After the ousting of the Saddam Hussein government, “Mawtini” was chosen as a new anthem for Iraq by the U.S. military administrator of the country after hearing it in a concert and admiring the song. “Mawtini” was sung by the Palestinians in their uprisings against the British mandate and the Jewish immigration to British Palestine in 1936-1939 (the anthem is also an unofficial anthem of Palestine), and continues to be popular with Arabs today, especially as a show of support with Palestine. The author of the lyrics is the Palestinian poet Ibrahim Touqan.
“Mawtini” was meant as a temporary anthem, to be replaced later by an Iraqi government. Now that an Iraqi government is set up, talks are underway to adopt a more permanent anthem for Iraq.
Special thanks to: Reinhard Popp and Michael Bristow for some of the information.