Is free Iraq becoming a more Islamic state?

[sabra]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - A group of men recently ordered Siham al-Zubaidi to close down her Baghdad hair salon for two months for Shi'ite religious festivities. She had no idea who they were but complied because she feared for her life.

"Can you just tell me who will pay the rent of my shop for these two months? What shall I do to support my family? What is the relation between hair dressing and religious events?" Zubaidi, 40, asked furiously.

"This is a new dictatorship. They want Iraq to be an Islamic state. But this is not right. Iraq includes a variety of religious factions ... These are alien ideas, not Iraqi."

Recent efforts by authorities, clergy and unknown bands of neighbourhood enforcers to police morals by shutting nightclubs, bars and other establishments has heightened concerns among academics and intellectuals that Iraq, now emerging from war, is displaying the tendencies of a hard-line Islamic state.

Baghdad's local government this month re-activated a federal order from last year to close down the capital's nightclubs and liquor shops due to concern the venues were undermining morals.

Read more: http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-53587420101215

[ixion]

1. I'm sorry. When has Iraq ever been 'free'

and don't say it was so after the 'liberation' at the hands of the Coalition of the Willing.

[kgnu_fan]

3. Women in Iraq under "dictator" Saddam were able to walk free in their western cloths

education was free, rockn' roll music (especially Pink Floyd...) was popular, etc etc etc until USA came to bomb them dead.

[KeepItReal]

4. There was even a Christian community that worshipped openly

After the invasion, they declined US protection because they feared reprisals... The reprisals happened anyway. The Iraqi Christian community was hit pretty hard.

[KamaAina]

7. Saddam's mouthpiece Tariq Aziz is Christian

Any high-ranking Christian officials now? Ah, the sound of freedom on the march... :sarcasm:

[Hoyt]

12. Yep, there were 1.4 million Christians prior to bush. Half fled the country after his bombs.

Yet, war supporters still spout that Muslims are bent on killing all Christians.

Maybe the ones who bomb and invade their countries in the name of Christianity, but not all.

[T Wolf]

2. Fundamentalism and extremism has increased in Iraq since the US invaded and occupied it.

Sy what you will about Sadaam but he did keep a lid on the crazies as well as leading a nation that has since his murder lost almost all of its "advancements" (education, industry, infrastructure, etc.).

The US destroyed the village to save it, but has not done much on the "saving" side (multi-billion dollar embassies to the contrary).

[obxhead]

5. A "free" Iraq and a "changed" Iraq we're BS pushed by the Bush

admin in order to maintain support for the war.

Iraq will be Iraq. It will become whatever it will become regardless of how many bodies we put in their way.

[Old Codger]

6. inevitable

Never any doubt that would be the end result.....shrubs crusade failed like the rest of his endeavors... on edit(except for his ruination of this country)

[krispos42]

8. Does a bear shit in the woods? n/t

[Tempest]

9. Many of us predicted this before the war

It was expected when the country's most influential leaders are religious fundamentalists.

[grahamhgreen]

10. We set up an islamist republic in iraq

[Javaman]

11. all we did was set the stage for yet another Iranian type of revolution.

10 years from now, Iraq will be a very very different place.

But by that point, we will have fallen so far down the economic pit of death, that the various powers that be will be handcuffed to try and unfuck the fuck up that is Iraq.

I can hear it now, some right wing asshole who championed the invasion of Iraq will state on some future version of "meet the press" that is beamed directly into our skulls will state, "we should have never invaded. I was always against it!" regardless of hours upon hours of evidence showing the idiot stooge as basically writing the plan for invasion him or her self.

[Arctic Dave]

13. Not only that, the idiot on the airwaves will be saying how we have to support the

new "Saddam" for the sake of Iraqi people. Of course there will be huge atrocities and we will help fund it all but at least we will have another predictable tyrant that we can control.

Rinse, repeat.