Thursday, March 25, 2004
Guest blogs
As you can see on the sidebar, I've added a new feature to the blog, guest blogs. Where I will be posting short blogs by Iraqis who are interested in the world hearing their voices but do not have the time or effort to maintain permanent blog sites. Of course all Iraqis are invited to post, and I also have a few friends who are interested.
The first entry is by Abu Hadi, an Iraqi expatriate, who will be describing in his diaries his first visit to his home country after 22 years of exile. Some of you might recall Abu Hadi. He has been a regular poster in the comments since the blog started some five months ago. The diary makes a very interesting read, and Abu Hadi has an admirable sense of humour. Check back often for more of his entries.
The first entry is by Abu Hadi, an Iraqi expatriate, who will be describing in his diaries his first visit to his home country after 22 years of exile. Some of you might recall Abu Hadi. He has been a regular poster in the comments since the blog started some five months ago. The diary makes a very interesting read, and Abu Hadi has an admirable sense of humour. Check back often for more of his entries.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Sheikh Yassin and other stuff
We woke up early in the morning yesterday to the shocking news of the assasination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. One of the doctors at the residence was in hysterics about it and the noise woke me up. The first thought that came to my mind was good riddance, but then the gravity of the whole thing slowly creeped upon me. While I was distastefully brushing my teeth, I heard the doctor roaring into the bedroom ernestly trying to wake up my colleague, the Christian dentist, "WAAAAAKE UUUUUUPPP! They killed the Pope!!". My friend sprang out from
bed and rushed over to the tv, after which I heard him swearing at the doctor who was rolling with laughter at the situation.
Our cook had the most interesting reaction. "How many young men did this @#%$ send to death by brainwashing and fooling them into carrying out suicide attacks? How many innocent people had he killed?" he shouted to the doctor, "And how many thousands of dollars did he get in his Swiss bank accounts by pimping on the Palestinian cause?". "If he was truly such a hero and a believer in Jihad how come he didn't rig his wheelchair with explosives and blow himself up at some Israeli
checkpoint? I say f* him". We advised the cook to stay out of politics, at least for the moment, and stick to his task of scrambling eggs for us.
Later that day the doctors were solemnly discussing the issue over lunch. We were watching Al-Jazeera and as is expected on such occasions they were screaming as usual. My friend and I munched on our chicken and baked beans in silence while the doctors were swapping all the popular conspiracy theories with each other. "Just wait for Hassan Nasrallah (Hizbollah leader), I'm sure he'll have some things to say
about this" remarked the hospital opthalmologist, the older of the bunch. "Yeah? And what's that going to change anyway?" my friend offered. The sheikh of Al-Azhar, Al-Imam Al-Akbar Sayyid Tantawi, was talking to Al-Jazeera condemning the assasination. "What kind of title is that? Al-Imam Al-Akbar (the greatest Imam)?" the opthalmologist asked, "Only Allah is Akbar...". "Wait wait", my friend interrupted
him. "I'm really dissapointed with you guys, nothing ever seems to satisfy you. What is wrong with the Imams title?". "What does it have to do with you? You're a Christian" replied the doctor. "Hey" I called, "What about Ayatollah aluzma (Grand Ayatollah)? Why is that supposed to be ok, and Imam Al-Akbar not?". The doctor seemed shocked with this question and just looked sternly at me. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room, so we all turned back to our dishes.
***
An explanation on the previous entry; the mob was shouting 'Hussein', referring to Imam Hussein bin Ali, not to Saddam Hussein. Also, I met a guy at the internet cafe who works with the Basrah CPA and he mentioned that he had pictures of the crowd stabbing the Wahhabi suspect but he gave them to Reuters.
Incidentally, I also talked to a few Wahhabis at the village where I'm posted and they were very uncomfortable with their surroundings and the treatment they get from fanatics and Shi'ite Islamic parties. "We try hard to mind our own business and go on with our lives but people here hate us, and we're always looked upon with suspicion" one of them confided to me. There was an attack against a market store owned by one of them and all his goods were destroyed just a day after the Basrah hotel attack.
Security measures have increased around Basrah city. Basrah IP are roaming busy streets and locations downtown inspecting suspiciously parked cars and setting checkpoints all around. We got 6 FPS guards for the hospital which kind of worried us.
I'm also experiencing some horrible nightmares, which started two days after the bombings. I really shouldn't have been there.
bed and rushed over to the tv, after which I heard him swearing at the doctor who was rolling with laughter at the situation.
Our cook had the most interesting reaction. "How many young men did this @#%$ send to death by brainwashing and fooling them into carrying out suicide attacks? How many innocent people had he killed?" he shouted to the doctor, "And how many thousands of dollars did he get in his Swiss bank accounts by pimping on the Palestinian cause?". "If he was truly such a hero and a believer in Jihad how come he didn't rig his wheelchair with explosives and blow himself up at some Israeli
checkpoint? I say f* him". We advised the cook to stay out of politics, at least for the moment, and stick to his task of scrambling eggs for us.
Later that day the doctors were solemnly discussing the issue over lunch. We were watching Al-Jazeera and as is expected on such occasions they were screaming as usual. My friend and I munched on our chicken and baked beans in silence while the doctors were swapping all the popular conspiracy theories with each other. "Just wait for Hassan Nasrallah (Hizbollah leader), I'm sure he'll have some things to say
about this" remarked the hospital opthalmologist, the older of the bunch. "Yeah? And what's that going to change anyway?" my friend offered. The sheikh of Al-Azhar, Al-Imam Al-Akbar Sayyid Tantawi, was talking to Al-Jazeera condemning the assasination. "What kind of title is that? Al-Imam Al-Akbar (the greatest Imam)?" the opthalmologist asked, "Only Allah is Akbar...". "Wait wait", my friend interrupted
him. "I'm really dissapointed with you guys, nothing ever seems to satisfy you. What is wrong with the Imams title?". "What does it have to do with you? You're a Christian" replied the doctor. "Hey" I called, "What about Ayatollah aluzma (Grand Ayatollah)? Why is that supposed to be ok, and Imam Al-Akbar not?". The doctor seemed shocked with this question and just looked sternly at me. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room, so we all turned back to our dishes.
***
An explanation on the previous entry; the mob was shouting 'Hussein', referring to Imam Hussein bin Ali, not to Saddam Hussein. Also, I met a guy at the internet cafe who works with the Basrah CPA and he mentioned that he had pictures of the crowd stabbing the Wahhabi suspect but he gave them to Reuters.
Incidentally, I also talked to a few Wahhabis at the village where I'm posted and they were very uncomfortable with their surroundings and the treatment they get from fanatics and Shi'ite Islamic parties. "We try hard to mind our own business and go on with our lives but people here hate us, and we're always looked upon with suspicion" one of them confided to me. There was an attack against a market store owned by one of them and all his goods were destroyed just a day after the Basrah hotel attack.
Security measures have increased around Basrah city. Basrah IP are roaming busy streets and locations downtown inspecting suspiciously parked cars and setting checkpoints all around. We got 6 FPS guards for the hospital which kind of worried us.
I'm also experiencing some horrible nightmares, which started two days after the bombings. I really shouldn't have been there.
Saturday, March 20, 2004
The Basrah hotel bombing
I guess most of you have heard about the Basrah bombing incident on thursday by now. I was pretty close to the area of the explosion that day. Around 3 in the afternoon there was an enormous blast which violently shaked the windows of the Internet cafe where I was sitting comfortably cursing the connection speed. It came as some sort of a surprise since you would rarely ever hear explosions in Basrah.
Everyone left their seats hurriedly and went out to look. We saw black plumes of smoke rising from Istiqlal street which lies parallel to the one where we were standing. And since I knew a few people at that area, I immediately hailed a taxi to take me to the scene. People were rushing from all directions heading there. Old men, women, kids, bicycles, cars, everything. You would expect that people would actually run away as far as possible from the explosion area. But no, certainly Iraqis wouldn't.
When I arrived, there was already quite a crowd gathered in front of the hotel where the rigged car exploded. It was an '82 model Mercedes, and it was apparently not a suicide attack since the car, or what had remained of it, was in the middle of the street in front of the Marbid hotel. Basrah IP and Brits had arrived and were trying to keep the crowd away from the site but no use. They shouted from loud speakers that another rigged car might still be around, but no one budged from their positions.
All of a sudden there was a commotion. Two bearded guys were being dragged amidst the crowd by the police. It seemed that they were suspects. The mob got enraged and someone shouted "Don't let the British take them away! Kill the Wahhabi bastards now!". Everyone stormed forward and slippers and shoes were thrown at the two bewildered men. Someone sprang out of nowhere and stabbed one of them in the back, and that was that. He got trampled by the angry crowd, and I saw knives, sticks, and qamat (long blades) flashing. The police half heartedly attempted to dissipate them, but it was only until Brits started firing in the air that they left him, but he was obviously dead then, only a bloody mess was left of him. They were put into a British Land Rover and taken away. It turned out later that they had nothing to do with the attack.
