Iyad Jamal Al-Deen

"Yesterday I was invited by Iyad Jamal Al-Deen to his home in the affluent Karada district in central Baghdad. Despite living in a palace (which previously belonged to Izzat Ibrahim Al-Duri), we sat and had dinner in his 'mudheef', a traditional Arab reception house for guests made entirely from straw that is lined with cushions. His hospitality is well known in Baghdad; unlike other Iraqi politicians holed up in the Green Zone, his mudheef is open to guests who come from as far away as Basra and Amara to discus current affairs. Food, politics and a constant supply of black coffee is always on the menu.

It is not his expensive watches, designer sunglasses, Italian shoes and Cuban cigars that separate Jamal Al-Deen from your average Shia cleric. It is his secular beliefs. Although he is considered a liberal, open and moderate cleric by the west, he is considered extreme in the eyes of his fellow Najaf and Qum graduates who feel he is harming the religion. He however states “I call for secularism in order to protect this religion”."
Eye Raki