Sunday, September 25th, 2005
Good evening...
We still follow up the burning news of Iraq, going from daily trapped
cars, to the civilian and police victims, to soldiers of the
occupation army....
And there are some who seek to start a sectarian war and divide
people, so that anyone would no longer say; I am a Muslim, or; we are
all Muslims, but rather put the focus on: I am a Sunnie, I am a
Shia'at, to destroy the unity of the sons of the one religion, and the
one country.
There are some who endeavor to separate the Kurds in a country
independent from Iraq, with its own revenues, oil wealth,
international policy, and its relations with the world....
There is an opposition against the new constitution, which carries
among its folds the seeds of ethnic and sectarian drifts, encouraging
the separation and detachment spirit, under many pretexts, with nice
titles and ugly substance, which are rejected by the nationalist
people who still maintain an awareness of what is happening, in spite
of all the occupation's attempts to waste and delude the Iraqi's
awareness, through daily bombings which no one knows who is the real
committer of, and a security and political chaos unmatched
anywhere.......
There is the attempt to hand over the power and decision making to the
hands of sectarian leaders, who dedicate the ideas of separation, and
encourage the notions of revenge and provocation against the other, in
stead of the appeal to unity, and rank joining...
The opposition is waiting for the referendum about the constitution,
to topple that constitution...
While there are some other parties of the current Iraqi government,
and the occupation army, who want to establish this constitution, and
put a wager that the coming constitution referendum is going to go
their way...
And each side will try to achieve his demands in whatever way...
And, it seems that the conflict will go on indefinitely...
There were news on TV and the newspapers, about an announcement of the
Iraqi Integrity Committee, in front of the Iraqi Legislative Council,
about scandals of financial and administrational corruption, committed
by officials and ministers in the former interim government, which was
headed by Ayad Allawi, and some ministers in the present Al-Ja'afari
government, about false multi-million dollar deals, that were stolen
from the state treasury to buy weapons for the new army, phony
contracts for reconstruction, or to import materials for the people;
foods or perhaps medicines, while they were all unreal deals that
wasted the monies of the miserable Iraqis...
And that, of course, doesn't include the hundreds of millions of the
oil money, oil that has been flowing outside of Iraq, since the
beginning of the war till now, and nobody knows how much that money
is? Or where is it going?
************************
The Iraqi people are busy burying the victims of the mysterious daily
explosions, or sinking in the daily worries of providing bread, the
suffering of the lack of electricity and water, or, standing for hours
in queues in front of the petrol stations... and the Iraqi government
is sinking in her "justifications" of the horridness that are
happening in Iraq, justifying her failure in controlling the
situation.............
And a strange story from Basra, its stars are British dressed in
Arabic clothes, inside a car full of explosives, who were caught by
the Iraqi Police, and were put in jail for investigation, and then a
British tank came along, attacked the jail, and set them free. People
were very angry, and burned a number of armed vehicles, whose pictures
we saw in newspapers; the Iraqi Police demand an explanation and an
apology from the British troops in Basra, the people are angry,
wondering: perhaps those have some hands in inflaming disturbances
among the Iraqis... just like in Israel, where there is a group
called: the Arabists, who are dressed in Arabic clothes, and slip
among the Palestinians in demonstrations or gatherings, to perform
explosions or assassinations....
And, there is also the besieging of Iraqi towns; bombing them,
destroying houses, killing civilians and armed men, in a filtration
that usually benefits the occupation, but which is justified as a
security provider for Iraqis....
And President Bush, and the occupation army leaders in Iraq always
declare, almost daily, that Iraq is walking on the right path towards
freedom and democracy!
This, in brief, is the Iraqi scene these days.....
*****************************
Today, I want to talk about the Iraqi scene during the British
colonization of Iraq, 1914-1958, in comparison to the present-day
Iraqi scene... the characters of that period, and the characters of
this period, and how the stances were....
