[lit-ideas] Iraq, democracy, and ayatollas

  • From: JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sat, 4 Feb 2006 11:25:19 EST

It's always good to hear what someone from the *inside* a situation that is  
being madly dialogued about by people who are outside it has to say.  This  
post address both some of Andreas' and Lawrences assertions (not to leave out  
Mike!)  
 
Julie Krueger
 
_http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/_ (http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/) 
 
<<Thursday, February 02, 2006  

Election Results...


Iraqi election results were officially announced nearly two  weeks ago, but 
it was apparent from the day of elections which political parties  would come 
out on top. Iâm not even going to bother listing the different types  of 
election fraud witnessed all over Iraq- itâs a tedious subject and one 
weâve  been 
discussing for well over a month.

The fact that a Shia,  Iran-influenced religious list came out on top is 
hardly surprising. Iâm  surprised, however, at Iraqis who seem to be 
astonished at 
the outcome. Didnât  we, over the last three years, see this coming? Iranian 
influenced clerics had a  strong hold right from 2003. Their militias were 
almost instantly incorporated  into the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry 
of 
Defense as soon a move was  made to create new Iraqi security forces. Sistani 
has been promoting them from  day one.

Why is it so very surprising that in times of calamity people  turn to 
religion? It happens all over the world. During tsunamis, hurricanes,  
earthquakes, 
blockades, wars- people turn to deitiesâ Itâs simple- when all else  fails, 
there is always a higher power for most people.

After nearly three  years of a failing occupation, I personally believe that 
many Iraqis voted for  religious groups because it was counted as a vote 
against America and the  occupation itself. No matter what American policy 
makers 
say to their own  public- and no matter how many pictures Rumsfeld and Condi 
take with our fawning  politicians- most Iraqis do not trust Americans. America 
as a whole is viewed as  a devilish country that is, at best, full of 
self-serving mischief towards  lesser countries and, at worst, an implementer 
of 
sanctions, and a warmongering  invader.

Even Iraqis who believe America is here to help (and they seem  to have grown 
fewer in number these days), believe that it helps not out of love  for 
Iraqis, but out of self-interest and greed.

Shia religious parties,  like SCIRI and Daâawa, have decidedly changed their 
tone in the last year.  During 2003, they were friends of America- they owed 
the US their current power  inside of the country. Today, as Iraqis are 
becoming more impatient with the  American presence inside of Iraq, they are 
claiming 
that they will be the end of  the âoccupiersâ. They openly blame the 
Americans for the lack of security and  general chaos. The message is quite 
different. In 2003, there was general talk  of a secular Iraq; today, that no 
longer 
seems to be an option.

In 2003,  Jaffari was claiming he didnât want to see Iraqi women losing their 
rights, etc.  He never mentioned equal rights- but he did throw in a word 
here and there about  how Iraqi women had a right to an education and even a 
job. 
I was changing  channels a couple of weeks ago and I came across Jaffari 
speaking to students  from Mustansiriya University- one of Iraqâs largest 
universities, with campuses  in several areas in Baghdad. I couldnât see the 
students- 
he might have been  speaking with a group of penguins, for all I could tell. 
The camera was focused  on him- his shifty eyes and low, mumbling voice.

On his right sat an  Ayatollah with a black turban and black robes. He looked 
stern and he nodded  with satisfaction as Jaffari spoke to the students (or 
penguins). His speech  wasnât about science, technology or even development- 
it 
was a religious sermon  about heaven and hell, good and evil.

I noticed two things immediately.  The first was that he seemed to be 
speaking to only male students. There were no  females in the audience. He 
spoke of 
their female âsistersâ in absentia, as if  they had absolutely no 
representation in the gathering. The second thing was  that he seemed to be 
speaking to 
only Shia because he kept mentioning their  âSunni brothersâ, as if they 
too 
were absent. He sermonized about how the men  should take care of the women and 
how Sunnis werenât bad at all. I waited to  hear him speak about Iraqi unity, 
and the need to not make religious  distinctions- those words never came.

In spite of all this, pro-war  Republicans remain inanely hopeful. Ah well- 
so Ayatollahs won out this  election- the next election will be better! But 
there is a problemâ

The  problem with religious parties and leaders in a country like Iraq, is 
that they  control a following of fervent believers, not just political 
supporters. For  followers of Daâawa and SCIRI, for example, itâs not about 
the 
policy or the  promises or the puppet in power. Itâs like the pope for devout 
Catholics- you  donât question the man in the chair because he is there by 
divine 
right, almost.  You certainly donât question his policies.

Ayatollahs are like that.  Muqtada Al-Sadr is ridiculous. He talks like his 
tongue is swollen up in his  mouth and he always looks like he needs to bathe. 
He speaks with an intonation  that indicates a fluency in Farsi and yetâ he 
commands an army of followers  because his grandfather was a huge religious 
figure. He could be the least  educated, least enlightened man in the country 
and 
heâd still have people  willing to lay down their lives at his command 
because 
of his familyâs religious  history. (Lucky Americans- he announced a week ago 
that should Iran come under  US attack, he and his followers would personally 
rise up to Iranâs  defense.)

At the end of the day, people who follow these figures tell  themselves that 
even if the current leader isnât up to par, the goal and message  remain the 
same- religion, Godâs word as law. When living in the midst of a  war-torn 
country with a situation that is deteriorating and death around every  corner, 
you 
turn to God because Iyad Allawi couldnât get you electricity and  security- 
he certainly isnât going to get you into heaven should you come face  to face 
with a car bomb.

The trouble with having a religious party in  power in a country as diverse 
as Iraq is that you automatically alienate  everyone not of that particular 
sect or religion. Religion is personal- it is  something you are virtually born 
intoâ it belongs to the heart, the mind, the  spirit- and while it is welcome 
in day to day dealings, it shouldnât be  politicized.

Theocracies (and we seem to be standing on the verge of an  Iranian 
influenced one), grow stronger with time because you cannot argue  religion. 
Politicians are no longer politicians- they are Ayatollahs- they  become 
modern-day 
envoys of God, to be worshipped, not simply respected. You  cannot challenge 
them 
because for their followers, that is a challenge to a  belief- not a person or 
a political party.

You go from being a critic or  âoppositionâ to simply being a heathen when 
you argue religious  parties.

Americans write to me wondering, âBut where are the educated  Iraqis? Why didn
ât they vote for secular parties?â The educated Iraqis have been  
systematically silenced since 2003. Theyâve been pressured and bullied 
outside  of the 
country. Theyâve been assassinated, detained, tortured and abducted. Many  of 
them have lost faith in the possibility of a secular Iraq.

Then againâ  who is to say that many of the people who voted for religious 
parties arenât  educated? I know some perfectly educated Iraqis who take 
criticism towards  parties like Daâawa and SCIRI as a personal affront. This 
is 
because these  parties are so cloaked and cocooned within their religious 
identity, 
that it is  almost taken as an attack against Shia in general when one 
criticizes them. Itâs  the same thing for many Sunnis when a political Sunni 
party 
comes under  criticism.

Thatâs the danger of mixing politics and religion- it becomes  personal.

I try not to dwell on the results too much- the fact that Shia  religious 
fundamentalists are currently in power- because when I do, Iâm filled  with 
this 
sort of chill that leaves in its wake a feeling of quiet terror. Itâs  like 
when the electricity goes out suddenly and youâre plunged into a deep,  
quiet, 
almost tangible darkness- you try not to focus too intently on the subtle  
noises and movements around you because the unseen possibilities will drive you 
 
madâ>>

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