Editing Baghdad (section)

==Culture==
{{See also|Culture of Iraq|Baghdad Arabic|Café culture of Baghdad}}
[[File:Iraqi National Orchestra.jpg|thumb|The [[Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra]] performing in July 2007]]
[[File:Iraq-National unity ballet2 600.jpg|thumb|The National Ballet performing in 2007]]
[[File:Assyrian Church.png|thumb|[[Chaldean Catholic]] [[Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows]]|left]]
[[File:Baghdad Convention Center inside.jpg|thumb|The Baghdad Convention Center]]
[[File:Al-Ma'mun's Telecommunication Center.jpg|thumb|Al-Ma'mun's Telecommunication Center in downtown Baghdad]]
Baghdad has always played a significant role in the broader [[Arab culture|Arab cultural sphere]], contributing several significant writers, musicians and visual artists. Historically, the city had a vibrant modern culture and lifestyle.<ref name=":18" /> Famous [[Arab]] poets and singers such as [[Nizar Qabbani]], [[Umm Kulthum]], [[Fairuz]], [[Salah Al-Hamdani]], [[Ilham al-Madfai]] and others have performed for the city. The dialect of [[Baghdad Arabic|Arabic spoken in Baghdad]] today differs from that of other large urban centers in Iraq, having features more characteristic of nomadic Arabic dialects (Versteegh, ''The Arabic Language''). It is possible that this was caused by the repopulating of the city with rural residents after the multiple sackings of the late [[Middle Ages]]. For poetry written about Baghdad, see [[Reuven Snir]] (ed.), ''Baghdad: The City in Verse'' (Harvard, 2013).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hup.harvard.edu/features/baghdad/ |title=Baghdad: The City in Verse, translated and edited by Reuven Snir |publisher=Harvard University Press |access-date=8 September 2019 |archive-date=19 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819190324/https://www.hup.harvard.edu/features/baghdad/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Baghdad joined the [[Creative Cities Network|UNESCO Creative Cities Network]] as a City of Literature in December 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baghdad celebrates selection as UNESCO City of Literature {{!}} Nermeen Mufti |url=https://thearabweekly.com/baghdad-celebrates-selection-unesco-city-literature |access-date=25 January 2021|website=AW|language=en |archive-date=30 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130145309/https://thearabweekly.com/baghdad-celebrates-selection-unesco-city-literature |url-status=live}}</ref>

Some of the important cultural institutions in the city include the [[National Theater (Iraq)|National Theater]], which was looted during the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], but efforts are underway to restore the theater.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://csmonitor.com/2003/0716/p01s04b-woiq.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828071929/http://csmonitor.com/2003/0716/p01s04b-woiq.htm |title=Five women confront a new Iraq &#124; csmonitor.com |website=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |archive-date=28 August 2009}}</ref> The live theater industry received a boost during the 1990s, when UN [[Economic sanctions|sanctions]] limited the import of foreign films. As many as 30 movie theaters were reported to have been converted to live stages, producing a wide range of [[Comedy|comedies]] and dramatic productions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0102-04.htm |title=In Baghdad, Art Thrives As War Hovers |publisher=Commondreams.org |date=2 January 2003 |access-date=27 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627162352/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0102-04.htm |archive-date=27 June 2010}}</ref> Institutions offering cultural education in Baghdad include [[The Music and Ballet School of Baghdad]] and the Institute of Fine Arts Baghdad. The [[Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra]] is a government funded symphony orchestra in Baghdad. The INSO plays primarily classical European music, as well as original compositions based on Iraqi and Arab instruments and music. Mandaeans had cultural club in Al-Zawraa, where poetry evenings and cultural seminars were held, attended by poets, writers, artists, officials, and dignitaries of the communities.<ref name=":45">{{Cite web |title=الگاردينيا – مجلة ثقافية عامة – "الصابئة المندائية عراقيون، منهم العلماء.. والشعراء والمهنيين والصاغة، كيف كانوا واين اصبحوا!؟" |url=https://www.algardenia.com/2014-04-04-19-52-20/fereboaliraq/46580-2020-10-31-16-35-53.html |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=algardenia.com}}</ref> There is also a social cultural center of Mandaeans at al-Qadisiyyah.<ref name=":45" /> [[Baghdad Jewish Community Center]] is located in [[Al-Rashid Street]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 April 2003 |title=Muslims Rescue Baghdad's Jewish Community Center |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/230631 |access-date=5 February 2025 |website=Arab News |language=en}}</ref>

Baghdad is also home to a number of museums which housed [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] and relics of [[ancient civilization]]; many of these were stolen, and the museums looted, during the widespread chaos immediately after United States forces entered the city.

During [[Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011)|occupation of Iraq]], [[AFN Iraq]] ("Freedom Radio") broadcast news and entertainment within Baghdad, among other locations. There is also a private radio station called "Dijlah" (named after the Arabic word for the Tigris River) that was created in 2004 as Iraq's first independent talk radio station. Radio Dijlah offices, in the [[Jamia]] neighborhood of Baghdad, have been attacked on several occasions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dinarrvnews.net/gunmen-iraq-media-attacked/ |title=Gunmen storm independent radio station in latest attack against media in Iraq |work=International Herald Tribune |date=29 March 2009 |access-date=30 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010060435/http://dinarrvnews.net/gunmen-iraq-media-attacked/ |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>