The mob looked deadly and dangerous. They proceeded to throw stones and shoes at the British while shouting "Hussein, Hussein". There was shooting again so I slipped away for cover. The area was surrounded so it looked like I was trapped. Even reporters and camera men were shoved away by the British soldiers. I was now very close to the burnt Mercedes, I moved on trying to get as far away as possible from the crowd and I was treading carefully over shattered glass. At one point I felt the ground was slippery, so I looked down and almost got sick. I was walking on a pool of blood. Some bystanders pointed out something, I thought that I would better not look, but curiosity beat me. It was half a human head. It belonged to a once bald person, and his brain and what looked like his guts were all over the place and on the walls. He was the old man that sold groceries in front of the hotel. I recalled buying bananas from him once with Omar and AYS when we used to stay at these hotels at the time we first visited Basrah two months ago.
The explosion itself did not cause much damage to the surrounding buildings. It looked like an amateurish attempt since it only succeeded in breaking windows. However, 3 people were killed and 20 injured. It could have been much more worse if the timing was different. Istiqlal street is a very busy one where several hotels housing foreign reconstruction workers are located. Other people mentioned that a British patrol was meant to be targetted by the explosion.
***
I returned to the residence half an hour later. My colleagues were a bit worried about me since I pass through that street almost every other day while heading to the Internet cafe, so they were relieved. In a few minutes I was sinking in a deep sleep. And when I woke up in the evening, I was feeling considerably better.
I'm not the kind of person to count my blessings, but that experience made me rethink my whole life. Later that night, we were alone, me and my friend, the Christian dentist, after a dinner of tikka, we were feeling very content, smoking cigarettes and having tea. We smiled at one another. There was a cool breeze outside and life suddenly felt good. When you are vulnerable and have death waiting around the corner at any moment, it's only better that you try hard to make the most of what you have.
Everyone left their seats hurriedly and went out to look. We saw black plumes of smoke rising from Istiqlal street which lies parallel to the one where we were standing. And since I knew a few people at that area, I immediately hailed a taxi to take me to the scene. People were rushing from all directions heading there. Old men, women, kids, bicycles, cars, everything. You would expect that people would actually run away as far as possible from the explosion area. But no, certainly Iraqis wouldn't.
When I arrived, there was already quite a crowd gathered in front of the hotel where the rigged car exploded. It was an '82 model Mercedes, and it was apparently not a suicide attack since the car, or what had remained of it, was in the middle of the street in front of the Marbid hotel. Basrah IP and Brits had arrived and were trying to keep the crowd away from the site but no use. They shouted from loud speakers that another rigged car might still be around, but no one budged from their positions.
All of a sudden there was a commotion. Two bearded guys were being dragged amidst the crowd by the police. It seemed that they were suspects. The mob got enraged and someone shouted "Don't let the British take them away! Kill the Wahhabi bastards now!". Everyone stormed forward and slippers and shoes were thrown at the two bewildered men. Someone sprang out of nowhere and stabbed one of them in the back, and that was that. He got trampled by the angry crowd, and I saw knives, sticks, and qamat (long blades) flashing. The police half heartedly attempted to dissipate them, but it was only until Brits started firing in the air that they left him, but he was obviously dead then, only a bloody mess was left of him. They were put into a British Land Rover and taken away. It turned out later that they had nothing to do with the attack.
The mob looked deadly and dangerous. They proceeded to throw stones and shoes at the British while shouting "Hussein, Hussein". There was shooting again so I slipped away for cover. The area was surrounded so it looked like I was trapped. Even reporters and camera men were shoved away by the British soldiers. I was now very close to the burnt Mercedes, I moved on trying to get as far away as possible from the crowd and I was treading carefully over shattered glass. At one point I felt the ground was slippery, so I looked down and almost got sick. I was walking on a pool of blood. Some bystanders pointed out something, I thought that I would better not look, but curiosity beat me. It was half a human head. It belonged to a once bald person, and his brain and what looked like his guts were all over the place and on the walls. He was the old man that sold groceries in front of the hotel. I recalled buying bananas from him once with Omar and AYS when we used to stay at these hotels at the time we first visited Basrah two months ago.
The explosion itself did not cause much damage to the surrounding buildings. It looked like an amateurish attempt since it only succeeded in breaking windows. However, 3 people were killed and 20 injured. It could have been much more worse if the timing was different. Istiqlal street is a very busy one where several hotels housing foreign reconstruction workers are located. Other people mentioned that a British patrol was meant to be targetted by the explosion.
***
I returned to the residence half an hour later. My colleagues were a bit worried about me since I pass through that street almost every other day while heading to the Internet cafe, so they were relieved. In a few minutes I was sinking in a deep sleep. And when I woke up in the evening, I was feeling considerably better.
I'm not the kind of person to count my blessings, but that experience made me rethink my whole life. Later that night, we were alone, me and my friend, the Christian dentist, after a dinner of tikka, we were feeling very content, smoking cigarettes and having tea. We smiled at one another. There was a cool breeze outside and life suddenly felt good. When you are vulnerable and have death waiting around the corner at any moment, it's only better that you try hard to make the most of what you have.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Chiefly about mosquitos
Yes you read that right, because as it happens mosquitos (or fleas or bugs or whatever) now play a huge part of my daily life. I'm blogging from lovely Basrah again and the heat is 30 degrees. The irony of it all is that Basrawis lovingly refer to this time of the year as 'spring', which is kind of making me dreading the thought of July and August. Everyone I have complained to about the heat snickers back at me and says: "Just wait till summer then, oh you will love it here" or "You haven't seen the sharji yet". No thanks, I'm not sure I'm interested.
Which brings us to the topic of mosquitos/fleas/bugs. Those adorable flying creatures. I remember once asking my parents when I was a bit young and innocent, something like "Why did God create bugs?". Unfortunately nobody then had pointed me to the infamous book authored by Khairallah Talfah (Saddam's uncle) titled 'Three things God should not have created: Jews, Kurds, and mosquitos'.
Anyway, the last four nights have been terrible thanks to those restless godawful vampires. I had to sleep wrapped up tightly in a blanket and with socks on but they were persistent. Somehow they penetrated all the barriers and I could feel them all over the place even under my clothes. I was naiive enough to think that commercial insecticide sprays would work, but it seems the mosquitos over here have long become tolerant to such minor disturbances. You see the problem is that the residence is bordered by palm orchards and small creeks from every direction, so each time the door or a window is opened, swarms of mosquitos enter attracted by the lights. Our favorite game right now besides Cooncan is 'Who gets to squash mosquitos most is the winner'.
Now the area south to Basrah is known as the Venice of Iraq since there are approximately 13 thousand small rivers, canals, and creeks between Basrah city and Faw along both banks of Shatt Al-Arab. At the town of Abu Al-Khasib almost every house (some of which are centuries old) is surrounded by water. About 60% of the total Iraqi exported palm dates came from this area alone. The 8 years Iraq-Iran war and the long years of neglect by Saddam's regime contributed to the destruction of hundreds of thousands of these palm trees.
The creeks have also been clogged lately by smuggled crude oil which is spilled during loading to the various vessels in the many ports on Shatt Al-Arab. The oil is shamelessly being smuggled under the eyes and noses of the Iraqi police and British forces in the area. Each morning we witness endless lines of tanker trucks parked on the road to the Abu Floos port waiting for their turn to enter the port. On several occasions Basrah IP have claimed they are investigating and intercepting smugglers but practically nothing is being done. Months ago some large operations were carried out by Brits to put an end to it, but none lately according to the people over here.
I'll be back with more info later as I'll be visiting the ports area sometime this week.
***
In the meantime check out this article by Abu Ayad, an anonymous Baghdadi municipal council member. It's about the Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, and the differences between the western media image of him, and the real thing on the ground. An excellent read and I'll be sure to check for Abu Ayad's name on the web from now on.
Which brings us to the topic of mosquitos/fleas/bugs. Those adorable flying creatures. I remember once asking my parents when I was a bit young and innocent, something like "Why did God create bugs?". Unfortunately nobody then had pointed me to the infamous book authored by Khairallah Talfah (Saddam's uncle) titled 'Three things God should not have created: Jews, Kurds, and mosquitos'.
Anyway, the last four nights have been terrible thanks to those restless godawful vampires. I had to sleep wrapped up tightly in a blanket and with socks on but they were persistent. Somehow they penetrated all the barriers and I could feel them all over the place even under my clothes. I was naiive enough to think that commercial insecticide sprays would work, but it seems the mosquitos over here have long become tolerant to such minor disturbances. You see the problem is that the residence is bordered by palm orchards and small creeks from every direction, so each time the door or a window is opened, swarms of mosquitos enter attracted by the lights. Our favorite game right now besides Cooncan is 'Who gets to squash mosquitos most is the winner'.
Now the area south to Basrah is known as the Venice of Iraq since there are approximately 13 thousand small rivers, canals, and creeks between Basrah city and Faw along both banks of Shatt Al-Arab. At the town of Abu Al-Khasib almost every house (some of which are centuries old) is surrounded by water. About 60% of the total Iraqi exported palm dates came from this area alone. The 8 years Iraq-Iran war and the long years of neglect by Saddam's regime contributed to the destruction of hundreds of thousands of these palm trees.
