The Last of the Angels by Fadhil al-Azzawi Page A

his tomb, which was situated in al-A‘zamiya in Baghdad.
    If this affair had ended in a way that pleased the Chuqor community—after an anxious period that fortunately did not last long—there were, however, other incidents that occurred during this season as well to upset and distress the neighborhood and even disconcert it, for despite the fact that the thief Mahmud al-Arabi was responsible in a general way for protecting the neighborhood against break-ins by night, there had been a number of evening robberies that he was unable to explain, even though everyone knew that Mahmud al-Arabi was closely linked to the other thieves of Kirkuk. Because of his status as a professional thief, it was inconceivable that he would violate the maxim, which was almost a religious conviction, that a thief’s home turf was off-limits for theft. So a theft in his community threatened the thief’s honor and prestige. Indeed, some thieves took it upon themselves to make restitution for any loss, even if they were required to pay from their own pockets, if they could not track down the culprits and force them to return what had been stolen. Something like this would happen—and then only rarely—if the solidarity among the thieves was threatened and disagreement and conflict arose between them or when new, inexperienced robbers who lacked savoir-faire or who did not acknowledge the geographical division of the city between different thieves began to steal. Far-sightedness and wisdom would occasionally force this thief or that to buy back stolen items from these thieves to return, with a word of apology and the assurance that this would never happen again, to their owners in his home district.
    Many houses in the Chuqor community were broken into that summer while people lay sleeping securely on their rooftops. One of these was the home of al-Hajj Ahmad al-Sabunji, who was famous for his wealth. These houses were completely rifled, as if a magic broom had swept them clean. That embarrassed the thief Mahmud al-Arabi, who swore to the outraged citizens of the community, placing his hand on the holy Qur’an, that he would track down the perpetrators who had treated his presence in the community so disrespectfully and then settle accounts with them one by one, no matter how much protection the police provided them. He actually left the neighborhood, after he had thrust his revolver into his belt, and no one doubted that he would be as good as his word.
    He was gone for three days, during which time he apparently did not sleep a wink. When he returned, he was stressed to the breaking point. He announced hopelessly, “There is no connection between these robberies and the thieves of the city.” The Chuqor community learned that the thieves of Kirkuk, most of whom were Arabs and Kurds, had declared, with the holy Qur’an before them, that they could never commit an outrage of this kind and moreover that they had announced a general alarm to confront this vicious challenge. The thief Mahmud al-Arabi proclaimed to a private assembly, which was held in the courtyard of the home of al-Hajj Ahmad al-Sabunji and which was attended by headman Salman Hanash, Mullah Zayn al-Abidin al-Qadiri, and other elders and notables of the community, that he was not rich enough to compensate the victims and that for this reason he would consent to any decision the community would take with reference to him, even if that meant moving to a different area. He affirmed that given the time and opportunity he would catch the robbers, even if they came from some other city, and that no further thefts would occur in the Chuqor community.
    Everyone was convinced by what he said and therefore they declared that they needed him now more than ever before. At that, the thief Mahmud al-Arabi stood up and said, “This will be my responsibility. You all should go home and sleep with confidence about your possessions and your