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Iraq's Recent and Ancient Past

by Ishtiaq Ahmed 

The sharifs who ruled the country were Sunnis but the majority population of Iraq was Shia. A sort of religious-ethnic balance was achieved by including the Kurds who opposed the arrangement violently and stopped only when poison gas was used against them in the 1920s on the order of Winston Churchill.

In order to understand the suffering of the Iraqi people we need to capture the historical background of their current tragedy.

According to a July 2004 estimate the total population of Iraq is over 25 million. Ninety-seven per cent of this is Muslim - of this 60 percent Shia, who are mostly Arabs; 18-20 per cent Sunni Arabs and 18-20 per cent mainly Sunni Kurds. Some three per cent are Christians and others. There are also small ethnic communities of Turkomans and Assyrian Christians in the country. The total area of Iraq is 434,924 square kilometres.

The territories that make up present-day Iraq have been the cradle of many civilisations and correspond roughly to that of ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian civilisations flourished in this region in antiquity. Arab conquest in the 7th century resulted in most of the local people converting to Islam and many tribes from the Hijaz and areas around it settling there. A minority of the local people remained Christians. There also used to be an ancient Jewish community that has almost entirely immigrated to Israel.

Baghdad, the present capital of Iraq, became the dazzling centre of the Islamic-Arab civilisation during the Abbasid Empire (750-1258). Its legendary splendour has been epitomised in tales like The Thousand and One Nights. That great epoch came to a tragic and gory end when the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258. Ottoman Turks, who rose to prominence in 1299, annexed most of the Middle East. Thereafter the territories of present-day Iraq constituted three vilayats or provinces: Baghdad in the centre, Mosul in the north and Basra in the south within the Ottoman Empire. It is not clear how and why but some time in the 19th century Arab tribes in the south-eastern Iraq converted to Shi'ism which became the majority community.

The British captured during the course of World War I the territories of present-day Iraq. In 1920, they were declared a League of Nations mandate under British administration. Oil had been discovered at Kirkuk near Mosul and elsewhere and Britain was determined to keep the territory under its control. Finally, the three provinces were consolidated to form the state of Iraq, which eventually attained independence as a kingdom in 1932.

Britain wanted to reward the sharifs of Mecca who led the revolt against the Turks in the World War I but were expelled from the Hijaz by the Wahabis who now rule Saudi Arabia. Consequently Sharif Abdullah was made king of Trans-Jordan and Sharif Faisal king of Iraq. The sharifs who claimed descent from the Prophet (peace be upon him) were Sunnis but the majority population of Iraq was Shia. A sort of religious-ethnic balance was achieved by including the Kurds who opposed the arrangement violently and stopped only when poison gas was used against them in the 1920s on the order of none other than Winston Churchill, then secretary for war and air.

In any case, the Sunni Arabs who were also the traditional aristocracy during the Ottoman rule and were located in the pivotal Baghdad region became the ruling elite in Iraq. The Iraqi army also consisted largely of Sunni Arabs. Sharif Faisal's grandson, also named Faisal, and his prime minister, Nuri al Said, were staunchly pro-British and in the early 1950s formed a conservative Arab nationalist alliance in the region. In 1955 Iraq joined the pro-West Baghdad Pact along with Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, but in July the regime was overthrown in a bloody coup led by General Abdul Karim Kassem. The royal family and Nuri al Said were brutally killed.

In 1963 Gen Abdul Salam Aref overthrew Kassem in another bloody coup. The new government was dominated by Ba'ath Party members. The Ba'athists represented a secular type of cultural nationalism which was anti-West and anti-fundamentalists but ruthless in its treatment of Iraqi communists and all other opposition. Although the leadership remained with Sunni Arabs, Shias were also attracted to the secular Ba'ath ideology and for a long time the Ba'ath was truly an Arab nationalist movement which included ample numbers of Sunnis and Shias and also Christians. In April 1966 Aref died in a helicopter clash. His brother Abdur Rahman Aref assumed power but was overthrown in a bloodless coup in July 1968. The new leader was General Ahmed Hassan Al-Bakr of the Ba'ath Party.

