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Kurds’ New Reality Frightens Religio-Nationalist Arabs

By: Khasraw Saleh Koyi

Jan 26, 2004

Arabs, be Sunnis or Shias, Islamists or nationalists, Baathists or other political groups, they all share the fear of outside cultural influences "mainly Western" to establish roots and prosper anywhere in the Middle East. They deem such influences as intrusive and threatening to their 1400 years old religious values and ethnic heritage. For they are overly comfortable with their self-image of ethno-religious grandeur, it is expected to see them resist any force that may effect adverse changes to their "uncompromising" system of values.

Here we are: Kurdistan, which happened to be in that part of the world and the Kurds (who at the time, lacked matching force and ferocity to stop Arab invasion and forcible conversion to Islam religion), are viewed by Arabs to be within the limits of their psychological defence ring for the protection of their ethnic identity and Islamic values, for which Al Qaeda and the Baathists are just two of the many fronts.

Such a notion may explain the reason why the barometer of Kurdish quest for freedom and democracy is so effective in generating trembling waves across the entire spectrum of Arab religio-nationalist environment. Any indication for change, prompts them to "frantically" seek shelter under the same emotional tent, where they manage to put their internal bloody feuds on hold and concert their efforts to confront their common Kurdish "threat" in any ways they could.

The peculiar ethno-religious status of Iraqi Shia Arabs has put them in a position to share their loyalty between the Persians and the ethnic Arabs. In addition to the Shia belief, the other reason for having such a status is due to the fact that the traditional territory of the Shias "originally" was part of the consecutive Persian empires, until it was lost to Arabs in the year 636AD. Up to this day, there is no historic proof to support any claim suggesting that prior to that date, any Arabs lived in what is considered now to be Iraq’s territory. Like the majority of today’s Arabs, the Arabness of most Iraqi Shias, as well as many Iraqi Sunnis is the outcome of the wider Arabization process, empowered by the influences of Islam religion.

The Shia clergymen, who in the past, chose to seek safety in the bosoms of their Ayatollah "big" brothers in Iran, were and are conscious not to think and act independent of them in any of the issues to do with the future changes in Iraq. It took a long time and significant efforts from active Iraqi opposing groups both in Kurdistan and Diaspora to win their reluctant consent for the American plan to topple the Baathist regime. Something only became possible at some point when the hopes of the Iranian ruling Ayatollahs for a future Iraq where the Shia majority is in control, out-weighed their fears of a prolonged US presence in the region, as well as the possibility of a secular democratic Iraq being realized; at least not in the near future.

Up to the beginning of this year, most of the Shia reaction to the new developments in Iraq was seen to be within the limits of normalcy. However, as the US Administration rearranged its occupation plan in a smaller time frame, the Shia clergy sensed an opportunistic urge to capitalise on the Shia majority factor. In contrast to their religious virtues, some of their influential figures began sharpening their swords to scapegoat both the Kurds (their partners in suffering and struggle) and the Americans (their liberators).

Although harmony and peaceful means are known to be rare animals in Shia clergymen’s internal quest for power, nonetheless they seem to be quick in striking an accord against external sources they view to be of threat to their pan ethno-religious interests. After their liberation by the coalition, now it is they (in an alliance with the Arab nation on ethnic grounds and the Iranian Shia majority on sectarian grounds), who share the fear from the Kurds as being proxies for boosting the strategic and cultural influences of the Americans in particular and Western democracies in general in the region.

There is a Kurdish consensus that Iraq’s Arab Shia clergy is behaving in tandem with the ruling clergy of the Iranian regime who is against the notion of an ethnic federation that allows the Kurds the opportunity to steer the course of their own destiny by themselves than by an Arab dominated central authority in Baghdad. To justify such mistrust, Kurds have piles of hard evidence; that is in addition to the simple wisdom which suggest: "To predict others’ future behaviour, one needs no more than knowing their past behaviour").

These ungrateful Shia clergy "slaves of Allah and Islam" also seem to be quite eager to see the back of the last American solder leaving Iraq; so that immediately after, they will seize the opportunity to fully realize their dream of a future Iraq based on their sectarian vision and that of their guiding Iranian Ayatollahs. If the Iranian regime is of any inspiration to them "which is", they will not hesitate to waste as many lives as it takes to fulfil their wishes.

Religious and Nationalist Arabs seem to be overly fearful from the possibility that a true democratic federal Iraq (established on geographic and ethnic basis) will give the Kurds a level of freedom adequate enough to allow them build direct bridges with Western societies. In their imagination, such bridges will constitute potential pipelines to transfer the influences of foreign cultures to the region and the gradual deterioration of the existing Arab and/or Islamic cultures.

The ideal wish of the religio-nationalist Arabs is that the power of the Kurdish mind and imagination will never be strong enough to see beyond the boundaries that are designed and tolerated by Islamic teachings and Arab cultural values. They don’t want the Kurds to be able to see beyond Mohammed, Quran and Allah. They don’t want the Kurds to realize that Islam religion and Arab cultural values are not second to none. They wish that (instead of modern science and technology) the concept of Allah "as portrayed in Quran" always remained to be the final limits for the reasoning of the Kurds in exploring answers for the questions related to universe, existence and heavenly superpowers "if any".

Rightfully, Kurds believe that if necessary, Arabs will use the collective powers of their 22 UN votes, as well as the oil and other strategic leverages they possess to oblige US into ‘once again’ betraying the Kurds; this time by endorsing the outcome of the nationalist agenda of Saddam’s Baathist regime against the Kurds, which resulted in expelling many hundreds of thousands of them "from the most strategic parts of Iraqi Kurdistan" and replacing them with nationalist "Baathist" Arabs from Iraq’s centre and south.

If the US Administration ever decided to give in to such Arab pressures, it will "effectively " drive a dagger of betrayal into the back of the Kurdish nation and the following would be the likely consequences:

This would gurther tarnish US’s image and the integrity of her foreign policy.
To turn the Kurds against US (a "very hot" objective of Turkish, Syrian and Iranian regimes)Generate a deep sense of ridicule of US’s campaign to democratise the Middle East Demonstrate a sharp contrast between proclaimed universal principles of freedom and democracy, and the actual practices of backing up international aggressors against their victims.

The further empowerment of a block which will never be ready to embrace the values of Western democracies as the Kurds do Simulating the appetite of the religio-nationalist Arab vultures of Iraq and Syria to gobble up more Kurdish territory.
To give other tyrannical regimes in the world the wrong signal to do to minorities what Saddam Hussein did to the Kurds "take the loot and keep it".

Once again, the Kurds remain to be worried of Arab power of blackmail to be too impressive for the weaker amongst US politicians not to succumb to. Also, they will feel frustrated for not being in a position to outbid the Arabs in an effort to protect the integrity of their new friends.

Let us hope that in the While House, the power of good instincts will always be stronger than acquired desire for extended political power and/or greed driven temptations; and the Kurds will get their entitled share of fairness, while their regional religio-nationalist adversaries become encouraged to practice some sense of humility and humanness.

Last edited by VanFleet on Feb-24-2004 at 05:33