Basra MP Uday Awad condemned marginalizing the governorate and its people, considering removing the image of Hasan Ibn al-Haytham, an Iraqi Mathematician who was born in Basra, on the 10,000 dinar notes as evidence.
Ibn al-Haytham was an Arab mathematician, astronomer, and physicist of the Islamic Golden Age. Sometimes called "the father of modern optics, he made significant contributions to the principles of optics and visual perception in particular.
Basra provincial council decided earlier in April in an extraordinary session to activate its previous decision concerning transforming the province into a federal region.
Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi commented on the proposals, saying that “the issue of the Basra province is up to the governorate and its people.”
Article 119 of the Iraqi Constitution
stipulates that every province has the right to become a federal region either
alone or together with other provinces, after following required procedures. A
province can request being designated a federal entity after the approval of
one-third of members of the governorate council and one-tenth of the area’s
electorate.