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Iraq ensnared in quest to escape Arab politics
Reviewed by Rayyan al-Shawaf
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Link to the original article
 The Foreigner's Gift
The Americans, the Arabs and the Iraqis in Iraq
By Fouad Ajami
FREE PRESS; 379 PAGES; $26
Few have the requisite ability and courage to accurately diagnose the Arab world's myriad political maladies; fewer still can do so in an engaging, thoughtful and empathic manner. Fouad Ajami, who has performed the task admirably on more than one occasion, does not disappoint with "The Foreigner's Gift," an analysis of the opportunity afforded by American sponsorship to remake Iraq. Weaving together the laments of Iraqi poets and the story of the oppressed Shiite "stepchildren" of Arab Islam with a host of anecdotes culled from six visits to Iraq since the beginning of the war, Ajami highlights that country's historic chance to break free of the three ideological paradigms that govern Arab political life.
These three totalitarian constructs are sociopolitical Islam (before the United States effectively abandoned Iraqi secularists and chose to work with the more popular religious parties, secularism had a fighting chance), Arab nationalism (the forcible and often violent imposition of a narrowly defined Arab cultural identity on all citizens, including non-Arabs) and the sanctity of the Palestinian cause (which enjoins all Arab states to subordinate their own interests to the seemingly never-ending Palestinian struggle against Israel). Iraq provides a way out of this terrible vise. A powerful Kurdish minority whose voice can no longer be ignored, writes Ajami, "want[s] nothing to do with a [Shiite] theocracy or a pan-Arab Sunni state," while the majority of Iraqis of all sects and ethnicities have wearied of pro-Palestinian poseurs of the Saddam variety, who stifle all dissent in the name of combatting Zionist conspiracies.
The possibility that Iraq might liberate itself from the shackles of the modern Arab condition, however, has galvanized regional upholders of the current rot, who have duly sought to pull the reins on an experiment that could see Iraq break with cherished orthodoxies and forever go its own way. "An Arab chronicle of the destruction of the Saddam Hussein regime would have to begin with the startling discrepancy between the joy of the great majority of Iraqis ... and the utter despondency of wide swaths of the Arab world." This despondency swiftly turned into rage, once it became apparent that "America had given power to the [Shiite] stepchildren of the Arab world -- and to the Kurds."
Indeed, much of what professional naysayers attempt to depict as anti-occupation agitation on the part of Iraqi nationalists, or even mindless violence intrinsic to Iraqi identity, is in fact a "holy war" on the part of Sunni extremists against majority Shiite "heretics." Ajami does well to unmask the Sunni Arab fanaticism at the heart of the insurgency but glosses over the political threat represented by the rise of Shiite Islamist parties.
In fact, in his eagerness to absolve Iraqi Shiites of calumnious charges that they are all beholden to Iran, Ajami mistakenly assumes that so long as they reject Iranian tutelage, nothing is to be feared from Shiite clerics and the political parties under their sway. This simplistic assessment ignores the theocratic dynamic within specifically Iraqi Shiism. There are many ways to establish a thoroughly despotic Islamic regime -- one featuring a distinct Shiite flavor -- without necessarily emulating the Iranian model. The author hits his mark, however, when ascribing a good deal of Shiite anti-Western militancy (and ingratitude) to the attempt on the part of a long-despised community to redeem itself in the eyes of a perennially suspicious Sunni Arab world.
Throughout several interviews with American military personnel, Ajami will strike the critical reader as naive and gullible. There is a good amount of rah-rah "support the troops" material, and a tendency on the part of the interviewer to accept uncritically everything that is fed him. It does not occur to Ajami that his interviewees may be cleverly tailoring their responses to suit an Arab interviewer clearly in support of American involvement in Iraq. All the American military personnel interviewed for this book -- without exception -- are decent, upstanding altruists wholly committed to the reconstruction of Iraq. Nowhere are we given a glimpse of the military subculture that has produced barbarity alongside such selfless heroism. Where are the sadists of Abu Ghraib, and the murderers of Haditha?
