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Uniting Iraq's Disparate Cultures a Challenge, Experts Say |
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Brian Handwerk for National Geographic News |
| April 24, 2003 |
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Constructing a representative government from the ashes of Saddam Hussein's totalitarian regime is a daunting challenge for Iraq. "If you look at an ethnic map, you'd say that Iraq's political geography is at odds with its cultural geography," says geographer Harm De Blij, distinguished professor at Michigan State University. "As with most of the nations in that region, the boundaries [of Iraq] are the result of political decisions, mostly arbitrary, by the colonial powers early last century," said James P. Reams, retired Army Artillery Field officer and former West Point geography instructor. "That the boundaries have lasted into the 21st century is more a tribute to the series of local despots that have run these 'countries' since the colonial powers left." Now that Iraq's regime has been toppled, the old cultural divisions are again surfacing. How and if different ethnic and religious groups can be united under one peaceful, stable system of government remains to be seen. Modern Iraq was created after the defeat of the German-allied Ottoman Empire in World War I, when the victorious British and French carved up the territory of their defeated rival. One of their decisions was the establishment of the new nation of Iraq under the rule of King Faisal I. The monarch had led the great war's Arab revolt—popularized by Lawrence of Arabia—and had captured Damascus from the Ottomans in 1918. Within the country's borders, three major groups—each with an identity and an agenda—occupy fairly distinct geographic regions (see map): Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, and Kurds. Each calls Iraq home, but each is unsure of what its role will be in the new Iraq. If the country's territorial integrity is to be respected, they must somehow work together. Kurdish Aspirations In northern Iraq, the Kurds have recently begun to shake off decades of oppression. These traditionally pastoral people dwell in a region split by four different nations (Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria). Though most Kurds are Muslim, they represent a unique group that has long held its own national aspirations. "They are a distinct people with a distinct language (related to Persian or Farsi), much as Basques are different from Spaniards," explained David Miller, senior editor for National Geographic Maps. The Kurdish minority was persecuted under the regime of Saddam Hussein. The Kurds took refuge in the mountainous north of Iraq where they enjoyed some degree of autonomy from Baghdad during the period between the Gulf War and the 2003 war that ousted the Hussein regime. Although these Iraqi Kurds played a role in the U.S.-led coalition that routed Hussein, their place at the table in the new Iraq is yet to be determined. "Numerically, they represent optimistically only a fifth of the population and that's not a lot," said Harm De Blij. "Everyone talks about how much influence they'll have, but with their location and lack of presence elsewhere in the country I don't know how much they will be able to expect," De Blij said, while noting that the Kurds are themselves divided into two rival regional authorities. But Iraq's Kurds now have over ten years of experience in self-government and will not be anxious to surrender influence to Baghdad. "They are regionally concentrated and can continue to run their own government—and even secede—if a central government of the new Iraq does not listen to them," Miller said. "They will demand no less autonomy than that which they had under Saddam," Reams said of the Kurds. "However, I think they will realize that they cannot demand so much autonomy that they will incur Turkish wrath and even Turkish military incursions." Turkey is ever wary of Kurdish aspirations because of the sizable and often restive Kurdish minority within Turkey. "Since 1991, they've periodically staged raids into northern Iraq to get Turkish Kurd rebels who've fled to [Kurdish] Iraq to escape the armed forces," Miller added. "Hussein's government had protested these incursions, but couldn't do much about them." "The Turks will be loath to see the Kurds playing a major role in a neighboring country," said De Blij. Sunni and Shiite Muslims The rift between Iraq's Shiite and Sunni Muslims is primarily one of divergent religious viewpoints, which has its beginnings with the line of succession after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Regional and cultural differences also exist, but Harm De Blij noted that the two lived rather harmoniously in Iraq until the rise of Baath Party power. "What exacerbated this [difference] was a secular political movement—the Sunni Baath party. If there is one thing Shiites are not, they're not secular. As shown by the example of the Iranian revolution, religion is very central in their lives, and that's not the way Sunnis looked at it," De Blij said. Saddam Hussein's sometimes brutal treatment of Shiites during his long reign has left a potentially deep rift between the groups—with many Shiites persecuted though they were numerically in the majority. "It's one of the tragedies of Iraq," De Blij said, "that because of that animosity a division was created that hadn't really been there before. At the time Iraq acquired its first and second constitution it was actually a fairly multicultural and accommodating society, but the ascent of the Baath Party and the rise of Saddam Hussein led to a vicious dictatorship of a Sunni minority quite unlike the historical character of Iraq." Salving these longstanding wounds won't be easy, as mistrust and animosity have grown over the years. Western officials at work in Iraq must recognize and account for such distinctions at all levels. "Local ayatollahs toting side arms with posses of loyal followers carrying AKs and knives will make theses tribal and cultural differences an inescapable consideration in the attempts to transition to some form of democracy and representative government," said Reams. A priority of any new Iraq government is balancing recognition and representation of the nation's distinct cultural entities with a central, national government that can rule for the good of all. How much regional autonomy is too much? How to get all groups fairly represented under the same tent? They are tough questions, but they should be at the forefront of rebuilding a nation that was from the beginning an amalgamation of disparate groups. "The talking heads we see on TV have maps but they only seem to show tanks, planes, roads, and forts," said De Blij. "I dont see many of them talking about the cultural, social geography of Iraq—and I hope somebody somewhere is looking at it that way." More Iraq Stories from National Geographic News National Geographic News: Iraq Baghdad Zoo Animals to Get Help From U.S. Zoos Iraq: The State of the Postwar Environment Humanitarian Crisis Looming for Iraq, Aid Workers Warn National Geographic TV Reporter Embedded in Iraq Dogs of War: Inside the U.S. Military's Canine Corps Iraq Conflict: Following the "Laws of War"? Dolphins Deployed as Undersea Agents in Iraq Geography Shapes Nature of War in Iraq Iraq War Threatens Ancient Treasures Photographer Tells of Iraqi Kurds "In Agony" Iraq Expert Predicts "Problems of Control" More National Geographic Iraq resources: Hot Spot: Iraq History and Culture Guide Maps and Geography |
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