Saddam Hussein, a rising star in the Ba'ath Party played a key role in the bloodless coup of 1968. He was made vice-president, a vantage point from which he proceeded to tighten his control over government departments and the armed forces. Iraqi economy prospered in the 1970s and the Ba'thist regime built a strong welfare system though the political system remained authoritarian and ruthless.

In 1979 Saddam Hussein himself became the president and started patronising a personal cult. Meanwhile, Ayatollah Khomeini had come to power in neighbouring Iran. Khomeini, who hated Saddam Hussein and his secular Ba'ath Party, launched a propaganda barrage in the hope of inciting Iraqi Shias to overthrow Saddam and the Ba'ath party. This prompted Saddam Hussein to launch a military invasion of Iran. The result was the longest war after World War II. The Iran-Iraq War raged from September 22, 1980 until August 20, 1988. It is estimated that 1.5 million people were killed in the war.

Much worse was to follow after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. It was widely suspected in the Muslim world at that time that the Iraqi invasion could have been influenced by wrong signals from the US administration to the Iraqis shortly before the invasion that it would not intervene in the dispute between Iraq and Kuwait.

The story of the first Gulf War which began in January 1991, the long period of sanctions imposed under a US-led initiative at the UN Security Council which resulted in more than a million Iraqis dying because of medical and nutritional shortages, and the wholly unjustified military invasion by the Bush-Blair alliance are too well known. In next week's article we will look at the prospects for democracy in an Iraq free from direct foreign occupation.

The author is an associate professor of political science at Stockholm University. He is the author of two books. His email address is Ishtiaq.Ahmed@statsvet.su.se

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Who are the Christians of Iraq?  

Iraq's Recent and Ancient Past May 9, 05

Former Minneapolis resident works to bridge divisions in Iraq  May 9, 05

Iraq's government is too confessional, says Bishop  May 8, 05

The Assyrian Church of the East Patriarch Visits Iran  May 5, 05

Assyrian Candidate John Kanno Runs for Congress  May 3, 05

IRAQ: Focus on increasing displacement in Kirkuk  May 3, 05 

Assyriska & the Assyrian Struggle Are Inseparable May 3, 05

Why Should Turkey acknowledge the Assyrian Genocide, 915-1918? April 28, 05

Australian MP about Assyrian Veterans   April 28, 05

Assyrian Appointed As Minister of Science and Technology April 28, 05

Syria releases 16 Assyrians from Prison April 28, 05

Standing up to Saddam and his son took courage  April 26, 05

Seyfo commemoration and demonstration in Brussels April 25, 05

Assyrians in Brussels Mark 90th Anniversary of Turkish Genocide  April 25, 05 

A Speech about Assyrians at the Australia's Legistlative Council   April 05

Plundering the properties of Jesus and Mary April 05 

The 90th Commemoration of a Denied and Occulted Genocide!  April 22, 05

An Assyrian Romeo Juliet Story.  April 05

IRAQ: Religious and ethnic minorities want rights enshrined in new constitution  April 20, 05 

