Ali al-Wardi quotes
1913 – 1995 · Iraq, 20th century · sociologist, social historian, professor and public intellectual
About Ali al-Wardi
Born in 1913 in Kadhimiya, Baghdad, and died 13 July 1995 in Baghdad, Ali al‑Wardi studied at the American University of Beirut and earned an MA (1948) and PhD (1950) at the University of Texas. He joined the University of Baghdad in 1950, retired in 1970, and used historical evidence and sociological theory to interpret Iraqi society.
Works: The Personality of the Iraqi Individual; A Study in the Sociology of Islam; The Preachers of the Sultan; The Social History of Iraq
Quotes
“Every new social movement is initially accused of being the work of foreigners and heretics; if it succeeds and seizes power, it becomes part of religion itself and enters the record of inherited sacred things.”
Source: Wʿāẓ al‑Salāṭīn, p. 61 (1954) · Check the source
Verified attributionWhat we know
- What is documented
- The sentence is attributed to Ali al‑Wardi and appears as a passage in Wʿāẓ al‑Salāṭīn, commonly located on page 61.
- What remains uncertain
- Minor textual variants appear across editions and online transcriptions, but there is no serious evidence of another author.
Al‑Wardi warns that political success can rewrite a movement’s past: accusations of foreignness and heresy often become, after victory, framed as sacred, inherited tradition. The line appears in Wʿāẓ al‑Salāṭīn (commonly cited p. 61) and points to how power reshapes collective memory.