How the Syrian Conflict Has Intensified Regional Sectarian Rifts

By Ali Rawaf

“How could 100 million Shiites [worldwide] defeat 1.7 billion [Sunnis]? Only because [Sunni] Muslims are weak.”

These were the words of Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, a prominent Egyptian Sunni cleric, in a recent TV interview during which he encouraged his followers to carry arms and join the fight in Syria. He was later praised for his stance by Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, the most senior religious authority in the country.

Al-Qardawi’s statements followed a televised speech last month by the Shiite leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah where he vowed victory in Syria, "Syria is the back of the resistance, and the resistance cannot stand, arms folded while its back is broken." He told his adversaries to fight his men in Syria, not in Lebanon, Hezbolla’s home . But that’s too late. The violence had already spilled into Lebanon, where gun battles frequently rage between Shiites and Sunnis.

Lebanon is not the only neighbor being impacted by the Syrian conflict. Tensions between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq are at the highest levels since 2007. May was the bloodiest month since June of 2008 with over a thousand people killed. The violence continues to escalate as Sunnis continue their protests against the Shiite-dominated government. They accuse the government of succumbing to Iranian influence.

The Iraqi PM has charged the protests as being waged by Saudi Arabia and Qatar in their bid to contain Iran’s growing influence in the region. He also accuses them of funding Sunni rebels in Syria in their fight against Assad’s regime.

Qatar does not hide its concerns about Iran’s growing influence in the region. The Qatari government has declared Hezbollah as a terrorist group and has been leading an effort at the Gulf Cooperation Council to have its Sunni member states take a similar action. The country is also home to Al-Qardawi whose recent calls for Sunnis to fight Shiites further strained relationship between the Qatari and Iraqi governments.

Iraqi Shiite men have gone to Syria to fight along side Assad’s army and Hezbollah. It will be a matter of time before more Sunnis act on the words of Al-Qaradawi. It has become clear that the fight to win Syria is no longer a local one. It is regional. It is sectarian. And the sect that wins in Syria will win the region.

With Less Involvement in Iraq, US Interests and Iraq’s Future in Jeopardy

By Ali Rawaf

Writing about Iraqi politics has become more frustrating than starting a fire by rubbing two sticks. There are hardly any positive political developments and our politicians are stuck in debating issues that bear no substance or benefit to the people.

To remind you, as soon as the last US soldier stepped outside the Iraqi borders, things have been going downhill.  Today, Maliki's Iraq almost seems as far from democracy as it was under Saddam Hussein. The PM is on a journey to court as much power into his hands as possible. The opposition forces continue to lose ground. And the Iraqi people continue to suffer from poor quality of life.

Soon after the US left, Maliki moved to prosecute his VP for alleged terrorist activities, a move that reignited sectarian tensions and as he is being tried in absentia, Iraqis are reminded of the sectarian violence that they thought was winding down.

Last week, the Minister of Communication resigned after growing interference from the Prime Minister in moving ministry officials around with no regards to the minister, who is a member of the same political entity of the VP. Anonymous sources say that three top leaders from the same political party have given their support to Maliki, after his perpetual threats of ousting them from their positions.

Maliki is also in a major political battle with the Kurds. As Iraq’s oil revenue grows so does the fight between Baghdad and the Kurdish federal region over oil contracts that are being granted to foreign companies by the regional government. Maliki’s office says that the central government is the only one that is authorized to grant such contracts. As a result, foreign companies are growing more hesitant to do business with Iraq and the Kurds renewed their calls for secession.

The growing frustrations with Maliki’s politics lead to a meeting between the major political parties in parliament. They agreed to question Maliki within the constitutional power the parliament. A day before Maliki was going to be summoned, a military unit under his command lifted the belt of concrete blocks that fortify parliament against bomb attacks, a move that was seen as a threat.

The PM also threatened the parties that if he was going to be questioned, he would divulge embarrassing secrets about those who question him. As a result, the efforts to oust him or question him withered.