The creeks have also been clogged lately by smuggled crude oil which is spilled during loading to the various vessels in the many ports on Shatt Al-Arab. The oil is shamelessly being smuggled under the eyes and noses of the Iraqi police and British forces in the area. Each morning we witness endless lines of tanker trucks parked on the road to the Abu Floos port waiting for their turn to enter the port. On several occasions Basrah IP have claimed they are investigating and intercepting smugglers but practically nothing is being done. Months ago some large operations were carried out by Brits to put an end to it, but none lately according to the people over here.
I'll be back with more info later as I'll be visiting the ports area sometime this week.
***
In the meantime check out this article by Abu Ayad, an anonymous Baghdadi municipal council member. It's about the Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, and the differences between the western media image of him, and the real thing on the ground. An excellent read and I'll be sure to check for Abu Ayad's name on the web from now on.
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Our fourth constitution in 80 years
Or is it the fifth? I forgot. Anyway, the GC finally ratified the Transitional Adminstrative Law during a brief ceremony on monday at the Baghdad Convention Center. The general reaction from the Iraqi street to this first and important step towards achieving sovereignty was one of relief, approval, and an 'okay, so let's get on with it' attitude.
Mohammed Bahr Al-Ulum (current president of the GC), Adnan Al-Pachachi, and Mass'ud Al-Barzani all gave short speeches commending the law. Ahmad Al-Chalabi seemed peculiarly jubilant. He was the first member to sign the law sitting down on the ancient desk once used by King Faisal (and which was specially refurbished for the occasion), after which he shouted "Long live Iraq!", this evoked cheers and applause from the audience. The chubby Jalal Al-Talabani cheerfully did the same move while scoffing jokingly at Chalabi.
"For the first time in history, we the Kurds feel that we are Iraqi citizens" remarked KDP leader Barzani, "And we got the federal pluralistic parliamentary Iraq". He also expressed his thanks to US president Bush, British PM Tony Blair, Ambassador Paul Bremer, and to coalition soldiers. There were news of huge celebrations in Kurdish cities following the signing of the law, and some media organizations reported that the Iraqi flag was burnt in several of them. hmmm.
12 Shia members of the GC repeated their reservations on the new law and specifically to Article 61. clause C in a statement read out by Ibrahim Al-Ja'ffari indicating that they signed the law in its unchhanged form to preserve the unity within the GC. Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim (SCIRI leader) did not attend the signing ceremony and his deputy Adil Abdul Mahdi signed in his place. He later admitted in a press conference yesterday that his absence was intentional.
At the same day, the Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani shortly issued a fatwa in which he stated his disapproval of the new law, describing it as 'an obstacle in the path of a permanent constitution'. No, mate, it's not. It's an obstacle in your way to put it right. Go back to your istihaza books and thick fiqh volumes, and quit meddling in our affairs until you at least apply for an Iraqi citizenship. And to tell the truth, this is a good thing because I would be actually worried if Sistani approved the new constitution. The Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Taqi Al-Mudarrissi was also critical of the constitution, calling it a 'time bomb for civil war'. The Sunni Hay'at Al-Ulemma stressed that the constitution was a step forward but that it also had problems, one of them the fact that the law was issued by a body appointed by occupiers.
On the other hand, a spokesman of Muqtada Al-Sadr accused the coalition of imposing a constitution on the Iraqi people that would only serve its interests . And here comes the good stuff: "The constitution should be drafted according to Islamic Shari'a law and under the supervision of the Hawza which represents the constitution of the heavens. Written constitutions change from time to time but that of the heavens is fixed, unchangeable, and fulfills all of man's needs regardless of his associations. This doesn't appeal to coalition forces", and "The Iraqi people reject such a constitution, they will never accept it and will have a different stand". Tut tut, blah blah, excuse me while I go puke.
Someone definitely has to explain the concept of federalism to Iraqis immediately. People simply freak out whenever they hear this f word, and they start shaking their fists, condemning the Zionist conspiracy to split and divide Iraq, especially with the daily brainwashing effect of the Arab media.
As to the contentious clause C of Article 61. which states that "The general referendum will be successful and the draft constitution ratified if a majority of the voters in Iraq approve and if two-thirds of the voters in three or more governorates do not reject it". I can't seem to quite understand why the Shia members are against this. I mean it does not apply only to the Kurds or the Sunnis, because even the Shia could benefit from this clause. Foreign minister, Hoshyar Zibari, correctly described this clause as a 'guarantee to 40% of the population that there will be no dictatorship of the majority" which makes sense.
Anyway, here is the full transcript of the Transitional Adminstrative Law. Chapter two states the fundamental rights of Iraqi citizens. Contrary to popular belief, these rights guaranteed by the constitution are not unprecedented in the region. In fact all the previous Iraqi constitutions granted such rights to the people, but they remained ink on paper. And if you read constitutions of other Arab countries you would be so impressed that you may think they were actually describing countries in western Europe, but despotic regimes in these countries have always found methods to override their constitutions by states of emergency and national security grounds.
So here is to ensure that the new constitution means what it says, and that the Iraqi people will see to that after long decades of dictatorships and abuse.
Mohammed Bahr Al-Ulum (current president of the GC), Adnan Al-Pachachi, and Mass'ud Al-Barzani all gave short speeches commending the law. Ahmad Al-Chalabi seemed peculiarly jubilant. He was the first member to sign the law sitting down on the ancient desk once used by King Faisal (and which was specially refurbished for the occasion), after which he shouted "Long live Iraq!", this evoked cheers and applause from the audience. The chubby Jalal Al-Talabani cheerfully did the same move while scoffing jokingly at Chalabi.
"For the first time in history, we the Kurds feel that we are Iraqi citizens" remarked KDP leader Barzani, "And we got the federal pluralistic parliamentary Iraq". He also expressed his thanks to US president Bush, British PM Tony Blair, Ambassador Paul Bremer, and to coalition soldiers. There were news of huge celebrations in Kurdish cities following the signing of the law, and some media organizations reported that the Iraqi flag was burnt in several of them. hmmm.
12 Shia members of the GC repeated their reservations on the new law and specifically to Article 61. clause C in a statement read out by Ibrahim Al-Ja'ffari indicating that they signed the law in its unchhanged form to preserve the unity within the GC. Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim (SCIRI leader) did not attend the signing ceremony and his deputy Adil Abdul Mahdi signed in his place. He later admitted in a press conference yesterday that his absence was intentional.
At the same day, the Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani shortly issued a fatwa in which he stated his disapproval of the new law, describing it as 'an obstacle in the path of a permanent constitution'. No, mate, it's not. It's an obstacle in your way to put it right. Go back to your istihaza books and thick fiqh volumes, and quit meddling in our affairs until you at least apply for an Iraqi citizenship. And to tell the truth, this is a good thing because I would be actually worried if Sistani approved the new constitution. The Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Taqi Al-Mudarrissi was also critical of the constitution, calling it a 'time bomb for civil war'. The Sunni Hay'at Al-Ulemma stressed that the constitution was a step forward but that it also had problems, one of them the fact that the law was issued by a body appointed by occupiers.
On the other hand, a spokesman of Muqtada Al-Sadr accused the coalition of imposing a constitution on the Iraqi people that would only serve its interests . And here comes the good stuff: "The constitution should be drafted according to Islamic Shari'a law and under the supervision of the Hawza which represents the constitution of the heavens. Written constitutions change from time to time but that of the heavens is fixed, unchangeable, and fulfills all of man's needs regardless of his associations. This doesn't appeal to coalition forces", and "The Iraqi people reject such a constitution, they will never accept it and will have a different stand". Tut tut, blah blah, excuse me while I go puke.
Someone definitely has to explain the concept of federalism to Iraqis immediately. People simply freak out whenever they hear this f word, and they start shaking their fists, condemning the Zionist conspiracy to split and divide Iraq, especially with the daily brainwashing effect of the Arab media.
As to the contentious clause C of Article 61. which states that "The general referendum will be successful and the draft constitution ratified if a majority of the voters in Iraq approve and if two-thirds of the voters in three or more governorates do not reject it". I can't seem to quite understand why the Shia members are against this. I mean it does not apply only to the Kurds or the Sunnis, because even the Shia could benefit from this clause. Foreign minister, Hoshyar Zibari, correctly described this clause as a 'guarantee to 40% of the population that there will be no dictatorship of the majority" which makes sense.
Anyway, here is the full transcript of the Transitional Adminstrative Law. Chapter two states the fundamental rights of Iraqi citizens. Contrary to popular belief, these rights guaranteed by the constitution are not unprecedented in the region. In fact all the previous Iraqi constitutions granted such rights to the people, but they remained ink on paper. And if you read constitutions of other Arab countries you would be so impressed that you may think they were actually describing countries in western Europe, but despotic regimes in these countries have always found methods to override their constitutions by states of emergency and national security grounds.
So here is to ensure that the new constitution means what it says, and that the Iraqi people will see to that after long decades of dictatorships and abuse.
