا لَهُ وَإِن يَسْلُبْهُمُ الذُّبَابُ شَيْئًا لَّا يَسْتَنقِذُوهُ مِنْهُ ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ وَالْمَطْلُوبُ

"You, the living humanity; an example has made the equation evident, therefore you people be attentive to listen. It is a fact that those, whom you people call, apart from Allah, will never ever be able to create housefly even if they all rallied together/made a collective effort for that purpose. [What to say of creating housefly] Moreover, if a housefly takes/snatches away something from their front they all cannot recover that thing from that housefly. The seeker and the sought are thus proved feeble." [22:73]

It is not in the example that the man cannot catch or kill a housefly. The impossibility quoted is that of creating housefly and taking/recovering back what he has snatched/taken and moved away. Today we^[who?] can catch and see the housefly in thousands of larger than original size and could see the particle taken by him and could recover it. However, Grand Qur'aan informs us that we will never be able to recover it from housefly. A housefly keeps exposing our frailty the world over. The housefly has a soft proboscis, a trunk as organ that branches into a two-lobed tip and has a spongy pad called a labellum. A specific feature of the housefly is the way it "digests" food. Unlike many other living organisms, a fly "digests" food not through its mouth, but outside of its body. The spongy pad (labellum) dribbles saliva onto the thing they want to take away. It contains enzymes that breaks down the thing they want to take away and dissolves/liquefies it. As soon, it happens the proboscis comes into play on the wet surface and the fluid’s suction is by means of capillary action and a bellows-like pump in the head. It sucks up our thing from our front, stows away the pad and moves on. We will never be able to outwit the housefly and get back our "property" he has snatched.

Does not this proven frailty of ours^[who?] and of those whom we keep calling suggest us to submit and be exclusively allegiant and sincere to the Creator of the Housefly and wholeheartedly accept His words permanently written in the Grand Qur'aan?

Certainly, this Qur'aan is undoubtedly the one, which is absolutely convincing statement of proven truth/absolute fact. [56:95]

Moreover, certainly this Qur'aan is undoubtedly the one, which is absolutely convincing statement of proven truth/absolute fact. [69:51]

{for detailed study please see at Surat Fateh "Word by Word Analysis"]

Sample verses[link]

Quran 22:1-5[link]

Arab text: بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

English, Sahih International:
"O mankind, fear your Lord. Indeed, the convulsion of the [final] Hour is a terrible thing. (1) On the Day you see it every nursing mother will be distracted from that [child] she was nursing, and every pregnant woman will abort her pregnancy, and you will see the people [appearing] intoxicated while they are not intoxicated; but the punishment of Allah is severe. (2) And of the people is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge and follows every rebellious devil. (3) It has been decreed for every devil that whoever turns to him - he will misguide him and will lead him to the punishment of the Blaze. (4) O People, if you should be in doubt about the Resurrection, then [consider that] indeed, We created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot, and then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed - that We may show you. And We settle in the wombs whom We will for a specified term, then We bring you out as a child, and then [We develop you] that you may reach your [time of] maturity. And among you is he who is taken in [early] death, and among you is he who is returned to the most decrepit [old] age so that he knows, after [once having] knowledge, nothing. And you see the earth barren, but when We send down upon it rain, it quivers and swells and grows [something] of every beautiful kind. (5)"

External links[link]

Quran Al-Hajj with Translation

See also[link]

• Hajj

References[link]

1. ^ Verses in the Quran where we should perform Sujood al-Tilaawah

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Sami Mohy El Din Muhammed Al Hajj
Al Hajj in Doha after his release, 2008
Born	(1969-02-15) February 15, 1969 (age 43) Khartoum, Sudan
Detained at	Guantanamo
Status	Released after six years

Sami Mohy El Din Muhammed Al Hajj (Arabic: سامي محي الدين محمد الحاج‎), aka Sami Al-Haj (Khartoum, Sudan, February 15, 1969) is a Sudanese journalist for the Al Jazeera network. In 2001, while on his way to do camera work for the network in Afghanistan, he was arrested by the Pakistani army^[1] and held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camp in Cuba for over six years.^[2] He was released without charge on May 1, 2008. He intends to launch legal action against George W. Bush.^[3]

Al Hajj's case was portrayed in a documentary titled Prisoner 345 by Al Jazeera producer Ahmad Ibrahim.

