By Dr. Abdul Khaliq Hussein
It is said that every person's life can make a good novel if told honestly. The late Egyptian thinker Salama Mousa wrote in one of his books that "the autobiography of any writer is his best work." I believe that Prof. Dr. Mohamed Al-Rubeai has fulfilled what was contained in both sayings in his book titled (Remnants of Yesterday: Tracing the Footprints Between Science and Politics)—his political and scientific autobiography, because I was an eyewitness to much of what is mentioned in this book, and I was fortunate that a friendship and strong companionship bond united me with him during our work in the organization (The Iraqi Democratic Assembly and its newspaper Al-Ghad Al-Democrati), during the days of the Iraqi opposition against Saddam Hussein's unjust oppressive Ba'athist rule. The bond of pure friendship between us continued for more than three decades and still does.
Therefore, the author brother honored and delighted me by proposing that I write this introduction to his valuable book before us. After reviewing its draft from cover to cover, I found it a sincere autobiography, rich in scientific and political experiences, and in most other areas of life. Thus, the author gave a beautiful meaning to his life that he found worth living, because he strives to achieve noble scientific and political purposes to serve the good of his people and humanity, and history will immortalize him. We often hear and read thinkers posing an important question: about the meaning of life for the conscious, aware, intellectual human being. Every rational person searches for the meaning of their existence and asks themselves and others: What is the purpose of human existence in this world as long as they will die and become as if they were never born?
The author has reached—in my opinion—a correct answer: that every human being must create the meaning of their existence through working to serve the good of humanity. He found it in his scientific and political work, devoting most of his life to science and some to politics. The book engages the reader to the point that once they begin reading, they wish not to put it down until they finish.
This book comes at the right time, and I hope and expect for it all success. I am confident of that, especially since the author and his kind family suffered much in exile from movement, instability, and the strenuous efforts he made in his personal journey—his excellent academic research, his movement from country to country to achieve a stable life for himself and his family, and to realize his ambitions, to become a powerful scientist and give a beautiful meaning to his life. This movement and instability gave him additional experience, as the English novelist Graham Greene said: "If you want to be a successful writer, you must read 30,000 books and travel 30,000 miles." This is what the author of this book did.
Also applicable to him is the poet Al-Mutanabbi's verse: "When souls are great / Bodies tire in their pursuit of desire," and Isaac Newton's statement: "Scientific laboratories are the temples of the future," and Jesus Christ's saying: "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country."
The author of this book, my brother Mohamed Al-Rubeai, exerted all his efforts to serve his homeland Iraq, the Iraqi people, Arab peoples, and humanity. But some of the "decision-makers" in the new Iraq denied his efforts in his scientific specialization and the valuable articles and books he contributed to raising the progressive and civilizational awareness of Arabic readers. His experience as a university professor in the West, where fierce competition among specialists for positions prevails, gave him invaluable expertise in his specialization as a scientist in genetic engineering and cell culture. His wide experience in science and politics made him the most suitable to assume the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, but the new rulers in post-Saddam Iraq clung to the principle of party, ethnic, and sectarian quotas instead of the principle of "the right person in the right place" and "equal opportunities for all"—the democratic secular system and citizenship state we dreamed of. Thus, they deprived the Iraqi people of benefiting from this competent Iraqi scientist's expertise.
In this book, the author mentions much about what officials committed in terms of errors in higher education, as well as in general education from primary to university—areas Iraq needs as it passes through its darkest conditions to recover and free itself from its backwardness in its current historical stage after liberation from Saddam's Ba'athist regime and its aftermath, especially in this current era of globalization where development and progress move at an unprecedented pace in the world, in all scientific, economic, political, social, and other fields.
In the political field, brother Mohamed Al-Rubeai was the most active among us, especially in presenting good ideas to our organization (the Iraqi Democratic Assembly). Therefore, the conferees voted for him in its last conference held in London in the late 20th century to assume the position of Secretary-General instead of the late brother Saleh Dakleh, who was suffering from a fatal illness that later led to his death. However, brother Mohamed refused and was content to be the Deputy Secretary-General.