Iraqi politicians claim that Maliki seems emboldened by the US lack of interest in Iraqi affairs and an expanding Iranian support. That lack of involvement from the US and the West will not only cost Iraqis, it will cost the US interests in the region.

Iraq so far has helped lessen the effects of the US sanctions against Iran by letting local banks handle Iranian trade transactions and Iraq is also helping Iran send military supplies support the Syrian regime through Iraqi airspace.

Despite calls from Iraqi parties, regional and foreign countries, and US VP Joe Biden to halt both activities, Maliki remains defiant and those activities still go on. 

The Iranianization of Iraq

By: Ali Rawaf

After the Islamic revolution in Iran, many actions were taken to make the country more conservative. The new government at the time cracked down on Cinemas, theatres, music halls. The Khomeini government also shut down liquor stores, bars, and social clubs, all of which used to run freely under the Shah. I see similar actions being taken today in Iraq.  Previously, I have written about the Iranian influence in Iraq in politics. I have been reading news about several changes in the social aspects of the Iraqi community, ones that I link to a religious Iranian influence projected to change the structure of our society.

Today, a few Parliament Members who represent minorities showed their objection to a recent decision taken by local authorities to shut down social clubs, bars, and some restaurants that serve alcohol. Kenna, a Parliament Member who represent the Christians in Iraq said the decision punishes the Christian minority unjustly, “Just because a few people who are not supposed to drink go to those social clubs and drink alcohol, those social clubs shouldn’t be closed,” said Kenna criticizing the recent law. Another Member, Mehma Khalil who represents the Yezidi ethnicity in Iraq said the law will drive minorities out of Iraq, “Many minorities run such businesses […] these venues are sources of income to many of these people.”

The reality is Iraq used to be known in the Middle East for alcohol. Iraq’s secular society used to receive Saudis and Kuwaitis who cross the border to come drink in their venues. Shutting down these venues will not only have a negative impact on the society by driving communities out of the country, it will also be one more factor that is detrimental to the economy. Even when Saddam Hussein tightened social norms* to win tribal support in the early 90’s, liquor stores and bars were still open.

Babylon Festival Hall, Oct 2010. Picture by al-Arabyia

In 2004, Shiite militias such as the Mahdi Army cracked down on theatres, music halls, and video/CD stores in the south. The southern region is known for its prominence in the field of entertainment, especially music. In October, Iraqis celebrated the Babylon Festival, an annual festival where famous musicians and actors perform. This year music was banned in the Festival because it coincided with one Imam's birthday. The ban, as al-Arabyia puts it, “[left] most of the performers hailing all the way from Algeria, Azerbaijan, Denmark, Finland, Iran and Russia swaggering around the ruins of Babylon.”

This is frustrating because the toppling of Saddam’s statue was a symbol to many Iraqis that there will be more freedoms, not less. We also hoped that the government wouldn’t align itself with religious factions and religious ideologies. All of this begs the question, if the government will decide what you drink to what one should listen, where do we draw the line? And when will the people of Iraq speak out?

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*The Washington Post article that is linked in the blog talk about Abu Nawas. Abu Nawas is one of Baghdad’s most famous streets. It is filled with sea food restaurants, night clubs, bars, and music halls. The street faced some difficulties during Saddam Hussein’s era but not to the extent that it is facing today. In February of 2009, the street was reopened after the US funded efforts to restore it. Soon after, the Iraqi local authorities cracked down on all of these venues, putting down hopes of restoring night life to Baghdad. 

Is Iraq Falling Back Into Authoritarianism?

By: Ali Rawaf
  
     One sad fact about new democracies is that they might turn back into authoritarian regimes that ruled the country before those democracies emerged. Iraq's democracy might be one of those. Iraq is on the brink of falling back into an authoritarian regime, under Maliki's Dawa party.

