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| Iraqi Sunnis forced to abandon homes and identity in battle for survival | Iraqi Sunnis forced to abandon homes and identity in battle for survival |
| (17 days later) | |
| Last November, with his home in flames and his father missing, 21-year-old Omar Mazen abandoned his home town of Baquba and fled to the Iraqi capital, 60 miles south. | Last November, with his home in flames and his father missing, 21-year-old Omar Mazen abandoned his home town of Baquba and fled to the Iraqi capital, 60 miles south. |
| But his home was not the only thing he left behind. He also decided to abandon his name. | But his home was not the only thing he left behind. He also decided to abandon his name. |
| The journey was perilous. At every checkpoint, Shia militiamen or Iraqi soldiers read his papers and stared suspiciously at his identifiably Sunni name. “I didn’t want to show them,” he said. “I was terrified every time. So many Sunnis had disappeared at checkpoints and my father was one of them.” | The journey was perilous. At every checkpoint, Shia militiamen or Iraqi soldiers read his papers and stared suspiciously at his identifiably Sunni name. “I didn’t want to show them,” he said. “I was terrified every time. So many Sunnis had disappeared at checkpoints and my father was one of them.” |
| Somehow, he made it through the heart of the fight against Islamic State that was raging all along the highway. But afterwards he faced a constant dilemma of how to stay safe in a city and society in which Sunni Iraqis – the core of the ruling class under Saddam Hussein – were often viewed by the new Shia-led establishment as either enablers or agents of the extremist insurgency. | Somehow, he made it through the heart of the fight against Islamic State that was raging all along the highway. But afterwards he faced a constant dilemma of how to stay safe in a city and society in which Sunni Iraqis – the core of the ruling class under Saddam Hussein – were often viewed by the new Shia-led establishment as either enablers or agents of the extremist insurgency. |
| Related: Sunni v Shia: why the conflict is more political than religious | Related: Sunni v Shia: why the conflict is more political than religious |
| Mazen decided to change his name to a more neutral Ammar, and seek refuge among the Shias. In February, he went to the residency office and started the process. “They were helpful,” he said of the government officials he dealt with – not an observation often made about Iraq’s turgid bureaucracy. “They said it would take about a month.” | Mazen decided to change his name to a more neutral Ammar, and seek refuge among the Shias. In February, he went to the residency office and started the process. “They were helpful,” he said of the government officials he dealt with – not an observation often made about Iraq’s turgid bureaucracy. “They said it would take about a month.” |
| Mazen’s dilemma reflects the latest upheaval in Iraq, as its existential fight against Isis approaches a second year. In the past 10 months, huge numbers of people – perhaps a quarter of the population – have again been displaced, and Iraq’s social fabric, badly frayed through the years of civil war, is once more being tested. | Mazen’s dilemma reflects the latest upheaval in Iraq, as its existential fight against Isis approaches a second year. In the past 10 months, huge numbers of people – perhaps a quarter of the population – have again been displaced, and Iraq’s social fabric, badly frayed through the years of civil war, is once more being tested. |
| Sunnis who had moved back into restive communities as the five-year convulsion of violence started to abate in 2008 have again been forced out, this time mostly by Isis extremists who claim to be fighting in the name of their faith. In Baquba, Shia militias who have at times been indiscriminate as they lead the pushback against Isis have also exiled residents. And, in Tikrit, the predominantly Sunni city that was reclaimed from Isis by Shia militias and Iraqi forces last week, reports have emerged of looting and sabotage at the hands of the conquerers. | Sunnis who had moved back into restive communities as the five-year convulsion of violence started to abate in 2008 have again been forced out, this time mostly by Isis extremists who claim to be fighting in the name of their faith. In Baquba, Shia militias who have at times been indiscriminate as they lead the pushback against Isis have also exiled residents. And, in Tikrit, the predominantly Sunni city that was reclaimed from Isis by Shia militias and Iraqi forces last week, reports have emerged of looting and sabotage at the hands of the conquerers. |
| The revitalised insurrection has also seen a sharp rise in bombings targeting Shia communities, especially in Baghdad, where a steady increase in refugees such as Mazen are also contemplating disavowing their past in order to live. What that means for Iraq’s plurality if Isis is eventually defeated is being debated across the country. | The revitalised insurrection has also seen a sharp rise in bombings targeting Shia communities, especially in Baghdad, where a steady increase in refugees such as Mazen are also contemplating disavowing their past in order to live. What that means for Iraq’s plurality if Isis is eventually defeated is being debated across the country. |
