The New Islamic Republic of Iraq

Iraq has officially become like Iran and Saudi Arabia. It is now a country that bans music, theater and alcohol, a country that I can call the New Islamic Republic of Iraq.

What a tragedy! Why don’t they call it “banning life”?

Is that art?!

Last week, the Iraqi government shut down social clubs that serve alcohol in Baghdad, enraging the educated class who demonstrated against the extreme Islamic-inspired order. Today, Iraqis woke up to hear a far worse order; the Iraqi Ministry of Education has banned theater and music classes in Baghdad’s Fine Arts Institute, and ordered the removal of statues showcased at the entrance of the institute without explaining the move.

In a country that went through wars, sanctions and a horrific totalitarian regime, art remained defiant against Islamic extremism throughout centuries. Art has always been an integral part of Iraqis’ lives. Yet today the turbaned Mullahs, who are turning secular Iraq back into the Stone Age, have denied Iraqis’ the right of keeping art part of their country, erasing the Mesopotamian heritage that we inherited thousands of years ago. I wish the Sumerian makers of the Golden Guitar were alive, 3000 years later to see what has happened to their country.

Iraqis raised their voice and democratically elected a secular slate last March, but the Islamic fanatics who wrote the post-Saddam constitution wrote it in a way that they will always be the winners who will get the majority of the seats in the parliament.

We need two things: a new constitution and an atheist regime. Not secular, atheist. That’s how we can achieve success in arts, science and modernity. As long as there is a religious regime, no country will ever progress! Gods and politics will never reconcile. I choose not to side with religion. I choose to side with sanity.  

Hijacking Mesopotamian Heritage

The last time I attended Babylon International Festival was in 2000. Then, it was a celebration of the world’s arts and culture and a revival of a civilization’s history. There performed various Arab, Asian, European, American and African artists, dancing and playing traditional and contemporary music, leaving Iraqis enjoy precious times as they endured the hardships of the Iran-Iraq war and the 12-year international sanctions.

But today, seven years after it was canceled due to the US-led invasion, the festival opened with failure and disastrous atmosphere. No dancing, no singing! Nothing but two badly-performed plays on globalization and hating the United States. The reasons, according to The New York Times, were religion and politics!

The Times reported that the deputy governor of the Babil province, Sadiq al-Muhanna, “declared the ban on music and dance… which he called offensive to Muslims during religious ceremonies for Imam Sadiq.”

This news came in like a lightning strike to me. It is really sad that religion hijacked the entire Iraqi society, whose culture and art battled and survived dictators, wars, barbarians and invasions throughout history.

Iraq was a country where culture and arts met and flourished. It was a country that gave birth to great artists whose imprints were recorded for thousands of years across the globe. But today it’s a country marked by religion and only religion. Instead of reviving our glorious history, the leaders of the new Iraq are forcing that form of submission. They coat Imams’ graves with pure gold; they block streets for weeks in celebration of death or birth anniversaries of those Imams and now they cancel the entire basis of the Mesopotamian civilization: appreciation of art and culture.

We have become worse than the most conservative countries in the Middle East. Even in Saudi Arabia, where men and women are flogged if found mingling with each other, people celebrate their culture by dancing and performing in national festivals, and they don’t even have Mesopotamian heritage to revive.

My heart breaks for Iraq. It makes me gravely sad to see how religion has become the winner in the former secular country that I remember.

I dream of going back. Every day. But the Mullahs hijacked my country and turned it into a bigger mosque, where people cannot do anything but pray to deaf ears. I’m afraid the dream is shattering. I’m collecting the pieces but not sure how long this will last.

New Golden Domes? What about the people?

Celebrating Eid Al-Fitr in Baghdad this year came with the reopening of the Kadhimiya shrine domes! The domes, that had been already coated with pure gold hundreds of years ago, were re-coated with new shining, pure gold tiles.

I first heard about the news today when a coworker of mine shared the photos with me. I was literally shocked and disturbed at the same time. I sighed and thought about all of the money, gold and the resources that were used to carry out that project.

Secretary General of the Kadhimiya Shrine Fadhil Al Inbari talked to Noon website (Arabic):

“The [project] was directly funded by the Shiite Endowment. The total of number of tiles used to cover the dome is 10261. The work process lasted 6000 hours (equivalent to two years of continuous work). The total weight of the pure gold that was used to cover the dome is 112,400 Kilograms, and that 300 workers, engineers and technicians worked on it.”