Saturday, March 06, 2004
Playing for time
For the last time, some members of the 'venerable' GC are giving Iraqis every reason to be apprehensive and dubious of their motives and agendas for the future of Iraq. Just as the whole of Iraq was impatiently waiting yesterday for the final announcement of the Transitional Adminstrative Law (or the interim constitution as Iraqis like to call it) for long hours, it gets postponed for the umpteenth time, this time until monday. Hamid Kifa'i, the GC spokesman, appeared at one point on Al-Iraqiyah TV stating that there was absolutely no disagreement between GC members, that they were just discussing 'technical' difficulties, and inshallah they would be over any time now. The national anthem was played over and over. We waited and waited but there was nothing.
While the Arab media mockingly and spitefully spread the news of this (un)expected development, Iraqis were scratching their heads in confusion. All sorts of rumours and conspiracy theories creeped over Baghdad filling in the empty spaces. Some people said that some of the Shi'ite groups on the council (SCIRI, Da'wa, INC) totally rejected the notion of a Sunni president. This was in accordance with earlier rumours that the American adminstration had decided that the presidential council of the future National Transitional Council would be comprised of a Sunni president, with two vice presidents, a Kurd and a Shi'ite. Of course this was never actually mentioned in the draft of the law, but the people promoting this interpretation explained that the US would never allow a Shi'ite president because he would be completely influenced by the Hawza and the Shi'ite marji'iyah.
Others mentioned that Sistani advised the GC to modify some points in the draft and to specifically state that "no future legislation in the country should contradict Islamic law", and also in regard to the representation of women in the government, Sistani had reservations on the draft mentioning an exact 25-40% percentage, allegedly saying that was 'unacceptable'. No official confirmation or denial of these rumours has yet come out from Sistani's agents. Another point of disagreement was on the joint Kurdish Sunni proposition that "two thirds of the voters of any three governorates could suspend the future constitution and resubmit it for revision" as a measure to protect minorities rights in the future government. Shi'ite groups reportedly objected to this addition. The 5 dissident members, according to some sources in the GC, were Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, Ibrahim Al-Ja'ffari, Muwafaq Al-Rubai'i, Mohammed Bahr Al-Uloom, and Ahmed Al-Chalabi. They did not attend the GC meeting yesterday and were in Najaf consulting with Sistani.
Foreign minister, Zibari, stated that it was very regretful that a minority in the GC would later change it's opinion after reaching a final agreement last sunday, and he advised Iraqis to be aware that foreign countries (alluding to our neighbours) were trying to abort the interim law.
Now, the whole situation looks embarrassingly ridiculous considering the deadline for finally approving the Transitional Law was almost a week ago, and this only serves to prove the stereotypical image of Iraqis that can never agree on anything. And, to tell the truth, most Iraqis were immensely surprised after reading the details of the law draft, it just seemed too good to be true.
Now the main point is that while we do appreciate the significant difficulties GC members must be facing everyday, they had plenty of time to go over the controversial issues in the law draft during the last few days since it was first announced instead of publicity stunts at Karbala and shuttle visits to Najaf to meet with Shi'ite clerics. Another point is that I hope Iraqis can now see clearly through some of the pretentious GC members, members that have made it clear that they show allegiance and loyalty to their respective sects and ethnicities (or in a couple of cases to neighbouring countries) over Iraq. And that when the time comes for voting in ballot boxes those members will be ruled out. I have faith in the insight and wisdom of Iraqis. They will never allow another despot to take over their lives and futures. Never again.
Maybe some of those members know that fact only too well, and realizing that their role is about to be over very soon they are just playing for time? Food for thought.
While the Arab media mockingly and spitefully spread the news of this (un)expected development, Iraqis were scratching their heads in confusion. All sorts of rumours and conspiracy theories creeped over Baghdad filling in the empty spaces. Some people said that some of the Shi'ite groups on the council (SCIRI, Da'wa, INC) totally rejected the notion of a Sunni president. This was in accordance with earlier rumours that the American adminstration had decided that the presidential council of the future National Transitional Council would be comprised of a Sunni president, with two vice presidents, a Kurd and a Shi'ite. Of course this was never actually mentioned in the draft of the law, but the people promoting this interpretation explained that the US would never allow a Shi'ite president because he would be completely influenced by the Hawza and the Shi'ite marji'iyah.
Others mentioned that Sistani advised the GC to modify some points in the draft and to specifically state that "no future legislation in the country should contradict Islamic law", and also in regard to the representation of women in the government, Sistani had reservations on the draft mentioning an exact 25-40% percentage, allegedly saying that was 'unacceptable'. No official confirmation or denial of these rumours has yet come out from Sistani's agents. Another point of disagreement was on the joint Kurdish Sunni proposition that "two thirds of the voters of any three governorates could suspend the future constitution and resubmit it for revision" as a measure to protect minorities rights in the future government. Shi'ite groups reportedly objected to this addition. The 5 dissident members, according to some sources in the GC, were Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, Ibrahim Al-Ja'ffari, Muwafaq Al-Rubai'i, Mohammed Bahr Al-Uloom, and Ahmed Al-Chalabi. They did not attend the GC meeting yesterday and were in Najaf consulting with Sistani.
Foreign minister, Zibari, stated that it was very regretful that a minority in the GC would later change it's opinion after reaching a final agreement last sunday, and he advised Iraqis to be aware that foreign countries (alluding to our neighbours) were trying to abort the interim law.
Now, the whole situation looks embarrassingly ridiculous considering the deadline for finally approving the Transitional Law was almost a week ago, and this only serves to prove the stereotypical image of Iraqis that can never agree on anything. And, to tell the truth, most Iraqis were immensely surprised after reading the details of the law draft, it just seemed too good to be true.
Now the main point is that while we do appreciate the significant difficulties GC members must be facing everyday, they had plenty of time to go over the controversial issues in the law draft during the last few days since it was first announced instead of publicity stunts at Karbala and shuttle visits to Najaf to meet with Shi'ite clerics. Another point is that I hope Iraqis can now see clearly through some of the pretentious GC members, members that have made it clear that they show allegiance and loyalty to their respective sects and ethnicities (or in a couple of cases to neighbouring countries) over Iraq. And that when the time comes for voting in ballot boxes those members will be ruled out. I have faith in the insight and wisdom of Iraqis. They will never allow another despot to take over their lives and futures. Never again.
Maybe some of those members know that fact only too well, and realizing that their role is about to be over very soon they are just playing for time? Food for thought.
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
Ashurra attacks
We woke up yesterday to gruesome scenes of dead, bloody, and mutilated Iraqis at Karbala and Kadhimiyah. Yet more attacks and 270 more dead Iraqi civilians and no one is counting any more. I've lost count of the number of suicide attacks we've experienced over the last 8 months a long time ago. And I think we've broke the record.
This years congregation at Karbala was probably the largest in its history. For the first time in 31 years the city was choking with hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite tourists who made their way from Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Arabian Gulf countries to visit the shrine of Al-Hussein. Not to mention mawakib (processions) from all over Iraq. Someone mentioned that for the first time in history there were mawakib from Ramadi and Mosul (both largely Sunni cities).
Shia Muharram rituals were banned by the Ba'athist Revolutionary Command Council in 1973, which is the main reason this years events were so special. People are now free to practice and revel in their beliefs with no fear of intimidation or prosecution. And that's why it's terrifying to see that someone would still dare to commit such a vile act against those people despite the huge security precautions.
The perpetrators are unknown as usual. And it seems the GC and coalition officials have already made up their minds and linked the attacks to Zarqawi and foreign terrorists, which I admit is a large possibility. However, there are still several parties operating independently from each other in Iraq. It would be foolish to assume that since attacks against the coalition have declined over the past few weeks that therefore the influence of remnants of the former regime is over (holy sites at Karbala were bombed in the past by the Republican Guard). Sunni extremists have attacked Shia mosques in Baqubah and Baghdad before, and I've heard many people calling these Shia festivals provocative, so why rule out that possibility? Even some Shi'ite organizations with agendas for Iraq might benefit in many ways from such attacks.
Statements like 'No Iraqi would commit such an atrocity' or 'No Muslim would do that' are stupid, as if all Iraqis were saints and haven't committed atrocities before. One GC member even went far as to say 'No human being did that'. Of course not, dude, they were Greys from the Zeta Reticuli system.
The reaction of the Shi'ite margi'iyah wasn't a surprise, blaming the coalition. First they ask coalition forces to keep out of the holy sites and stay as far as possible from the festivals, and when something goes wrong they are the first to blame for not providing adequate protection. I'm wondering why someone didn't wisely proclaim 'It was the joooz, you know', or maybe they did and I haven't noticed.
Iraqis are very bitter. Just as everything was looking so promising after the announcement of the Interim Law recently there's this. And I don't think it's going to stop any soon.
The shameful silence must end. Where are the cries of outrage from the Arab and Islamic world? Where is the condemnation and denunciation? Where are the fatwas? Where is the seething and shaking fists? Or are these preserved for other people?
Bring back the Mukhabarat, and start trying those captured regime officials and foreign terrorists before it's too late.
This years congregation at Karbala was probably the largest in its history. For the first time in 31 years the city was choking with hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite tourists who made their way from Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Arabian Gulf countries to visit the shrine of Al-Hussein. Not to mention mawakib (processions) from all over Iraq. Someone mentioned that for the first time in history there were mawakib from Ramadi and Mosul (both largely Sunni cities).
