Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum
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Ayatollah Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum (Arabic: محمد بحر العلوم) (born 1923?) is a prominent Shi'a Islamic leader and politician in Iraq.
Father of Ibrahim Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum, Oil Minister of Iraq from September 2003 to June 2004, and again during 2005.
Al-Ulloum was a longtime opponent of the rule of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. While exiled from Iraq, he worked hard to oppose the dictator with the intent of eventually replacing Saddam's rule with a democracy which allowed all of the different cultures within Iraq to live together in peace.
After the United States deposed Saddam Hussein in 2003, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Al-Ulloum was appointed to the Iraq interim governing council. Though the cleric had been skeptical of American motives behind the 2003 invasion, he agreed to participate in the multi-ethnic interim government and was appointed to the nine-member rotating presidency. He was the first president of the council, in an interim capacity, serving in that position from July 13, 2003, until August 1, 2003.
In August 2003, Mohammed Bakr al-Hakim, a great friend of al-Ulloum, was killed in a car bombing. Shortly after, Al-Ulloum announced his voluntary suspension from the council, citing the failure of the council's ability to maintain law and order in post-war Iraq. He later returned to the council, and became president again on March 1, 2004, serving until April 1, 2004.
Mohammad al-Ulloum lived in London prior to the 2003 Iraq invasion, where he opposed Saddam's rule for many years. He was an active member of London's Shi'a community and was the head of AhlulBayt Centre in South London.