In defending controversial politician Ahmad Chalabi against various detractors, Ajami cites political considerations as being behind both the Jordanian warrant for his arrest on charges of embezzlement and American accusations that he lied about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and later passed U.S. state secrets to Iran. Yet even if Ajami is right, this would not explain why Chalabi has notoriously been dubbed "the debtor" by the business community of Arbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, who accuse him of having never reimbursed them for funds borrowed.
Ajami's signature sloppiness with names (for years, in several books and articles, he has referred to Anwar Sadat's assassin as Khalid "Istanbuli" instead of "Islambouli") is on display here again. The name of the Pakistani nuclear scientist who sold nuclear technology to several rogue states should be rendered "Abdul Qadeer" (or "Qadir"), and not "Abdul Qader" Khan, which is a different name altogether, while the prominent Baghdadi family is "Chaderchi," not "Chederchi."
Fortunately, these drawbacks do not impinge upon Ajami's largely successful attempt to put the focus of the Iraq campaign squarely back on the Iraqi people, often overlooked in the international controversies raging over the advisability of the war and subsequent occupation. This is complemented by an affecting depiction of a clumsy superpower trying to convince everyone -- including itself -- of the necessity of an imperialistic expedition in an age hopelessly inimical to the concept. Indeed, American unease with its imperialist role, together with reflexive anti-occupation violence, has meant that initial dreams of wholesale reform have quickly given way to older American habits, including that condescending "indulgence owed some immutable Arab-Islamic tradition" of oppressive and undemocratic rule.
It remains difficult to ascertain just what this portends for the future, and whether Iraq, which began as a mosaic of religions and ethnicities, can retain at least some of that diversity as it struggles against the forces of Arab-Islamic homogeneity. The Jews of Iraq (until their exodus in 1950-51, they made up one-third of the population of Baghdad) have left, the Christians are leaving (Ajami neglects to mention that Islamic extremists -- both Shiite and Sunni -- are rapidly denuding Iraq of its Christian population), the Kurds want a country of their own, the Turkmen fear nothing more, and the Sunni and Shiite Arabs are fast becoming entangled in a civil conflict. The prognosis, both for Iraq as a country as well as the Iraqi people, might not be terribly encouraging, but even the most arbitrarily crafted Middle Eastern states have proved to be surprisingly resilient, while renewed Western concern for the well-being of minorities could mean the difference between their survival and disappearance.
This is a timely book and, as with all such ventures, it will soon have its message -- an impassioned plea for the world to support nascent Iraqi democracy -- mooted by events on the ground. Several years from now, after Iraq has either emerged from or been dragged back into the mire of Arab politics, few will find much interest in "The Foreigner's Gift." Yet for the time being, as Iraq's fate hangs in the balance while cynics the world over clamor for the United States to abandon the Iraqi people, this book could not be more important.
Rayyan al-Shawaf is a writer in Beirut.
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Who are the Christians of Iraq?
Ealool = September
Iraq ensnared in quest to escape Arab politicsSept. 25, 06
Two Assyrian churches attacked in Mosul and Baghdad Sept. 25, 06
Turkey invites Assyrian and Armenian dignitaries to meal that breaks daily Muslim fast. Sep. 25, 06
Dutch Lawmaker May Remove Assyrian Genocide Reference in Report on Turkey Sept. 25, 06