Shia Muharram rituals were banned by the Ba'athist Revolutionary Command Council in 1973, which is the main reason this years events were so special. People are now free to practice and revel in their beliefs with no fear of intimidation or prosecution. And that's why it's terrifying to see that someone would still dare to commit such a vile act against those people despite the huge security precautions.
The perpetrators are unknown as usual. And it seems the GC and coalition officials have already made up their minds and linked the attacks to Zarqawi and foreign terrorists, which I admit is a large possibility. However, there are still several parties operating independently from each other in Iraq. It would be foolish to assume that since attacks against the coalition have declined over the past few weeks that therefore the influence of remnants of the former regime is over (holy sites at Karbala were bombed in the past by the Republican Guard). Sunni extremists have attacked Shia mosques in Baqubah and Baghdad before, and I've heard many people calling these Shia festivals provocative, so why rule out that possibility? Even some Shi'ite organizations with agendas for Iraq might benefit in many ways from such attacks.
Statements like 'No Iraqi would commit such an atrocity' or 'No Muslim would do that' are stupid, as if all Iraqis were saints and haven't committed atrocities before. One GC member even went far as to say 'No human being did that'. Of course not, dude, they were Greys from the Zeta Reticuli system.
The reaction of the Shi'ite margi'iyah wasn't a surprise, blaming the coalition. First they ask coalition forces to keep out of the holy sites and stay as far as possible from the festivals, and when something goes wrong they are the first to blame for not providing adequate protection. I'm wondering why someone didn't wisely proclaim 'It was the joooz, you know', or maybe they did and I haven't noticed.
Iraqis are very bitter. Just as everything was looking so promising after the announcement of the Interim Law recently there's this. And I don't think it's going to stop any soon.
The shameful silence must end. Where are the cries of outrage from the Arab and Islamic world? Where is the condemnation and denunciation? Where are the fatwas? Where is the seething and shaking fists? Or are these preserved for other people?
Bring back the Mukhabarat, and start trying those captured regime officials and foreign terrorists before it's too late.
Pictures of Basrah Shia festivals
Here are the promised pictures of Muharram preparations in Basrah. I took these at various towns and villages south of Basrah. As I mentioned a few days ago, the preparations over there were widespread. Almost every house had a black, red, or green flag on the roof. Black mourning banners wherever you set your eyes. Never has Iraq witnessed anything like this before, not in my lifetime at least.
Signs like 'Al-Hussain the light of my eye', 'Al-Hussein is a piece of me and I am a piece of Al-Hussein', 'Oh Hussein, every drop of my blood calls for your name', 'Peace be upon Hussein, Ali bin Hussein, the children of Hussein, and the companions of Hussein', 'Our condolences to the Imam Al-Mahdi (may Allah speed his return) on the anniversary of holy Ashurra' were hanging everywhere including governmental buildings, colleges, schools, and hospitals which is not a good practice. I mean when they start putting these signs on governmental buildings, what does that indicate?
I uncomfortably watched as Al-Sadr supporters were putting one of these signs on our hospital entrance next to posters of Sistani, Al-Sadr, Al-Hakim, and Khomeini. One sign attributed to Al-Sadr which caught my eye was 'If a woman shows one hair of her head, it was as if she participated in killing my grandfather Al-Hussain'. Oops.
Another thing I noticed was the sheer bliss these people were experiencing by practicing these beliefs. "If Saddam had allowed us to practice latum, the British wouldn't be here today" our cook casually told me. "You mean to say that you would accept occupation by foreign forces just to be able to flog yourself?" I jokingly asked him. "Damn well I would" he responded curtly.
Of course the whole practice of self flagellation carried out by the Shia during Muharram denotes penance and remorse for the sin of their forefathers by abandoning Al-Hussein and failing to protect him from the army of bin Zeyad. Al-Hussein represents a symbol of rebellion against tyranny and injustice, and his death a sacrifice for mankind. Many similarities with the story of Jesus can be drawn from it.
By the way, I did try using one of these chain whips just for the fun of it. It was a bit dissapointing since they don't hurt at all. Phonies. I also put up an act and marched with some of them wearing my black shirt (which I had prepared for the event beforehand) after someone taught me. Everyone seemed so proud of the good devout dentist, hehe.
Haven't been listening to anything lately except qirayat and lamenting hymns during my stay in Basrah, and I've reached the point where I'm humming these tunes to myself, which scares me. "You're starting to sound like a Shi'ite!" my friends wife alarmingly exclaimed when I was telling her about my recent adventures yesterday over tea, "If you say one more word I swear to God I'll throw you out the window!".
Final word on Resolution 137
Putting an end to rumours and speculations, the GC finally voted to repeal Res. 137 once and for all. 15 members out of 20 who attended the meeting voted in favour of the repeal, while 5 others (representing the Shi'ite and Islamic parties in the GC) strongly opposed it and withdrew from the meeting along with Salim Al-Chalabi (INC representative) who originally voted in favour of the repeal. A clear victory for the secularists and moderates on the GC against the backward members who apparently intend for us to return to the seventh century while they go about after their interests.
Thursday, February 26, 2004
More about Muharram
Wow, I didn't expect it was so soon. When I was heading back to the residence yesterday after posting from the Internet cafe, we were stopped just a couple of miles ahead of the village by Basrah IP. They said the road was blocked and you had to walk it home if you lived there. I cursed my luck and wondered what trouble was ahead.
I was greeted with green, red, and black banners, and an endless crowd of men in black marching to the village in parallel lines. I heard drums beating, and the sinister familiar 'chuuush' sound of chains and latum. I got really excited and I started to walk at a faster pace to catch up with the procession. Boy, it was such a humbling scene to behold. It was just so.. organized. Those guys have certainly been practicing this covertly since their childhoods, imagine two or three hundred people beating their backs with chain whips in a certain rythm all simultaneously. I was even getting to enjoy iy, but I have to admit it was scary. IP all over the place, deadly looking militia with black sunglasses looking left and right.
I almost ran to the residence to get my camera. My legs were just aching. My friend, the Christian dentist was snoring with his mouth wide open. I almost kicked him out of bed and told him to dress and come watch or he would miss the fun. He was a bit hesitant, and when I told him I was intending to take pictures he almost had a fit.
"You bloody fool! Are you out of your mind?!" he roared. I promised him that I would ask them beforehand. He was still uncertain about the whole thing but I got him interested enough to come along. Our fellow Baghdadi, the pharmacist, also wanted to go. We all set out. The pharmacist politely asked one of the Mullahs who seemed to be in charge if it was okay for his friend to take pictures. The jolly Mullah enthusiastically agreed, and I stepped forward. (He turned out to be the same Mullah that issued the subpoena for one of the doctors at the hospital a few weeks ago).
I took a few but it was getting dark and some of the photos weren't good. I ran out of batteries after a while so I stopped. Someone told us later that there would be plenty more mawakib (latum processions) everyday until the final buildup on Ashurra day. So I'll try to capture more of it later this week. I'm staying in Basrah probably until next Thursday. So I'll keep you posted on the developments. Problem is I can't upload photos from Basrah, so they'll have to wait until next week, but believe me they'll definitely be worth it.
The most comic incident was that my Christian friend got a bit dizzy and almost threw up while he was witnessing the scene. He was really freaked. "You'd better get used to it" I told him later that night. "Expect a lot of this stuff every year from now on".
Sam at Hammorabi has posted a long and very informative blog about the history of Ashurra day and the story of Al-Hussein. You should check it out if you wish to learn more about the subject.
I was greeted with green, red, and black banners, and an endless crowd of men in black marching to the village in parallel lines. I heard drums beating, and the sinister familiar 'chuuush' sound of chains and latum. I got really excited and I started to walk at a faster pace to catch up with the procession. Boy, it was such a humbling scene to behold. It was just so.. organized. Those guys have certainly been practicing this covertly since their childhoods, imagine two or three hundred people beating their backs with chain whips in a certain rythm all simultaneously. I was even getting to enjoy iy, but I have to admit it was scary. IP all over the place, deadly looking militia with black sunglasses looking left and right.
I almost ran to the residence to get my camera. My legs were just aching. My friend, the Christian dentist was snoring with his mouth wide open. I almost kicked him out of bed and told him to dress and come watch or he would miss the fun. He was a bit hesitant, and when I told him I was intending to take pictures he almost had a fit.
"You bloody fool! Are you out of your mind?!" he roared. I promised him that I would ask them beforehand. He was still uncertain about the whole thing but I got him interested enough to come along. Our fellow Baghdadi, the pharmacist, also wanted to go. We all set out. The pharmacist politely asked one of the Mullahs who seemed to be in charge if it was okay for his friend to take pictures. The jolly Mullah enthusiastically agreed, and I stepped forward. (He turned out to be the same Mullah that issued the subpoena for one of the doctors at the hospital a few weeks ago).
I took a few but it was getting dark and some of the photos weren't good. I ran out of batteries after a while so I stopped. Someone told us later that there would be plenty more mawakib (latum processions) everyday until the final buildup on Ashurra day. So I'll try to capture more of it later this week. I'm staying in Basrah probably until next Thursday. So I'll keep you posted on the developments. Problem is I can't upload photos from Basrah, so they'll have to wait until next week, but believe me they'll definitely be worth it.