ARMENIAN CONVERTS IN TURKEY BRAVELY AVOW THEIR NATIONALITY April 19, 05

Why Chaldean Churh Refuses to Acknowledge its Assyrian Heritage?  April 17, 05

Turkey Encouraging Displaced Christian Assyrians to Return  April 16, 05

Swedes wooed by Assyrian migrants' soccer magic  April 16, 05

A forgotten page of nation  April 15, 05 

The Islamic Republic Of Iraq?  April 12, 05 

Assyrian Christians Raise Alarm Over Iraq Elections, Representation April 12, 05

Iraqi Christians in Jordan can't stay, can't leave   April 12, 05

Celebration of the Assyrian New Year in Tur-Abedeen Turkey April 10, 05

ASSYRIAN COMMUNITY OF ARMENIA CELEBRATES NEW YEAR April 11, 05

Exiles living in Phoenix area hail changes in Iraq  April 11, 05

Pope, example of humility to Iraqi Christians  April 11, 05

Assyrians pray for shock in Swedish league debut April 11, 05

A late report about Kha b'Nissan Celebrations in Australia  April 10, 05

MIDYAT CITY OF STONE 

Re-emergence of discredited Ilisu Dam project April 9, 05

Assyrika supported by Assyrian communities in 82 countries  April 9, 05

In Iraq, thanks for man who gave help and hope April 9, 05

Photos of Assyrians Celebrating the Kha b'Nisson New Year in Tur-Abedeen Turkey  April 5, 05

Assyrian Candidate Runs for Congress April 6, 05

Turkish Nationalism Reflected in Southern Town's Growing Homogeneity  April 5, 05

Seventy Thousand Assyrians

Turkey Allows a First Assyrian New Year Celebrations April 4, 05

Sadness and fear in Iraq Because of Pope John's Death  April 3, 05

Picures of the Assyrian New Year celebration in Germany April 4, 05

Pictures of Assyrians in Syria Celebrating the Kha B'Nissan April 1, 05

Pictures of Parade in Baghdad celebrating the Assyrian and Babylonian New Year  April 1, 05

Baghdad priests pray for pope, remember appeals for peace April, 1, 05

Kurds Prevent Assyrian Representation, Continue Divisive Formula in Iraq March 28, 05

Australian MP About the Assyrians of Iraq  March 28, 05

Church of martyrs, The Plight of the Christians in Iraq  March 26, 05 

Christians of Mosul, the light of the Resurrection in the Calvary of war March 26, 05

Relations between Chaldeans and Assyrians?  March 25. 05

ADM Rep: favors a "Nineveh Plain Christian Province" March 24, 05 

Mahdi Army Beats Assyrian Female Student to Death  March 23, 05

The Plight of Iraqi Children  March 23, 05

Iraq's endangered church looks to Western fellowship for help. March, 22, 05

Iraqi Christians Longing to Be Heard  March 22, 05  

"Chaldeans" Living in Semblance of their True Identity  March 22, 05 

Iraq's Assyrians Seek Voice in New Government March 19, 05 

EXODUS, Many Christians Flee Iraq, With Syria the Haven of Choice March 19, 05

Ansar al-Sunna claims killing of Christian Iraqi general March 18, 05 

Bishop Gabriel Kassab Visits London March 17, 05 

The Christian minority want to be like yeast in the dough March 17, 05

KRG statement regarding the situation of the Christian minority in Iraqi Kurdistan March 17, 05 

A Nun's Message of Hope March 16, 05

Christians of Syria and Mesopotamia are not Arabs  March 15, 05

An open letter form Turkey to the people of the world. March 14, 05

The persecution of the Christians in Iraq  March 14, 05

Yonadam Kanna on ChaldoAssyrians and Iraq Assembly March 10, 05

Interview: Iraqi cleric -- Civil war impossible: March 8, 05

How Ancient Assyrians helped communities to prosper March 8, 05

Iraqi women face uphill battle to maintain their rights March 8, 2005

The eagerly awaited Assyrian dictionary by Gabriel Afram March 7.05

Torment of the Assyrians of Turkey after world war one by the Turks and the Kurds March 5, 05

The Tragic Situation of the Assyrians of Barwari Bala March 4, 05 

The persecution of the Christians in Iraq March 2, 2005

Relentless pressures drive Christians from the Middle East  March  1, 05

Iran Sentenced Protestant clergyman to three years in prison  March 1, 05 

Demonstrators Protested The disenfranchisement of the Assyrians in Iraqi Elections in Front of UN  Feb. 27, 05

