The Soul of Baghdad: The Life and Legacy of Mohammed Ghani Hikmat Mohammed Ghani Hikmat (1929–2011) was far more than a sculptor; he was the visual poet of Iraq, an artist whose hands breathed life into the very stone and bronze that define the skyline of Baghdad. Born in the historic Kadhimiya district, a neighborhood steeped in the spiritual and cultural echoes of Islamic history, Hikmat’s relationship with art began with the earth itself. As a young boy, he found magic in the simple act of molding clay gathered from his surroundings, a primal connection to material that would later evolve…