As brother Mohamed Al-Rubeai mentioned in this book about my role in the Assembly, I would often mention in our meetings and many of my articles that it was impossible to liberate Iraq from Saddam's unjust Ba'athist rule by relying only on our people's internal opposition forces, without American support. Our masses rose in many popular uprisings, most importantly the March 1991 uprising after the regime's humiliating defeat in the Kuwait liberation war, but to no avail—thousands of martyrs were lost. Despite this urgent need for external support, the Iraqi political memory remained possessed by a legitimate concern deriving its legitimacy from America's black history and its role in the February 8, 1963 coup against the glorious July 14 Revolution government, and the execution of its leader, the martyr of Iraqi nationalism, Abd al-Karim Qasim, with his brave comrades in the most despicable manner in what was called the "radio court," as is known, and the massacres committed by the conspirators against our heroic people, which claimed thousands of loyal patriots. However, I believed and still believe that "politics is the art of the possible," and the principle that "in politics there are no permanent enmities, no permanent friendships, but permanent interests." This is what happened. We all know the severity of Saddam's Ba'athist rule's oppression of our people, and the suffering they endured for thirty-five lean years, during which the regime squandered Iraq's immense wealth in its futile wars and accumulated debts of about 120 billion dollars, with the tyrant Saddam threatening that "whoever rules Iraq after him will receive it as a scorched land without people."
It is worth noting that the author mentioned in the final pages of the book, the personalities who influenced him positively or negatively, evaluating them individually with complete honesty and boldness—fearing no blame in telling the truth—and made me one of those positively evaluated, in their forefront, with thanks.
In any case, I thank him again for his generosity in evaluating me and his beautiful praise of me and others with this wonderful generosity.
It is noticeable that the author is distinguished by his command of beautiful Arabic, in addition to his mastery of English by virtue of his position as a professor at prestigious Western universities like the University of Birmingham in England and the University of Dublin in the Republic of Ireland, and as a visiting professor and international consultant in sciences at various other universities around the world. His beautiful style (the accessible yet profound) reaches the level of a professional writer in both Arabic and English, presenting his ideas eloquently as is clear from his valuable articles and books.
Eloquence means the writer's ability to express their ideas with the fewest possible words, with complete clarity, without verbosity or padding, while adhering to the rules and grammar of the language they write in, without sacrificing clarity of meaning and content, and without ornate phrases, rhetorical sentences, or linguistic pretension. This is what we see in all the author's writings. Therefore, he deserves to be called the "scholar-writer."
In my opinion, a social and political reformer like brother Mohamed Al-Rubeai must be clear in their language and presentation of ideas so that ordinary people understand them before specialists, giving their writings effective influence on the widest audience and thus winning the street to their side. This is what the famous sociologist the late Allamah Ali Al-Wardi followed, achieving resounding success. Ali Al-Wardi was not a storyteller as some critics imagine, but a social reformer whose duty was to convey his enlightening ideas to the widest masses of ordinary people like myself, in his accessible yet profound style, adding with his genius simplicity and making all his writings easy to understand regardless of people's educational or cultural level. If the reformer writes for the educated elite in obscure language and scientific jargon understood only by specialists, elevating themselves above the common people, they are—as the Egyptian proverb says—"selling water in the water-carriers' alley."
Speaking of which, there are writers and philosophers who either deliberately make their writings obscure using linguistic pretension, ornate expressions, and scientific jargon, or they do not have a clear idea to present with clarity.
In this regard, the late American philosopher Daniel Dennett, professor of philosophy at MIT, in his valuable book "Breaking the Spell," mentions in a footnote that they once invited French philosopher Michel Foucault to give a lecture. After the guest finished, a lady asked him: "Mr. Foucault, we understood your lecture, and you were clear in your speech. Why are all your writings obscure and difficult to understand?" Foucault replied that the reason was that in France there is a deep-rooted custom: if a philosopher-writer is clear in their writings, they are not recognized as a philosopher. Therefore, to be recognized as a philosopher and not accused of superficiality, the philosopher-writer is forced to make at least 25% of their writings obscure and difficult to understand!