Assyrian Christians of Iraq wanted to vote but were not allowed. Feb. 27, 05

Is Christianity Growing in Iram? Feb. 26, 05

Letters of Protest to the Independant Elections Council of iraq  Feb. 24, 05 

Assyrians a forgotten minority  Feb. 24, 05 

SAT-7 to Broadcast First TV Show Made by and about Iraqi Christians Feb. 24, 05

Iraqi Assyrians are victims of Kurdish ethnic cleansing Feb, 23, 05

Amid the chaos of Iraq's war, the cradle of civilization is being looted Feb. 23, 05

Assyrians from the fall Nineveh to the Present Feb. 20, 05

Iraqi Prelate Confident Exiled Christians Will Return Feb. 20, 05

Fertile Crescent' treasures debut Gallery at university's Oriental Institute Feb. 18, 05

Iraqi exile voters put Chaldo-Assyrian Christian in Iraqi assembly Feb. 16, 05

Assyrian demonstrations protest Iraqi voting lock out Feb. 16, o5

Assyrians to Protest at the United Nations against Unfair Iraqi Elections Feb. 15, 05

ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS DAILY PERSECUTED IN IRAQ Feb. 14, 05

Assyrian Christians Here Say Iraq Vote Unfair Feb. 14, 05 

Iraqi Militant Group Claims Kidnapping of a Christian Feb. 13, 05

preliminary list of the Assyrians/chaldeans and syriac representatives elected   Feb. 13, 05

To Mr. Josep Borrell Fontelles President of the European Parliament Feb 14, 05

Protest in Europe to Bring Attention to the Iraqi voting Injustice  Feb. 12, 05

The Struggle for Survival of Iraq's Christian Assyrians Feb. 11, 05

AUA appeals to World Governments to restore voting rights to Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs and Yazidis Feb. 11, 05  

Iraqi Assyrian Christians Flee to Safer Ground  Feb. 10, 05

Iraq electoral commission admits ballot box irregularities In the Christian Assyrian Region Feb. 07, 05

Provisional Iraq election results from US show Assyrian strength Feb 06, 05

Possible Outcome of Iraq's Vote for the Assyrians Feb. 06, 05 

In Iraq, ancient minority flees atrocities Feb. 06, 05

Iraqi Turkmen Accuse Kurds of Voting of Fraud  Jan. 30, 05

KDP Statement about Kurds Preventing Assyrians From Voting in North Iraq  Jan. 06, 05

Assyrians Protest Iraqis Protest Voting Irregularities Feb. 06, 05

Losing the Language of Jesus  Feb. 3. 05 

Christian Assyrians Face Obstacles in Iraqi Elections Feb. 3, 05

US Dominicans Contacting UN, US Officials in Attempt to Restore Right to Vote for 150,000 Iraqis Feb. 02, o5

One dictatorship replaced with another!  Feb. 2, 05 

Iraqis Report a Variety of Complaints About Irregularities on Election Day Feb 2, 05

Iraqi Christians claim their votes blocked   Feb. 2, 05

Assyria: 150,000 Chaldo Assyrians Protest Their Exclusion From Voting  Feb. 2, 05

London's Assyrians: Babylon or Bust  Fen. 01, 05

ADM Press Release protesting the prevention of the Assyrians in northern Iraq from voting.    Jan. 31, 05

Chicagoan's 'so happy' to cast Iraqi ballot  Jan. 31, o5

Iraq's Christians Disenfranchised at Home and in U.S. Jan. 31, 05

Assyrians Prevented By Kurds From Voting in North Iraq  Jan. 30, 05 

Iraqi Christians Flourished Long Before Muslims Jan. 30, 05

Assyrians Prevented from Voting in Northern Iraq Jan 30, 05

Pictures of the Assyrians Voters Celebrating  Jan 30, 05

Iraqi Christian Voters Hope for Security Jan. 30, 05

Assyrians of Modesto Travel to Los Angeles to Vote   Jan, 30, 05

Arizona Assyrian Iraqis travel to California to vote Jan. 30, 05

Assyrian Family sees both sides of election  Jan. 30, 05 

Assyrian Christians Protest Iraqi Election with Crucifixion/Fast in New York! Jan. 29, 05