The most comic incident was that my Christian friend got a bit dizzy and almost threw up while he was witnessing the scene. He was really freaked. "You'd better get used to it" I told him later that night. "Expect a lot of this stuff every year from now on".
Sam at Hammorabi has posted a long and very informative blog about the history of Ashurra day and the story of Al-Hussein. You should check it out if you wish to learn more about the subject.
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Chiefly about Muharram
Haven't been able to write lately,. My mind is going blank. I'm down in Basrah at the moment where I think I'll probably stick around a bit longer this time. As you might know, it's the month of Muharram, which is the first month in the Islamic Hijri calendar. It's been 1425 years now since Muhammed left Mecca on his camel evading the Kuffar and taking refuge in Medina. It marks the birth of the Islamic
umma, or nation.
Muharram is also a very special month for Shia, specifically the first ten days of it. 10th of Muharram is the day Imam Al-Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib (Muhammed's grandson from his daughter Fatima) was killed/ martyred by the Ummayids at Al-Taff (near present day Karbala) with several sons and brothers. Al-Hussein along with his family and a handful of followers rebelled against the Ummayid rulers to restore the
Caliphate to Ahl Al-Bait (the prophet's household). He left Medina for Iraq (Iraqis were very frustrated with the Ummayids back then) responding to a cry of help and where he naiively imagined he would garner support and man power for his cause. He was so wrong. Iraqi Arabs typically abandoned him at the first display of force by the Ummayid governor Ubaid Illah bin Zeyad who oppressed the Shia
violently (which is one of the many reasons Shi'ites hate my name ;)).
To make a long story short, Al-Hussein was slaughtered and his head sent to the Caliph Yazid bin Mu'awiyah (whose grandfather was one of the most prominent Quraish kafirs who fought against Muhammed) at Damascus along with the women and children of Bani Hashim (Muhammed's clan). A young son of Hussein (Ali Zain Al-Abidain) survived the Taff battle. He returned to Medina, and took solace in studying religion. The Ummayids watched him closely. Iraqis also tried luring him into revolting against the Caliphate, but he wisely refused (one of his sons was fooled though and headed to Iraq only to meet the same fate as his grandfather but with slightly different details). Anyway, the descendants of Imam Al-Hussein through his son Ali are the twelve infallible imams (a'ima alma'ssumeen). They are the
saints of Shi'ite Muslims. Starting from Ali bin Abi Talib (Muhammed's cousin and son-in-law), Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein (his two sons), Ali Zain Al-Abidain bin Hussein, Mohammed Al-Baqir bin Ali, Jaffar Al-Sadiq bin Muhammed, Musah Al-Kadhim bin Jaffar, Ali Al-Ridha bin Musah, Mohammed Al-Jawad bin Ali, Ali Al-Hadi bin Mohammed, Al-Hassan Al-Askari bin Ali, and the last Mohammed Al-Mahdi. Al-Mahdi allegedly dissapeared into a cave in Samarra when he was very young around the ninth century. The Shia strongly believe he will reappear one day from this cave to fill the earth with justice once again. In other words, he is their version of the Messiah. The belief in a guided saviour descending from the prophet is held by the majority of different Islamic sects, but the Shia insist that Al-Mahdi is the one. Many renown Islamic historians even deny he ever existed.
Hope all the above makes sense. So, Iraqi Shia have special rituals to perform during the first ten days of Muharram. First, tabukh (cooking), or mass feasts to feed the poor. They make qima which is a minced beef sauce served with boiled rice, harrisa, which is some kind of porridge, and zarda my favourite (a sweet dish which I have no idea about ingredients). The second ritual, latum, I'm sure most of you have seen it during Shia demonstrations, where they furiously beat on their chests and heads in unison while singing certain lamenting verses, only, during Muharram it is carried out on a much wider and systematic scale. Large spiky chains, whips, and many other items that BDSM enthusiasts would be proud of are used. It's a horrible and depressing scene to watch. If I can get away with it, I'll try to take pictures when it starts over here.
Of course all these rituals were prohibited by Saddam's regime, which is why they are fervently being followed out now. My opinion is that he should have accomodated them. I'm sure many Shi'ite Iraqis are going to read this and say: oh, a spoiled Sunni kid bashing holy Ashurra. Believe me, that's not the case, but if you were here right now witnessing the mass hysteria that I am, you would actually be ashamed to be associated with any of this. But keep the tabukh it's good!
I have to run now, but I'll write more later about the Iranian influence in Basrah, Islamic parties, opinions of people I've talked to here on many issues, smuggling, indisciplined Brits, and the latest developments at the doctors residence (where a mini civil war is about to break!). Ciao.
umma, or nation.
Muharram is also a very special month for Shia, specifically the first ten days of it. 10th of Muharram is the day Imam Al-Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib (Muhammed's grandson from his daughter Fatima) was killed/ martyred by the Ummayids at Al-Taff (near present day Karbala) with several sons and brothers. Al-Hussein along with his family and a handful of followers rebelled against the Ummayid rulers to restore the
Caliphate to Ahl Al-Bait (the prophet's household). He left Medina for Iraq (Iraqis were very frustrated with the Ummayids back then) responding to a cry of help and where he naiively imagined he would garner support and man power for his cause. He was so wrong. Iraqi Arabs typically abandoned him at the first display of force by the Ummayid governor Ubaid Illah bin Zeyad who oppressed the Shia
violently (which is one of the many reasons Shi'ites hate my name ;)).
To make a long story short, Al-Hussein was slaughtered and his head sent to the Caliph Yazid bin Mu'awiyah (whose grandfather was one of the most prominent Quraish kafirs who fought against Muhammed) at Damascus along with the women and children of Bani Hashim (Muhammed's clan). A young son of Hussein (Ali Zain Al-Abidain) survived the Taff battle. He returned to Medina, and took solace in studying religion. The Ummayids watched him closely. Iraqis also tried luring him into revolting against the Caliphate, but he wisely refused (one of his sons was fooled though and headed to Iraq only to meet the same fate as his grandfather but with slightly different details). Anyway, the descendants of Imam Al-Hussein through his son Ali are the twelve infallible imams (a'ima alma'ssumeen). They are the
saints of Shi'ite Muslims. Starting from Ali bin Abi Talib (Muhammed's cousin and son-in-law), Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein (his two sons), Ali Zain Al-Abidain bin Hussein, Mohammed Al-Baqir bin Ali, Jaffar Al-Sadiq bin Muhammed, Musah Al-Kadhim bin Jaffar, Ali Al-Ridha bin Musah, Mohammed Al-Jawad bin Ali, Ali Al-Hadi bin Mohammed, Al-Hassan Al-Askari bin Ali, and the last Mohammed Al-Mahdi. Al-Mahdi allegedly dissapeared into a cave in Samarra when he was very young around the ninth century. The Shia strongly believe he will reappear one day from this cave to fill the earth with justice once again. In other words, he is their version of the Messiah. The belief in a guided saviour descending from the prophet is held by the majority of different Islamic sects, but the Shia insist that Al-Mahdi is the one. Many renown Islamic historians even deny he ever existed.
Hope all the above makes sense. So, Iraqi Shia have special rituals to perform during the first ten days of Muharram. First, tabukh (cooking), or mass feasts to feed the poor. They make qima which is a minced beef sauce served with boiled rice, harrisa, which is some kind of porridge, and zarda my favourite (a sweet dish which I have no idea about ingredients). The second ritual, latum, I'm sure most of you have seen it during Shia demonstrations, where they furiously beat on their chests and heads in unison while singing certain lamenting verses, only, during Muharram it is carried out on a much wider and systematic scale. Large spiky chains, whips, and many other items that BDSM enthusiasts would be proud of are used. It's a horrible and depressing scene to watch. If I can get away with it, I'll try to take pictures when it starts over here.
Of course all these rituals were prohibited by Saddam's regime, which is why they are fervently being followed out now. My opinion is that he should have accomodated them. I'm sure many Shi'ite Iraqis are going to read this and say: oh, a spoiled Sunni kid bashing holy Ashurra. Believe me, that's not the case, but if you were here right now witnessing the mass hysteria that I am, you would actually be ashamed to be associated with any of this. But keep the tabukh it's good!
I have to run now, but I'll write more later about the Iranian influence in Basrah, Islamic parties, opinions of people I've talked to here on many issues, smuggling, indisciplined Brits, and the latest developments at the doctors residence (where a mini civil war is about to break!). Ciao.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Iraqi women groups take to the streets
Iraqi women representing fifty five women groups and organizations from all over Iraq gathered at Fardus square this morning to sign a petition against Resolution 137, to demand equal rights, and fair unbiased representation (at least 40%) in the future Iraqi Transitional Council, governorate, and municipal councils.
The sit-in was organized by the Supreme Council of Iraqi Women, the Advisory Committee for Women Affairs, and the Iraqi Women Network. Other noted women groups were present such as the Iraqi Contemporary Women Movement, Organization for Women Freedom in Iraq, Iraqi Hope Association (Amal), Independent Women Organization, Womens Union of Kurdistan, Kurdistan Free Women Movement, Iraqi Women Revival Organization, and the Iraqi Students and Youth Union. I think AYS or Omar have a list of the groups.