My reference is the book of Gertrude Bell, the secretary of the
Military Commander at that time, 1914-1926, until she died and was
buried in Iraq, and in truth; she was a British intelligent officer,
for she interfered into the details of every matter concerning the
Iraqi state, sending reports back to London, recommending so many of
the decisions; like appointing King Faisal to the throne in Iraq,
nominating the names of ministers, and premiers, how to phrase the
British- Iraqi Treaty to please London, without making the Iraqis
angry, how to phrase a law for the Iraqi Antiquities that guarantees a
right for Britain to have a share in all the discovered historical
Iraqi relics, between Britain and the Iraqi government, as a payment
for fees of the archeologists that Britain sends to Iraq. There was
also the relation with the Iraqi tribes, the issue of the Kurds in the
North, and their wish to have a self rule, and many more delicate and
various issues......
The book of Dr. Ali Al-Wardi about the Modern History of Iraq told the
same events, but through an Iraqi vision, not British......... also
there is the book of Tawfeek Al-Swaidi, a former minister in Iraq
during the monarchial rule, which presented an evaluation of many men
who were around him at that period, from his view point, as a man
working with the Iraqi government, and feeling the difficulty of
facing the British inflexibility in their wish to bind Iraq always by
long term treaties with the London government, and feel the anger of
the Iraqis, on the other side, who want the full independence....
There are also other books, written by Arabs or foreigners, all of
them speaking about the history of Iraq at that period, from different
viewpoints..........
**************************************
Reading history is a very interesting matter, especially if you want
to understand some of the things you didn't know before why they
happened, and how...
I became convinced with the idea: Read about the past, to understand
the present !
Especially if history repeats itself, as is the case in Iraq now; An
occupation, interim governments, a new legislative council, a new
constitution, opposition and conflicting parties, religious or
sectarian leaderships, old or new, moving according to general
nationalistic interests, or purely subjective interests, men in
Ministries working for the government, facing grave difficulties, and
fight to decide: whether to be honest nationalists who defend the
people's rights and the county's independence, or to be adulating
hypocrites, seeking the privileges of the post, caring for nothing but
their interests, or to be foolish idiots, lying low for the foreigner,
believing he is better than them, so he deserves to lead the country
and decide its fate more than its own people...............
***************************************
Through my reading the book of Miss Bell, I see exactly how she thinks
and analyses things, and how she recounts the events from her
viewpoint...
She divides people into two kinds: My friends, by whom I came to
understand she means those who love Britain, believe in her, and work
to confirm her existence in Iraq; some opportunist tribe heads,
insincere, hypocrite clergymen, or men from the government.... Those
who visit her, calling her: Khatoon, (= high rank lady), kissing her
hand if need be, or send her presents like purebred Arabian horses, on
which she rides in her daily outing in the orchards of Baghdad, the
Gazelles in her garden, or the dogs she took hunting with her. Those
men she described with the most beautiful descriptions....
And there were those who oppose her when she debates with them, or who
had the ability to move the Iraqi street against Britain, who wouldn't
visit her, adulate her, or recognize her existence; those she hated,
calling them malicious...
Of those she loved very much, was: Nouri Al-Sai'eed, because, even
though he drank too much, and was a lady's man (as she said), he loved
Britain, and believed in her good and wise intentions towards Iraq,
and he would never collide with that authority, or oppose her,
never....
And of those she hated were: Said Muhammad Al-Sadder, and Sheikh
Yousif Al-Sewaidi, because they were Sunnie and Shia'ats clergy,
leaders of Al-Ishreen revolution (the 1920 revolution) against
Britain, and its motivators... she hated Said Mahdi Al-Khalisi,
because he was one of the leaders who moved to reject the
British-Iraqi Treaty, she hated Yaseen Al-Hashimi, calling him the
vicious, because she discovered he carried national inclinations and
loyalties towards the Iraqis, more than his conviction of Britain, and
her good intensions in Iraq.... While in the history written by the
Iraqis, those were the most noble of the national symbols we are proud
of...
