09-08-2018, 11:00 PM
*** 9-Sep-18 World View -- Riots in Iraq's Basra evoke fault lines of 1980s Iran-Iraq war
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Dozens killed in five days of riots in southern Iraq's Basra
****
![[Image: g180908b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180908b.jpg)
Protesters trample a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the storming and burning of the Iranian consulate in Basra on Friday (AP)
Riots have continued for five days in Basra, Iraq's second largest
city, in southern Iraq. Protesters have attacked or set fire to
nearly every government building, including the headquarters of the
Iran-linked ruling Dawa Party and the offices of the state-run
Iraqiya TV station — as well as the Iranian consulate. They also
attacked almost every office belonging to the Iran-backed Shia
militias known as the "Popular Mobilization Forces" or "Hasheed." At
least 15 people have been killed in the riots in the last week. On
Saturday, assailants fired Katyusha rockets at Basra airport.
There have been occasional anti-government protests in Basra for
years. The latest protests were triggered by brownish water coming
out of the water taps, making people sick who try to drink it, and by
a crippling electricity shortage at a time when temperatures are
reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit during the day.
By Saturday afternoon, Iraqi security forces and troops began
deploying in the center of Basra and on street intersections. Dozens
of gun-mounted black pick-up trucks belonging to the Interior Ministry
and carrying masked security forces in combat fatigues were seen.
Iraqi News and AP and Vox and CNN
****
**** Riots in Iraq's Basra evoke fault lines of 1980s Iran-Iraq war
****
Basra is home to some of the largest oil fields in Iraq. These oil
fields are contributing enormously to Iraq's economy, but none of the
money seems to help Basra. Basra used to be called the "Venice of the
East" because of its network of waterways and canals, which should be
providing it with plenty of fresh water. But the canals were bombed
by Iran during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, and have not been repaired
since then.
Most Iraqis are Shia Muslims, with Sunni Muslims in the minority.
After the war, Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Muslim, neglected and
marginalized the mostly Shia Basra population, causing considerable
dissent. When Saddam was deposed by the 2003 American invasion, an
Iran-linked Shia government came to power, and they have also largely
neglected and marginalized the Basra population. The Basra Shias have
returned the favor by forcing the few Sunnis living in Basra to leave.
Although the split between Sunni and Shia Muslims is a defining
feature of the Mideast, there are also ethnic alliances that override
the sectarian fault lines. Iraq had two generational crisis wars
during the last century, the 1920 Iraqi Revolution and the 1980s
Iran-Iraq war. In both of those wars, the Iraqi Sunnis and Shias
united behind the war effort against the enemy -- the British
colonists in 1920 and the Iranians in the 1980s. So even those the
Muslims in Basra are Shia Muslims, they have bitter memories of the
atrocities committed by the Iranians in the 1980s. Those bitter
memories are revived every time someone is killed by a land mine
planted by Iran during the 1980s war.
So the current riots in Basra are about more than drinking water and
electricity. There is a great deal of fury directed at Iran's
"meddling" in the current government, which is in a state of chaos
anyway.
Politicians in Baghdad have not agreed on a government following
inconclusive elections in May. The new parliament met for the first
time on Monday, but failed to elect a speaker, much less name a prime
minister, so the former prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, continues in
power. Parliament convened an emergency session on Saturday to
discuss the crisis in Basra, but no action was taken.
Another interesting fact is that there are differences between Shia
theology in Basra and Shia theology in Iran.
When Ruhollah Khomeini set up his Islamic Revolutionary government
after Iran's 1979 civil war, he reinterpreted centuries of Shia
theology to include a doctrine called Wilayat
al-Faqih, which means
Guardianship of the Jurist. The effect of this doctrine was that the
Supreme Leader was considered to be as infallible as the 12 infallible
Imams that had led Shia Islam over a millennium ago. This meant, of
course, that Khomeini was the infallible leader of all Shia Muslims.
Needless to say, Shia Muslims in Iraq do not accept Khomeini or the
current Supreme Leader, Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, as infallible
leaders. So the doctrine of Wilayat
al-Faqih (Guardianship of the
Jurist) is rejected by Iraq's Shias in Basra, and so Iran's Shiism and
Iraq's Shiism are effectively two different sects.
