Firdos Square

The infamous toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue in Firdos Square in Baghdad shortly after the invasion of Iraq in 2003

In April 2002, a 12-metre (39 ft) statue, designed by Iraqi sculptor, Khalid Ezzat, was erected in honor of Saddam Hussein's 65th birthday.[5]

In 2003, the statue was pulled down by Iraqi citizens, with the help of American forces during the invasion of Iraq in front of a crowd of around a hundred Iraqis. The event was widely televised, and some of this footage was criticized for exaggerating the size of the crowd.[6] Robert Fisk described it as "the most staged photo opportunity since Iwo Jima".[7]

The site of statue now houses a green, abstract sculpture intended to symbolize freedom, designed by sculptor Bassem Hamad al-Dawiri[8] and built by a group of artists calling themselves Najin (The Survivors).[9] The replacement sculpture was constructed quickly and completed within months of its predecessor's removal.

Of necessity, the statue makes use of basic construction materials and methods. It is made of painted plaster, seven meters (23 feet) in height, and includes a symbolic Iraqi family holding aloft a crescent moon, which represents Islam, and the sun represents the ancient Sumerian civilization.[10]

On April 9, 2005, the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the square was the center of a large-scale demonstration from tens of thousands of Iraqis protesting the American occupation. The demonstration was organized by Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shi'a cleric, and supported by Sheikh Abd al-Zahra al-Suwaid, a follower of the Green Party. Suwaid was quoted as stating to the gathered "The rally must be peaceful. You should demand the withdrawal of the occupation forces and press for quicker trials for Saddam Hussein and his aides before an Iraqi court."

The square remained an empty desert for years despite the large sums of money that entered the country. There was many attempts by the Municipality to rehabilitate the square until recently in 2020, the Iraqi private sector, through the Association of Iraqi Private Banks and in cooperation with the Central Bank, completely reconstructed the square and opened it to the public in hopes to leave behind its past and transform it into a cultural hub.[1]