This custom, unfortunately, is also prevalent in our Arab societies, where there is an opinion that the more difficult a book or article is to understand, the deeper the writer's culture and the book's depth, and that the reader has not yet reached the level to understand what the writer says! Therefore, I lean toward Allamah Ali Al-Wardi's clear style, without linguistic pretension or obscure expressions. Simplicity and clarity in expression is an art called "accessible yet profound" style, as mentioned above. In this regard, Einstein said: "If you can't explain your idea to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself! Any fool can make things seem bigger and more complex, but it takes a touch of genius to make them simpler!"
Therefore, I admire Dr. Mohamed Al-Rubeai's accessible yet profound style that we see in this book. Unfortunately, we find some of our writers indulging in long obscure articles difficult to understand—you read and finish, asking yourself: what did I gain from reading this long article or book? The answer: nothing. You don't know the article's content. They have the wondrous ability to write about nothing. If you object, they accuse you of ignorance. God forgive them!
Our writer did well in publishing beautiful photos throughout the book for various occasions, including family photos.
I wish brother Al-Rubeai, the author of this valuable book, continued health, well-being, and long life, and more progressive intellectual production to serve our people and humanity, and all success in his contributions to educate his readers and raise their awareness.
Dr. Abdul Khaliq Hussein
England, 2026
By Dr. Abdul Razzaq Al-Issa
The life journey of scientists, thinkers, and distinguished individuals—including its successes and failures—is a national asset that must be documented and preserved for future generations to benefit from, serving as a roadmap for development and advancement and opportunities to avoid mistakes. Since ancient times, forward-looking peoples and nations have worked to showcase and present their citizens' elements of distinction through systematic and general books, museums, scientific centers, as well as scientific, practical, and applied practices with pivotal events that harmonize with human life and its positive innovations that cause human happiness, while the negative can cause wars, disasters, and epidemics.
As is customary in our continuous communications with the dear brother Prof. Dr. Mohamed Al-Rubeai and conversations about higher education and its concerns, in one such conversation he confided in me about his new book titled (Remnants of Yesterday: Tracing the Footprints Between Science and Politics), in which he documented some of his achievements during our ministry period and his work as an advisor to the ministry. He honored me by asking me to write this introduction and recognition. I enjoyed reading it and reread some details more than once for its beautiful lessons and depth of meaning. It covers aspects of his personal life and family from his youth until retirement.
I would like to focus on the indicators of Mohamed Al-Rubeai's brilliance after obtaining his bachelor's degree from the College of Science, where he was among the top of his class despite his political activity. He worked as a teaching assistant at the college he graduated from, and after much struggle, obtained his scholarship for doctoral studies at Queen Mary College, University of London, laying the first foundations of his professional career accompanied by political and student activities through his association with the Iraqi Students Association and democratic student activism. After obtaining his doctorate, he resolved to return to his homeland despite knowing the risks, but fate had a car accident that nearly ended his life on his overland return journey, and after advice from some Iraqis in Belgrade, he returned to Britain.
Dr. Mohamed's first professional step was at the University of Algiers, but after much suffering with bureaucracy and financial corruption, he moved to the Libyan University of Garyounis to face another type of hardship and limited horizons for excellence and innovation, so he decided to return to Britain. He began as a researcher at the University of Surrey, then moved to the University of Birmingham, and later to the University of Dublin in Ireland, excelling as a teacher, researcher, and supervisor of doctoral students in cellular and genetic engineering, achieving a great breakthrough in producing biopharmaceuticals using bioreactor technology. His exploratory journey into the world of cell and tissue engineering began, deepening his study to include bone and cartilage cells, how to form blood cells outside the body, and attempting to synthesize biological alternatives for some organs. His scientific career resulted in a rich inventory of innovative research and a collection of specialized books, and his research efforts were crowned with a number of patents reflecting the applied aspect of his contributions.
Dr. Mohamed's most notable scientific station was his study of apoptosis (programmed cell death) and his work on blocking its causes. His scientific excellence was accompanied by his brilliance in political work and opposition to Iraq's tyrant through many activities and connections with numerous organizations, associations, and groups working to overthrow the dictator's rule and others working to help Iraqis inside Iraq to alleviate the government's oppression and the effects of the economic embargo.
