John Gordon Lorimer wrote in 1908 that the main town of Ali Al-Gharbi was inhabited by 2,000 people of different origins, mostly
Shia Muslims and was a
market town of the
Banu Lam Arab tribe. It was one of the principal towns for trade with
Iraqi Kurdistan and many
Kurds from
Iran would visit the town to 'satisfy their wants'. Lorimer moreover wrote that many Kurds had settled in the town. Scholar Kamandâr stated that the main town was 90%
Kurdish from the Kordali tribe prior to the
Arabization policies of
Ba'athist Iraq. == References ==