This doesn’t end there! Al Inbari told the website that they have started a new phase of rebuilding the minarets of the same shrine with 3600 Kilograms of pure gold as well, in addition to building a new shrine for Mohammad Al-Sadr, the Imam who was murdered by the Saddam regime and whose son Moqtada Al-Sadr’s militia was responsible for the murder of thousands of Iraqis during the sectarian war.

I thought about the barely-functioning power grids, the absence of clean and sanitized water in rural areas, the lack of security, the dying agriculture, the Baghdad greenbelt that should protect the city from the dust storms, the orphans who go to bed hungry, the elderly who cannot afford medicine … and the list goes on and on.

What is sad about this is that there are millions of people who supported and believed in this “reconstruction” process. They preferred that this money goes to such a project and not their very own country’s infrastructure, which they have been suffering from for a while.

I guess those who supported it should stop complaining about water and electricity and let the late Imam whose grave is covered with a golden dome fix the electricity and bring them clean water.

It is really ironic that the very same people, who criticized Saddam for the very same reason of spending Iraq’s money on building gigantic mosques, do the exact same thing.

"Burn the Quran" Farce

It’s going to be really bad! I mean REALLY bad! This was all I could think of as I read the MSNBC article about the Florida pastor who is organizing the “International Burn the Quran Day” in Florida on the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I had a sinking feeling right away. It awakened memories of the Muslims’ protests against the satirical cartoons that lampooned the Prophet Mohammed five years ago.

I could see it again: protests, attacks on embassies, burning flags and attacking westerners.

This is such a bigoted and improper provocation of Muslims around the world. In fact, it is a killing of all what has been built of good will between Muslims and the rest of the world for the last few years.

Before heading to work this morning, I watched the pastor’s interview on CNN International. I focused on what he was saying to the anchor and noticed that he is totally ignorant of what Islam as a whole is and how different it is from Islamic fanaticism.

I could tell from the way he was talking, he was yet another Sarah Palin-like bigot and no more than that. No intelligence and no logic.

The Huffington Post quoted him in an AP interview, saying, “Instead of us backing down, maybe it’s to time to stand up. Maybe it’s time to send a message to radical Islam that we will not tolerate their behavior.”

Well, let’s see. First he criticizes the Muslims of being violent when he himself is inciting violence. If he wasn’t, then why wouldn’t he find other alternatives “to stand up” and “not tolerate” their behavior? Isn’t it better to think logically and sit down with Muslims and hear from them directly or is it just an excuse to do something that may cause fury around the globe and probably create a religious war?

On the other hand, he is being smart. He is using THE most powerful weapon to poke the bear! He knows very well that the holy Quran is far more important to Muslims than the cartoons that were published in the Danish press. He knows that this may lead to a worldwide controversy that- God forbids- end up in a big mess, something he seems thirsty for.

And he is not doing it out of the blue. According to ABC News, he previously “launched an online video series called the “Braveheart Show,” which he uses to preach anti-Islamic sermons to an audience larger than the 50 families who belong to the church. He even once sent his children to school, wearing “Islam Is of the Devil” T-Shirts!

That tells you a lot about that guy!

Luckily, this controversy has drawn criticism from many who are trying to quell the fire before it’s lighted. The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan Gen. David Petraeus condemned the event and said it could “endanger troops” and damage the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan.

The White House, the State Department, and Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith leaders in the U.S. and around the world, including the Vatican, have condemned this plan as well and called for ending it. And today the US Attorney General was quoted, calling it “idiotic and dangerous.”

However, it worries me that despite all of this condemnation it may not be enough to avoid the anger of the Muslims around the world who will be extremely offended.

This event will definitely be a useful tool to terrorists to launch attacks anywhere in the world. Civilians will be hurt, soldiers will be killed and the gap between Muslims and the West will be way bigger than it is right now. Then, it will be too late to talk!

Quite honestly, I don’t know what will make this bigot stop! All I can hope for is that Muslims do not react to it-if it happens- violently and the Americans stand up to defend their fellow Muslim Americans and stop this farce!

