Sectarianism Videos

The results of Iraq's 2009 provincial elections are in, and while the statistics are clear, the consequences are more difficult to discern. What can be noted for sure is that political parties who campaigned on a stronger central government and a unified Iraq, such as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Daa'wa party, prospered at the ballot box whereas parties who focused on religious and sectarian identities, such as the Iranian linked Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, known as ISCI, showed much deeper losses. Another party in particular who seemed to suffer at the polls was Muqtada al-Sadr's Movement. In the run up to the elections, rumors circulated of secret deals between the Sadrists and Maliki's Daa'wa party, and some even speculated that Sadr's Mehdi Army would once again resume armed resistance. While no violence has yet occurred nor deals confirmed, the Sadrists have announced a plan to appeal the election results with Iraq's Electoral Commission, citing voting irregularities in several districts. Some of the provinces especially highlighted by the Sadrists are Baghdad, Najaf, Kadhumiya and Qadisiyah, all heavily Shia provinces and all provinces that showed strong results for secular, nationalist parties like the Daa'wa. It is in this light that we bring you an unaired interview from our archives. In December 2007, Alive in Baghdad had a chance to sit down with Sayed Hazim Al-A'araji, the top Sadrist representative in the Kadhumiya district of Baghdad. While some of his words may seem like an anachronism with all that has happened in the last year, much of it is worth a new look and a new consideration.

The results of Iraq's 2009 provincial elections are in, and while the statistics are clear, the consequences are more difficult to discern. What can be noted for sure is that political parties who campaigned on a stronger central government and a unified Iraq, such as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Daa'wa party, prospered at the ballot box whereas parties who focused on religious and sectarian identities, such as the Iranian linked Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, known as ISCI, showed much deeper losses. Another party in particular who seemed to suffer at the polls was Muqtada al-Sadr's Movement. In the run up to the elections, rumors circulated of secret deals between the Sadrists and Maliki's Daa'wa party, and some even speculated that Sadr's Mehdi Army would once again resume armed resistance. While no violence has yet occurred nor deals confirmed, the Sadrists have announced a plan to appeal the election results with Iraq's Electoral Commission, citing voting irregularities in several districts. Some of the provinces especially highlighted by the Sadrists are Baghdad, Najaf, Kadhumiya and Qadisiyah, all heavily Shia provinces and all provinces that showed strong results for secular, nationalist parties like the Daa'wa. It is in this light that we bring you an unaired interview from our archives. In December 2007, Alive in Baghdad had a chance to sit down with Sayed Hazim Al-A'araji, the top Sadrist representative in the Kadhumiya district of Baghdad. While some of his words may seem like an anachronism with all that has happened in the last year, much of it is worth a new look and a new consideration.

VIDEO - Baghdad, Iraq - Al-Qa'eda used Islam as a way of drawing a wide base in Arab and Muslim countries, while in Iraq other militias manipulated local Imams and Muslim clerics. Both saw controlling mosques as a tactic for providing secure gathering points as well as a steady supply of new recruits. Many Imams chose not to go quietly along with Al-Qa'eda's and the other militia's plans, and they often suffered for it. Some were assassinated by Al-Qa'eda, who considered them non-believers or sometimes for being simply uncooperative. Others were killed in US raids on mosques suspected of harboring Al-Qaeda. There was also another kind of conflict occurring, this one between Sunni and Shiite. Many Sunni mosques were located in heavily Shiite territories and vice versa. Many of these Imams were displaced, or worse, tortured and killed. Most were at the hands of religious extremists for the purpose of sectarian control. Some, however, were targeted out of sheer ignorance. For instance, the Shiite have a type of mosque known as a "Husseiniya." A Husseiniya differs from a mosque in that it is made mainly for gatherings for Muharram, the mourning of Hussein ibn Ali, and not necessarily for holding prayers in jumaa'at or regular Friday prayers. This slight difference in attendance was used by many militias as justification for killing those seen as "disobeying" those Friday prayers. Car bombs, on the other hand, did not discriminate between Sunni or Shiite. Many mosques were closed or destroyed and the imams forced to relocate after spectacular, and deadly, car bomb attacks. For example, a car bomb in Khanaqin, a Sunni district, killed 70 people and injured more than 100, while in the Shiite region of Najaf, a similar attack left 95 dead and many hundreds wounded. The mosques are thus left between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, it's often too frightening for Iraqis to go to mosque under threat of car bombs and militia attacks, while on the other hand, Iraqis are used to meeting and gathering at mosques, an integral part of their culture. Because of the constant threat of Al-Qa'eda and militia attacks, Iraqis have sadly become accustomed to the sight of mosques brimming with armored vehicles and heavily armed gunmen there to protect the worshipers. This week Alive in Baghdad brings you inside one of these mosques to hear what Iraqis have to say regarding the sectarian conflict, Al-Qa'eda attacks, and the struggles they go through daily just to worship.

