THE historic Marx Memorial Library in London was the launch venue for an English translation of a classic work by legendary Iraqi communist Ibrahim Allawi on Wednesday evening.

The book, Readings in Al-Mushtarak, originally published in Arabic in 1983, has been translated by Ali al-Assam and Majed Allawi and is a major contribution in socialist thought, helping to break down European dominance over Marxist ideas and practice.

Joining the translators to launch the book were long time comrade of Mr Allawi Faruk, Mustafa Rasool, alongside renowned left-wing activists Hani Lazim and Keith Bennett.

Mr Assam, a leading Iraqi communist, said the author “was not only a revolutionary communist leader but also a great Marxist thinker and prolific writer,” for a Communist Party that grew to become one of Asia’s largest in 1959, with more than a million members.

“However, after reaching its peak, the party faced a period of decline that continued until the US invasion of Iraq in 2003,” he said.

“This decline, both in Iraq and the global socialist movement, forms the backdrop against which Mr Allawi began writing Al-Mushtarak.”

Mr Assam set out the significant setback that occurred in 1959 when the Communist Party’s leadership, under the influence of the Soviet Union, decided against seizing power despite widespread popular support and control over Iraq’s military. 

Majed Allawi outlined the author’s clear understanding of “the importance of integrating daily political work with intellectual and theoretical endeavours.” 

He added that the book “addresses the emergence of a despotic state and ways to confront it.”

Mr Bennett said the book is “more than of academic interest,” as it attempts to sum up the historical experience of building socialism.

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In the book, the author writes: “The abolition of the tribal commons system and the transformation of the caliphate into a hereditary monarchy led to the Islamic state becoming a highly centralised despotism.”