Several women activists gave speeches. Yanar Mohammad, Zakiyah Khalifah, Maysun Al-Damluji, Hana Edward, and GC member Sungol Chabok also made a late appearance. Planning Minister Dr. Mahdi Al-Hafudh shyly gave a brief word of support and signed the petition.
It got interesting when a woman in a burqa showed up at the gathering with her three kids. Reporters all stormed forward trying to interview her. Her husband was imprisoned for years by the former regime for political reasons only to be executed in the end and for her to pay for the bullets. A very heartrending story. She held his death certificate as you can see in the pictures. She said "We didn't wait all these years without the most basic rights to be denied them now". An Arab reporter asked her if she was Sunni or Shi'ite. "I'm neither!" she snapped at him "I'm an Iraqi citizen first and foremost, and I refuse to be asked such a question".
AYS, and I, skulked around Fardus square and took pictures. Omar joined us later. We signed the petition against Resolution 137 and the woman offered us a rose. If you want to sign it, there is an online petition which you can find at this site, Equality in Iraq. The petitions are to be submitted to Paul Bremer, and Kofi Annan later this week. Bremer has made it known that he will veto any law that will not recognize basic civil freedoms, but Resolution 137 is yet to be vetoed.
You can find pictures of the gathering here.
Saturday, February 14, 2004
Iraqi Ulemma issue fatwa against violence
Several Iraqi Muslim clerics, from both the Sunni and Shi'ite sects, issued a collective fatwa against inter-Iraqi violence, asssasinations, and terrorist attacks. Below is a full translation of the fatwa. (Via Al-Arab newspaper).
Oh believers, you shall obey Allah, his messenger, and those in charge amongst you. (Sura 4:59)
The Muslim Ulemma held a meeting at Imam Al-Khalisi's Madinat Al-Ilm university in Kadhimiyah, Baghdad on the 15th of Thi Al-Qi'da, year 1424 of the Hijri calendar. And after looking into the overall condition of Muslims in the country and the developing problems they have been through, and in the light of Allah's holy book and the Sunna of his prophet (pbuh), we have issued this obligatory fatwa for all muslims who believe in the two Shahadas to follow:
"Unity between all Muslims is a legal duty above all others, and that any statement or action which may result in weakening or dividing the Umma is absolutely prohibited legally, and that a Muslim's blood is haram (forbidden) on his brother Muslim, according to the honourable Hadith: "A Muslim is haram on a Muslim: his honour, his possessions, and his blood".
Therefore, any attacks or aggressions against Iraqis, their scientists and intellectuals, their mosques and holy places are legal sins which no true Muslim should commit. It is our legal duty as Ulemma and heralds of the Umma to emphasize the spirit of tolerance, unity, and harmony, and to warn against division and dispersion, and any statement or deed which may lead to them, not taking into consideration the interest of the Umma.
The believers are members of one family, so keep the peace within and revere Allah, that you may attain mercy. (Sura 49:10)
Oh Lord, witness that we have informed.. Witness that we have informed.
Signed;
Mohammed Mahdi Al-Khalisi.
Dr. Abdul Salam Al-Kubaisi.
Harith Suleiman Al-Dhari.
Ahmad Al-Hassani Al-Baghdadi.
Ibrahim Munir Al-Mudarris.
Mohammed Ahmad Al-Rashid.
Dr. Mohammed Bashar Al-Faydhi.
Jawad Al-Khalisi.
Qasim Al-Ta'i.
Abdul Ridha Al-Jaza'iri.
15th of Thi Al-Qi'da. 1424 H.
Resolution 137 repealed!
The Ministry of Justice officially announced that the GC Resolution 137 can be considered annulled, and that all future family affairs cases would be dealt with according to the former Personal Circumstances ahwal al shakhsiya code which has been in effect since the fifties, and which the GC unilaterally abolished more than a month ago replacing it with Islamic Sharia law.
On the other hand, an anonymous group which calls itself Jaish Al-Sahaba threatened Yanar Mohammed, an Iraqi women rights activist, with murder in a few days. The message was sent to Mrs. Mohammed on the Internet demanding her to repent or otherwise face death. The Iraqi Communist Workers party denounced the threat and considered it an attempt to wreak havoc in Iraqi society.
Yanar Mohammed organized a symposium against Resolution 137 titled (No to slavery of Iraqi women) just a few weeks ago, and particpated in several women groups demonstrations demanding an end to the oppression of women. (Via Azzaman Baghdad edition)
On the other hand, an anonymous group which calls itself Jaish Al-Sahaba threatened Yanar Mohammed, an Iraqi women rights activist, with murder in a few days. The message was sent to Mrs. Mohammed on the Internet demanding her to repent or otherwise face death. The Iraqi Communist Workers party denounced the threat and considered it an attempt to wreak havoc in Iraqi society.
Yanar Mohammed organized a symposium against Resolution 137 titled (No to slavery of Iraqi women) just a few weeks ago, and particpated in several women groups demonstrations demanding an end to the oppression of women. (Via Azzaman Baghdad edition)
The predators latest message
(A translated article by Iraqi writer and columnist Abdul Mun'im Al-Assam).
In the last ten days, it was the desire of predator beasts to slaughter two hundred Iraqi civilians, and to dismember and permanently disfigure over a thousand of them. In Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish region, and in the town of Al-Iskandariyah south of Baghdad, and lately at Muthanna airport in the heart of the Iraqi capital. What comes first to attention is that the nationality of the victims of all these atrocities is an Iraqi one flowing with a sense of belonging to Iraq, with love, and fear for it's future. The murderers, on the other hand, remain anonymous and unidentified, nurtured and unleashed to our streets from the factories of terrorism and Islamic extremism, the heresy of the barbaric resistance and regional smugglers, and the remnants of the dictatorship retreating from their dens to behind the borders with the funds and deposits they plundered from the Iraqi Central Bank.
One of the predators described his feelings on a website promoting the bloodshed in Iraq: "I was there. Praise Allah, I was able to participate in some missions.. The Iraqis watched me.. I hated them, and I hated their accents".
Another thing that comes to attention is that with each of these awful bombings, there is a clear message that does not require much skill or research to unravel. The latest message of the Arbil, Iskandariya, Muthanna airport atrocities was however eloquent in defining the goal of killing the greatest number of Iraqis as possible in areas that are to some extent stable and peaceful. Also within the details of this message is a sectarian mine not very much concealed from the eyes of experts. The vast majority of the victims were Kurdish and Shi'ite citizens, and that the perpetrators are attempting to stir sectarian schisms to give the impression that these attacks are carried out in the name of the Sunni population or avenging it, gambling on a reaction to be followed by a series of others which would eventually lead Iraq into a fire that no one can predict its consequences.
Also, contained in the details of the message, is an implied call to Iraqi Kurds and Shi'ites that says: the appropriate solution to provide security and safety from rigged vehicles and blind suicidal bombers is to form two independent entities, an ethnic one in the north, and a sectarian one in the south, leaving the rest to the emirate of Sheikh Bin Laden who has been exhausted from living in Afghani caves.
Yes it is truely a resistance, not to expel foreign occupiers from Iraq, but to expel Iraq from the map.
In the last ten days, it was the desire of predator beasts to slaughter two hundred Iraqi civilians, and to dismember and permanently disfigure over a thousand of them. In Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish region, and in the town of Al-Iskandariyah south of Baghdad, and lately at Muthanna airport in the heart of the Iraqi capital. What comes first to attention is that the nationality of the victims of all these atrocities is an Iraqi one flowing with a sense of belonging to Iraq, with love, and fear for it's future. The murderers, on the other hand, remain anonymous and unidentified, nurtured and unleashed to our streets from the factories of terrorism and Islamic extremism, the heresy of the barbaric resistance and regional smugglers, and the remnants of the dictatorship retreating from their dens to behind the borders with the funds and deposits they plundered from the Iraqi Central Bank.
One of the predators described his feelings on a website promoting the bloodshed in Iraq: "I was there. Praise Allah, I was able to participate in some missions.. The Iraqis watched me.. I hated them, and I hated their accents".
Another thing that comes to attention is that with each of these awful bombings, there is a clear message that does not require much skill or research to unravel. The latest message of the Arbil, Iskandariya, Muthanna airport atrocities was however eloquent in defining the goal of killing the greatest number of Iraqis as possible in areas that are to some extent stable and peaceful. Also within the details of this message is a sectarian mine not very much concealed from the eyes of experts. The vast majority of the victims were Kurdish and Shi'ite citizens, and that the perpetrators are attempting to stir sectarian schisms to give the impression that these attacks are carried out in the name of the Sunni population or avenging it, gambling on a reaction to be followed by a series of others which would eventually lead Iraq into a fire that no one can predict its consequences.
Also, contained in the details of the message, is an implied call to Iraqi Kurds and Shi'ites that says: the appropriate solution to provide security and safety from rigged vehicles and blind suicidal bombers is to form two independent entities, an ethnic one in the north, and a sectarian one in the south, leaving the rest to the emirate of Sheikh Bin Laden who has been exhausted from living in Afghani caves.