Iraq, Baghdad/Abu Dsheer - This memorial day, as citizens of the United States, and perhaps elsewhere, are remembering the fallen soldiers of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as previous conflicts, Alive in Baghdad asks you to remember the civilian fallen as well. It's been estimated that 1.3 million women have been widowed in Iraq due to war, ranging from the Iran-Iraq war to the most recent conflict which is still going on today. Although its difficult to be certain if this number is accurate, or to know just how many have been widowed in the most recent conflict, Iraq's acting Minister of Womens' Affairs, Narmeen Othman, suggests that at least 70,000 women have been widowed due to the most recent war. However, these numbers are disputed widely, and while a government committee on women's affairs has claimed there are just 1.3 million widows in Iraq, others have reported drastically different numbers. One source in the Ministry of Women's Affairs told an NBC staffer in 2007 that there were 3 million widows in Iraq due to the various wars of the last two decades. Despite this already shocking number, the United Nations news service, IRIN, reported in 2006 that there are 8 million widows nation-wide, with upwards of 330,000 in Baghdad alone. To put that in perspective, if true, it would mean that as much as 6-7 percent of Baghdad's population may be made up of widows, suggesting that the number of children with only one parent left is likely to be double, or triple this, if not more. The primary cause for women to be widowed today is sectarian violence and terrorism. Areas such as Abu Dsheer, Hawr Rajab, and other tumultuous districts that have seen some of the worst internecine fighting understandably have some of the most prevalent populations of widows and orphans. Abu Dsheer has been considered one of the bloodiest conflict areas in Baghdad, due to the influence militias have held there. Abu Dsheer is located in the south of Baghdad near Al-Saha neighborhood. Since 2004, Abu Dsheer was controlled by Al-Qa'eda on one side and the Sadr Movement on the other side, Many people was assassinated due to their sect whether they were Sunni or Shi'a. The Iraqi government tried many times along with Coalition forces to restore security in Abu Dsheer with no success. In 2006 there were many bombings taking place in Abu Dsheer, in addition to the battles between the Iraqi or Coalition forces and the militias. The civilian casualties were very high in Abu Dsheer, and the families living there faced grave financial difficulties due to the bad security conditions which prevent them from going to work or looking for jobs within Abu Dsheer. There are NGOs trying to help the people living there, by providing them with medical and financial aid according to their abilities. NGOs such as Al-Tathamon Social Organization (Social Solidarity Organization) are trying to fix some of the problems in areas like Abu Dsheer. The Organization was created on the 10th of July 2007 in order to help families or individuals whom having medical or financial problems. They also help the families whom lost there provider, like the father of that family or the mother. The Social Solidarity Organization has offices located in several areas such as Kadhimiya, Sadr City, Al-Husseiniya and Al-Nahrawan, as well as Abu Dsheer. Due to the difficulty these organization have finding funding, many such as the Social Solidarity Organization and Al-Yateem Charity, which help the women interviewed by Alive in Baghdad, receive support from the Sadr Movement. Although they claim to have sought financial support from the Iraqi government, both the organization, and the widows interviewed by Alive in Baghdad say they have not received any support from the government. *** If you appreciate the insightful content provided by Alive in Baghdad, which you won t find anywhere else, please consider making a recurring donation, or one-time donation to Alive in Baghdad. You can also purchase Alive in Baghdad T-shirts or DVDs to spread the word!