The change came in 2003, and Dr. Mohamed was among the best qualified to lead the Ministry of Higher Education, but quotas prevented his nomination. Despite obstacles that nearly discouraged him, he worked on establishing an assembly with a group of Iraqi doctorate holders in various parts of the world called the Network of Iraqi Scientists (NISA), aiming to serve the homeland generally and higher education specifically, raising the slogan of repaying the debt to the homeland. They participated in many activities, and Dr. Mohamed was a pioneer in his activities through his writings, lectures, and participation in many conferences aimed at correcting the path of higher education, its quality, and excellence.
I take great pride in my relationship with this distinguished Iraqi. I found him since I knew him more than three decades ago to be a nationalist personality difficult to match in patriotism, academic excellence, and dedication to work—what he achieved in his academic, scientific, professional, and academic career throughout all stages of his life filled with works and events deserving full praise and detailed presentation. Our first meeting was in November 2004 at the University of Birmingham, after I joined the last batch of academics sent to Britain for a training program organized by Dr. Mohamed for several groups in coordination with the ministry. He tried to include my name among the invitees twice, but was rejected, although some officials were sent to the same program three times. Feeling the need for the training program after 23 years of disconnection from academic institutions in the outside world, especially at the prestigious University of Birmingham, I agreed with Dr. Mohamed to include me in the program at my own expense. The benefit I gained from all program sessions was very great, thanks to Dr. Mohamed's organization and follow-up, through attending undergraduate and postgraduate lectures, visiting libraries and laboratory equipment, the nature of scientific research, as well as electronic programs adopted in many university components—all unfamiliar to us due to Iraqi scientific institutions' disconnection from their international counterparts since the 1980s, and the prevention of academics from attending conferences, seminars, and scientific workshops abroad for many reasons, most importantly lack of security approvals and inability to obtain textbooks, sources, and scientific journals.
A new phase of my relationship with Dr. Mohamed began after I assumed the presidency of the University of Kufa in 2006, through his participation with a group of NISA academics in the first quality conferences for higher education institutions sponsored by the ministry and held at the University of Kufa in 2009 and 2010, as well as organizing workshops with his colleagues. His cooperation with the university continued even after I left it.
I met Dr. Mohamed and some of his colleagues in 2013 during their participation in the National Strategy for Education and Higher Education workshops (2012-2022) in Amman, Jordan, as UNESCO experts.
As I always knew Dr. Mohamed, he responded to my invitations when I was a ministry advisor to participate in scientific activities—participating in the ministry's conference held at the University of Baghdad in January 2016 with a research paper and chairing one of the sessions. Also participating in the workshop held at the College of Agriculture—University of Baghdad in April 2016, aimed at transferring modern techniques in cultivation and adopting non-traditional agriculture.
After many sessions and long discussions with Dr. Mohamed, we agreed to launch the annual NISA Award for three distinguished students or academics, with its themes determined at the beginning of each academic year. It was launched in 2016 when I was an advisor, and the first batch of three distinguished individuals was honored at the Science Day celebration in 2017 when I was minister, and the second batch of three others was honored at Science Day in 2018. However, it was stopped after I ended my ministry role.
I was honored that dear brother Dr. Mohamed accepted to work with me as an honorary advisor without pay or salary, due to a 2016 Council of Ministers decision preventing the appointment of any expert or advisor to the minister from outside ministry employees with salary due to the economic crisis afflicting Iraq and the war with ISIS—for ten days each month. In some months, his duty days exceeded twenty, noting that the ministry provided him with very poor housing—a room in the bachelor housing complex affiliated with the College of Physical Education—University of Baghdad, which I had occupied when I was a ministry advisor in 2015-2016.
I have my share in this book when Dr. Mohamed wrote in some pages under the title (My Consultancy Career During the Ministry of Abdul Razzaq Al-Issa), where he expressed his academic and professional dedication, patriotism, and honesty in conveying facts and events in the finest details. He accomplished what others—who were counted among ministry leadership—did not, starting his work before 8:00 AM to give me the opportunity to meet him and discuss what he had achieved the previous day and his program for the next.
