The small Kurdish town of Khurmal honored Dr. Mustafa Zalmi, a 92-year-old scholar of Islamic law. A major road to one of Kurdistan’s famous summer resorts was named after him. Government officials, politicians, academics and many people hailed honored him as one of the scholarly giants of the Islamic world. He has authored 60 books. Zalmi has received more than 65 local and international awards in Muslim countries. His work on the Islamic and Sharia law are studied in Kurdistan, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey and Malaysia. The scholar has three masters degrees and three PhDs in Islamic and Sharia law. Some of Zalmi’s fans are famous deans and heads of universities in places such as Egypt and Tunisia. Zalmi’s family say that due to failing health he cannot put pen on paper anymore “though he has a lot more on his mind to say.” The town of Khurmal is planning to build a statue for Zalmi on the road named after him. Now he has donated his life savings and books to a cultural center to be built and named after his birthplace of Hawraman.
