Targeting tolerance

The cycle of violence in Iraq grows, belying the effectivity of the transfer of power as civilians continue to be the main victims, Nermeen Al-Mufti writes from Baghdad

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Soldiers walk across the rubble in front of a church in Baghdad which was bombed on Sunday, 1 August. This is the first time churches have been targeted since the start of the 15-month violent insurgency

THE GATES of Mar Illyas Church and the Al-Dawra Monastery -- the targets of car-bombings on Sunday -- were adorned with the statues of the Virgin Mary, sculpted by prominent Iraqi sculptor, Mohamed Ghani, a Muslim. The statues bear witness to Iraq's ethnic diversity: the Virgin is wrapped in an Iraqi abaya and wearing a traditional Basra head covering. The statues, sculpted after the first Gulf War, symbolise the suffering borne by all Iraqi mothers who lost their children during the war. Ghani's work, which depicts the suffering of Christ, can be found in many of Iraq's churches.

Mar Illyas was one of four churches which were targeted on Sunday by massive car bombs which left dozens killed and many wounded -- Muslims as well as Christians -- as the nearby mosque was also heavily damaged. It is the first time that Iraq's Christians have been the target of attacks, which marks a shift in the way violence is being perpetrated.

Raad Aziz, an Iraqi Christian, has suffered in the various Gulf wars. He was maimed in the Iran-Iraq war, in which he lost a foot, but his most recent loss is more profound: "I lost a 13-year-old daughter and a 10-year- old son. I live among Muslim neighbours and have always felt that I am among family," he said. Those people, he continued, cannot be true Muslims or Iraqis to attack a place of worship. Who are they?" he asked.

The attacks have drawn strong condemnation from Iraq's various political and religious groups. Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, breaking a long silence, issued a statement condemning the attacks, describing them as "criminal acts targeting Iraq's stability and unity".

"We denounce and condemn these terrible crimes and stress that the right of the Christian citizens of Iraq and other religious communities to live in their country peacefully and safely should be respected," said the statement. Iraq's Sunni Scholars Association also issued a statement condemning the attacks on the churches saying that "true Muslims do not attack places of worship."

Iraq's official line was a mix of condemnation and finger-pointing. The attacks have seemingly undermined efforts made by the Iraqi government to restore stability to the country. Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Burham Salih said that "the Iraqi government will chase those criminals wherever they are." One official source blamed Abu Musaab Al-Zarqawi and his group for the attack.

Meanwhile, the interior and defence ministers have put the blame on Iran. On Sunday, the same day the churches were attacked, the police seized $27 million worth of narcotics which had been smuggled through Iran. Many Iraqis suspect that Tehran would prefer to see their country remain in trouble -- the idea being that as long as the Americans are busy in Iraq, they are unlikely to turn on the heat on Iran.

Killing Iraqis

TERRORISTS are wreaking havoc throughout Iraq, leaving the world reeling at the seemingly endless stream of atrocities. In Baquba, the police have erected barriers and barbed wire around the police station where 150 people were killed or wounded, most of them young men lining up to apply for service in the police or national guard. The police station, which has been attacked twice, bears many scars of the attacks; blood and dried morsels of flesh still cling to its walls and pavements.

Ali Gaber, 18, did not have the chance to finish his education. He dropped out of school in the fourth grade to eke out a living as a porter, grocer's assistant and peddler of plastic bags. When Iraq was "liberated", or occupied, he did not take part in the massive looting rampage that swept throughout the country, although his family could barely manage to pay the rent for their two-room dwelling. He continued to work in low-paid jobs, until the day he heard the police were recruiting new staff.

Ali is now stretched out on a bed in Baquba General Hospital. He has lost his right foot has shrapnel wounds on his face and other parts of his body. He grapples for words, holding back the tears. He blames the police and other security services for making the applicants stand in long lines in front of the police stations, although they are a known target for bombers. How many attacks will it take, he asks, before the Interior Ministry gets the message and stops making people stand outside police stations?

Ali's mother, wearing a blood-drenched cloak, sits beside her son's bed. She says she felt uneasy the day Ali left home at 6.30am to go to the police station. As soon as she heard the explosion, she ran to the station and saw blood everywhere. Without thinking, she threw herself into the nearest pool of blood, thinking it might be the blood of her son. Hours later she came across her son in the hospital. "Thank God, he is still breathing," she said. Her neighbour lost a son in the same incident. He was close to the car bomb and his body was never recovered.

"All I ever wanted was a regular salary and a life, but they insist on taking away everything," Ali says. "Who are 'they'?" I ask him. He has no answer, only the tears that run down his face.

"Who are they?" As more blood and tears are shed, the question remains unanswered. Former Army General Miqdad Al-Jabburi says, "in Falluja, there are hundreds of officers of the disbanded Iraqi army, men who are known for dignity and integrity. No one in their right mind believes that they work for Al-Zarqawi or any Arab or non-Arab who has come to this country to settle a score with America or to keep America at bay!"

In an attempt to prove to the public that the town is safe, officials staged a parade of army and police forces in Falluja last Friday. A few hours later, US planes bombarded the eastern part of town, claiming the target was "Arab fighters". Hasan Omar Al-Deleimi said the raids started a month ago. "In the first raid, 25 fighters were killed, some of them were [non-Iraqi] Arabs. In the following raids, the victims were innocent civilians, including women and children," he said. "But official Iraqi statements say that the raids target the safe havens of Arab fighters. Not all the information is accurate. The inhabitants of Falluja have asked the Arab fighters to leave the city. If some of them still give shelter to Arab fighters, why not besiege their homes? Why use planes and tanks that kill dozens of civilians to get to one Arab fighter. Their only aim is to kill Iraqis," Al-Deleimi said.