The War in Iraq
I read a Guardian Unlimited article earlier today about Shiite celebration of a holy day today. And I just thought I'd write real quick about the War the US has been involved in for several years now.
Where were you March 19, 2003?
I was sitting in my parents' living room, watching the Baghdad sky light up. Atlanta had a thunderstorm that night, too.
How many of y'all cheered 'Shock and Awe' at some point in your ultimate career?
Playing against the Navy ultimate team, on Fort Belvoir, I remember thinking how clever we were to satire that line...
When was the last time you read an entire article about the war?
If its been a little while, I can't blame you. Myself, I can't pull myself to finish a headline, let alone an article about the war because of how awful the invasion is and how so much of the blame for the current situation belongs to our government.
What is the difference between Shiite and Sunni Islam?
What is the role of the international community in Iraq now?
What can we do on a daily basis to end the war, safely, for everyone?
I don't know.
3 comments:
Ben, I wholeheartedly agree with and share your feelings on all this, especially when it comes to reading and staying up on everything. While it's hard to stomach sometimes, I think we all know how important it is to remain knowledgeable and current.
A few years ago I read "Ghost Wars" by Steve Coll -- an amazing account of the history of the relationship between the US and Afghanistan, the CIA, Saudi & Pakistani intelligence, Osama, etc. Unbelievably well-researched work, interviews with all the key players, including high-ranking US officials, Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto (former PM of Pakistan), etc., and I was absolutely blown away by how much of what's happened since was determined by personal relationships, no exaggeration. You should check it out if you have some spare time.
I took a course on the Middle East, historical conflicts, and a bit of the history of Islam -- I'm quite rusty, sadly, but I recall that the origin of the Sunni/Shiite split came from where the two groups believed that Mohammed ended his pilgrimage, i.e. the Sunnis say he stopped in one city, the Shiites say he kept going some-odd more miles, or made a return trip somewhere (or vice versa). Of course there are many other points on which they disagree.
Scholars maintain the translations were lost centuries ago, but I think Sunnis also think San Diego means "a whale's vagina" -- contrary to popular belief, this is what started the recent civil war.
A major distinguishing factor between the Sunni/ Shiite distinction (despite Sunni being the the overwhelming majority at 90%) is their recognition of religious authorities following the Prophet: Caliph versus Imam.
According to my Islamic law professor (and the light in my educational life), Sunni Islam recognizes four caliphs as the rightful successors of the Prophet Mohammed. Shiites believe only the fourth caliph's heirs are rightful successors- 12 Imams.
Its a debate of mahdi (do you know how to write that in Arabic?), but then again, I'd have to refer to my notes from class... which are chillin' with you in your pad.
If I believe that San Diego is a "whale's vagina" does that mean I'm Sunni? Because that would be awesome...
Blog on, Jeezy. They are a great distractions from my readings. Word.
Oh yeah, one more thing on the Sunni and Shiite split... the Shiites were responsible for killing a caliph. Then the Sunnis retaliated and killed Husain, one of the Imams.
If only if I were closer to my notes...
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