The most important achievements and programs contributed to by Dr. Mohamed are as follows:
- Adopting the university autonomy experiment, which began with the University of Technology—hoping to expand to other universities after evaluating the experience in its first year—ultimately leading to the abolition of the Ministry of Higher Education.
- Adopting the Module-Based Course System (Bologna Process) in 2017-2018 in four universities after training their staff, hoping to expand the experiment after evaluating it in its first year.
- His pioneering in evaluating universities in all their details, and after living with them, producing reports exceeding twenty pages.
- His participation in the committee for drafting a new higher education law, completed in mid-2018 after efforts lasting more than six months, sent to the State Council but unfortunately withdrawn by Qusay Al-Suhail for unjustified reasons.
- His effective contribution and valuable initiatives in the Advisory Council—the new formation we adopted of a group of retired academics, some businessmen and industrialists, as well as some ministry leadership—whose tasks included approving programs to qualify some graduates according to labor market needs.
Dr. Mohamed did not forget his professors, colleagues, students, and comrades in national work for helping Iraq and Iraqis, documenting some of their merits—praising some and criticizing others with complete professionalism and selflessness. He neither flatters nor sugarcoats, nor praises an official without right.
The book includes writings by some personalities pointing to many of Dr. Mohamed's qualities—some describing him as a humanitarian, nationalist, and activist personality, while others touched on his scientific excellence, creativity, and contributions.
Despite Dr. Mohamed's retirement and distance from Iraq, he continued as a diligent follower of what happens in higher education corridors and its formations, praising or criticizing many procedures through his almost daily writings. He is the positive element for stimulating academics and educating in critical thinking, creativity, and avoiding indoctrination. He is considered one of the most prominent voices calling for education, scientific research, and innovation to be instruments of the modern state based on transparency and justice, and that true reform begins with the courage to face reality.
In conclusion, Dr. Mohamed's life represents an integrated model of scientific, humanitarian, and national giving. It is not merely a documentation of a journey but a living testimony to an important personality who worked with complete sincerity and professionalism for the advancement and quality of higher education. It is also a clear call to pay attention to documenting distinguished Iraqi experiences and enhancing the memory of prosperity represented by scientists, writers, and thinkers who will be the cause of life's happiness through what benefits humanity, investing them in building a more brilliant future.
Prof. Dr. Abdul Razzaq Abdul Jalil Al-Issa
Najaf, 2026
Mohamed Al-Rubeai... The Voice of Reform in Education and Scientific Research
By Dr. Abdul Jalil Hassan
Published in Al-Muthaqqaf Newspaper, December 19, 2025
In a year of accelerating scientific and political transformations, the name of Professor Mohamed Al-Rubeai emerged as one of the most prominent reformist voices in Iraq and the Arab world. His work was not merely academic criticism or theoretical articles but an integrated project aimed at rebuilding educational, pedagogical, and scientific research institutions on foundations of integrity, transparency, and innovation. He moved with bold steps to put his finger on the wound, revealing that the education crisis is not merely a resources crisis but a crisis of management, governance, and political will.
In the field of primary education and pedagogy, Al-Rubeai emphasized that any genuine renaissance begins at school. He wrote clearly that the Iraqi and Arab student needs a modern educational environment that develops critical thinking and creativity, rather than memorization and indoctrination. He called for updating curricula to keep pace with the age, and training teachers on new educational methods that make schools spaces for genuine learning rather than mere institutions for information transmission. He emphasized that education is the foundation on which everything else is built, and that investment in early years education is investment in the nation's future.
In higher education and scientific research, Al-Rubeai focused on Iraqi and Arab universities needing a revolution in thinking, not mere cosmetic reforms. He called for adopting global quality standards instead of preoccupation with quantity in academic publishing, and emphasized that scientific research must be a tool for solving societal problems rather than mere papers published in unread journals. His voice was clear in warning against the phenomenon of repetitive theses and unsound publishing, considering academic integrity the cornerstone of any scientific renaissance. Through his articles and studies, he placed Iraq in a broader context, comparing Arab and global experiences, emphasizing that reform cannot be merely local but must be based on a regional and global vision.
