Issam Jameel was born in Baghdad in 1954. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in
theatrical arts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Baghdad in 1978. In 1980, he spent his compulsory army services working for Al-Qadesia, a daily newspaper
of the Iraqi army. He explored the amazing world of writing when he wrote articles
in theatrical criticism. After several years, he became the dependable theatrical
critic in Al-Thawra, the main official newspaper in Iraq during the years 1981 to
1985. His first book, which included two plays about war, was published in 1983 by the main Iraqi governmental publishing house. His first play, The Memory of a Dead
Man, was directed by himself with an experimental theater belonging to a national theater group in Iraq. Three of his plays have been directed by Iraqi directors for the national theater group in Baghdad during 1985 to 1991, while two other plays have been directed by himself at the experimental theater in Baghdad in 1989 and 1993.

He continued his study for a Master’s degree in theatrical studies to graduate in Baghdad in 1990. His thesis contained a sociological study about converting the Elizabethan symbols in A Midsummer Night’s Dream to modern symbols, which materialized in the Iraqi understanding of the play.

Because of the strict limits on liberty in Iraq, he moved to Jordan, where he found a permanent job at a radio station belonging to one of the Iraqi opposition groups against Saddam. During his long residence in Jordan, he converted to
Christianity before migrating to Australia in 2002, where he now resides.