Background[link]

Al Hajj was arrested in Pakistan on December 15, 2001.^[4] He was on his way to work in Afghanistan as a cameraman for Al Jazeera and had a legitimate visa. He was held as an "enemy combatant" at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, with Guantanamo Internment Serial Number 345, and was the only journalist to be held in Guantanamo.

British human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith represented Al Hajj, and was able to visit him in 2005. According to Stafford Smith, Al Hajj had "endured horrendous abuse - sexual abuse and religious persecution" and that he had been beaten, leaving a "huge scar" on his face. Stafford Smith also said that Al Hajj had witnessed "the Quran being flushed down the toilet by US soldiers in Afghanistan" and "expletives being written on the Muslim holy book".^[5]

On November 23, 2005, Stafford Smith said that, during (125 of 130) interviews, U.S. officials had questioned Al Hajj as to whether Al Jazeera was a front for al-Qaeda.^[6]

Stafford Smith stated of his client that:

He is completely innocent. He is about as much of a terrorist as my granddad. The only reason he has been treated like he has is because he is an Al Jazeera journalist. The Americans have tried to make him an informant with the goal of getting him to say that Al Jazeera is linked to Al Qaida.^[5]

Al Jazeera responded that Al Hajj reported his passport stolen in Sudan in 1999, and that anything done with the passport after that date was likely the work of identity thieves.^{[citation needed]}

During Sami Al Hajj's time in captivity, Reporters Without Borders repeatedly expressed concern over his detention, mentioning Al Hajj in its annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index, and launched a petition for his release.^{[1][7][8][9][10]}

In January, 2007, Al Hajj and several other inmates went on hunger strike in protest of their treatment in Guantanamo,^[11][12] during which Al Hajj lost over 55 pounds.^[13] In response to the hunger strike, Al Hajj and the other inmates were force-fed.^[14] Al Hajj's hunger strike lasted 438 days until he was set free on 1 May 2008.^[15]

On April 18, 2007, the Sudanese Minister of Justice, Mohammad Ali Al-Marazi, condemned the United States' detention of Al Hajj.^[16] Al-Marazi called Al Hajj's detention an "illegal act", which ran counter to human rights. He claimed it exposed American claims of supporting human rights as "false".

When Alan Johnston, former Gaza Correspondent for the BBC, was abducted on 12 March 2007 in Gaza City by gunmen from the Army of Islam and held for 113 days, Sami Al Hajj made a plea to Johnston's captors to let the journalist go. Following his release, Johnston made a similar plea for the release of Al Hajj, being held by the United States Government in Guantanamo.^[17]

Interrogation and treatment[link]

This section requires expansion.

On April 20, 2007, the UK newspaper, The Guardian, started publishing excerpts from Clive Stafford Smith's book, Bad Men: Guantanamo Bay and the Secret Prisons. According to Stafford Smith:^[4]

Against the background of this campaign against al-Jazeera, what I learned about Sami's ongoing interrogation in Guantanamo was disturbing. In the first 100-plus sessions, the US military never posed a question about the allegations against him, as they were only interested in turning him into an informant against al-Jazeera. He had to ask them to interrogate him about what he was supposed to have done wrong.

Health and hunger strike[link]

In 1998, Al Hajj was treated for throat cancer and prescribed a course of anti-cancer drugs that he was to take every day for the rest of his life.^[18] In letters from the dentention camp, he claimed that he was being denied these medications by the authorities.^[19]

The authorities were also reported to have "refused to provide him with a support for his knee as this contains metal and is classified as a security threat."^[18]

On January 7, 2007, Al Hajj went on a hunger strike.^[11] Al Jazeera's website published his demands which included:^[12]

• The right for detainees to practice their religion freely and without duress.
• Applying the Geneva Convention to the treatment of Guantanamo detainees.
• Releasing a number of prisoners from isolation confinement, and in particular one Shakir Amer that has been in continued isolation since September 2005.
• Conducting a full and fair investigation into the deaths of three prisoners who died in June 2006.
• His release or trial by a federal US court.

Zachary Katznelson, senior counsel of Reprieve, a London-based human rights group representing Al Hajj, visited the cameraman at Guantanamo Bay on February 1. U.S. military officials declined to confirm whether Al Hajj was among the 12 detainees on hunger strike at the time.^[20]

On August 22, 2007, Clive Stafford Smith told Reporters Without Borders that he had found Al Hajj's health had seriously deteriorated since his last visit.^[21] He said that Al Hajj looked more frail, and visibly had trouble concentrating.

