Haji Alawi is an Iraqi national of Kurdish ancestry. He was kidnapped on an unknown date, and held at an apartment in Baghdad's Shaad neighborhood along with Mustafa Abdul-Rassul Hussein, Atta Ibrahim Constantine and Hisham Salem.

On August 11, the office of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced that a Shiite militia had raided the apartment and freed the 4 hostages found there.

Very little information can be found about Mr. Alawi. Lack of media coverage and reticence on part of the individual or families are not unusual for Iraqi victims of kidnappings.