Misinformation about Assyrians From a Finnish Immigration Official  Jan, 28, 05

Artifacts Give the Ancient Assyrian Side of the Old Testament Story  Jan. 28, 05

Iraqis in Canada prepare to hit the polls Jan. 28, 05

Iraqi Christians Pray and Brace for Election Outcome  Jan. 27, 05 

Campaign in London to Save Assyrian Christians Jan. 26, 05

Ex-archbishop in fight to save ancient Christians Jan. 24, 05

Trek to democracy Ariz. residents heading to LA to register, vote Jan. 23, 05

Iraq Overseas Voter Registration Extended   Jan. 22, 05

Map and Driving Directions to the Iraqi Voter Regestration center 

To Vote in Iraq's Elections in California 

Apathy and apprehension keeping Iraqis from registering, official says Jan. 22,  05 

Iraq Overseas Voter Registration Extended   Jan. 22, 05

Travels of the First Assyrian to the New World

Disenfranchising the Diaspora  Jan. 19, 05

Critics: Limited number of Iraqi po lling places in United State disenfranchises Christians Jan. 19, 05

CSI Founder Welcomes Release of Kidnapped Archbishop in Iraq Jan. 19, 05

Local Iraqis make long journey  Jan. 18, 05

Seyfo: The Unmentioned Genocide of the Assyrians during world war one Jan. 18, 05

I prayed and was ready for the worse, says the Bishop of Mosul Jan. 18. 05

Many Iraqis travel far to register to vote Jan. 30  Ja n 18, 05

Relief after kidnapped Iraqi archbishop is released Jan, 18, 05

Kurdish Attacks on Assyrians in Iraq Intensify As Election Nears  Jan. 17. 05

Christian Assyrian Heritage of Iraq Before Islam  Jan. 16, 05

Armed Kurdish Groups Terrorize Assyrian Town in Iraq Jan. 15, 05

Muslims Identify Christians as Western Enemies Jan. 14, 05

BABYLON TRASHED Jan. 15, 05 

Iraq expatriates want vote Jan. 14, 05

Iraqi Christian campaigns struggle Jan. 14, 05

"Assyrian dreams of going back for vacation, taking his kids to Nineveh"  Jan.23, 05

Iraqis here to have say in nation's Jan. 30 elections Jan. 13, 05

Local Iraqis in Chicago to Vote with Hope Jan. 12, 05 

Petition to Protest Iraq Out-of-Country Voting Program's Discrimination of ChaldoAssyrians Jan. 11. 05

Locals face long trek for voice in Iraq vote Jan. 11, 05

To Vote in Iraq's Elections in California  Jan. 5, 05 

Who to Vote For?  Jan. 11, 205

Assyrian National Gathering (Assembly) Jan. 11, 05

Terrorism Strikes All Iraqis, Says Patriarch Jan. 11, 05

Pastor tells of his visit to Baghdad Jan 10, 05 

A Look At Iran's Christian Minority Jan. 1- 05

Assyriska rises to Sweden's promised land  Jan. 6, 05

Good News from Midyat Turkey Jan. 8, 05 

Christians flee genocide as fear sweeps Iraq  Jan. 8, 05

Will the indigenous Christians of Iraq surviv e? Jan. 6, 05

Members of ancient Turkish Christian community try to get back to normal  Jan, 6, 05

Paticipating in Iraq's Elections Jan. 2005 

Chaldean population in Sterling Heights to take part in shaping new Iraq  Jan. 4, 05

