Comments on: Balancing Religious and Tribal Divides in Iraqi Election http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/balancing_ethnic_religious_and_tribal_divides_in_iraqi_election/ Online Journal of Politics and Foreign Affairs Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:10:32 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: hiwa mahmmud http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/balancing_ethnic_religious_and_tribal_divides_in_iraqi_election/comment-page-1/#comment-67771 hiwa mahmmud Mon, 12 Dec 2005 22:54:18 +0000 http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=12954#comment-67771 Iraq is disintegrating as a united state. The election for the National Assembly this week may mark the point of no return. “A Bosnian solution to the Iraq crisis is now on the agenda. The verdict is not quite in. There are forces for unity as well as for disintegration. But since the fall of Saddam Hussein, it is the latter forces which have proved to be the stronger. Iraqis are beginning to talk about partition as a likely outcome of the crisis. This has already happened in Kurdistan. The Kurds, a fifth of Iraq’s 26 million population, already have quasi-independence, with their own government and armed forces.Iraqi Arab leaders largely accept what has happened in Kurdistan, if only because there is nothing they can do about it.If America and Britain had to abandon Iraq/Kurdistan it would be disastrous for us, therefore leaving would not solve the problem. From the latest poll in Iraq it is clear that the majority of people who believe in the above statement are only Kurds and that the rest of Iraqi communities (particularly Arabs) do support an immediate withdrawal of foreign troops! So if we want to be honest we have to make it clear once and for all that what we see and hear from the media is not the accurate figure and we should listen to ordinary Iraqis inside in order to know the truth. The truth is that the absolute majority of Kurds support every kind of international support, help, guidance and military present as long as that would support the freedom they have enjoyed so far. But what we Kurds do not want is to be abandon and our fate to be decided by Arabs. In my opinion now it is time to tell every single person in the world that we are not Iraqis, we are not Arab and therefore we are the only person who should and will decide our own fate. In fact it is too late and we should have done that from the beginning, when the war started in the first place. But nevertheless we could still argue and say “That the only truth about Iraq is that Iraq was never, is not and will never be united”. Iraq is disintegrating as a united state. The election for the National Assembly this week may mark the point of no return. “A Bosnian solution to the Iraq crisis is now on the agenda.
The verdict is not quite in. There are forces for unity as well as for disintegration. But since the fall of Saddam Hussein, it is the latter forces which have proved to be the stronger. Iraqis are beginning to talk about partition as a likely outcome of the crisis. This has already happened in Kurdistan. The Kurds, a fifth of Iraq’s 26 million population, already have quasi-independence, with their own government and armed forces.Iraqi Arab leaders largely accept what has happened in Kurdistan, if only because there is nothing they can do about it.If America and Britain had to abandon Iraq/Kurdistan it would be disastrous for us, therefore leaving would not solve the problem. From the latest poll in Iraq it is clear that the majority of people who believe in the above statement are only Kurds and that the rest of Iraqi communities (particularly Arabs) do support an immediate withdrawal of foreign troops! So if we want to be honest we have to make it clear once and for all that what we see and hear from the media is not the accurate figure and we should listen to ordinary Iraqis inside in order to know the truth. The truth is that the absolute majority of Kurds support every kind of international support, help, guidance and military present as long as that would support the freedom they have enjoyed so far. But what we Kurds do not want is to be abandon and our fate to be decided by Arabs. In my opinion now it is time to tell every single person in the world that we are not Iraqis, we are not Arab and therefore we are the only person who should and will decide our own fate. In fact it is too late and we should have done that from the beginning, when the war started in the first place. But nevertheless we could still argue and say “That the only truth about Iraq is that Iraq was never, is not and will never be united”.

]]> By: John Burgess http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/balancing_ethnic_religious_and_tribal_divides_in_iraqi_election/comment-page-1/#comment-67687 John Burgess Mon, 12 Dec 2005 16:15:59 +0000 http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=12954#comment-67687 Something missing from these analyses is the fact that the Shi'a in Iraq come in at least two different flavors. This is important because the Shi'a who follow Al-Sistani are, predominantly, of the Akhbari school. This school believes that when the 12th Imam went into occlusion--i.e., disappeared--the bond between religious and secular government was broken and will remain broken until he returns. Thus, there is no legitimate religious rule that coincides with secular rule. Religiously, you do the best you can in your life; your outcome will be decided on Judgment Day. In the meantime, you follow secular law and work within the secular system to change it. This form of Shi'ism is found primarily among Arabs, on the western side of the Gulf, including Iraq. The major alternative is 'Usuli Shi'ism. This is the form found in Iran and Lebanon, but is also the form practiced by the Al-Sadr group. This form says that while the 12th Imam did vanish, he left his religious/secular authority in the hands of the religious leadership. Thus, the religious hierarchy (an aspect of Islam not known to the Sunnis or to the Akhbari) chooses a leader who is authorized to promulgate both religious law and secular law, i.e., government. Akhbaris generally believe that while secular government should follow Islamic principles, it need not be (and preferably should not be) synonymous with religious leadership. By lumping both groups into a monolithic "Shi'a", we confuse the issue and end up making invalid assumptions. Something missing from these analyses is the fact that the Shi'a in Iraq come in at least two different flavors. This is important because the Shi'a who follow Al-Sistani are, predominantly, of the Akhbari school.

This school believes that when the 12th Imam went into occlusion--i.e., disappeared--the bond between religious and secular government was broken and will remain broken until he returns. Thus, there is no legitimate religious rule that coincides with secular rule. Religiously, you do the best you can in your life; your outcome will be decided on Judgment Day. In the meantime, you follow secular law and work within the secular system to change it. This form of Shi'ism is found primarily among Arabs, on the western side of the Gulf, including Iraq.

The major alternative is 'Usuli Shi'ism. This is the form found in Iran and Lebanon, but is also the form practiced by the Al-Sadr group.

This form says that while the 12th Imam did vanish, he left his religious/secular authority in the hands of the religious leadership. Thus, the religious hierarchy (an aspect of Islam not known to the Sunnis or to the Akhbari) chooses a leader who is authorized to promulgate both religious law and secular law, i.e., government.

Akhbaris generally believe that while secular government should follow Islamic principles, it need not be (and preferably should not be) synonymous with religious leadership.

By lumping both groups into a monolithic "Shi'a", we confuse the issue and end up making invalid assumptions.

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