Mixed marriage massacre

"The bad blood began to rise a few months ago in northern Iraq with the kind of interfaith love so reviled by Iraq's religious extremists: A Muslim woman eloped with a member of the tiny Yazidi religious sect.
It erupted in a massacre Sunday, police said, when Sunni gunmen in Mosul hijacked a busload of mostly Yazidi workers from a nearby town and shot and killed 23 of them, one by one.
The mass killing was the latest attack on religious minorities in Iraq, where human rights groups say Christians, Jews and members of other, smaller sects are often killed, persecuted or forced to convert by Muslim extremists. Last month in Kirkuk, two elderly Chaldean Catholic nuns were killed by armed men who stormed their house as they slept.
. . . 'They don't know the language of negotiation,' he said of the killers, who he said were probably members of the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq. 'They only know the language of weapons.' "

source
Brulliard, Karin. (The Washington Post). An Iraqi Massacre Rooted in Interfaith Love. April 23, 2007.

related posting
Mixed marriages targeted: Is mixed region a solution? March 6, 2007.

posted: wednesday, april 25, 2007, 4:37 PM ET

tags: iraq yazidi mixed marriage

Mixed marriages targeted: Is mixed region a solution?

"As U.S. and Iraqi forces attempt to pacify the capital, mixed couples who symbolize Iraq's once famous tolerance are increasingly entangled by hate.
. . . 'In the absence of security, Iraqis are protecting themselves by turning to their sects and their tribes,' said Zina Abdul Rasul, a U.N. human rights worker who herself is a product of a mixed marriage. 'It is becoming normal to hear about mixed families breaking down.'
. . . While there are no official statistics, sociologists estimate that nearly a third of Iraqi marriages are unions between members of different sectarian or ethnic communities. In the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, many Iraqis argued that the prevalence of such unions showed that Iraqis cared more about their Arab or national identity than their sect, which would spare the country a civil war.
But Iraq's sectarian strife has risen sharply since the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra by Sunni militants a year ago. Since then, more than 500,000 Iraqis have fled their homes, a number that is growing by 50,000 every month, according to the United Nations. The vast majority have left mixed areas, the main battlefields of the sectarian war." [1]

Could a mixed, secular province or region be a solution? If 1 in 3 marriages are mixed marriages, then it seems that they would make up a significant number of people. If you add other possible inhabitants such as family members of the mixed marriages, non-sectarian secularists, minority groups, artistic/creative types, other targeted groups or individuals, or people who would just enjoy living in a mixed, secular area, the number would be even larger. *

Last year's federalism law is due to take effect in a little over a year. It will allow provinces to vote on whether to form semi-autonomous provinces or join with other provinces to form semi-autonomous regions. There's no reason that a mixed, secular province or region could not be formed when this law takes effect.

Of course, having a country where one could live peacefully in any location would probably be the preference. But considering all the violence over the past years, this sort of countrywide peace, if ever achieved, may be an uneasy peace at best for awhile. And even with relative peace, there is no guarantee that mixed marriages and others will not continue to be targeted. So the formation of a mixed, secular province or region with security designed especially for its inhabitants seems like it would be a desirable goal.

footnote
* Christians might also be included among these groups unless they succeed in forming their own area.

source
[1] Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). Marriages Between Sects Come Under Siege in Iraq. March 4, 2007.

posted: tuesday, march 6, 2007, 6:30 PM ET
update: saturday, march 10, 2007, 9:10 AM ET

tags: iraq federalism mixed marriage

Sadr's militia targets Sunnis in Baghdad's mixed neighborhoods; some Shiites coming to support targeting

"The strengthening role of Sadr's Mahdi Army presents a disturbing window onto the possible path of this war. While they claim to be only targeting the "deserving" and are acting to protect their coreligionists, more and more the militia is taking a lead role in the sectarian battle unfolding daily on the ground in Baghdad.
"Some of us told them that our Sunni neighbors aren't terrorists, they should be left alone," says a Shiite man, who asked that his name not be used, estimating that five Sunni families have left his street in the past week. "They wouldn't listen - and some Shiites are now saying the solution is to drive the Sunnis out."
Evidence on the ground shows that militia groups have grown stronger since the current government took power early this year. While US advisory groups, such as the Iraq Study Group, are calling for mediation and reconciliation, street-level combatants seem determined to kill as many representatives of the other side as possible.
. . . 'Originally, months ago, the problem in the neighborhood was between two tribes - the Jiburi and the Maksosy,' says Wissam Hamed, who lives in Hurriyah. 'But the problem is the Jiburi are Sunnis and the Maksosy, Shiites. It became about religion pretty quickly.' "

source
The Christian Science Monitor. Iraq battle lines fracture mixed neighborhoods. December 13, 2006.

posting: thursday, december 14, 2006, 5:09 PM ET

Shiites helping Sunnis in some mixed neighborhoods; lack of trust causing some disconnects

"In the aftermath of one of the deadliest spasms of violence, a new level of fear and foreboding has gripped Baghdad, fueled in part by sectarian text messages and Internet sites, deepening tensions in an already divided capital.
. . . Yet amid the fear gripping this city of 7 million, there were also signs of Iraq's famous cohesiveness, even as the sectarian divide widened. In some mixed neighborhoods, Shiites provided shelter to Sunnis targeted by Shiite militiamen, even though they risked being branded as collaborators. Others took care of Sunni children or bought groceries for Sunni neighbors who feared walking to the local market.
. . . [And yet,] on Palestine Street, Fehad Galib heard the rumors. The Mahdi Army had rounded up 150 young Sunni men like him and taken them to Jamila Market, the area in Sadr City where two of Thursday's car bombs exploded. Then they executed them. There was another rumor -- that the Interior Ministry was handing out police uniforms to the Mahdi Army.
That is why Galib was reluctant to allow his kid brothers to stay with Shiite neighbors his family has known for decades. "We don't have complete trust in them," said Galib, 21, a college student who carries an AK-47."

source
The Washington Post. Baghdad Braces For More Reprisals: Cellphones and Web Spread Threats, Fear. November 26, 2006.

posted: wednesday, november 29, 2006, 3:35 PM ET
update: wednesday, november 29, 2006, 3:39 PM ET