Are you Muslim?

“Are you Muslim?” uttered the man who asked me about the time first. I wasn’t sure what to respond at first. I thought of the taxi cab driver who was attacked in New York City after he was asked the same question.

It was about 9 a.m. when I was standing outside the Greyhound bus station, trying to breathe some fresh air before my bus to Philadelphia arrives. There was no one there other than the man, and it just didn’t feel right.

It took me another second to remember there were security officers inside the station. I thought I could be safer if I went inside. I finally said, “No” and stepped back to the station.

I kept thinking about my answer as my feet were driving me inside. I felt guilty, even though I’m not a practicing Muslim. I don’t fast. I don’t go to mosques. I don’t even pray. Yet something inside me told me this was wrong. On the other hand the voice of reason was telling me it’s OK. This man might have had bad intentions like that who cut the Muslim cabbie’s throat in NYC.

This fear did not come out of nothing. It all started earlier that day, around 7 a.m. on the Metro train. It was a Saturday morning, August 28, and I was going to the bus station to head to Philly. To my shock, the Metro train was filled with strangers. People you could tell were not from DC.

There were hundreds of them at the Metro station. The train was literally packed and I had to squeeze myself. I finally remembered that they all came for the Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin rally at the Lincoln Memorial. They started introducing themselves, coming from Maine, South Carolina, Ohio, etc and were all wearing T-shirts with patriotic signs and American flags on them.

As I got on the train, they started staring at me, making me very uncomfortable. They were talking about terrorism, 9/11 and healthcare. They were also talking about how free America is and how terrorists want to take advantage of that! All while looking at me!

I put my hands in my pocket next to my phone. I wanted to make sure I can dial 911 in case someone attacked me. Luckily, no one did, except that they gave me those you-stole-our-country looks.

All the way to Philly I kept thinking about what was happening in DC at that time. Thousands of conservative Americans gathering, listening to someone like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck who hijacked the word of logic, brainwashing the crowd with their racist and hateful slogans. It reminded me of the time when my mail was open and thrown aside in my apartment building after the Fort Hood shooting incident and how some people would look at me before they decide to sit next to me or not on the bus!

This all kept me thinking about the fate of this nation. It makes me feel very sad. Despite all the difficulties and hardships I’m encountering in this country, I love it and call it home now. The last thing I want to happen is to see it descending to destroying the diversity that made it what it is.

However, I can still say that I’m glad not all Americans are like that.

The Ideology of Spreading Hate Through Religion

Apparently, teaching hatred and ignorance is not limited to Muslims’ mosques only; it’s happening in Christian churches as well. After hearing the insensitive remarks of Pat Robertson on the Haiti earthquake disaster last night, I encountered something similar today, in one way or another.

A friend of mine sent me a message on Facebook, trying to understand something that no sane man can accept. He said some of his friends wanted him to check out a “Bible study class” at the Bridge Church in Oak Harbor, Washington. He said something didn’t sound right when Pastor Rick Crawford said, “the reason why Muslims have homes with high ceilings is so they can do degrading, immoral things inside and Allah won’t be able to see because Allah can’t see through homes, only windows.”

I cannot believe he actually said that!

I have two comments on Crawford’s statement: first, nothing describes what he says other than the fact that he was trying to brainwash his church followers with incorrect information, which obviously aims to present Muslims as mean, immoral people who don’t even care about God in the first place. Secondly, it seems that Crawford has no knowledge whatsoever in the simplest teachings of Islam which proves that he didn’t study theology. It would be a disaster if he did!

Muslims believe that God (Allah) is closer to them than their own veins, which is something stated in Qaf Verse in the Holy Quran:

“And We [meaning God] have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein.”

So if Crawford was right, how come Muslims believe that God cannot see them if they have high ceilings by the time they believe He’s closer to their souls than their own veins?!

Personally, I feel that religious worship houses- be it a mosque, a church or a temple- are no longer a place for worship. It seems to me that sheikhs and pastors, for instance, are competing on who brainwash as many people as they can to win this invisible religious war. Who’s the victim here? It’s me and you! So why go there in the first place when you can spare yourself from their poison?

Talk to an Iraqi

Haider Hamza is an Iraqi who goes around the US, with a small wooden booth titled “Talk to an Iraqi”, and he just sits there and lets people come and talk to him.

