Iraq currently stands at a dangerous point in its history as a result of the deepening political crisis and violence on its ancient soil.
The recent invasion of Iraq by the Islamic State in Iraq and the levant (ISIl) jehadis is not just destroying lives but also the culture and religious heritage of the nation, as the ultras have been systematically decimating the religious legacy of the Shias.
According to witnesses the jehadis are eliminating what the Shias hold most sacred and dear with the help of explosive devices, excavators and bulldozers. They also issued a statement this week calling for the destruction of all religious and historic sites in the country, basically all symbols of Iraq’s heritage, as according to the jehadis they are contrary to the teachings of Islam.
Till date they have reduced to rubble the shrine of Sheikh Fathi al-Ka’en, in Bab Sinjar area in west Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, and two Shia religious sites known as Husseiniyahs in northern Iraq.
The two Husseiniyahs in Sharikhan, north of Nineveh provincial capital Mosul, were bombed early on Wednesday, damaging the structures but fortunately, causing no casualties. Hundreds of terrified residents in these areas were forced to flee their homes following the attacks.
According to witnesses, there is simmering discontent among the people over these wanton acts of destruction by the jehadis. Those who have not fled their homes and have decided to stand their ground, are aghast by this attack on one of the greatest symbols of Iraq’s heritage Sheikh Fathi al-Ka’en’s tomb as he was revered by the Shias and prayers were regularly held near the mausoleum.
The ISIl’s conquest of the seat of the provincial Government in Mosul, the control of large tracts of land by armed groups, the release of thousands of inmates of a prison and seizure of a military airport, has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of families of the city, both Christians and Shias, to neighboring regions and Kurdistan.
The tale of crimes and human rights violations against the people of Mosul committed by the ISIl does not end here. There have been reports in the media of execution of dozens of citizens working in the security services, police and court; of entire families being eliminated; of women being gang-raped after their men folk were brutally murdered in front of them by ISIl men, reportedly even some mercenaries from the Gulf and other foreign countries who seem to have joined the ranks of this marauding group.
Recently, UN Human Rights spokesman Rupert Colville said that the number of people killed after the jehadis overran Mosul may run into the hundreds. He highlighted disturbing reports including the suicide of four women after being raped or forced to marry ISIl militants. 16 Georgians had also been kidnapped, and prisoners released by the militants were looking to exact revenge on those responsible for their incarceration, he said.
President of the Female Iraqi Media Professionals Forum Nibras Al-Maamouri said: “The atrocities against women in Mosul are a real shame” and called on all intellectuals and the international media to censure these heinous crimes and launch a major campaign to expose these militants.
She regretted the fact that women were “always the biggest sufferers in the kind of events that are unfolding in Mosul and other areas.” She warned that ISIl’s brutal assault on women was not just a reflection of the way of thinking in some segments of society where young people had little education, no jobs and were living in poverty, but also a reflection of what is increasingly happening in Iraqi society.
Sunrise Alabegi, a civil activist said that the crimes against women in Mosul should be rejected at all levels. Alabegi urged all sections of society to express solidarity with the women of Mosul and other areas of Iraq and said that the security of women in Iraq is the responsibility of all Government agencies, political parties and religious leaders and the community, as well as the responsibility of international organizations.
The Ministry of Human Rights for its part, confirmed the rapes in areas controlled by the ISIl. The Ministry’s spokesman Kamel Amin said the Ministry came to know about the atrocities being committed on people and the rapes through its own sources as they were not highlighted in the media, given the nature of the society there.
He said the Ministry of Human Rights has documented rapes and other abuses and raised these issues in the meetings of the Human Rights Council in Geneva and at an international conference held in london and attended by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari who recently warned of a ‘’clear and present danger’’ from militant groups such as the ISIl.
Zebari had said that ISIl has a history of rape and had indulged in such crimes in Syria and in Anbar, too. He pointed to the recent ISIl document seeking destruction of all religious and historic sites in the country, the suppression of freedom of citizens, imposition of jaziya on Christians and killing of imams.
One wonders what all Iraq and its citizens will have to undergo in the name of Allah before sense is restored!