Muhammad Fadhel al-Jamali () (April 20, 1903 – May 24, 1997) was an Iraqi politician, Iraqi foreign minister, and prime minister of Iraq from 1953 to 1954. In 1945, al-Jamali, as Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, signed the United Nations Charter on behalf of his country. Early life Al-Jamali was born in Kadhimain, near Baghdad, the son of a Shi'a cleric, Sheikh Abbas Al-Jamali. His early education was a religious one, attending the religious seminary of Sheikh Al-Khalisi. After graduating from the American University in Beirut, and Teachers College of Columbia University in New York City, he taught for some time in Iraq before entering public life. In 1944 he joined the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Later he served as Director General of Education. Although he was a Shi'a Muslim, he promoted harmony and educational equality with the minority Sunni Muslims. Also, His marriage to his American-Canadian wife, Sara Powell was in accordance with the Sunni doctrine. Prime Minister of Iraq He was a member of both houses of the old Iraqi Parliament, and was 8 times Foreign Minister, and between 1953 and 1954 he served twice as Prime Minister. He was twice the president of the Chamber of Deputies between October 1950 and September 1953. Because of the communist threat from the Soviet Union along Iraq's northeastern border, he advocated for a strong affiliation with the United States and the United Kingdom, at a time when the United States of America seemed to be a good ally for the Arab world against communism, but he later confessed his disappointment at the way America treated his country, the Arab world and the problems in the middle east in general. After the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown, the Revolutionary Military Tribunal of 1958 sentenced him to death, but this was later commuted to 10 years' imprisonment; he was released in 1961 after serving three years. His release came after the demands of many important international figures. Writings While in prison he wrote a series of letters to his son setting out the teaching and practice of Islam and its relevance to the problems and experience of the modern world. Following his release from prison, he compiled those letters into a book Letters on Islam. The book's topics are: man's need for religious faith; the Qur'an as guidance; the significant of fasting; science and faith; the nature of religious experience; the meaning