Miss Bell always called the opposition forces: The Extremists... and
called those who are convinced with Britain and its mission in Iraq:
The Moderate... she called the revolution of the tribes in the south
and its leaders, and the tribe of Zo'oba'a near Fallujah, with its
leader; Sheikh Dhari, and all those who stood with them, she called
them; barbarians and savages...
For the Iraqis, Sheikh Dhari, (may GOD bless his soul), was a symbol
of Al-Ishreen revolution, and they are proud of him....and until now,
there is a street in Baghdad bearing his name....
And she describes those who composed poems in public celebrations, and
spoke against the British policy as stupid fools....
And when I read the Arabic or Iraqi books that spoke about the
Al-Ishreen revolution and its leaders, or the poems that were read in
celebrations against the British, I laugh so much, and admire the
honesty and boldness of the Iraqis....
And I say: Oh, yes, by GOD, those are true Iraqis...
For instance, in a poem by Al-Rusaffi, the poet, (may GOD bless his
soul), describing the political conditions in Iraq:
This is our government, all its haughtiness false, all its actions
feigned...
A flag, a constitution, and a parliament, all from the true meaning
distorted so
Names of which we have only the letters, their contents aren't known
Whoever reads the constitution would know, it is but a classified book
for the mandate's deed
Then, he has a poem in which he describes the Iraqi policemen who work
for the British:
In the government, there's many a man who look like a master, but in
truth they are slaves
For the foreigners they are dogs, but upon their brothers, they turn
into lions...
And I do not find it strange why there is a statue of Al-Rusaffi still
standing in the streets of Baghdad, in spite of all the statues that
fell.....
Al-Jawahiri, the poet, has a long poem, which I deem a masterpiece
that the Iraqis are proud of, in which he bemoans his brother,
Ja'afer, and his colleagues who went out in a demonstration on one of
the bridges of Baghdad, against the treaty of Portsmouth, the British
treaty in 1948, and were hailed by a rain of bullets by the
government's policemen, so they fell, martyrs drenched with blood...
In the beginning of the poem he says:
Do you know, or don't you, that the victim's wounds are but mouths...
I found a story in two different references, about one of the
demonstrations in front of the King's palace, around 1921, where the
demonstrators gathered to shout against the treaty, and the British
Governor came, with his deputies, and Miss Bell was with them, and
Hasoon, the cheese seller, shouted: Down with Britain, down with the
imperialism!
And all the demonstrators shouted back after him what he said, and the
British Governor got angry, and took it as a personal insult, so he
decided to cancel the National Parties, ban the demonstrations, shut
down the Iraqi opposition newspapers, those against the occupation
policies, and banished the leaders of the Parties to India, Hinjam
Island, and Iran...
Hasoon "the cheese man" had a small grocery shop in Al-Sarray Market,
which is near the King's palace.... And he loved to take part in
demonstrations, and slogan shouting...
Most celebrations and demonstrations used to start from Al-Rasheed
Street, and Al-Hayderkhana Mosque, in that street....that was the
center of evil, for Miss Bell and her collogues.....
*****************************
When I opened my eyes in life, I found I was living in Baghdad, in an
area near Al-Rasheed Street, and Al-Hayderkhana Mosque, where I would
go past everyday on my way to school in the morning...
My father had a small bookshop, where he used to sell old books and
stationery in Al-Sarray Market, which is the same market that housed
the shop of Hasoon "the cheese man" I mentioned before. It is an old
market, I think it was built at the Ottoman ear... the King's palace
and the government's offices were near Al-Sarray Market, and I often
had long walks there with my brothers and sisters, we thought all
those were deserted ruins....