This week we look back at a tragedy that claimed more than 1000 lives. In 2005, Sunnis from the Adhamiya district saved dozens of Shia pilgrims from drowning in the Tigris. As the Iraq conflict is further cast in terms of civil war, it is important to remember the instances of unity among Iraqis. Although recently a bombing killed more than 500 people in an area dominated by Yezidis, a little known religious group in northern Iraq, the Al-Aimma bridge tragedy has been the worst single event in the war. Last year we brought you a story from Sami Rasouli, who told about Othman Ali Al-Obeidi, who is famous in Iraq because he had a Sunni name, but his father's name, Ali, is traditionally a Shi'a name. Othman was on the Iraqi swimteam and died saving Shi'a pilgrims from drowning in the Tigris. The second anniversary of the tragedy has just passed, so we are again remembering Othman and the other brave Iraqis who stood against sectarianism. Other media agencies are falling over themselves to discuss the onset of a civil war in Iraq. It is important to take these discussions with a grain of salt. That is not to say sectarian violence, ethnic cleansing, and general chaos, insecurity, and disorder are a daily experience in Baghdad, they are. But the violence may be more organized than now discussed. Just over a year ago, Der Spiegel reported on the experience of another man living near the Al-Aimma Bridge. He made it clear that the violence is not the crazed killings of madmen, but organized political violence. Othman Ali and many other Sunnis and Shias alike banded together to save their fellows. In just over one week General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker will be brought before the US Congree for testimony about the progress of the "Surge." The journalists, pundits, politicians, and arm-chair diplomats have already decided what to say about Iraq. The country has descended into civil war and reconciliation among parties is unthinkable. But perhaps they don't know so much about Iraq. Glimpse of Iraq has very clearly demonstrated why Othman Ali Al-Obeidi provides such an important yet simple insight into the Iraqi experience. We'll be bringing you more stories from the other side of the Iraqi experience, in our own response to the Surge report, throughout the month of September. Please consider making a donation or becoming a monthly subscriber to support the important work of the Iraqi journalists who make Alive in Baghdad happen.

Last week the revered Askariya Shrine was bombed a second time, and the mosques' two minarets were destroyed. This act has brought renewed fears of sectarian violence further damaging the already tenuous national fabric of Iraq. Yet some civilians are defying the curfew, in expectation of coming violence. However, this has produced a misconception of Iraq's security. Sectarian Violence has been nearly constant in Iraq since February 2006, and actually began to show a steady rise in December of 2005. While dead bodies and execution-killings grab the scarce space provided in our daily newspapers, these are only the most extreme conclusion of Iraq's problems with sectarian violence. This week we look at one day in Baghdad, February 1st, 2007, when a neighborhood's calm was ripped apart by a hail of mortar and possibly rocket-fire. These events happened just as the "surge" was beginning. According to FinancialTimes.com via MSNBC, General David Petraeus said there had not been any "real substantial achievements" in terms of political reform and progress. General Petraeus' assertion also fits with what we continue to hear from our correspondents and other contacts on the ground in Baghdad. Just last week, Bureau Coordinator Omar Abdullah reported chatting via Yahoo Messenger with friends who were hearing mortar-fire nearby at the same time. These events took place some four months ago, but similar acts are a daily experience for Baghdadis. The use of anonymous assaults by mortars and rockets are even more common than carbombs, death squads, IEDs, and the like. In certain Baghdad neighborhoods, such as Adhamiya and Hay Jema'a, a veritable rainstorm of mortars or rockets has been experienced. This issue appears to more often target Sunni neighborhoods, but certainly this violence goes both ways.The anonymity of such attacks results in yet another particularly difficult issue in a tribal society. When the aggressor or guilty party is not instantly obvious, collective punishment is too often deemed the acceptable response. With little focus on this type of violence, its difficult to see how reconciliation between Iraqis can be possible in the short-term.For previous videos depicting the dangerous impact of these weapons, please see Adhamiya Family Describes Katyusha Attack, Another Rocket in Baghdad, and of course most recently, Mortars & Rockets in Iraq.

Second part of the sectarian issue documentary. Author: wayofthecass Keywords: wayofthecass paulcassidy catholic ronnie convery rangers celtic glasgow bigotry sectarianism louden bairds orange order neds bams buckfast old firm tims fenians blue nose Added: August 25, 2006

Part 3 of 4 of my documentary about how serious the perceived sectarian problem is in Glasgow. Author: wayofthecass Keywords: neds bams chavs hash buckie tims huns sectarianism bigotry catholic louden bairds celtic rangers glasgow orangeorder Added: August 23, 2006