Shabandar Café

Muhammad al-Khashali, the Current owner of the Café.

The current owner of the café, Muhammad al-Khashali, said that the café was established in 1917, but the building used to be a printing press called "Al-Shabandar Press" owned by Musa al-Shabandar, as this building was previously a printing house for printing books. A controversy then caused Musa to be exiled from Iraq for a few years and when he returned, he began to restore what was left of the building. Musa reinvented it as a café, offered it for rent. The café started to receive customers in 1917, and started to hold concerts for Iraqi maqam, the proceeds of which were returned to charity in Baghdad.[1][5] The café was also a gathering ground and a cultural station for various writers, poets, writers, intellectuals and personalities including political ones such as Nuri al-Said and Abd al-Karim Qasim, due to its proximity to government institutions in the country. The Café also became a gathering ground where political demonstrations were launched such as a demonstration against the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty in 1948.[3][6]

In March 2007, in the wake of sectarian violence in the country following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Shabandar Café was a victim to a bombing from a booby-trapped car situated on al-Mutanabbi Street which killed more than a hundred people. As a result of the horrific explosion, the café was completely destroyed along with its library. In this incident, four of al-Khashali's sons and a grandson of his were killed and found among the rubble and under the rubble. This accident also caused their mother to lose her sight due to the shock, then she died several months later. At the time, al-Khashali was thought to have also been killed but was on a break, and upon hearing the news, al-Khashali was heartbroken and had to control his anger. Al-Khashali made it his goal to keep the café as a center of cultural attraction and to preserve its cultural features and its old identity. As a result, the café was rebuilt, with funding from the state, merchants, and its customers.[7][6][3] The Café has also gained a new name after this, "The Martyrs Café."[8]

The Shabandar Café remains active and still maintains its external appearance, after restoration and renovation. Its walls are also covered with pictures, testimonies, and newspaper clippings which include various aspects of Iraqi society and history. It remains a social club for merchants, employees, writers and foreign tourists. It is also a place where personal interviews are done by Iraqi media.[9][6]