That was in the sixties and the beginning of the seventies of the last
century.... I mean, at the times of the National Iraqi Governments
that came after the Independence Revolution in 1958, and after Britain
left Iraq.... That's why when I read the Iraqi history books, I find
them very near to me and my memories, as all those events took place
near our home's area, in the twenties and thirties...... we lived
there some time in the mid-fifties, until the mid-seventies, that is,
after the occupation moved out, and an independent Iraqi republic was
established...
*********************************
Those buildings are old, but beautiful, built in an architectural
style that used small, Yellow bricks, and Arabian arches... the
building overlooks from one side on to Tigris river. That was the
government offices, meaning; the Ministry. And on Tigris river, in
other locations there were some palaces we could see from a far;
Al-Zuhoor palace (=The Palace of Roses), and Al-Rihaab Palace (=The
Spacious Palace), which were the residency of the Royal Family
then....
When I read Miss Bell's diaries, as she spoke about the parties in the
palaces, the dinner and lunch invitations there, with the palace
windows open on to the garden, and Tigris, I imagine the beauty of
Baghdad, and the luxury in which Miss Bell and her collogues used to
live in then, which certainly wasn't a luxury my mother lived in, or
my father, or most of the Iraqis who lived then, because they were
middle class people...
Iraq was poor, backwards, sinking in debt, and the British Colonies
Ministry didn't have anything to spend on Iraq, but rather wanted to
collect taxes from the Iraqi farmers to finance the treasury with
money, to spend on the British army in Iraq. Miss Bell says she used
to pay taxes for the palm trees planted in her garden, and I can
imagine the misery of the Iraqis then, having to pay taxes to the
government for the palm tree planted in the garden of our house?? What
would it be like then for a farmer with an orchard, this being his
only livelihood?
Our house in Baghdad now is in Mansoor, which is the same neighborhood
in which Miss Bell lived, as I suppose, she described the streets as
being dirty and muddy, especially in winter... I read nothing about
improving the people's living conditions then; road paving, bridges
building, or opening schools or hospitals... the conflict and the
priority was always about the supremacy of Britain, and how to plan
its remaining in Iraq, doesn't that look similar to the position of
the American occupation in Iraq now, where the conflict and the
priority for two years and more now is about confirming their
existence?
By GOD, after reading the history of Iraq, I pity the American
occupation, for I see they have fallen into a deep muddy swamp of
which there is no relief, a deadly swamp called Iraq........
The history of Iraq is amazing... full of occupations and different
imperialisms, people of various ethnics and origins, with town
societies and village societies, each with its own values and rituals
almost different from the other, with societies of tribes and clans
who have different standards. Iraq has a majority of Arab Muslims, and
minorities of Kurds, Turkmen, Ashurians, Christians, and others, so it
is very difficult to control them all at all times; if you can make
this satisfied, that would be angry....he might become a rebel, and
announce war against you.....
In spite of all the faults of Saddam Hussein and his rule, he was
able, somehow, to control the country with all its contrasts....and
the security conditions were excellent...
Someone who might think himself smart might say: Saddam ruled Iraq by
killings and prisons, and I say: Weren't those the same methods used
by the occupation, since they entered Iraq? And what was the result??
The stupid government of America came to dig up strife among people,
in the name of democracy....
It was as if they were digging up the bees nest.....
So, the magic returned upon the magician.....all hell was let lose,
and wouldn't be held back.... And America reaped nothing but
devastation, ruin, chaos, and losses in Iraq...
Who could be strong enough to face the Iraqis, unite them, and gather
their scattered matters again??
A difficult question, without an apparent answer presently on the
horizon a+................
*************************************
I want to go back again to the Iraqi scene during the British
occupation of Iraq, and compare it to the present-day Iraqi scene.....
The Shia'ats were usually brothers with the Sunnies, they had joint
national activities; demonstrations and gatherings against the
governments and the British occupation, and that used to infuriate
Miss Bell and her colleagues, according to her diaries...
The role of the Shia'at clergy was evident, they being the religious
referential who has the power on the people's convictions and
personality, above that of the government's power...