Assyrian Church Bombed in Baghdad; 1 Dead, 17 Injured Sept. 24, 06
Assyrian Police Officer Murdered in Mosul Sept. 24, 06
Assyrian-Swedish journalist investigates the arrest of the Assyrian-Georgian General Sept. 21, 06
Muslims react to the speech of Pope Benedict XVI Sept. 20, 06
Iraq: International Religious Freedom Report 2006 Sept. 19, 06
Fear Strikes Iraq's Christians Over Pope Words Sept. 19, 06
Assyrian Cultural Day Sept. 19, 06
When Iraqi Christians Vanish, Locals Pay the Price Sept. 18, 06
Dozens Dead in Kirkuk Bombings Sept. 17, 06
Book Exhibit in Baghdeda Iraq Sept. 17, 06
Second Assyrian Christian Killed in Retaliation for Pope's Remarks Sept. 17, 06
The Hellenic, Armenian and Assyrian Communities in the Late Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey Sept. 16, 06
'I Felt God Was With Me,' Says Released Assyrian Priest' Sept. 15, 06
Two Assyrians Killed in Separate Terrorist Attacks Sept. 15, 06
Rosie Malek - Yonan Documentary, My Assyrian Nation on the Edge Sept. 14, 06
Two Assyrians Killed in Separate Terrorist Attacks Sept. 14, 06
Kirkuk: The potential spark for civil war Sept. 14, 06
Sabri Atman in Sweden Sept. 14, 06
Assyrian Candidate Gains Republican Endorsement Sept. 13, 06
Priest Abducted in Baghdad Was Threatened and Tortured Sept. 13, 06
Assyrians Accuse Kurdish Authorities of Discrimination Sept. 12, 06
Priest Kidnapped in Baghdad Released Sept. 12, 06
Turkey's refusal to acknowledge the Assyrian, Armenian genocide Sept. 10, 06
Rosie Malek - Younan; The Assyrian Woman of the Year Sept. 10, 06
Lebanese Bishops Chastise Hizbullah, Back Siniora Sept. 6, 06
A Feast Awaits At Annual Assyrian Festival Sept. 6, 06
Prominent Assyrian Christian Leaves Iraq. Says Work Situation 'Intolerable' Sept. 5, 06
Turkey's terror against Christians in Midyat Sept. 4, 06
Syria; Sanctuary for Iraq's Displaced Christians Sept. 3, 06
August = Tubbakh
Assyrians honour the Lt General Sir Stanley Savige KBE CB DSO MC ED August 31,06
Assyrian archaeologist resigns amid threats by the fundamentalists August 31, 06
Assyrians: from Bebar Khan to Saddam Hussein (a new book) August 28, 06
Donny George of Iraq's State Board of Antiquity, Heritage Flees to Syria August 28, 06
A New Film by Lina Yakubova August 27, 06
PM Maliki urges tribal unity in Iraq August 27, 06
Lebanese Bishops Appeal for a Stop to the Christian Exodus August 24, 06
Iraqi Christians Caught in the Crossfire August 23, 06
Assyrian Universal Alliance, Australian Chapter Meeting in Canberra August 23, 06
Iraqi Christians on Edge After Priest's Kidnapping August 23, 06
The Secrets Of Mustafa Barzani In KGB Archives August 23, 06
Pope urges release of priest in Iraq August 20, 06
Heading Toward an (Inevitable) War in Kirkuk August 20, 06
TWO CHALDEAN PRIESTS KIDNAPPED IN BAGHDAD August 18, 06
Confiscation of the Assyrian villages by the Kurds August 18, 06
The Kurdish Democratic Experiment: an Assyrian Tragedy August 17, 06
Assyrians Experience Slow Cultural Revival In Southeastern Turkey August 17, 06
Lebanese Bishops Call for Single National Leadership August 16, 06
Lebanese Cardinal Concerned About Christian Exodus August 16, 06
In Turkey non Muslims are listed as Foreigners August 14, 06
Murdered Assyrians in Iraq in August August 14, 06
Why Can't A Christian Be More Like A Muslim? Revisited August 13, 06
Peter W. Galbraith's 'The End of Iraq' August 12, 06
Babylon the Great lives August 12, 06
We Don't Want a Proxy War in Lebanon:' Cardinal Sfeir August 10, 06
Go-ahead for dam that will drown history August 9, 06
750,000 Christians Caught in Middle East Crossfire August 8, 06
Arabist Indoctrination At Middlebury College August 8, 06
Middle-Eastern conference: from worship to ‘reunion’ August 8, 06
Hezbollah Uses Christian Villages As Shields in Missile Attacks August 7, 06
Family Pays Ransom in Iraqi Kidnapping August 7, 06