On September 10, 2007, Clive Stafford said that Al Hajj was focussed on the worry that he would be the next captive to die and losing his ability to speak English.^[22]

On September 11, 2007, Al Jazeera reported that Al Hajj was suffering from depression and losing the will to live.^[23]

By October 19, 2007, Al Hajj had lost over 55 pounds since beginning his hunger strike in January.^[24]

Guantanamo detainee file[link]

This section requires expansion.

On April 26, 2011, a classified file from Guantanamo on Al Hajj's detention was released by Wikileaks.^[25][26] The file, dated April 4, 2008, describes Al Hajj as a high risk detainee with "direct ties to Al-Qaida, al-Haramayn non-governmental organization (NGO) and Taleban leadership."

According to the file, Al Hajj "admitted shipping supplies and carrying funds to Chechnya" but had "not been forthcoming regarding his activities in support of terrorist organizations as reported by other sources." The file said that he had been "careful not to implicate himself as a member of an extremist organization, or to have had any dealings with extremists beyond performing interviews as a journalist."^[25]

Among the reasons for Al Hajj's transfer to the facility, the file listed:

To provide information on ... the al-Jazeera News Network’s training program, telecommunications equipment, and newsgathering operations in Chechnya, Kosovo, and Afghanistan, including the network’s acquisition of a video of UBL [Usama Bin Laden] and a subsequent interview with UBL.^[25]

Reviews by U.S. authorities[link]

Combatant Status Review Tribunal[link]

Stafford Smith summarized the allegations from Al Hajj's Combatant Status Review Tribunal:^[27]

...that he had allegedly run a website that supported terrorism, that he had trafficked in arms, that he entered Afghanistan illegally in October 2001 while US air strikes were under way, and that he interviewed Osama bin Laden.

According to Al Jazeera, the U.S. authorities labelled Al Hajj an "enemy combatant" and announced a number of charges against him, including:

• That he travelled to the middle East, the Balkans, and the Caucasus for clandestine purposes.
• That he had an internet site that supports terrorists.
• That he was involved in selling Stinger missiles to Chechen rebels.
• That he was caught entering Afghanistan illegally.
• That he interviewed Osama bin Laden (a charge that was later dropped).

Ahmad Ibrahim, a colleague of Al Hajj who documented his case in the documentary Prisoner 345, denied each these charges.^[28]

Subsequent Administrative Review Boards[link]

On February 23, 2007, it was reported that Al Hajj's continued detention had been reviewed by a subsequent Administrative Review Board.^[29] Al Hajj was not one of the eighty captives who that round of Administrative Review Boards had recommended for release or transfer.

His colleagues at Al Jazeera said "his detention is American harassment of an Arabic TV network whose coverage has long angered U.S. officials." Lamis Andoni, an Middle East analyst for Al Jazeera, said in reference to the November 2001 and April 2003 bombings of Al Jazeera's offices: "When you are targeted once, it could be a mistake, but when you are bombed twice, it's something else."^[29]

The director of the Joint Intelligence Group, Paul Rester, said: "I consider the information that we obtained from him to be useful", though he declined to offer any substantiation for this claim.^[29]

During his first Administrative Review Board hearing, Al Hajj said he was going to decline to reply to the charges, on legal advice. However, Al Hajj's lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, said that:^[29]

• Al Hajj was not a clandestine financial courier, but: "...he and his wife once carried $220,000 from Qatar to Azerbaijan for his boss at the beverage company - and ... he even declared the cash to customs."
• Al Hajj did meet Mamdouh Mahmud Salim once "while working for the beverage company ... when he was sent to pick him up at the airport in Qatar in 1998. During the drive, the two discussed schools and housing."

Release negotiation and release[link]

al-Hajj at the 2008 Global Investigative Journalism Conference .

On August 15, 2007, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State stated of Al Hajj's case:^[30]

Asim al-Haj (aka Sami el Hadj) is being detained at Guantanamo Bay as an enemy combatant in the armed conflict with al Qaida, the Taliban, and their affiliates and supporters. Consistent with the law of armed conflict, the United States is entitled to hold enemy combatants until the end of hostilities, to prevent them from returning to the battlefield.

