Fouad al-Tikerly

Who was Fouad al-Tikerly?

Fouad al-Tikerly was a prominent Iraqi novelist and writer, who was, perhaps, best known for his groundbreaking novel, al-Rajea al-Baeed, which is translated to The Long Way Back. Al-Tikerly was one of the last surviving members of a group of well known Iraqi novelists from the 1970s era.

Al-Tikerly was born in Baghdad in 1927. In school, he was friends with Abdul-Wahab al-Bayati. He graduated from the University of Baghdad's law school in 1949. He was employed at the Ministry of Justice of Iraq for 35 years. He became an Iraqi judge in 1956 before later becoming the head judge of the city of Baghdad's Court of Appeals. Al-Tikerly developed a reputation for fairness as a judge.

Al-Tikerly moved to Paris, France, in 1964 in order to attend postgraduate law school. He later returned to France briefly during the 1980s. Al-Tikerly retired from the law in 1983 in order to devote more time to his novels.

Al-Tikerly published his most noted novel, al-Rajea al-Baeed, during the 1970s. The novel depicted the suffering and trials afflicting four generations of a Baghdad family under several oppressive Iraqi government regimes in the years after the fall of the Iraqi monarchy, including that of Saddam Hussein. Al-Tikerly's novel was one of the few to openly criticize the Iraqi government without punishment. Al-Tikerly had no political affiliation, and was not connected to the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party or the regime of Saddam Hussein.