Letter From Iraq
Actually, it came by e-mail, from one of the soldiers who reads my syndicated column in the Stars and Stripes, and has started reading and commenting my blog.
Dear Miss Alkon,By the by in many respects I would agree with you, Islam as a religion is not suited for democracy. And were we attempting to do as we are in most of the rest of the middle east, I would laugh at the very notion of planting democracy in them.
But I found something very interesting when I arrived in this country for the first time in 2003. If a few anecdotes will not drive your brain to committing hara kiri out of boredom, then do feel welcome to read on.
I arrived in Baghdad in 2003 as part of 141 Signal BN, 1st Armored Division otherwise known as "Old Ironsides", after a very short period of time I was put to guard details, assigned to watching local nationals hired to work on post for our unit. This entailed spending many an hour next to strangers of a strange land, most of whom spoke little to no English. Thankfully I've a gift for pantomime as well as language, and we managed to learn something of each others languages when the workers who doubled as translators were on other duties. While on my guard rotation I noticed something very unexpected.
Even though most of them professed to be Muslims, they were not what one would call "devout". For example, when some mischievious person sent a care package to me that included a large (unsolicited) bottle of southern comfort, the workers were falling all over themselves to offer items in trade for it. As I was prohibited from alcohol, and southern comfort is not really my brand anyway, I was happy to trade it for tea and backlava (a delicious honey flavored local food). Such eagerness, though it was plainly and uncompromisingly prohibited. Too, on another occasion, a different set of workers under the same manager was assisting us by setting up a sattelite dish so we could watch the armed forces news network...well we set up a t.v. on the roof where I was guarding them so we could tell immediately if it worked...and lo and behold we had accidentally hooked up to a French adult channel...for the fanatic, well you know. But these men were like kids in a candy store.
Then along came Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer, and what did I see lined up outside of the burger king? Lengthy lines of local supposed Muslims ordering food & skipping prayers.
These are just a few incidents.
To skip to the broad strokes, what I have concluded about Iraq is that they are likely a Muslim nation in the same way that the United States is a Christian one. True there are fanatical Muslims in Iraq, arguably there are proportionally more fanatical Muslims in Iraq than Fanatical Christians in the U.S. However as recent years have shown me, their culture has strong tribal elements, and Islam is very much part of the culture, however there is a powerful secular element to Iraqi society that you will never see covered in the news. I will not say that they are as liberal or progressive as we are.
But ask yourself this, how progressive were our own ancestors in the 16th & 17th centuries? The Christianity of that era is not dramatically different than Islam today. Can Iraq manage? Only time will tell, but it will be that much harder, and the consequences that much more dire, if they have to manage without us.
A pleasure once again Miss Alkon, many pleasant days to you and yours,
SGT Robert H. Butler
That's a great letter, but I think he's not giving renaissance Europe enough credit. At that time England had had common law, enumerated rights, and some limits on government power for centuries. There were republics in Florence, Venice, and Holland. Guys like John Locke were developing philosophies of human rights that heavily influenced our founding fathers and were progressive enough that hard-core libertarians still cite them today. There were even a few Protestant clerics arguing that religion was a matter of personal concience.
I don't mean to nitpick, but it's worth noting that even way back then there was a pretty well established tradition of secular liberalism in Western Europe.
SeanH
at March 13, 2008 7:08 AM
I also don't have much use for people, in the 21st century, who still have the mindset of warring tribal goatherds -- but don't let that stop them from using 21st Century technology to try to drag modernity back to The Middle Ages.
Amy Alkon
at March 13, 2008 7:13 AM
I'll grant you that SeanH, however I ought to point out that 21st Century Iraq has its share of thinkers in the same line. Just as intellectuals like Locke & republics as those found in Venice, there are emerging movements towards liberty and personal freedom in the Islamic world, most notably in Iraq. And in a strikingly similar chord, the modern counterparts suffer just as much hazard and condemnation from the religious establishment and reactionary interests as our western forerunners. Best evidence of that is the Iraqi constitution, if you read over it, you read the spirit of the Enlightenment in every line. Their struggle is remarkably similar to the one we went through, where we struggled with a diversity of faiths and national origins, they struggle today with a diversity of tribes and to a much lesser degree, a difference in faiths. We should find some measure of hope in the similarity of their present solutions to our past ones.
Robert at March 13, 2008 7:34 AM
Robert, that was really an interesting letter, thanks. I actually envy you your service. If I wasn't too old to enlist, I just might.
I am still amazed to find my dad was in Tripoli (with the USAAF) shortly after the end of WWII. My dad? Libya?
But my brain forces me to correct the spelling of "backlava". I love baklava, but I could never eat or get near backlava. Too great a fear of acne, but if it works for you, go for it.
I do have a question: does the local Iraqi population make "greek coffee", aka "turkish coffee", aka "israeli coffee"? And if so, what do they call it. In the too few travels I've had near the mid-east, I've been impressed that almost everyone makes and loves "turkish coffee", but everyone hates the other countries and cultures enough that they all have to pretend it's a local thing.
jerry
at March 13, 2008 9:41 AM
SeanH
at March 13, 2008 10:12 AM
And then of course there is the head of the Iranian Morals Police...
http://www.iran-press-service.com/ips/articles-2008/march-2008/the-police-general-likes-women-praying-nude.shtml
eric
at March 13, 2008 11:20 AM
Just one thing I'd like to point out, Chritians and western europeans fought for their freedoms themselves
They didnt expect someone else to do it for them, and maybe thats why it has lasted so long.
Funny how welfare for the american people is bad because it encourages them not to work for themselves but welfare for the iraqis is great because it teaches them not to fight for themselves
lujlp at March 13, 2008 11:40 AM
Best evidence of that is the Iraqi constitution, if you read over it, you read the spirit of the Enlightenment in every line.
But will it work? The Japanese constitution by MacArthur after WWII took Japanese ideas into consideration according to Wikipedia(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Japan) Can the Iraq constitution sink roots, or will it sink Iraq?? Japan was also very different culturally than MacArthur's USA.
The Mad Hungarian at March 13, 2008 4:26 PM
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