Mr. el Hadj has been found to be an enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Under the Detainee Treatment Act, Mr. el Hadj, like all detainees at Guantanamo, has the right to challenge that determination in U.S. federal court.

The United States does not want to detain anyone any longer than is necessary. Mr. el Hadj's detention is reviewed at least annually by an Administrative Review Board to evaluate the need for his continued detention, including an assessment of the threat he poses to the United States and its allies. Through that process, the Deputy Secretary of Defense has so far determined that he should remain detained at Guantanamo Bay.

We defer to Department of Defense on any additional questions about the scheduling of detainees’ Administrative Review Boards and other details about this process.

We will not put detainees or our operations at risk by discussing the possibility of transfers or releases before they take place.

On the same day, Ali Sadiq, an official of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, stated:^[31]

Last month, we received a memorandum from the US administration to the effect that they are considering Al Hajj's case and will hand down a final decision this month ... Based on this memo, we confirmed to the US administration in writing that Sami al-Hajj is an average Sudanese citizen with no extreme religious affiliations, he practices the religion like all other Sudanese citizens, and that in case he is released he will under no circumstances pose any threat to US security.

Sami Al Hajj was released on May 1, 2008 from Guantanamo Bay and flown to Sudan. He arrived in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on a US military plane in the early hours of Friday, May 2. Al Jazeera showed footage of him being carried into the hospital on a stretcher, looking frail but smiling and surrounded by well-wishers.^[32]

See also[link]

• Hunger strike
• Guantanamo force feeding

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} "Call for Sami Al-Haj's release from Guantanamo after lawyer provides new information". April 19 2006. http://en.rsf.org/united-states-call-for-sami-al-haj-s-release-19-04-2006,17217.html. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
2. ^ OARDEC (May 15, 2006). "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
3. ^ Fouché, Gwladys (2009-07-17). "Al-Jazeera journalist imprisoned in Guantánamo Bay to sue George Bush: Sami al-Haj – freed in May 2008 after more than six years – to launch legal action against former US president". London: Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jul/17/guantanamo-bay-al-jazeera. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Clive Stafford Smith (April 21, 2007). "Have you received your gift pack?". London: The Guardian. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2062590,00.html. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
5. ^ ^{a b} http://english.aljazeera.net/archive/2005/06/200849132624603963.html
6. ^ "More news is good news". New Age. November 13, 2006. http://www.newagebd.com/2006/nov/13/edit.html#2. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
7. ^ "Call for Al Jazeera cameraman's release from Guantanamo on fifth anniversary of arrival of first detainees". Reporters Without Borders. January 10, 2007. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=17971. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
8. ^ "Call for Al Jazeera cameraman's release from Guantanamo on fifth anniversary of arrival of first detainees". Reporters Without Borders. January 10, 2007. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=20344. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
9. ^ "North Korea, Turkmenistan, Eritrea the worst violators of press freedom: France, the United States and Japan slip further Mauritania and Haiti gain much ground". Reporters Without Borders. http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=639. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
10. ^ "Sami Al Haj petition". Reporters Without Borders. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19079. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
11. ^ ^{a b} http://www.cpj.org/2007/02/in-us-concern-about-jailed-aljazeera-cameramans-he.php
12. ^ ^{a b} "لجنة حماية الصحفيين قلقة إزاء تدهور صحة الحاج". Al Jazeera. March 6, 2007. http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/49B71E20-FDC0-4B51-A1D9-1CFB0ACA2D10.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-07. 
13. ^ http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=39128
14. ^ http://www.cpj.org/2007/03/guantanamo-bay-aljazeera-cameraman-forcefed-during.php
15. ^ http://www.voltairenet.org/article157846.html
16. ^ "Calls for release of Gitmo cameraman". Press TV. April 18, 2007. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=6486&sectionid=3510205. Retrieved 2007-04-19. 
17. ^ Holmwood, Leigh (October 4, 2007). "Johnston writes open letter to Guantanamo detainee". The Guardian (London). http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2183815,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=4. Retrieved May 23, 2010. 
18. ^ ^{a b} Sami Al Haj And the tragedy of Guantanamo http://www.sadasolidarity.net/sada/european/Sami%20Book.pdf
19. ^ http://www.cpj.org/reports/2006/10/prisoner.php
20. ^ "Imprisoned Al-Jazeera cameraman allegedly on hunger strike; health deteriorating". International Freedom of Expression eXchange. March 1, 2007. http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/81448. Retrieved March 7, 2007. 
21. ^ "Sudanese cameraman Sami Al-Haj in critical condition in Guantanamo". Reporters Without Borders. August 22, 2007. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=23363. Retrieved 2007-08-23. 
22. ^ Clive Stafford Smith (September 11, 2007). "Sami Al-Haj: 'I am afraid I will be the next to die'". Press Gazette. http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=6&storycode=38719&c=1. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
23. ^ Al Jazeera English - News - Al-Hajj 'Suffering From Depression'
24. ^ Press Gazette - Fears grow for hunger strike journalist held in Guantanamo
25. ^ ^{a b c} http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/al-jazeera-journalist-s-six-years-in-guant-namo-due-in-part-to-role-at-network/s2/a543834/
26. ^ "Guantanamo files,Guantanamo Bay (News),World news". The Guardian (London). April 25, 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/guantanamo-files/US9SU-000345DP. 
27. ^ Call for Sami Al-Haj's release from Guantanamo after lawyer provides new information, Reporters Without Borders, April 19, 2006
28. ^ http://english.aljazeera.net/archive/2006/10/20084101331752184.html
29. ^ ^{a b c d} Ben Fox, Alfred de Montesquiou (February 23, 2007). "Al-Jazeera Cameraman Still at Guantanamo". London: The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2007-02-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20070228100307/http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6435812,00.html. Retrieved 2007-02-23. 
30. ^ http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2007/aug/91137.htm
31. ^ "Al-Hajj 'nears Guantanamo release'". Al Jazeera. August 15, 2007. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2007/08/2008525143126751326.html. Retrieved 2007-09-11. 
32. ^ Freed Guantanamo prisoner is home 2 May 2008, BBC

