Sorry I haven't posted in such a long time. I keep saying this will change and that I will post more frequently but things have been going against my will. I was busy with work which also made me less focused on what's happening in Iraq and I didn't have any solid thought I thought was worth sharing, but I will try my best to post as much as I can.I intend to post something soon but for now I wanted to share this cartoon I found on an Iraqi newspaper that I think is interesting. It's mainly about the bad effect of religion or more religious parties on the general situation in Iraq. It was published in Al-Muatamar newspaper which is the official paper of the INC (Chalabi's party) that's a liberal secular party that still have a majority of She'at. The three nails driven into the sign have the words; Occupation, Corruption and Terrorism. On the back the nail has no word attached to it but the bead is an obvious hint at religion. I believe the use of "Occupation" was just to show that the artist is a nationalist and it's a usual thing to do when you approach any political or religious taboos but everyone familiar with the paper knows it's pro-liberation and they even stated that clearly many times.
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/982/726/1600/Cartoon.jpg
What I found interesting about this cartoon is not just that it's the 1st time someone criticizes the role of religion openly even if in an indirect way, but also that the artist used the word "Terrorism" and therefore his use of the bead was meant to refer to not Sunni fanatics, because he already covered that with "Terrorism" but to the She'at religious parties that dominate the government and maybe even the "Marjiya"I was happy to see this and it made me feel some hope after the terrible results of the elections. If we look at those results and compare them with the ones of the 1st elections we'll see that the She'at religious parties maintained their lead or even gained more votes numerically. So the number of She'at who did not vote for the Coalition List has not increased as we hoped but on the other hand the degree of opposition among secular She'at to the She'at religious authorities has grown considerably. She'at whether religious or secular have always had tremendous respect for their clerics and Imams and I've talked to many She'at who consider themselves liberals and who push for a secular state but when you go anywhere close to Sistani or their Imams they stop you, gently but firmly. So that's why I see it as a very hopeful sign that a paper dominated by She'at, even if secular and one that's distributed nationally has gone that far in defying religious She'at parties and one would just need to think of the reaction to the Danish cartoons to see how words or art can be very scary to those fanatics (although I don't see a very valid cause for those cartoons but I still resent the reaction much more than the act). They fear words more than bombs because while they can confront violence with similar or more extreme violence they lack the means to confront words or art, as it takes creativity and openness among other things which they lack or have lost when they closed their boxes on themselves. Words may not be enough but I believe they represent a very good start.
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/982/726/1600/Cartoon.jpg
What I found interesting about this cartoon is not just that it's the 1st time someone criticizes the role of religion openly even if in an indirect way, but also that the artist used the word "Terrorism" and therefore his use of the bead was meant to refer to not Sunni fanatics, because he already covered that with "Terrorism" but to the She'at religious parties that dominate the government and maybe even the "Marjiya"I was happy to see this and it made me feel some hope after the terrible results of the elections. If we look at those results and compare them with the ones of the 1st elections we'll see that the She'at religious parties maintained their lead or even gained more votes numerically. So the number of She'at who did not vote for the Coalition List has not increased as we hoped but on the other hand the degree of opposition among secular She'at to the She'at religious authorities has grown considerably. She'at whether religious or secular have always had tremendous respect for their clerics and Imams and I've talked to many She'at who consider themselves liberals and who push for a secular state but when you go anywhere close to Sistani or their Imams they stop you, gently but firmly. So that's why I see it as a very hopeful sign that a paper dominated by She'at, even if secular and one that's distributed nationally has gone that far in defying religious She'at parties and one would just need to think of the reaction to the Danish cartoons to see how words or art can be very scary to those fanatics (although I don't see a very valid cause for those cartoons but I still resent the reaction much more than the act). They fear words more than bombs because while they can confront violence with similar or more extreme violence they lack the means to confront words or art, as it takes creativity and openness among other things which they lack or have lost when they closed their boxes on themselves. Words may not be enough but I believe they represent a very good start.
posted by Ali | 2:34 PM
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