We have witnessed Maliki's strong grip on his seat as Prime Minister. Though his term has constitutionally expired, Maliki and his cabinet still have full control of all three powers; executive, legislative, and judicial. The cabinet has signed contracts, appointed ambassadors, passed laws, all while the Parliament is not really in session. Maliki's powers are all unchecked. Maliki seems to have also manipulated Iraq's supreme court to rule in his favor several times. Furthermore, Maliki has been trying every way possible to somehow "legitimize" his bloc, which came in second in the elections, to form the next government. Maliki's bloc, State Of Law has formed an alliance with the National Alliance, the radical Shiite bloc. The alliance, was named the National Alliance hours before the first session of Parliament so al-Iraqyiah wouldn't enter the first session as the biggest bloc. Maliki's alliance with the  radical Shiite bloc had a bumpy start and remains in gridlock over which candidate they want for the Prime Minister post. The National Alliance remains under no leadership.

Recently, Iraqis marched down the streets protesting the lack of basic services such as drinking water and electricity. The protests, after taking place in five provinces, resulted in the resignation of the Minister of Electricity. The protests were seen by Maliki's State of Law as a movement to reduce Malki's popularity. Iraqi news networks reported today that Maliki  ordered to tighten security measures in Basra, the province where the protests started. The security forces have more presence in the province and their purpose is to "discourage" anymore protests. Deterring the protests doesn't remind me of anything but of Iraq's old days under Saddam Hussein.

Today, al-Arabiya news channel was raided be security forces from the Ministry of Interior. The channel staff was ordered to evacuate their office because of "threats that their office will be attacked." The staff was instructed to leave behind all their equipment and belongings in the office before the Ministry of Interior shut down their office. al-Arabiya has been known for its support of Ayad Allawi, the head of the winning Iraqyiah bloc and Maliki's rival for the Prime Minister post. al-Arabyia had interviewed Allawi a few days ago.

With one sign after the other, Iraqis are beginning to lose hope in Iraq's democracy. Maliki and his cronies have managed to take over all aspects of governance in Iraq. Their insistence on remaining in power has brought chaos back to the country and put the political process at stalemate. Almost four months after the elections, Malki still shows no signs of stepping down from his expired post and to transfer power peacefully. The change for which Iraqis voted is farther than it seemed on the night of the elections.

Now, we are INVESTING!

It seems that education in Iraq is definitely flourishing. After opening the first International Office in Iraq recently, the government has moved on to making a bigger success. I just laid my eyes on the long-awaited news about the Iraqi government investing in the field of education. This article has actually made my day as it marks the actual beginning of the new renaissance of the Iraqi youth and in the same time, Iraq itself. Iraq was one of the Middle Eastern Pioneers in embracing some of the most prestigious universities back in the past century. Iraq, after gaining its independence from the British, assertively used its relations with the developed west to build an educational system that rivaled many other excellent educational institutions and put its graduates in auspicious positions.

Further, the Iraqi government would use its resources to fund scholarships for qualified Iraqis to study in Western Europe to acquire the up-to-date knowledge in their fields of study and then come back to Iraq and implement those skills in the Iraqi society. This endeavor has contributed to creating one the biggest, educated middle-classes in the Middle East by the end of the 1970's.

The question is what happened to all of those people? Well, to begin with, most of them left Iraq as the Baath-party took a major control of the country. It was the norm that if you don't become a Baathist, it would be very hard to advance in your career or even sometimes find a job.
Some of them were unfortunately killed due to their political beliefs. We all anticipated the return of this elite after 2003, but the instability has contributed to their continuing diaspora.

Nevertheless, we had better now think about the present and future of Iraq and think of new means to improve it. And the Iraqi government, among its current successful initiatives, committed itself to sending 10 000 Iraqi students to universities in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the UK, starting with 500-600 students for the 2009-2010 scholastic year. This is hopefully going to serve as the key to renovating an educational system that is more than 25 years old, along with bringing up a learned people that can better rule itself and lead its country towards a promising future.

