The Butcher

“Al Jazzar” (the butcher) or as he’s called in the Baghdadi dialect, “Al Lahham” is the specialist in slaughtering and selling meat. He held a prominent position in society, serving as a link between rural folk who raised livestock and city dwellers seeking fresh, halal meat.

The butcher would bring sheep and cattle from the countryside and slaughter them in accordance with Islamic law performing the ritual invocation, ensuring cleanliness, and facing the animal toward the Qibla. He possessed great skill in slaughtering, with speed and precision in cutting, and displayed his meat in a modest shop in Baghdad’s markets.

In his shop, fresh cuts of meat hung from ropes, and a large iron meat grinder rested on a wooden table surrounded by gleaming knives used to cut each piece according to the customer’s request. The butcher was not just a vendor he was a culinary advisor, guiding his clients: “This is for stew… this is for kebab… and this one’s for grilling.”

Despite the emergence of modern shops and frozen meat refrigerators, traditional butcheries are still alive. Many Baghdadis, especially the elderly and lovers of fresh meat, still prefer to buy from the traditional butcher: the one with the skilled hand and the kind word.