How was that referential dealt with, which presented a strong
opposition against the British policy?
Usually, after each of the confrontations, their leaders were banished
outside Iraq, to calm down the situation... even if that decision was
taken by a Shia'at Prime minister, like Abdul- Muhsin Al-Sa'adoon...
The Shia'at towns and villages in the south, that housed rebellion
tribes against the British, used to be bombed, as was the case at the
ministry of Saleh Jabur, a Shia'at.
And each time, they think that the rebellion is over, and all will
move on as they want, I mean; the government and the British...... but
soon enough, another door would open on to new battles and
confrontations, the government would fall, and a new one would be
formed....
But now, how was the Shia'ats agenda handled, which is one of the most
dangerous, and the most influential in the country, as the Shia'ats
form around 60% of the population?
It is clear that the matter was arranged from the beginning; men from
traditional Shia'at families came along, families with clean history
against the British imperialism or against the injustice of the former
national governments, as a lot of their leaderships were executed...
those noble, clean positions were exploited by new generations of
these families, whose attitudes are not similar to those of their
fathers...those new generations supported the American occupation, and
called on to people to welcome it, giving it the capacity of the
country's savior...
Those new Shia'at leaders do not follow the path of the traditional
Shia'at leaders, who had nationalistic stances, always opposing the
British imperialism...
The new leaders adulate the poor, miserable Shia'ats, enticing them to
confirm their Shia'at's faith by reviving the rituals of Al-Zea'ara
(=the holy visit) to Khadimiyah, Najaf, and Kerbal'a, and by
performing the mourning rituals of Al-Hussein, by the excuse that
these are legitimate rights for the Shia'ats, and those who oppose all
these are the enemies of the Shia'ats, who want to do them an
injustice, and deny them their rights... of course, that kind of talk
appeals to the simple people, and they believe it... especially after
catastrophes happened whenever the Shia'ats went to fulfill their
rituals; like a trapped car, or the last incident of Al-Ai'ima Bridge,
and then, those great leaders would step forward on such occasions to
charge the simple people with hatred and sectarian thoughts all over
again.............
Moreover, those leaders took another step, which is political
interference in directing the minds of simple people, telling them to
go on to the elections in order to achieve victory against terrorism,
the enemies of the Shia'ats, and Al-Zarqawi, and we'll kick out the
occupation after the elections...
And of course, people went on to participate in the elections, and no
achievement was gained except electing those leaders, giving them the
legitimacy to sit on the power chairs, and to control the policy of
the present government......
And now, they tell the people to vote for the constitution, because it
will guarantee your rights for you, the rights of which you were
deprived...
Meaning; vote for federalism, and the separation from Iraq, because
the past history was unjust to you, now we want to give you your
rights... Al-Zarqawi is your enemy, who is always lurking, the
Ba'athists, the Saddamists, and the Sunnies are your
enemies.....etc,... of the empty talk that is filled with malice and
sectarian notions, the talk that destroys, but doesn't build, that
would separate, not unite ............
I see that the illusionary existence of Al-Zarqawi is a must for those
leaders, to provide them with an excuse for existing....
****************************************************
At the time of the British imperialism, they wanted to limit the
activities of the Shia'at clergy to the religious rituals only, so
they wouldn't have to interfere in politics, and directing people's
wills... but now, the presence of these Shia'at clergy is being used
to beautify the occupation policy, and the attempt to control people's
minds, politically and religiously...
At the times of the British, they used to banish some of the Shia'at
clergy to Iran, under the claim that their origins were Iranian... but
now, the Shia'at clergy of the Iranian origins are the ones who
encourage the remaining of the occupation, advising people to say
"yes" to the new constitution!
While the Sunnie leaders are playing the role of the opposition now,
after they were marginalized and accused of being troublesome,
Ba'athists, Saddamists, ...etc...of the silly phony accusations, which
made them choose to be the religious opposition leaders against the
occupation, and thus always subjected to being killed or
imprisoned.....
