Shaalan Abu al-Jun | |
|---|---|
| شعلان أبو الجون | |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 1864 Ottoman Iraq |
| Died | 1941 (aged 76–77) Kingdom of Iraq |
| Citizenship | Iraqi |
| Military service | |
| Battles/wars | Iraqi Revolt |
Sheikh Shaalan bin Inad Abu al-Jun (Arabic: شعلان بن عناد أبو الجون; 1864 – November 1941), nicknamed Shaalan Al-Shahd (شعلان الشهد), was an Iraqi politician, and one of the leaders of the Iraqi revolt of 1920.
Abu al-Jun was the head of Al-Zawalem tribe, one of the tribes of the city of Al-Rumaitha in southern Iraq. On 25 June 1920, Lieutenant P. T. Hyatt reported to the governor of Al Diwaniyah, Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly, that Abu al-Jun was inciting the public to rebel against the British rule. Hence, Daly ordered his arrest and to be transported by rail to Al Diwaniyah.[1]
On 30 June, he was summoned by deputy Hyatt in al-Rumaitha while having a meeting with his tribe members. Hyatt confronted Abu al-Jun who criticized the British treatment of the natives, and arrested him,[2] based on allegations of refusing to pay an agricultural loan debt.[3] Later that day at 4 pm, 1,200 men of the Zawalim tribe, under the leadership of Sheikh Ghathith al-Harjan from Hajim tribe, managed to revolt and rescue him from captivity at a train depot in Al-Rumaitha before extradition, killing a local Arab guard in the process, then they sabotaged the railway and telegraph communications in the town.[4][5] This event marked the beginning of the Iraqi revolt of 1920.[6]
He held multiple positions in the Iraqi government that was created in the aftermath of the revolt. He was elected as a representative of Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate in the Iraqi Parliament between 1930–1932, and was re-elected in February 1937.[7]
Abu al-Jun died in November 1941.[7] His son Abdel Ameer also became a member of the parliament in 1943 and 1947.