A Family in Baghdad

Sunday, January 1st, 2006
Good morning…
The New Year came along, and we all wish it to be a year of welfare and peace to all the nations of Earth, especially the people who live in hot conflicts, and among them- the Iraqi people…
We wish the Iraqis would fulfill some of their dreams to build a homeland on new bases, with justice, respect for everyone's rights, and peace, security, and settlement would prevail… we wish that new leaderships would come to Iraq; more nationalistic, more honest in dealing with the country's future, and the fate of people….
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Chance can sometimes be the key to long stories…
Last week I went to a library to ask about a certain book, but I did not find it, so I walked between the passages of the sometimes carefully stacked books on the shelves, or carelessly on the floor. I bumped into a line of thick books on the side of the passage; volumes bound with brown leather, and gilded writings. I looked at it, and it turned out to be volumes of the book (In the shades of the Quran), I remembered the book, it was an interpretation of the Holy Quran, written by Sayid Qutub, an Egyptian man from an Islamic group, executed in the President Abdul Nasser era.
That was all I knew…
Curiosity pushed me to open the book and read the introduction written by Sayid Qutub, I looked at his words in which he said- he never knew happiness until he lived under the shade of the Quran, that in this time, people moved away from the religion and Quran, living by the values of an ignorant society, loving materials and worshiping people…
I shook my head and smiled, telling myself- if only you could come and see how things are now…
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I went back home, turned open the Internet, and looked for Sayid Qutub… I found many websites that spoke about him, telling the story of his life, his character, his culture, then about the political tension in Egypt after the July 1952 revolution, the clashes between the ruling political authority and the other Parties; whether Islamic, Communist, or Socialist, about the arrests, prisons, torture, trials, and executions, and in the end- Sayid Qutub was one of the people executed by the charge of taking part in an assassination attempt against Abdul Nasser in 1966. That means he was 60 years old at that time… and he was executed with a group of men by an attempted assassination charge?
Well then, as they say according to the Islamic doctrine- a soul for a soul, meaning- a killer must be killed, but what about a man who did not kill, why should he be killed?
He went to America in 1949, and remained there for two years to study and specialized in education and the basics of curriculum, for he worked as an supervisor in the Ministry of Education before that.
He finished his book "In the shades of the Quran" while he was in prison…
He also wrote many books about Islam and its future while in prison, he believed that change wouldn't happen by coups, but by educating people, and that would be a procedure that takes a lot of time…
And during his trial, he lifted up his shirt to show the audience the marks of torture on his body during his detention period…
And now, as I read his books, I realize how much the nation has lost by losing a man like Sayid Qutub and what he represents in culture, and the deep view to the issues of life, and I couldn't believe he believed in terrorism, or took part in assassinations or acts of violence against the state; a man who wrote all these books, got to the sixties of his life, and used to work as an inspector in the Ministry of Education, who can convince me he was evil, and carried notions of destruction and ruin to his country??
Or that he deserves to be executed?
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And so, a story drags another in its tail…
I said to myself: I want to read books about that phase in the history of Egypt…
It isn't the history of Egypt alone, but an important history of the whole nation, for Egypt was the pioneer in revolution and independence in 1952, while all the Arab countries at that time were under the British, French, or Italian imperialism…
I found a book about a collection of interviews with Hussein Al-Shafi'I on the Al-Jazeera channel, in the program (A Witness on An Era), who was one of the revolution's leaders in Egypt, a deputy president for a while, and a member of the court that sentenced the execution of Sayid Qutub…
I read the whole book, and it made me sad; I saw a man, whose age now is 87 years, who wouldn't admit to any mistake committed by the revolution or its men, against the opposition, or by the officers against each other, under the motto: the revolution eats her sons… I was stunned as I read the problems they encountered, and how these were solved by various jurisprudences sometimes, or by injustice acts, executions, torture, and imprisonment for the opposition at others, and the old man justified everything, under the banner of- protecting the revolution…
And many other stories about internal conflicts, tyranny of opinion, and the break up of the former allied revolutionary men, into foes and enemies; some of whom resigned, others were detained under house arrest, and one committed suicide after the country's defeat in a mysterious, silly war- the 1967 war which tore the nation apart, inflicting disappointment, frustration, and wounding the pride, more than what happened in the present Iraq war.