Al-Rubeai did not neglect the aspect of innovation, emphasizing that scientific research is incomplete unless transformed into practical applications serving society and supporting the economy. He called for connecting universities with innovation centers and entrepreneurship, and encouraging youth to transform their ideas into real projects, considering innovation the shortest path to sustainable development.
But the path of reform was not easy. Al-Rubeai faced a wall of academic and institutional corruption that hindered many of his proposals, and collided with the absence of transparency that made universities incapable of self-evaluation or performance development. He also suffered from restricted academic freedom, where many initiatives remained within theoretical advocacy without finding implementation, amid resistance from institutions accustomed to the status quo who saw reform as a threat to their interests.
Despite all these challenges, Mohamed Al-Rubeai's voice remained prominent as one of the most important voices calling for education, pedagogy, scientific research, and innovation to be tools for building a modern state based on transparency and justice. He proved that criticism alone is not enough, and that genuine reform begins with the courage to face reality, and the insistence that education is not a luxury but a necessity for survival and renaissance.
Introduction to the Book:
Ralf Portner (ed.) Cell Culture Engineering and Technology. In Appreciation to Professor Mohamed Al-Rubeai. Springer (2022)
A Tribute to Professor Mohamed Al-Rubeai
This tenth volume of "Cell Engineering" is dedicated to Professor Mohamed Al-Rubeai on the occasion of his retirement after a distinguished career spanning 45 years of academic giving.
Mohamed Al-Rubeai is an outstanding professor of biochemical engineering, devoting his life to scientific research, education, charity, and human rights advocacy. He holds the position of "Emeritus Professor" of Biochemical Engineering and is the founding director of the Cell Culture Engineering Research Center at the School of Chemical Engineering and Bioprocessing, University College Dublin (UCD).
The Professor earned his PhD in Genetics from Queen Mary College, University of London in 1979. After a brief period at the University of Surrey, he joined the University of Birmingham in 1988, where he established himself as a global leader in cell culture technology, through his research on "the sensitivity of animal cells to environmental stresses" within bioreactors. His efforts also contributed to establishing the importance of Flow Cytometry for monitoring and controlling cell cultures.
During that period, Al-Rubeai authored his most important research papers, demonstrating that animal cells in laboratory cultures die through "programmed cell death" (Apoptosis). He was also a pioneer in developing cell engineering methods to improve the robustness and viability of cell lines and increase culture productivity. In 2005, he moved to University College Dublin to assume the newly established chair of Biochemical Engineering. His recruitment was a pivotal step in establishing the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), preceding the development of the globally significant biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Ireland.
Professor Al-Rubeai enriched the scientific library with more than 500 specialized research papers, reviews, book chapters, and patents, with a citation record exceeding 20,000 and an h-index approaching 60. This remarkable intellectual output reflects his wide interests in biopharmaceutical production, mammalian cell culture, tissue engineering, stem cell bioprocessing, metabolic engineering, nanobiotechnology, and biomaterials.
These achievements are crowned by the high standing and recognition Professor Al-Rubeai enjoys in global biotechnology community circles—both academic and industrial—where his work is widely known and globally recognized. Undoubtedly, Professor Al-Rubeai is considered one of the "founding fathers" of the biotechnology industry in the United Kingdom.
He is a Fellow of the Conway Institute for Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, and a Fellow of the British Society for Biology (FSB). In 2007, he received the Astellas Award, and in 2008, the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) awarded him the Donald Medal for distinguished services in biochemical engineering. The UK Research Excellence Framework awarded him the highest rating (5 stars) in its last two rounds in 1996 and 2001.
When I think of exceptional people I have known, Professor Al-Rubeai stands at the forefront. We celebrate his professional legacy with this special volume of "Cell Engineering," which we recommend to all those working in cell culture and biopharmaceutical production.
Ralf Portner
Hamburg, Germany. March 2021