Minority Christian groups want more parliamentary clout  Jan. 4, 05

Egypt frees Christians detained over December unrest  Jan 4, 05

Bleeding of the Week  Jan. 3, 05 

World's Assyrians savour Swedish soccer saga Jan. 2, 05  

Christians provide their own security for Christmas  Dec. 25, 04

Wearing one seen as way to avoid violence Dec. 25, 04

New Hope of Syrian Minorities: Ripple Effect of Iraqi Politics Dec. 29, 04 

Iraqi Christians in Jordan Cite Bombs, Intimidation Dec. 25, 04

Iraq's Christmas Spirit: Fear Dec. 25, 04 

Christmas in Iraq  Dec. 25, 04   

Iraqi Refugees will not Be Home For Christmas Dec. 24, 04

Is Iraq Another Yugoslavia? Dec. 23, 04

Kurds: Bombers are militant splinter group Dec.23, 04 

USCIRF Letter to President Bush about the Non-Moslems in Iraq Dec. 21, 04

Christian orphans stuck in limbo in Iraq  Dec. 21, 04

Christian Plight in Iraq Dec. 21, 04

Chaldo-Assyrian Community of Iraq Dec. 21, 04

Despite Fear of Attacks Baghdad Christians celebrate birth of Christ Dec. 21 ,04 

Churches attacked in Mosul. Christians Kidnapped and Injured  Dec. 20 ,04

Christmas services canceled by fearful Iraqi Christians Dec. 20, 04

Turkey, the EU and the Assyrians  Dec. 20, 04

Voting ProceduresFor the Out Country Iraqi's  Dec. 16, 04

Iraqi Christians to Take Role in Elections DC. 15, 04 

Updated: Oppression and Murder of the Assyrians in Iraq Dec. 10, 04

Iraq's besieged Christians weigh taking up arms, fleeing into exile  Dec. 12, 04

Pope expresses concern about recent terror attacks against Iraqi Christians Dec. 8, 04

Iraq Churches Bombed; 1,000th American Killed  Dec. 7, 04

1,500 members to protect Christians in northern Iraq Dec. 4, 04

Christianity Under Fire In Egypt  Dec. 6, 04

Interview with younadam Kanna of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM)  Dec. 5, 04

Kurd's Tactics to Divide Assyrians into Insignificance Dec. 3, 04

The Advantages of a Governate Region Versus Safe Heaven  Dec. 1. 04

AINA: Appeal for a ChaldoAssyrian Safe Haven in Northern Iraq  Nov. 30, 04

Iraq's Christian Minority Under Threat Nov. 29, 04

More and more Christians Fear Life in Iraq Nov. 29, 04

Appeal for a ChaldoAssyrian Safe Haven in Iraq  Nov. 24, 04

Interview with Archbischop of Kerkuk - Louis Sakko Nov. 24, 04

US support seen as 'disaster' for Christian minority in Iraq Nov. 23, 04

Iraqi Christians seek U.S. support  Nov. 23, 04

A Conference for the Defense of Human rights for Minorities in Iraq  Nov. 18, 04

U.S. Must Protect Iraq's Christians  Nov. 16, 04

The Coming Elections in Iraq and the Expatritots  Nov. 15,04

The Ethnic Cleansing of christians In Iraq Continues  Nov. 13, 04

Northern Iraq's Mosul Tense After U.S. Air Strikes Nov. 12, 04

Bombs explode at Baghdad Orthodox churches Nov . 8, 04

Militants bomb Orthodox church in Baghdad  Nove. 8, 04

Is Mosul Next after Falluja?  Nov. 7, 04

Companions in suffering: An Interview with Thea Halo Nov. 6, 02

Iraqi Christians Face Escalating violence: Urgent Appeal For Help  Nov. 4, 04

Update of Opression and Murder of the Assyrians in Iraq Nov. 4, 04

Two Assyrians Killed in Syria  NOv. 3, 04

Assyrian Family Attacked in Baghdad, Two Killed  NOv. 2, 04

Restoring Sanity to Iraq  Oct. 25, 04

Apeal for an Administration region for the Christians of Iraq  Oct. 24, 04

Kurd's Confiscation of Assyrian Villages  Oct. 25, 04

Christians of Iraq under Siege Oct. 25, o4

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