External links[link]

• From Guantánamo to Desk at Al Jazeera, The New York Times, December 22, 2009
• Amnesty International case sheet
• Aljazeera Guantanamo inmate 'abused', Al Jazeera, June 22, 2005
• Aljazeera interview with lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith, Al Jazeera, October 26, 2005
• Robert Fisk interview about Sami mp3 download
• Sami al-Haj: the banned torture pictures of a journalist in Guantánamo Andy Worthington
• An interview with Sami al-Haj, former Guantánamo prisoner and al-Jazeera journalist Andy Worthington
• Sami al-Haj: “Torture is terrorism” Andy Worthington

v t e Alleged militants in the War on Terror who have lived in Azerbaijan 2007 Baku terrorist plot Abu Jafar · Telman Abdullayev · Mirza Babayev · Gadir Hajiyev · Vugar Aliyev · Emin Cami · Logman Muradov · Habil Masmaliyev · Parviz Karimov Grey Wolves Isgandar Hamidov Alleged members of al-Jihad Mahmoud Jaballah · Essam Marzouk · Ihab Saqr · Ibrahim Eidarous · Ahmad Salama Mabruk Detained at Guantanamo Bay Jamal Muhammad Alawi Mar'i · Polad Sabir Sirajov Other Idriss Wrongly accused Sami Al Hajj

v t e Alleged militants in the War on Terror who have lived in Sudan Alleged members of al-Qaeda and al-Jihad Jamal al-Fadl · Abu Taha al-Sudan · Ibrahim al Qosi · L'Houssaine Kherchtou Alleged members of the Islamic Courts Union Abu Taha al-Sudan Held in Guantanamo Bay Ibrahim al Qosi · Noor Uthman Muhammaed Wrongly accused Hammad Gadallah · Salim Amir · Walid Mohammad Ali · Mustafa al-Hassan · Amir Yakoub al-Amir Mahmoud · Sami al-Hajj · Adel Hassan Hamad