Just like any other new project, one might have some questions about it. Although the Ministries of Education and Higher Education have not yet declared the selection criteria and the selection process, there is a high chance that they are going to run into the problem of finding the required number of academically-competent students each year. Unless they implement some sort of an ESL program prior to college enrollment, this should no longer be an issue. And yet, the eternal problem of connections in Iraq might contribute to some undeserving students ending up in the scholarship. Fortunately, the big number of required students vilifies this problem as there is a place for many other qualified students.

Another concern might arise as the current situation in Iraq doesn't encourage many skilled people to go back to it after they finish studying in those developed countries. There definitely is some sort of procedure through which the government guarantees the students' return. Logic entails us to think objectively, and this leads us to conclude that there should be some students, regardless of the situation, that won't go back to serving Iraq. Hopefully, this would only be a minority.

In conclusion, this is a proud moment for Iraq towards getting rid of the dark past and initiating a striking future. I believe the government has just made a successful bargain in enlightening its people. As James Madison says ," Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."

Monitoring thoughts in Iraq again!

Iraq went through a lot of scrutiny over its media and books under Saddam's regime.
Iraqis couldn't easily get access to any book they wanted to read if this book contained material that didn't conform to the Baath party's visions. Television in Iraq was controlled by the ruling party and Iraqis had no more than 3 channels to watch. So was the case with the radio. The internet was almost useless since you couldn't access any website that had connections with Americans or even the Kuwaiti and the Saudi governments at that time.

The government's control over people's lives at that time didn't stop just at that point. Only landlines were allowed in Iraq since it could be accessed by the intelligence agency. Cell phones were forbidden for that reason. Regarding the newspapers and magazines available, they were only Iraqi (i.e. controlled by Saddam's people) and Pro-Baath. Overall, Iraqis suffered from the disconnection with the rest of the world and were anything far from the revolution in the world of communication.

After the war, the Iraqi mentality was freed from the tyranny of the Baath Party. People could gain access to the internet, cell phones; formerly-forbidden books and newspapers are available now at the disposal of people who have not witnessed such form of the freedom of thought before.These changes are signs of a healthy society since picking information for the readers should not be a responsibility of the government. They should only offer what the world has to offer.

Today, as I was reading the news, I came across this statement ," The Ministry of Culture prevents the import of pro-violence books into Iraq." It states that the Minister, Tahir Al-Hamoud, confirmed that the ministry intends to do its best to prevent the import of books that contaminate the Iraqi youth with ideas about suicide bombing, racial discrimination, and any material that opposes what the Iraqi Constitution holds. He also said that the Iraqi Government is not going to apply this policy against the books that support political opinions not represented in the current Iraqi governement, including other cultural values.

Now, what does this policy really mean? Does it mean that Iraqis will not be able to read books they like? Does it mean that Iraqis can't read " The God's Dilusion" by Richard Dawkins? or for that matter, any secular book? since secularism is not adopted by the constitution!? or does it just mean that books published by "terrorists" themselves won't be sold?

The Ministry says that they're going to make sure that the books on the shelves of Iraqi Libraries and book shops have no "negative" effect on the Iraqi Society! And that, in my opinion, is a tough job! How can you do that with much objectivity in prospective?! Are they going to hold a conference each time a book's liability is questioned? Or, I don't see how one person can decide what's good and what's not for a whole country?

However, It is a tough decision to monitor what Iraqis read! It's an indirect control on what Iraqis can get their hands on. Let's just hope that it's not the beginning of a tyranny over Iraqi youth and that no further steps will be taken regarding the control of culture on Iraq...Because the Ministry of Culture is supposed to enlighten people, not block their minds!

By: Fadi Al-Asadi

FACT: Christians in Iraq are IRAQIS!

Dear Reader,

You might have heard in the news that bombings are part of the daily life in the post-war Iraq. As a matter of fact, people anticipate it and would be wondering have they not heard anything alike that day! Recently, when Iraqis say they want to know about the news, they actually mean they want to know about the BOMBS in Iraq and who they targeted that day. Although many Iraqis, regardless of their religious denomination, have been targeted by daily road-side bombs or any other random act of terror, minorities have been affected the most. And that's the topic of my post.

