Zaki al-Sarraf

Zaki Abd al-Husayn Bedget al-Asadi (Arabic: زكي عبد الحسين بدقت الأسدي; 1932 – March 11, 1996), better known as Zaki al-Sarraf, was an Iraqi journalist and poet. He was a leading figure in both Arabic and Persian literature.

al-Sarraf was married and had one son, Qusay and one daughter Nihal. He died on 11 March 1996 in his home in London.

After graduating from university, al-Sarraf began to teach in a high school in Baghdad. He also worked in journalism, starting as an editor at the al-Hatif magazine, that was issued by prominent Iraqi writer, Jafar al-Khalili. al-Sarraf was the first Iraqi journalist to hold an interview with Iranian revolutionary, Navvab Safavi, when he was in Baghdad. He then did reporting at a Lebanese magazine called al-Adib, that was issued by Lebanese laureate, Albert Adib. He also worked at two other magazines, also Lebanese, al-Adaab and Egyptian, al-Kaatib, where he produced many articles and interviews. Between 1967 and 1972, he worked at the Council of Arab Economic Unity in Cairo. He then returned to Iraq after completing his doctorate, and began teaching at the University of Baghdad, in the Eastern Languages department. In 1980, al-Sarraf's health deteriorated, and so he travelled to London to seek treatment. However, not long after his arrival, the Iran-Iraq war set off, rendering it difficult for al-Sarraf to return home. So he remained in the United Kingdom, and had to resign from the university.

He grew up in Karbala, and completed both elementary and high school there. He then went to Baghdad for university, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Arabic literature from the University of Baghdad. In 1962, he travelled to Iran to study Persian literature at the University of Tehran, but due to clashes with an Israeli student, he did not complete his studies and travelled to Egypt to achieve his masters (on Fakhr-al-Din Iraqi) from the University of Alexandria. He earned his doctorate (Journalism in modern Persian literature) from the University of Ain Shams in 1972. In 1978, he took sabbatical leave to carry out a study at Oxford University, on the life of Rumi.

al-Sarraf was born in 1932, in Karbala, the son of Abd al-Husayn al-Sarraf, a merchant who owned a bureau de change. He had two brothers, one of them was a medical doctor. al-Sarraf lived a comfortable life and in one of the incidents of his childhood, al-Sarraf's wife narrates:

al-Sarraf's great ancestor, Mehdi al-Asadi, was a renowned poet, and upon performing one of his pieces of poetry, instead of saying bezeghet (Arabic: بزغت), he made a speech error, and said bedeqet (Arabic: بدقت), and because of that incident, he became known as Haaj Mehdi Bedget. al-Sarraf's great uncle, Jawad Bedget (1795–1864) was a prominent poet, and one of the literary leaders of his time, especially praised for his skill in turning out quick responses. His uncle, Mashkoor al-Asadi, was also a renowned journalist, and laureate.