This difference goes to the core of the protests, as the government in
Baghdad is linked with Iran and Iranian Shiism. This will have to be
settled as part of the resolution to the current riots. Reuters and Al Monitor and Middle East Eye (16-July)
Related Articles:
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Iraq, Basra, Iran, Dawa party,
Popular Mobilization Forces, Hasheed,
Iran-Iraq war, Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Ruhollah Khomeini,
Saddam Hussein,
Wilayat
al-Faqih, Guardianship of the Jurist
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Dozens killed in five days of riots in southern Iraq's Basra
- Riots in Iraq's Basra evoke fault lines of 1980s Iran-Iraq war
****
**** Dozens killed in five days of riots in southern Iraq's Basra
****
Protesters trample a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the storming and burning of the Iranian consulate in Basra on Friday (AP)
Riots have continued for five days in Basra, Iraq's second largest
city, in southern Iraq. Protesters have attacked or set fire to
nearly every government building, including the headquarters of the
Iran-linked ruling Dawa Party and the offices of the state-run
Iraqiya TV station — as well as the Iranian consulate. They also
attacked almost every office belonging to the Iran-backed Shia
militias known as the "Popular Mobilization Forces" or "Hasheed." At
least 15 people have been killed in the riots in the last week. On
Saturday, assailants fired Katyusha rockets at Basra airport.
There have been occasional anti-government protests in Basra for
years. The latest protests were triggered by brownish water coming
out of the water taps, making people sick who try to drink it, and by
a crippling electricity shortage at a time when temperatures are
reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit during the day.
By Saturday afternoon, Iraqi security forces and troops began
deploying in the center of Basra and on street intersections. Dozens
of gun-mounted black pick-up trucks belonging to the Interior Ministry
and carrying masked security forces in combat fatigues were seen.
Iraqi News and AP and Vox and CNN
****
**** Riots in Iraq's Basra evoke fault lines of 1980s Iran-Iraq war
****
Basra is home to some of the largest oil fields in Iraq. These oil
fields are contributing enormously to Iraq's economy, but none of the
money seems to help Basra. Basra used to be called the "Venice of the
East" because of its network of waterways and canals, which should be
providing it with plenty of fresh water. But the canals were bombed
by Iran during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, and have not been repaired
since then.
Most Iraqis are Shia Muslims, with Sunni Muslims in the minority.
After the war, Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Muslim, neglected and
marginalized the mostly Shia Basra population, causing considerable
dissent. When Saddam was deposed by the 2003 American invasion, an
Iran-linked Shia government came to power, and they have also largely
neglected and marginalized the Basra population. The Basra Shias have
returned the favor by forcing the few Sunnis living in Basra to leave.
Although the split between Sunni and Shia Muslims is a defining
feature of the Mideast, there are also ethnic alliances that override
the sectarian fault lines. Iraq had two generational crisis wars
during the last century, the 1920 Iraqi Revolution and the 1980s
Iran-Iraq war. In both of those wars, the Iraqi Sunnis and Shias
united behind the war effort against the enemy -- the British
colonists in 1920 and the Iranians in the 1980s. So even those the
Muslims in Basra are Shia Muslims, they have bitter memories of the
atrocities committed by the Iranians in the 1980s. Those bitter
memories are revived every time someone is killed by a land mine
planted by Iran during the 1980s war.
So the current riots in Basra are about more than drinking water and
electricity. There is a great deal of fury directed at Iran's
"meddling" in the current government, which is in a state of chaos
anyway.
Politicians in Baghdad have not agreed on a government following
inconclusive elections in May. The new parliament met for the first
time on Monday, but failed to elect a speaker, much less name a prime
minister, so the former prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, continues in
power. Parliament convened an emergency session on Saturday to
discuss the crisis in Basra, but no action was taken.
Another interesting fact is that there are differences between Shia
theology in Basra and Shia theology in Iran.
When Ruhollah Khomeini set up his Islamic Revolutionary government
after Iran's 1979 civil war, he reinterpreted centuries of Shia
theology to include a doctrine called Wilayat
al-Faqih, which means
Guardianship of the Jurist. The effect of this doctrine was that the
Supreme Leader was considered to be as infallible as the 12 infallible
Imams that had led Shia Islam over a millennium ago. This meant, of
course, that Khomeini was the infallible leader of all Shia Muslims.
Needless to say, Shia Muslims in Iraq do not accept Khomeini or the
current Supreme Leader, Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, as infallible
leaders. So the doctrine of Wilayat
al-Faqih (Guardianship of the
Jurist) is rejected by Iraq's Shias in Basra, and so Iran's Shiism and
Iraq's Shiism are effectively two different sects.
This difference goes to the core of the protests, as the government in
Baghdad is linked with Iran and Iranian Shiism. This will have to be
settled as part of the resolution to the current riots. Reuters and Al Monitor and Middle East Eye (16-July)
Related Articles:
- Iraq: Supporters of al-Sadr and al-Maliki turn again to violence in Baghdad (12-Feb-2017)
- Iraq government faces climatic Awakening era political crisis (02-May-2016)
- Reader question on Iran and Iraq's Muqtada al-Sadr (04-May-2016)
- Iraqi Sunnis are turning against al-Qaeda in Iraq (01-Apr-2007)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Iraq, Basra, Iran, Dawa party,
Popular Mobilization Forces, Hasheed,
Iran-Iraq war, Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Ruhollah Khomeini,
Saddam Hussein,
Wilayat
al-Faqih, Guardianship of the Jurist
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
