“Revisiting Kurdish History in Gharbi Mustafa’s When Mountains Weep”

Abstract

This study examines how Gharbi Mustafa’s When Mountains Weep (2013) revisits and reinterprets Kurdish history through a New Historicism framework. Situating the novel within the socio-political context of Ba’athist Iraq, the study explores the dynamic relationship between the literary narrative and historical discourse. By analyzing Mustafa’s autobiographical mode, symbolism, and narrative strategies, the study shows how the text functions as both a cultural archive and a counter-narrative to the state-sponsored histories which marginalize Kurdish voices. The novel integrates personal and collective memory to reveal mechanisms of power, cultural suppression, and resistance, especially through the experiences of Arabization, the Anfal campaign, and the uprising of 1991. Employing qualitative textual analysis, this study argues that When Mountains Weep not only documents the trauma of Kurdish people but also engages in the active reconstruction of the historical consciousness of the Kurds, challenging dominant historiography and asserting literature’s role in reclaiming suppressed identities. The Kurdish people represent the world’s biggest ethnic community without a state as they continue to face extensive persecutions, cultural abuses, and political marginalizations for centuries. Throughout history Kurdish people have fought relentlessly to claim independence through maintaining their identity and securing acceptance from their neighbors who consistently militarize and repress Kurdish freedom. This intense conflict appears through the diverse writings in Kurdish literature. This literature maintains a key role in safeguarding Kurdish history and expressing the struggles of a people because it stems from their shared memories about being displaced as well as disputing oppression. According to