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Widad, a Jewish singer with a golden voice, captured the heart of Moslem Iraq during the forties through the seventies. Her talent brought her fame and prestige yet caused her a lifelong dilemma. While her Jewish community, ancient and prosperous, was being persecuted and chased out of the country, she had to choose between joining her fellow Jews or remaining in Iraq, her cherished birthplace.
Widad began her singing career at the age of seventeen and became the protégée of the Moslem ruling elite. The king, the regent, the ministers were her devoted fans. Her exposure and connections with Moslems led to romantic involvement. But her Jewish roots stood in the way. Meanwhile, political turmoil assailed Iraq – Pan-Arabism, Communism and the Arab Israeli conflict, which fueled anti-Semitic oppression. One coup followed another ending with the regime of Saddam Hussein. The tumultuous events, as much as her own choices, determined Widad's fate and destiny.
The story portrays the Jewish community, its culture, and its relationship to the Arabs and to Israel. It also depicts the Moslem community within the social and political struggle of the time. Though the story is fictional, it is based on actual historical events and is inspired by the life of a famous Iraqi Jewish singer whose contribution to the local music has yet to be matched.
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About the Author
Born in Iraq, Tova Murad Sadka experienced many of the events described in her book. Escaping persecution, she immigrated to Israel where she worked as a newspaper correspondent and published short stories in various magazines. Her earlier novel No Way Back is a chronicle of the first phase of the Jewish mass emigration from Iraq.
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