Johanns meets with Iraqi leaders to help rebuild agriculture August 6, 06
Half of all Christians have fled Iraq since 2003, says Baghdad bishop August 4, 06
Christian Persecution Groups Express Concerns for Mideast Believers August 3, 06
Assyrians and Australians will honour Captain Savige for his world war one help August 3, 06
Nuri Kino Wins Swedish Award of: good role model for the youth Aug 1, 06
July = Tammuz
Let them Rape and Kill Christian Women, says Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament July 31, 06
Aramaic-English Bible Translation Draws Criticism July 27, 06
Iran bans Da Vinci Code book after 8 editions July 27, 06
Everyone has a Guardian Angel July 26, 06
Ancient Urartian inscription disappears in Iran July 26, 06
Alum to head Mooreland Hill July 24, 06
The End of Christianity in Iraq July 24, 06
Why Can't A Christian Be More Like A Muslim? July 22, 2006
Residents of the Dora are told to Evacuate their homes July 21, 2006
Iraqis watch with sadness July 21, 2006
Turkey Signals It's Prepared to Enter Iraq July 19, 06
Iraqi Christians Flee Fighting July 19, 06
IRAQ AND THE KURDS: THE BREWING BATTLE OVER KIRKUK July 19, 06
Minister who learnt to manage the impossible at Baghdad July 14, 06
The Endeavour Programme July 13, 06
Sackler Gallery cancels exhibition of Iraqi gold July 10, 06
Students onto a winning football score July 9, 06
Three years after invasion, Iraqis now living in San Diego County differ in views of war July 9, 06
Kurdish Militia, Iraqi Police Terrorizing Assyrians in North Iraq July 6, 06
Kurdish Regional Government Needs Lessons in Democracy July 5, 06
An open letter to His Holiness Mor Zakka Iwaz July 3, 06
Writing Competition 2006 July 3, 06
USCIRF Testifies to Killing, Harassment of Mid east Christians July 2, 06
‘Seyfo’ Monument Design Competition July 2, 06
June = Khzeeran
Text of Rosie Malek-Yonan's testimony before the House Committee on International Relations June 30, 06
UK Assyrians Honour British MP June 30, 06
The forgotten Assyrian Christians of Mesopotamia June 28, 06
The Assyrian Empire revisited in China June 30, 06
Rosie Malek Yonan will Testify about Genocide before a Congressional Committee June 29, 06
The Plight of the Assyrians of Iraq June 28, 06
Living in the Grave Yard June 28, 06
Yes! Ashur Yousif is Dead but he Speaks June 26, 06
More Threats Against Basrawi Christians June 25, 06
Kurds Block Assyrians, Shabaks From Police Force in North Iraq June 18, 06
Iraqi Catholics
in U.S. See Continuing Challenges in Their Homeland June 18, 06
Assyrian University
Students Beaten By Iraqi Police June 18, 06
Assyrian leaders
meet with Laura Bush June 17, 06
Assyrians
in the World War I Treaties: Paris, Sèvres, and Lausanne June 16, 06
Iraqi Christians
In Saskatoon Canada Want Peace in Their Homeland June 14, 06
Priceless Assyrian
Relics Used for Target Practice June
14, 06
Kurd's Plan
to Change the Demographics of Northern Iraq in their Favour June 14, 06
Questions assyrians
would like to ask Turkey June 14, 06
Iraq's Minority
Communities Look Abroad for Asylum June 13, 06
Assyrians
Demonstrate in Washington, D.C. June 12, 06
Turkey turns
the confiscated church into a pornographic movie theatre June 12, 06
Continuing
Persecution Renews Calls for Assyrian Safe-Haven in Iraq June 9. 06
Assyrian Demonstrations
in Washington D.C. June 8, 06
Safety Zone
Could Be the Answer for Iraq's Endangered Peoples June 8, 06
Assyrian Christians
Object to Exclusion in Iraq Homeland June 07, 06
Welsh
Members of UK Parliament Recognize the Armenian and Assyrian
Genocide June 6, 06
Violence against
the Assyrians in Iraq updated
June 4, 06
New
Book Release by Sargon Donabed June, 2, 06
The
European MP letter to the Syrian Embassy June 1, 06
Asking
for Equal rights is considered racist by the Kurdish Regional
Government June 1, 06
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