And that means the reputation of the Shia'ats now in the Islamic world
is that of being traitors, and collaborators with the occupation,
except for the emergence of some Shia'at clergy leaders against the
occupation, like Al-Sadder, Al-Khalisi, and some others...
Praise be to GOD, the family names of those latest were repeated
honorably, just as was the case with their forefathers at the times of
the British imperialism, when they were the leaders of the religious
national opposition............
********************************
As for the Kurds, their story is different....
We all remember the story of the Turkish Kurd leader (Abdullah
Ojellan) in the nineties, when he was arrested, drugged, and carried
to jail like a terrorist criminal, we saw the painful scenes on TV,
used to break the will of the Turkish Kurds who were demanding a self
rule in Turkey....we saw demonstrations all over Europe demanding his
release, but no one of the western governments cared; he wasn't
released, and the case of the Kurdish minority in Turkey wasn't
supported...
Why?
Because this story of the minorities is a game to be used whenever the
need arises...
The American occupation used it now with the Iraqi Kurdish leaders,
but not with the Kurdish people, for political and economic gains,
especially with the existence of oil and gas there, in the north of
Iraq, and how to invest it and get the use of it, away from a central
Iraqi government............
*******************************
Even though I am from a very well-known Shia'at family in Iraq, the
lineage of which goes back to our grandfather, Al-Hussein (Peace be
upon him), to Ali Bin Abi Talib (May GOD be pleased with him), to
Muhammad (May the prayers of GOD be upon him, and His Peace)... but I
am against telling the Shia'ats: let us be separated from Iraq, or let
us have revenge upon the Sunnies, or that they are our enemies. This
is all empty talk that benefits no one but the occupier, flowing back
into his advantage, and justifying his existence...
We are Muslims, this is how I understand our identity....
Sunnies or Shia'ats....we are Muslims, and brothers, and no Muslim is
allowed to kill, or make an enemy of his Muslim brother, or make a
friend of the foreigner, putting his hand into the foreigner's hand to
kill his brother...
This is a simple truth we all know, which doesn't need the legal
advisory of a clergy.........
And simply enough: our enemy is common; the occupation, we should join
our hands together to push him out of Iraq....
And may the curse fall upon any who might separate the Iraqis, and
thus wasting away their unity, and strength.........
*******************************************
I have a great hope that the occupation will be defeated....
And all who collaborated with him shall fall...
History shall write again...that Baghdad fell, and rose again...as she
has fallen before by the hands of the Moguls, then the Ottomans, then
the British....then rose, and we saw her beautiful, golden days,
before sinful fingers tampered with her again, from inside the
country, and outside...
They say that when the Khalif Abu Ja'afer Al-Mansoor intended to build
Baghdad, and to make her the capital of the Abbasid state, he called
upon scientists and astrologists, and asked them to look upon the fate
of this city for him...
They told him she will witness some grave days, and some beautiful,
glorious days, and every time she might fall and crash, she will rise
up all over again.....
Oh Baghdad, my sweet ....
You shall rise again...and brush off the dust of the occupiers, the
invaders, and their monkeys some day....
And all of Iraq shall once more be shiny, free, and independent... its
people united, and his land one...
Peace shall reign on Tigris, the Euphrates, and the high palm trees of
Iraq ....
My sons and grandsons will one day laugh when they read history...
some tens of years ahead... as I read it today, and found out how my
father, mother, and ancestors lived, may GOD bless their souls....
Like I laughed at the failure of the occupiers and imperialists, and
their defeat....
And how I smiled at the strength, the courage, and the patience of the
honest Iraqis...
How I felt sorry for the meanness of the collaborators, the traitors,
and those who sell their homelands cheaply...
They all went into another world...
The good and the bad....
The nationalists and the traitors.......
But history remained, talking, telling all kinds of stories.....
No comments:
Post a Comment