Aljazeera goes live in Washington DC

I’ve long been a huge opponent of the Arabic version of the Qatar-based Aljazeera, a channel I call “Fox News of the Arabs” whose propaganda and hatred-filled sentiments are widely obvious. AJ incites the Arabs/Muslims against the West and Fox does the same with the Americans against the Arabs/Muslims.

However, when Al Jazeera English was launched in November 2006 I started following it to see if it is similar to its sister channel, Aljazeera Arabic. Surprisingly, I saw that it was completely different, in a good way. The standards were high and were similar to that of the BBC World.

On July 1st, AJE has finally made its way to the Washington DC area, after signing its first major U.S. cable deal with non-commercial MHz Networks last week. The channel is now available to 2.3 million subscribers, in addition to 140 million worldwide.

While watching it online most of the time, I became more interested in AJE when I noticed the variety of news the channel presented. Their documentaries and reportage are extremely helpful. They opened the window to viewers to see what is happening in the world, unlike U.S. TV news networks that have failed to do this basic journalistic task.

Now that I have AJE 24/7 on my cable TV channel list, I’ll watch the network even more closely and see if it is adhering to the basic ethical element in journalism, objectivity!

American Jews in Jerusalem use racist words against Obama

Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an op-ed about the shocking footage of the reaction by some Israelis and American Jews in Jerusalem to Obama’s speech to the Muslim world.

Read full op-ed here and see the video below.

Unbelievable…

Obama in Cairo: Extending the Olive Branch

Nothing better illustrates the change Obama is trying to do with the U.S. policy towards the Muslim world than his speech today in Cairo.

By addressing the Muslims in Egypt, Obama opened a door that was closed for eight years due to the Bush administration’s horrible approach with the Arab and Muslim countries. Walking through that door, Obama was greeted respectably and lovingly by those who once hated his country to the bone.

The fact that Obama is approaching the Muslim world through such a speech is very similar to someone carrying the olive branch, in my opinion. He is seeking peace for the world, unlike Bush who sent bombs instead, not to mention his administration’s black-or-white attitude that led to ongoing wars.

In this speech, Obama didn’t show signs of weakness or humility like how some conservative republicans view it. In my opinion he was the most powerful person. He initiated approaching the Muslim world by extending his hands to combat the stereotypes and the mistakes committed by his predecessors. In it, I viewed the other good face of America. In fact, I saw that the American administration can actually be nice to the others!

Fair could also describe the speech as well. For instance, when he mentioned how Muslims and the Americans should not perceive each other depending on stereotypes. Another example is when he criticized both Palestinians and Israelis for being responsible for the horror happening in their region. I agree the Israeli settlements should stop and also agree that threatening to destroy Israel will not bring the Palestinians any good and that it should stop.

The other thing that attracted my attention was when Obama indirectly criticized what the Bush administration did. The fact that the American president acknowledges that the Iraq war was “a war of choice” is enough to say that Bush did not have to invade Iraq, yet he did. However, he stated that Iraqis are “better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein,” which I agree and disagree with at the same time. It was good to get rid of Saddam, but the life of the Iraqi people was wrecked by the ignorant policies that were made by the Bush administration. We can’t really say that our lives are better off now than under Saddam, because it’s still a complete wreck compared to that before the invasion. I’m hoping that it won’t last like this and by then Obama’s statement would fit.

Bush and his henchmen believed in imposing the Jeffersonian democracy upon the countries they invaded. It’s amazing how for the first time I hear Obama admitting that “no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by another.” When I heard that, I said, “THANK YOU!” Was it hard to acknowledge such a simple, yet powerful fact? That’s what Bush did not understand or did not want to understand. You can’t impose democracy; you teach it; you increase people’s awareness of it, but not force it the way you like, ignoring the background of that country.

Overall, I saw that the speech came in a time when tension between the Muslims and the West has reached its peak. It’s very nice to see that Obama took the initiative of extending hands. I know this speech may not leave a big impact on many Muslims and Arabs but I think it’s like baby steps. By course of time, things will change to the better hopefully if Obama continues his positive and peaceful attitudes. It’s a long road but the thousand-mile road starts with one step.