It is very sad to hear that people get killed based on their spiritual belief in Iraq nowadays. I know it is a fact, but we're now living in the 21st century, where this issue should no longer be considered a critereon for attacking innocent lives. It is also true that such incidents have previously occurred at some point in the so-called "developed country's" history, but they realized that seeking religious differences and fighting over them would get them nowhere! They learned a lesson! a precious one! That's when they became great!

In iraq today, 4 churches bombed killing 4 people and injuring 21 (BBC). That's not the first time it has happened! Churches have been bombed before in 2005, 2006 and 2007!

Now, the quesiton is "why?" It's Iraqi Christians who attend those churches. they're a minority and they have not the slightest effect in the current government's decisions!

Do those terrorists want them to leave Iraq? maybe! But that's not going to happen anytime soon. It's true many have already flee to neighboring countries, Europe and the states, but many are also still there. And they will stay there as they have always been in Iraq for 200o years!

Conclusion? They are Iraqis and they have lived throughout all the ups and downs of Iraq. They contributed to its prosperity and peace. Enough with the allegations that they are Pro-west and Pro-American! The west became Christian after Iraq! Assyrians and Chaldeans(Iraqi Christians) are old tribes that inhabited mesopotamia a very long time ago and even when they acquired Christianity, they have added their customs and cultural values to it, resulting in a rather unique form of Christianity that doesn't perfectly resemble the west!

So, yes, these people are Iraqis no matter how hard those terrorists try! They are part of this society and will never be cut out from it by these fierce actions.

This is a message to some people who like to question the historical background of Christians in Iraq. And we all know that the majority of Iraqis are saddened by such terrible actions, but it is always good to remind oursleves and the world that we are a country of different ethnicities.

Yes, we have all coexisted for a long time in the land of two rivers, and it is time to revive this concept again. the concept of respecting each other aside from religious belief. That's when we can start to really believe in ourselves as a people capable of advancing while defending ourselves from all the devastating ills other countries might impose on us.

Fadi Al-Asadi

IraN/Q

I used to lay back and have a mischievous smile whenever Iran was mentioned in front of me and say, "Oh, we are not like them" but "a slap on the face can turn your head around", as figuratively says an Iraqi verb. It has been inspiring and surprising and to see the Iranian people face the bullets and their government and protest the elections results. We haven't even done that in Iraq, a recently established democracy.

What the Iranians have done has not been done in the Middle East often. An oppressed society controlled through poverty and force raises against the "Supreme Leader" of the land, the "Guard Council," and Ahmedinajad, the head of one of the most oppressive governments in our days. It is impressive even though it wasn't successful as it was seen that the "Supreme Leader," Ayatolla Khamene'i, the highest ranked Islamic Clerk in Iran responded to the angry crowds by telling them that it was fair elections and the results are final.

The Iranians have broken out of the religion shell by opposing the Ayatolla, not an event that I can imagine happening in Iraq soon, Shiites protesting the streets against Ayatolla Sistani. It is neither soon to happen nor to hope for it.

As I was watching, I was very inspired by how determined and driven the Iranians were, but I was wondering if it was focused towards the right cause. Musawi or Musavi, as spelled on media sources, would have not really made much of a difference in the country, especially after the deterioration caused by Ahmedinajad's administration. It would have been the same horse but with a different rider.

The corrupt failing Iranians government is partially caused and started by Musawi. He put the country through a draining war with Iraq; however, he is given the credit for stewardship of the Iranian economy, an area where Ahmedinajad had failed but from a religious and extremism evaluation pint of view, Musawi would have not been better than Ahmedinajad which is a key feature needed in the country, which the Iranian society desperately needs.

As I look at Iraq, I wish that we are at this point, to be courageous enough to actually protest like Iranians did. I think once we break the bondage that the religious leaders have kept us in for a long time, we will be able to make a difference in our nations.

I believe the outcome of this mini-revolution is that it has sparked in our minds, the minds of the youth of the Middle East that we all need to voice out our opinions and to not bow down for oppression. This, I believe has lit the torch to light the way for the Middle Eastern youth to wake up and make a difference in the society.

