Rafiq Hilmi is well known in Kurdish politics as the founder of a party called
Hîwa (Hope). It was initially a secret organization consisting of Kurdish intellectuals and civil servants. Under the influence of the predominantly Arab faculty in
Kirkuk, a student movement called “Darker” (
Darker is the Kurdish term for charcoal makers, but was about the Italian term of the “
Carbonari”), which later became the
Hîwa, was founded and led by Rafiq Hilmi in 1937, which openly acknowledged its great paragons, the
Italian fascism under
Mussolini and the
German National Socialism under
Hitler. These professors had presented to their students the national unifications that occurred under the rules of
the Prince of Bismarck and
Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour. Many Kurds saw this as a remarkable example of Kurdish unity. While the political program of Hîwa was a mainly nationalist one and focused on securing
autonomy for
Iraqi Kurdistan, many members were also leftist-minded. Later, as the opinions and political views within the party became more polarized, the
Hîwa Party eventually fragmented. It was divided into two factions: a radical
pro-German wing and a more moderate,
pro-British wing.
Hîwa also had established links with activists of
Komala JK in
Mahabad and it sent two army officers
Mustafa Khushnaw and
Mir Haj Ahmad to the founding ceremony of Komala JK in September 1942. Hîwa maintained its links with Mahabad movement until the collapse of
Republic of Mahabad in late 1946. ==Books==