Hundreds of books were written about this war, or maybe thousands, to discover and analyze the reasons that led to the disaster. Some said it was treason, and some said it was bad planning, and a lot more reasons, but today, after I read those many books about the history of that period, I began to see that the main reason was ignorance and tyranny… worshiping the individual, adulating the president's character, without directing his attention towards his mistakes, and putting the leadership into the hands of men who were trusted by him, but not the efficient…
Weren't those the same constituents of the devastation that has befallen upon Iraq?
The same principal; one man, tyrannical in his opinion, who eliminated his colleagues and opponents, took the decisions alone, and led the country into the pit, and during that time he used to cut the tongue of whoever protested against him or his policies, considering himself the only wise man, and the hero of his time… and everything deteriorated; culture, education, teaching, development, and true building, and the spirit of corruption, adulation, and climbing prevailed… while the people were either ignorant and tricked, or perhaps participants in the sin… the honest men who dared to criticize the regime were eliminated, some died in prisons, were executed, or assassinated…
And the newspapers, magazines, and broadcasting stations clapped and sang for the hero, Mr. President…
By GOD, it’s a shameful history…
And it is repeated here and there…
And we can never declare the west innocent from dedicating this phenomena in our countries, or backing these dictatorial types, as long as they agree to collaborate with the west, secretly or in public, as in Iraq, for example- when America backed a man like Saddam Hussein, pushing him to power, and used him to achieve her interests by waging war on Iran, the enemy of America, then Iraq's war on Kuwait….
And here the clash happened, a clash in interests or thoughts, and the friends turned into enemies…
Then the embargo of Iraq started, everything deteriorated … and everybody knows the rest of the boring story…
And then comes America, crying over the Iraqi people, wanting to save them from that monstrous tyrant…
In the Holy Quran, there is a verse describing this scene, speaking about the devil, and Man: (…As the devil said to Man, be an infidel, and when he became an infidel, he said to him- I am innocent of what you have done, I fear GOD, the Lord of all beings…), meaning- America pushed Saddam to do all those evil deeds, then they said to him: oh, we do fear GOD, oh, people, this man is a tyrant who left mass graves, killed his people, destroyed his neighbors, and lab…lab…lab…
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When I finished reading the book of interviews with Hussein Al-Shafi'I, I wasn’t ever convinced by his opinion, or his testimony on an era, even though he used Quranic verses in every occasion, but I found this a sign to run away from responsibility, and justify mistakes…
Then I went on to read the book of Brigadier General Muhammad Najeeb, who was a leader of the revolution with them, in 1952, and he was the oldest among them, for he was 50, and the rest of the group in the thirties of their lives, and his rank was Brigadier General in the army, while theirs were lower than him…
And it was natural that Muhammad Najeeb would collide with the rest of the group, for there were the differences in age, experience, and viewpoints…
I read Al- Shafi'i’s opinion, that they were defending the revolution, and wouldn’t allow the democracy or the elections that Muhammad Najeeb demanded, for they saw these as a conspiracy so that every body, however unworthy, would assume power…
And when I read the diaries of Muhammad Najeeb, my heart filled with sadness and compassion for him, for he demanded to implement democracy, rejected the disbanding of Parties, rejected torture for prisoners or executions for the accused, stressed the necessity of writing a new constitution for the country, and separating the army from politics, while the young men with him thought only by the military mind which believed of nothing of all this, and understood nothing of the civilian life spirit, or the meaning of democracy, believing that power was in their hands, and there is no need to give it to others who do not understand…
This is the catastrophic mentality, owned by people whose minds are stubborn, arrogant, and narrow, and their experience in life is shallow, not deep…
The result was the defeat of Muhammad Najeeb, his removal from power, and his being put under house arrest from 1954 to 1971, meaning- until Jamal Abdul Nasser died. And he suffered cruelty, neglect, and the insults of some junior officers who were responsible about his compulsory residency…
By GOD, disgraceful stories, and a shameful history…
In the Egyptian cinema I saw films made about Jamal Abdul Nasser, and Anwar Al-Sadaat, but I didn’t see anyone produce a film about Muhammad Najeeb…
His diaries were full of sadness, and truthfulness, it didn’t contain anger or hatred, in spite of all the injustice he saw in his life, but rather it carried the soul of a generous, honest, kind spirited man, which made me cry a lot….