Yes it is truely a resistance, not to expel foreign occupiers from Iraq, but to expel Iraq from the map.
Test your Iraqiness
You know you're Iraqi when...
1. You originally have no Arab blood, you're either Turkish, Iranian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Kurdish, Turkomen, or Indian in origin, but somehow you're Arab!
2. When surrounded by other Arab nationalities and you speak Iraqi no one knows what the hell you're saying.
3. When talking to Egyptians your Iraqi accent turns Egyptian, when talking to Lebanese, your accent turns Lebanese, ...etc.
4. If you're a guy, all the Iraqi women already have their eyes on you and want you for their daughter.
5. If you're a girl, all the Iraqi women think their sons are too good for you.
6. When Iraqi women get together, they all compete in who's got the loudest voice, and they all talk at the same time.
7. Every Iraqi family is dysfunctional in one way or another.
8. Every Iraqi has a bit of im3aydee in them.
9. Iraqis have an extensive and exclusive swearing vocabulary ranging from 'incheb-ee', 'islayma', 'ibn al zafra', 'sarsaree', 'gawad', 'taras', 'barboog', 'thowla', 'booma', '3ama', 'quz al qurt', 'wuja3', 'ghabra', ..etc.
10. There is no such thing as elegant eating in an Iraqi household.
11. Everyone has at least one Ali in their immediate family.
12. If lunch doesn't include rice, its not considered a meal.
13. Kathem al Saher is considered handsome amongst Iraqis.
14. When Iraqi guys try to pick up girls, their approach is maybe a bit too aggressive "Hay shlown jamal ya bint al kalb", "Lich hay weyn ray7ah, ta3alee ihna, khen ger-gir?", "Shinoo hal kaykah, jawa3teenee".
15. Being romantic is foreign to Iraqis, when they try to be, it's so unsuitable that ladies prefer the true Iraqi way better.
16. Every Iraqi knows every family or clan in the entire nation of Iraq, and somehow you always know a specific story about them.
17. Every Iraqi you meet abroad was a neighbor or is a neighbor back home.
18. When Iraqis dance to 3adel 3ogla or Hatem al 3raqi, everyone returns to their im3aydee roots, everyone goes wild, and all the other non-Iraqis get scared.
19. Saying the word 'Baghdad' makes Iraqis cry hysterically.
20. During a wedding, all the young single people are checking each other out.
21. You've been beaten up to death by a Na3al (slipper) at least once in your life.
22. It is not biologically possible for Iraqis to have a small nose.
23. Sarcasm is part of Iraqi DNA, You never know whether the joke is a joke or not!
24. To be Iraqi you must drink chai (tea) five times a day.
25. Everyone owns a leather jacket, big shoulder pads and a thick belt is a MUST!
26. You have guests over for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and after midnight.
27. If an Iraqi accidentally trips on a banana peel in the street, he starts cursing and blaming the government.
28. Iraqis are all natural born faultfinders.
But all in all.....WE RULE!!!
1. You originally have no Arab blood, you're either Turkish, Iranian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Kurdish, Turkomen, or Indian in origin, but somehow you're Arab!
2. When surrounded by other Arab nationalities and you speak Iraqi no one knows what the hell you're saying.
3. When talking to Egyptians your Iraqi accent turns Egyptian, when talking to Lebanese, your accent turns Lebanese, ...etc.
4. If you're a guy, all the Iraqi women already have their eyes on you and want you for their daughter.
5. If you're a girl, all the Iraqi women think their sons are too good for you.
6. When Iraqi women get together, they all compete in who's got the loudest voice, and they all talk at the same time.
7. Every Iraqi family is dysfunctional in one way or another.
8. Every Iraqi has a bit of im3aydee in them.
9. Iraqis have an extensive and exclusive swearing vocabulary ranging from 'incheb-ee', 'islayma', 'ibn al zafra', 'sarsaree', 'gawad', 'taras', 'barboog', 'thowla', 'booma', '3ama', 'quz al qurt', 'wuja3', 'ghabra', ..etc.
10. There is no such thing as elegant eating in an Iraqi household.
11. Everyone has at least one Ali in their immediate family.
12. If lunch doesn't include rice, its not considered a meal.
13. Kathem al Saher is considered handsome amongst Iraqis.
14. When Iraqi guys try to pick up girls, their approach is maybe a bit too aggressive "Hay shlown jamal ya bint al kalb", "Lich hay weyn ray7ah, ta3alee ihna, khen ger-gir?", "Shinoo hal kaykah, jawa3teenee".
15. Being romantic is foreign to Iraqis, when they try to be, it's so unsuitable that ladies prefer the true Iraqi way better.
16. Every Iraqi knows every family or clan in the entire nation of Iraq, and somehow you always know a specific story about them.
17. Every Iraqi you meet abroad was a neighbor or is a neighbor back home.
18. When Iraqis dance to 3adel 3ogla or Hatem al 3raqi, everyone returns to their im3aydee roots, everyone goes wild, and all the other non-Iraqis get scared.
19. Saying the word 'Baghdad' makes Iraqis cry hysterically.
20. During a wedding, all the young single people are checking each other out.
21. You've been beaten up to death by a Na3al (slipper) at least once in your life.
22. It is not biologically possible for Iraqis to have a small nose.
23. Sarcasm is part of Iraqi DNA, You never know whether the joke is a joke or not!
24. To be Iraqi you must drink chai (tea) five times a day.
25. Everyone owns a leather jacket, big shoulder pads and a thick belt is a MUST!
26. You have guests over for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and after midnight.
27. If an Iraqi accidentally trips on a banana peel in the street, he starts cursing and blaming the government.
28. Iraqis are all natural born faultfinders.
But all in all.....WE RULE!!!
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Eid Al-Ghadeer
Salam beat me to it, so go read his post for a full explanation of Eid Al-Ghadeer. Yesterday at work everyone was greeting each other and doing the kiss-hug thing. Of course I played my role as the good pious Shi'ite I'm pretending to be in these parts. I knew it was the Ghadeer day but I didn't figure the celebrations would be so wide spread and I also wasn't familiar with the exact traditions you have to follow, I just kept my eyes on the locals and did what they did. I should have taken pictures as there were lots of interesting stuff to shoot, but I thought it would be unwise. I'm still trying to keep a low profile over here, and flashing a camera in these parts would immediately attract a crowd of children many of whom had probably never seen a camera in their life time. They would run after you, tugging your shirt, chanting "Mister, Mister", mistaking me for a reporter or a journalist.
Anyway, the taxi driver noticed me staring at a crowd celebrating and beating their chests in unison while a smallish fellow was singing praises on a loud speaker.
"Don't be surprised by all that", he said. "They do that all the time. I don't think it's very civilized. They should celebrate at the Mosque".
"Uh huh", I mumbled. It was pretty obvious that I was from Baghdad so I didn't want to offer my opinion.
One of the doctors at our residence turned out to be quite a fanatic. Two days ago we were watching a movie on MBC-2 and there was a brief kissing scene. He was seated in front of me and I could see his face redden. "Turn the channel!" he bellowed. Someone turned it quickly. He then proceeded to give them a sermon. I just gave him a scornful look. He was the one who put up the Khomeini poster in our living room, someone had brought it to him from Iran, on it's back was written "Dear Dr., I'm sorry but this was the best one I could find".
It's improving though. A few days ago a resident pharmacist joined us in the residence. He's a Baghdadi and from my neighbourhood! I felt more comfortable since we were three Baghdadis now. The moment he walked in, he looked at the Khomeini poster intently, and, to our amazement, he knocked it down and it fell behind the tv. My friend and I gave him a loud cheer. He's a really outgoing fellow, and he made us feel more at home than ever.
Have to go now. And I should be back in Baghdad tomorrow or the day after.
Anyway, the taxi driver noticed me staring at a crowd celebrating and beating their chests in unison while a smallish fellow was singing praises on a loud speaker.
"Don't be surprised by all that", he said. "They do that all the time. I don't think it's very civilized. They should celebrate at the Mosque".
"Uh huh", I mumbled. It was pretty obvious that I was from Baghdad so I didn't want to offer my opinion.
One of the doctors at our residence turned out to be quite a fanatic. Two days ago we were watching a movie on MBC-2 and there was a brief kissing scene. He was seated in front of me and I could see his face redden. "Turn the channel!" he bellowed. Someone turned it quickly. He then proceeded to give them a sermon. I just gave him a scornful look. He was the one who put up the Khomeini poster in our living room, someone had brought it to him from Iran, on it's back was written "Dear Dr., I'm sorry but this was the best one I could find".
It's improving though. A few days ago a resident pharmacist joined us in the residence. He's a Baghdadi and from my neighbourhood! I felt more comfortable since we were three Baghdadis now. The moment he walked in, he looked at the Khomeini poster intently, and, to our amazement, he knocked it down and it fell behind the tv. My friend and I gave him a loud cheer. He's a really outgoing fellow, and he made us feel more at home than ever.
Have to go now. And I should be back in Baghdad tomorrow or the day after.
