Omar Mohammed: Mosul after ISIS

The Long Road to Stability “How does a historian [ethnographer]
write about violence [against  the history of his own city]?
How can he make sense of violent acts, for  himself and for
his readers, without compromising its sheer excess and  its
meaning-defying core? How can he remain a scholarly observer when
 the country of his birth is engulfed by terror?” These were
the questions raised by Errol Valentine Daniel in his book
 „Chapters in an Anthropography of Violence” on the work of
Omar  Mohammed, the Iraqi historian and journalist behind
Mosul Eye –  the anonymous news blog that reported on
conditions in Mosul and the  atrocities carried out by ISIS
during the group’s occupation of the  city. As one of the main
sources of information on daily life in the city  under ISIS
control, the Mosul Eye blog was a crucial resource for the
 outside world. Since Mosul was liberated, Omar Mohammed
continues to  work to support the revival of the city. His
focus has now shifted to developing civil society, having
 transformed Mosul Eye into a collective of citizen activists
and a  global platform for the world to interact with and
support the city’s  recovery. He will give an insight on the
current situation and recent developments in Mosul and in Iraq.
Omar Mohammed is a Mosuli historian and civil society practitioner.
He  focuses his scholarly work on conceptual history and
research dealing  with local historiographies and narratives,
micro-histories and  Orientalism. Omar is a regular media
commentator on Iraq, has an MA in  Middle East History from
the University of Mosul, and was named 2013  Researcher of the
Year by Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education and  Scientific
Research. His doctoral research in Europe explores history
 and historians in 19th and 20th century Mosul. He was also a
2018 Yale  Greenberg World Fellow. Moderation: Gudrun Harrer,
Author, senior editor Der Standard