Violence Rises, again!

"Just when we thought it was over!", a sentence uttered by all Iraqis nowadays, questioning the comeback of violence into the streets. After the situation was the worst in 2006, the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 indicated the opposite.

The streets started getting more and more secure; people started getting back to their homes that they had to desert at some point; and everyone thought that it was the beginning of stability in Iraq.

Nevertheless, it is not. By the end of March this year, bombs filled the streets again, killing random people and targeting innocent lives in large numbers. We all stood waiting for the next step while wondering whether it is going to get worse or better.

"Worse" was the Answer to our inquiries! Since the relapse of bombings in Iraq in March, the situation just kept getting worse. Now, many people are dying , again , while shopping, going to school or work. The less-than- a-year period of revival has gone. And it has certainly become official as the Iraqi Prime Minister stated a week ago that we should expect the acts of violence to rise in the following months.

Yes, it sounds a bit ironic to hear the prime minister saying this, but it was not a surprise to hear that. It's not like we, Iraqis, were awaiting his statement to realize what's happening.
However, some people need some answers. They definitely need to know why on earth this started happening again!

Reviewing the changes in the government body over the past few months, nothing really huge happened. The "big guys" are still in power. So, there shouldn't be anything changing that much.
Oh, hold on! Didn't the Coalition Forces decide to leave the country by June 2011? Doesn't that mean less number of solders on the streets securing the cities? Doesn't that mean the Terrorists would resume their actions? Yes, Yes, and Yes! It's like handing your enemy your attack plan.

That's why it will never end unless the these really sensitive decisions become less obvious to the public, especially in a country not so strong. We're still healing our wounds from the non-ending war. We need to be following a specific secure discipline to re-establish our lives in there and then get to reveal the fate-determining plans to the world, not caring about the terror.
But for now, please be more discreet! We know you are working hard " not for sure, though", but your work won't pay off with this much transparency.

Fadi Al-Asadi

Why Reach To Others When We Can Do Better?

It has filled the newspapers and many other media sources that Iraq has a budget surplus of $79 billion . It is logical that a country would give a surplus estimate after providing the general and basic life requirements for its people. As of today, Iraqis don’t have consecutive hours of electricity, drinking water for all the population, and unemployment had reached its highest levels.

Today, the head of the Municipality of Baghdad, Sabir Al-Esawey has reached to the Shura Council of Bahrain to tell its members, “the importance of the participation of Bahraini companies to win investment projects in the country.” He continued by asking Bahraini business men and government officials who work in the field of construction services to visit the capitol, Baghdad and see the projects that the city has proposed to be done in order to rebuild the city.

This has been the reputation of the Iraqi government; its officials have always reached to foreign countries and their companies to invest the country in the same time that Iraq has an 18-30% estimate rate of unemployment in June, 2008 (CIA World Fact Book). Countries like Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia have been, for a long time investing in Iraq but no real results of their work have been seen on the Iraqi streets.

Not to mention that many Iraqi officials are corrupt enough to steal some of the money provided for construction project, contractors of foreign countries too end up stealing big portions of that money. As Ali Allawi, former finance minister stated for ABC News in 2006, "The current machinery of state doesn't have the control or reporting systems to allow for the kind of detailed cost controls and budgetary controls.” About $500 million were stolen from a one billion budget to equip the Iraqi army after the other half of the billion was spent on outdated military equipment. Examples of corruption of Iraqi officials and foreign companies can be endless to mention.

In order to ameliorate the Iraqi economy, the government must look into the Iraqi federal and the private sector to offer them those investment projects. That way, more jobs will be created for many of Iraqis, and more opportunities for establishments of new local companies.

Instead of wasting Iraq’s money, the government should start looking into pumping the surplus money to the Iraqi private sector, Iraq has a very well educated population and hard work is valued in its culture, Iraqis’ money should not be wasted on foreign entities.

Ali Rawaf