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 ا................




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…..
And the wise is that who understands the lesson well…….. and smiles.




Translated by May/Baghdad.