Iraqi Feyli Islamic Council

Iraqi Feyli Islamic Council
Leader	Maher Feyli
Founded	1991 (1991)
Headquarters	Baghdad, Iraq
Ideology	Kurdish nationalism National conservatism Feyli regionalism Shi’a Islamism Anti-Ba’athism Anti-Zionism
Political position	Far-Right
Religion	Shi'a Islam
National affiliation	Islamic Coalition
Politics of Iraq Political parties Elections

Armed Wing (Sarayah)
Leader	Muqdad Baghdadi
Dates of operation	1991 (1991)–Present
Headquarters	Ashrafiyeh Camp in Diyala, Iraq
Active regions	Iraq Iran Kurdistan
Size	6,000
Allies	State allies: Iran Ba'athist Syria (1991-2024) Kuwait Kurdistan Russia France Non-state allies: Hezbollah Mahdi Army Amal Movement
Opponents	State opponents: Ba'athist Iraq (1991-2003) Syria (2024-presents) Israel Non-state opponents: People's Mujahedin of Iran  Palestine Liberation Organization Islamic State PKK
Battles and wars	1991 uprisings in Iraq

Iraqi Feyli Islamic Council (Arabic: المجلس الإسلامي الفيلي العراقي; Kurdish: ئەنجومەنی فەیلیی عێراقیی ئیسلامی) is a Shia Islamist political and social organization established in the 90s made up of Feyli Kurds, a marginalized Shi’a Kurdish minority in Iraq. The Council emerged in response to decades of systemic oppression, mass deportations, and property confiscations faced by the Feyli community under the Ba’athist regime.

Historical Background

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Ba’athist government of Saddam Hussein implemented aggressive policies against the Feyli Kurds, accusing them of Iranian loyalty and forcibly stripping tens of thousands of their Iraqi citizenship. This campaign culminated in mass deportations to Iran, arrests, executions, and the confiscation of property, particularly in Baghdad, Khanaqin, Mandali, and Wasit province.

Aftermath of the expulsions, Yasser Arafat’s leadership, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) reportedly assisted Saddam Hussein’s regime in operations against the Feyli Kurds, including involvement in massacres and forced displacements. In return, Saddam rewarded some Palestinian groups with confiscated Feyli Kurdish homes and lands.

The dispossession of Feyli Kurds created long-term legal and social grievances that have persisted into the 21st century.

Founding and Objectives

The Iraqi Feyli Islamic Council was founded in the early 2000s by prominent Feyli clerics, former political prisoners, and exiled community leaders returning to Iraq after the fall of Saddam’s regime in 2003. Its main objectives include:

• Seeking a federal administrative region in northeastern Iraq for Feyli Kurds.

• Seeking legal redress and property restitution for displaced Feyli Kurds.

• Advocating for constitutional recognition of Feyli Kurds as both an ethnic and sectarian minority.

• Promoting cultural revival, education, and political participation of Feylis.

• Ensuring the prosecution of crimes committed against the Feyli population during the Ba’athist era.

Independence from Iranian Influence

Unlike many Shi’a political movements in Iraq, the Iraqi Feyli Islamic Council maintains a stance of independence from Iranian influence. The Council does not receive direct funding or orders from the Islamic Republic of Iran and has distanced itself from the broader Axis of Resistance led by Tehran. Instead, it relies on self-funding through community contributions, support from the Feyli diaspora, and partnerships with international human rights organizations.

The Council has sought to establish its own foreign relations, engaging independently with European diplomatic missions, United Nations agencies, and Western advocacy groups to raise awareness of the Feyli cause. This autonomous approach has distinguished the Council from other Shi’a groups in Iraq, such as the Badr Organization or Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, which are widely seen as Iranian proxies.

International Advocacy and Legal Campaigns

In recent years, the Council has launched campaigns to:

•Document mass graves of Feyli victims.

•Submit legal cases to international bodies such as the International Criminal Court and UN Human Rights Council.

• Reclaim citizenship documents, housing deeds, and identity papers for Feylis stripped of Iraqi nationality.

It has also played a key role in organizing commemorations and national remembrance events for the victims of Ba’athist ethnic cleansing.

The 2005–2006 Baghdad Massacre of Palestinians

In the years following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, as sectarian violence surged across the country, thousands of Palestinian refugees in Baghdad became targets of violent reprisals. One of the most notable episodes occurred between 2005 and 2006, when Shi’a militias—including elements of the Mahdi Army and alleged members of the Iraqi Feyli Islamic Council—carried out bloody massacres against Palestinian families, particularly in areas like al-Baladiyat Palestine Street, Shorjah, Jamilyeh and Kifah killing over 8 000 Palestinians.

These attacks were fueled by long-standing resentment among Feyli Kurds, many of whom had been forcibly deported during Saddam Hussein’s regime and saw their homes handed over to Palestinian families as a reward for loyalty to the Ba’ath Party. The violence included house raids, abductions, torture, and extrajudicial killings, driving an estimated 90% of Iraq’s Palestinian population—around 30,000 to 34,000 people—into exile.

International organizations, including the UNHCR and Human Rights Watch, condemned the attacks as ethnic persecution. The Iraqi government at the time was largely unable to intervene effectively. The massacre remains one of the least discussed but most devastating episodes of post-Saddam sectarian cleansing in Iraq.

Current Status and Relations

Today, the Iraqi Feyli Islamic Council operates from offices in Baghdad, Khanaqin, Wasit, Erbil, London, Paris and enjoys representation in other local provincial councils. The council maintains close relations with Kurdish, French, Russian, Iranian, Lebanese and Iraqi governmental officials. Although a major player in Feyli parliamentary politics, its influence is significant within the Feyli community and growing in broader Iraqi discourse on transitional justice and minority rights.

Despite its sharp criticism of Palestinian leadership and Hezbollah’s military involvement in the Israel–Palestine conflict, the Council maintains diplomatic and religious relations with Hezbollah and Iran, recognizing the importance of regional Shi’a solidarity. However, it has called on Hezbollah to prioritize political unity within Lebanon, urging it to reduce sectarian polarization and favoring the more pragmatic Amal Movement as a stabilizing force in Lebanese Shi’a politics.

The Council has publicly accused Palestinian factions and Arab nationalists of complicity in Saddam’s oppression, fostering a rhetoric that is both anti-Zionist and anti-Palestinian, a stance rarely seen in Iraqi Shi’a politics. They hold both Israel and the Palestinian leadership responsible for destabilizing the Middle East, a position that distinguishes them from mainstream Shi’a Islamist groups.

Opposition to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, the council has publicly denounced Hamas, labeling it a proxy of the Muslim Brotherhood. It accuses Hamas leaders of enriching themselves abroad—in countries like Qatar and Turkey—while ordinary Palestinians in Gaza and refugee camps continue to live in poverty. In official statements, council representatives have referred to the Muslim Brotherhood as “thugs who hijacked the Palestinian tragedy for personal and political gain.” It accuses Palestinian political factions of manipulating the Palestinian cause for financial and political gain.

See also

• List of Islamic political parties

External links

• Faili Kurds