Iraq National Anthem: My Homeland

Key Facts

1. The lyrics were written by a Palestinian poet and the music by a Lebanese composer, so neither author was Iraqi when Iraq adopted the song in 2004.
2. Composer Mohammed Flayfel also wrote the music for Syria's national anthem, Humat ad-Diyar, making him the only person with two sitting Arab national anthems to his name.
3. Mawtini was Palestine's de facto anthem from 1936 until 1996 and is still widely sung as an unofficial Palestinian song today.
4. Iraq has had four different national anthems since independence in 1932, more changes than any other country in the Arab world.

Lyrics

مَوْطِنِي مَوْطِنِي الجَلَالُ وَالجَمَالُ وَالسَّنَاءُ وَالبَهَاءُ فِي رُبَاكْ، فِي رُبَاكْ وَالحَيَاةُ وَالنَّجَاةُ وَالهَنَاءُ وَالرَّجَاءُ فِي هَوَاكْ، فِي هَوَاكْ هَلْ أَرَاكْ، هَلْ أَرَاكْ سَالِمًا مُنَعَّمًا وَغَانِمًا مُكَرَّمًا هَلْ أَرَاكْ فِي عُلَاكْ تَبْلُغُ السِّمَاكْ، تَبْلُغُ السِّمَاكْ مَوْطِنِي مَوْطِنِي مَوْطِنِي مَوْطِنِي الشَّبَابُ لَنْ يَكِلَّ هَمُّهُ أَنْ يَسْتَقِلَّ أَوْ يَبِيدْ، أَوْ يَبِيدْ نَسْتَقِي مِنَ الرَّدَى وَلَنْ نَكُونَ لِلْعِدَى كَالعَبِيدْ، كَالعَبِيدْ لَا نُرِيدْ، لَا نُرِيدْ ذُلَّنَا المُؤَبَّدَا وَعَيْشَنَا المُنَكَّدَا لَا نُرِيدْ بَلْ نُعِيدْ مَجْدَنَا التَّلِيدْ، مَجْدَنَا التَّلِيدْ مَوْطِنِي مَوْطِنِي مَوْطِنِي مَوْطِنِي الحُسَامُ وَاليَرَاعُ لَا الكَلَامُ وَالنِّزَاعُ رَمْزُنَا، رَمْزُنَا مَجْدُنَا وَعَهْدُنَا وَوَاجِبٌ مِنَ الوَفَاء يَهُزُّنَا، يَهُزُّنَا عِزُّنَا، عِزُّنَا غَايَةٌ تُشَرِّفُ وَرَايَةٌ تُرَفْرِفُ يَا هَنَاكْ فِي عُلَاكْ قَاهِرًا عِدَاكْ، قَاهِرًا عِدَاكْ مَوْطِنِي مَوْطِنِي

Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals

Analysis

Editorial

A poem first, an anthem second. Palestinian poet Ibrahim Touqan wrote Mawtini in 1934, and Lebanese composer Mohammed Flayfel set it to music the same decade. For seventy years it travelled across the Arab world as a shared patriotic song, sung in classrooms from Beirut to Baghdad long before any state claimed it. Iraq adopted Mawtini in 2004, in the months after the fall of the Ba'ath regime, replacing Ardulfurataini Watan, the Saddam-era anthem from 1981. Flayfel had also composed Syria's national anthem, Humat ad-Diyar, two decades earlier, making him the only musician with two living national anthems to his name.

Learn More

National anthem on Wikipedia Official state symbols

Sources & References

About Iraq . Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq
About Iraq, Embassy of the Republic of Iraq, Ankara . Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq

Source & Review

Source status: Embassy or ministry verified
Translation: Nationalia working translation
Rights status: Third-party rights may apply
Last reviewed: 2026-05-11
Reviewed by: ai-claude
Report a correction: rights@nationalia.org