The Guardians of Independence (Haras al Istiqlal) were a secretive, clandestine political group established in early 1919 to oppose the British occupation of Iraq following World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Jafar abu al-Timman was its main organizer and leader. The Guardians of Independence used both nationalist and religious rhetoric against the British presence and contributed greatly to the rise of emotions that led to the 1920 revolt

Iraqi revolt against the British

The Iraqi Revolt against the British , or the Great Iraqi Revolution of 1920, started in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 with mass demonstrations of both Sunni and Shia, including protests by embittered officers from the old Ottoman army, against the policies of British Acting Civil Commissioner Sir...

. It called for Iraqi and Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

n independence, the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, and the rejection of technical or economic assistance from the British. It concentrated most of its activities in the central Euphrates

Euphrates

The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...

 and in Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

. Its leadership included a number of prominent religious and political figures: Muhammad al-Sadr, Shakir Mahmud, Hikmat Shawkat, Jalal Baban, and Muhamman Baqir al-Shabibi.