v t e Controversies surrounding people captured during the War on Terror Guantanamo Bay detention camp Suicide attempts · Quran desecration controversy · Boycott of military tribunals · Former captives alleged to have (re)joined insurgency · Hunger strikes · Force feeding · Homicide accusations · Juvenile prisoner CIA black site operations Enhanced interrogation techniques · Ghost detainees · Waterboarding · Destruction of interrogation tapes Prison and detainee abuse Abu Ghraib · Bagram · Canadian Afghan detainee issue · Black jail · Salt Pit Prison uprisings and escapes Battle of Qala-i-Jangi · Battle of Abu Ghraib · 2008 Sarposa Prison mass escape · Basra prison incident · Afghan escapes · Iraqi escapes Deaths in custody Dilawar · Jamal Nasser · Abdul Wahid · Habibullah · Abed Hamed Mowhoush · Manadel al-Jamadi · Nagem Hatab · Baha Mousa · Fashad Mohamed · Muhammad Zaidan · Gul Rahman · Abdul Wali Tortured Abu Zubaydah · Mohamedou Ould Slahi · Mohammed al-Qahtani · Khalid Sheikh Mohammed · Abdul Jabar · Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri · Binyam Mohamed Forced disappearances Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi · Abdu Ali al Haji Sharqawi · Muhammed al-Darbi · Mohammed Omar Abdel-Rahman · Yassir al-Jazeeri · Tariq Mahmood · Hassan Ghul · Musaad Aruchi · Hiwa Abdul Rahman Rashul Reports and legislation Ryder Report · Fay Report · Taguba Report · Church Report · Detainee Treatment Act · Senate Armed Services Committee Report Related media The Road to Guantanamo · Taxi to the Dark Side · Standard Operating Procedure · Torturing Democracy

Persondata
Name	Al Hajj, Sami
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 15, 1969
Place of birth	Khartoum, Sudan
Date of death
Place of death

Rahim AlHaj (Arabic: رحيم الحاج, born c. 1968) is an Iraqi American oud musician and composer.

Early life[link]

AlHaj was born in Baghdad, Iraq and began playing the oud (an Arabic lute) at age nine. Early on, it was evident that he had a remarkable talent for playing the oud.

Education[link]

AlHaj studied under the renowned Munir Bashir, considered by many to be the greatest oud player ever, and Salim Abdul Kareem, at the Institute of Music in Baghdad, Iraq. AlHaj won various awards at the Conservatory and graduated in 1990 with a diploma in composition. He also holds a degree in Arabic literature from Mustansiriya University in Baghdad.

Emigration[link]

In 1991, after the first Gulf War, AlHaj was forced to leave Iraq due to his political activism against the Saddam Hussein regime and began his life in Jordan and Syria. He moved to the U.S. in 2000 as a political refugee and has resided in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ever since. He became a U.S. citizen on August 16, 2008.^[1]

Career[link]

AlHaj has performed all over the world, on tour with Munir Bashir, his teacher, as well as solo and with his string quartet project, including numerous concerts in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, and France and hundreds of concerts in the United States.

AlHaj has released several recordings. The Second Baghdad, released in 2002, and Iraqi Music in a Time of War, released in 2003, were both produced by VoxLox record label. His East meets West CD entitled Friendship (Rahim AlHaj, Oud & Sadaqa Quartet) was released in December 2005 by Fast Horse Recordings. His When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq, produced by Smithsonian Folkways, was released in June 2006, and nominated for a 2008 GRAMMY award.^[2] An oud and sarod CD with Amjad Ali Khan will be released later in the year.

AlHaj's music delicately combines traditional Iraqi maqams with contemporary styling and influence. His compositions are about the experience of exile from his homeland and of new beginnings in his adopted country. He is one of the true oud masters from Iraq. AlHaj says that "my music invites the listener to discover the true spirit of the musician." His compositions are about loss, hope, freedom, and longing. His songs establish new concepts without altering the foundation of the traditional Iraqi School of oud based in Baghdad.

Awards[link]

In 2009 AlHaj won a Fellow Award in Music from United States Artists. ^[3]

References[link]

1. ^ Kelly, Jon (2008-09-20). "Talking America: Oud awakening". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/talkingamerica/2008/09/oud_awakening.html. Retrieved 2008-09-23. 
2. ^ "Album Details on Folkways". http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=3127. 
3. ^ United States Artists Official Website

External links[link]

• Rahim AlHaj official site
• Rahim AlHaj's Music at ListeningLounge
• Kennedy Center performance on June 6, 2006
• Rahim Alhaj "featured artist profile" on Smithsonian Folkways

Interviews[link]

• Rahim AlHaj interview from Weekend America radio program, May 15, 2008

See also[link]

• Music of Iraq
• Oud