Political freedom within Iraq and ability of the populace to demonstrate for their choices...
Below is a fine example of that. How long till we read some stories about women's liberation movements in the M.E.?? Not long, I think...
The beginnings of acceptance of the state of Israel and women's liberation are 2 key signals of change that I am looking for now. The separation of church and state will be the 'green light' for freedom in the M.E. And I do not think it wise to follow the US model in this, a solution needs to come from within the ME...if I had to guess, I would speculate that it may resemble the way the relationship between the monarchy & gov in England has evolved in the past few hundred years. Time will tell...
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Muslims save Baghdad's Jewish
community centre from looters
April 14 2003
Iraqi Muslims came to the aid of Baghdad's tiny Jewish
community yesterday, chasing out looters trying to sack its
cultural centre in the heart of the capital.
"At 3am, I saw two men, one with a beard, on the roof of the
Jewish community house and I cried out to my friend,
'Hossam, bring the Kalashnikovs!'" said Hassam Kassam,
21.
Heither Hassan nor Hossam, who is the guard at the
centre, was armed at the time but the threat worked in
scaring off the intruders.
Two hours later, the looters returned again and Hassan
Kassem used the trick once more.
The centre is located in a freshly-painted white house on a
lane off Rashid Street in Baghdad's old town.
Two days ago, amid rampant looting in the capital,
neighbours removed the sign reading 'Special Committee
for the Religious Affairs of Ezra Menahem Daniel' to make
the premises less conspicuous.
On Saturday at about 10.30am, two men seized an
opportunity created by the guard's mid-morning break to try
to force open the door in a first attempt to burgle the centre.
"We came over right way and asked them what they
wanted," said Abdallah Nurredin, 50.
They tried to explain that they wanted to talk to the guard,
Nurredin said, "but when they saw the look we were giving
them, they left without saying another word".
Yesterday, Hossam the guard left to look for a real gun in
case the persistent thieves returned.
"The Jews have always lived here, in this house, and it is
only normal that we should protect them," said Ibrahim
Mohamad, 36, who works in a small undergarments factory
near the centre of town.
Although the majority of Jews fled the country in the early
1950s, many of their Muslim tenants come each week to
pay their rent to an old woman at the centre, Mohamad
said.
In the Batauin district near the Saddun commercial artery,
the entrance of a large synagogue is blocked by an
immense iron portal.
The way onto the street is obstructed by trees and chairs. A
self-defence militia formed on Saturday to fight back
against bandits.
"We are defending the synagogue like all houses on the
street and we will not let anyone touch it," said Edward
Benham, a 19-year-old computer science student.
The young Christian said that Jews normally came each
Saturday but because of the lingering security problem, no
one came last Saturday.
smh.com.au |