Especially when he wrote while in compulsory residence with his family: the thing that hurt me and made me sad the most, was when my little son came to me and asked me with deep interest: Were you a President?
I smiled to the boy, and said jokingly: Yes, but what made you ask, this is a long gone history…
He showed me a school text book, in which there was the sentence: Jamal Abdul Nasser is the first president of Egypt…
All the pressing machines removed my name from all books, and the name of Muhammad Najeeb is no longer published in a book or newspaper…
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Why do we do this, and allow a man like Muhammad Najeeb to be insulted?
Or a man like Sayid Qutub to be executed?
Did the policies of our governments ever change?
Of course not, Egypt suffers still, and Iraq is still suffering…
And most Arabic people are still suffering…
As if this became a part of our history and heritage…
Oh yes, these sick, unjust, tyrannical, corrupt governments became a part of our heritage.
When will we stop this?
This was the society that Sayid Qutub criticized in his writings, for Islam is a religion that came on to free a human from his fear of another human… from adulating another human, or agreeing to the injustice of a human against another…
Where is Islam in the life of the nation now?
Is it rituals, like praying and fasting?
Or is it a rebellious spirit against injustice and falseness?
Where is this spirit?
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And among all those things I read, the "George Orwell" Novel: (1984) was present with me all these past days….
And although he didn't write with the optimistic religious moral, the spirit of darkness and despair was dominant in the novel… but a part of it was undoubtedly true, specially when "Winston Smith" the leading character of the novel speaks about the people around him, who lived in terror under the authority of the Big Brother, with the " Thought Police" everywhere, for thinking was a crime…. And the party's slogans: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is power . As he writes in his secret diaries: {They will not rebel until they become aware, and they won't be able to become aware until they rebel.…}, {They remember a million useless things, like a fight with a work colleague/ a chase for a lost wheel/ the dust whirlpools in a dusty morning… but the facts relevant to the important issue is beyond their field of vision; they are like ants who can see the small objects, but cannot see the large objects}…
For me, and that remark about the ants- I have really seen many Iraqis whose brains are like an ant's, those whom you ask after the war: what do you think about what is happening in Iraq? And you get answers like:
• Oh, by GOD, things are better than before, I bought a beautiful, clean car, thank GOD…
• Oh, by GOD, my salary is a lot better than before, it is true that the security conditions and the services are not very good, but they will get better, GOD willing…
• Before the war, I used to study in collage, and after the war I worked with a British organization, and they took me on a training course to Britain. That was the first time I left Iraq, and I'm very happy….
These are samples of the little, ant-like minds, who see only the little distance belonging to them, and wouldn't think to ask: what about the others? What about the country's future?
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So, it does really mean- Ignorance is Strength: for these governments are keen on keeping their people ignorant, and derive its power and existence from that ignorance's existence….
I mean- where were the people when Sayid Qutub was executed? When Muhammad Najeeb was put under forced house arrest, and his name was omitted from the school text books?
I am one of many people who did not hear of his name until recently…
Where were the people?
The answer takes on many possibilities:
People were in a hustle-bustle, in heated debates about the revolution, and its enthusiastic, heated speeches about development, change, manufacturing the future, defeating the enemies, and the rest of this "big talk", which is mostly false, and nothing of it was realized on the ground of reality. Like what Muhammad Najeeb said in his diaries:
(It is not a matter of building factories and dams, but in building human).................
In those far off times, the opposing minds were eliminated, described as being the enemies of the people, perhaps, and the people are in a maze, in a whirlpool inside which they do not know the truth from the false, and would GOD bless and aid the unjust, adulating, hypocrite governments?
Of course defeat is their fate….
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In "1984", Winston Smith says: {All the history books before the revolution has been destroyed, and we no longer know how was the true life of the people 25 years ago?}.
And now I wonder: All the history books are available, talking frankly about all the catastrophes that were committed against the nation, but where are the people? Were their awareness? And why did they turn into a negative power, devoid of action, and influence?
When will they open their eyes?
When will they take decision into their hands?
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Translated by May/Baghdad.