| “How you view this depends on whether you’re Sunni or Shia,” said Mohammed Abu Bakr, a Sunni student from Yousifiya, south of the capital. “My community and family say the country is broken. There is no trust. This is a Shia theocracy now.” | “How you view this depends on whether you’re Sunni or Shia,” said Mohammed Abu Bakr, a Sunni student from Yousifiya, south of the capital. “My community and family say the country is broken. There is no trust. This is a Shia theocracy now.” |
| Officials say they have been examining the spate of name changes, but claim not to want to interfere in individual decisions. “Last month, we started receiving requests to change names … like changing Shia or Sunni names,” said Maj Gen Tahseen Abdul Razak, the manger of the residency bureau in Baghdad. “The most common name was changing Omar to Ammar or deleting the family name from the citizenship card. We had many cases but not to the level that it was overwhelming.” | Officials say they have been examining the spate of name changes, but claim not to want to interfere in individual decisions. “Last month, we started receiving requests to change names … like changing Shia or Sunni names,” said Maj Gen Tahseen Abdul Razak, the manger of the residency bureau in Baghdad. “The most common name was changing Omar to Ammar or deleting the family name from the citizenship card. We had many cases but not to the level that it was overwhelming.” |
| Political leaders are now starting to wrestle with the reasons behind Iraqis changing their identities and what that might mean for a society that most maintain is split by political differences rather than sectarian affiliation. | Political leaders are now starting to wrestle with the reasons behind Iraqis changing their identities and what that might mean for a society that most maintain is split by political differences rather than sectarian affiliation. |
| “It is frightening to be a Sunni now, to be honest,” said Iraq’s vice-president for reconciliation, Iyad Allawi. “It is unsafe, confusing and I pity them.” Allawi has been entrusted with pushing a concept that has failed to take hold at any point since the US-led invasion in 2003 that upended Iraq’s power base. | “It is frightening to be a Sunni now, to be honest,” said Iraq’s vice-president for reconciliation, Iyad Allawi. “It is unsafe, confusing and I pity them.” Allawi has been entrusted with pushing a concept that has failed to take hold at any point since the US-led invasion in 2003 that upended Iraq’s power base. |
| Related: Sectarian strife is only part of the Iraq picture | Letters | |
| He said Sunnis who wanted to return to their homes in battle-scarred areas were being subjected to intrusive vetting at the hands of militias and security forces, and suffered regular discrimination from officials in Baghdad. “The sheikhs who come to see me from Anbar tell me regularly of the abuse at checkpoints. It is insufferable.” | He said Sunnis who wanted to return to their homes in battle-scarred areas were being subjected to intrusive vetting at the hands of militias and security forces, and suffered regular discrimination from officials in Baghdad. “The sheikhs who come to see me from Anbar tell me regularly of the abuse at checkpoints. It is insufferable.” |
| In Baghdad’s Sunni enclave of Adhamiyeh, Sheikh Mustafa, an imam in the Abu Hanefah mosque – a central institution of Sunni learning in Iraq – said discrimination against Sunni residents and refugees was now a “very big problem”. | In Baghdad’s Sunni enclave of Adhamiyeh, Sheikh Mustafa, an imam in the Abu Hanefah mosque – a central institution of Sunni learning in Iraq – said discrimination against Sunni residents and refugees was now a “very big problem”. |
| “No [Sunni new arrival] can now live in Baghdad without a guarantor,” he said. “And that guarantor must say that this person is not a member of Daesh [Isis]. We cannot let this get out of control here. If another sectarian war is going to happen, Baghdad will be a pool of blood.” | “No [Sunni new arrival] can now live in Baghdad without a guarantor,” he said. “And that guarantor must say that this person is not a member of Daesh [Isis]. We cannot let this get out of control here. If another sectarian war is going to happen, Baghdad will be a pool of blood.” |
| In an Adhamiyeh shopping mall, Jamal Abdul Nassir said: “There are people inside my university who talk about Sunnis as if they are Daesh and they don’t want to be associated with us. These groups aren’t the majority but we hear about it a lot. I still feel we can live together. My brother proposed to a Shia girl last month.” | In an Adhamiyeh shopping mall, Jamal Abdul Nassir said: “There are people inside my university who talk about Sunnis as if they are Daesh and they don’t want to be associated with us. These groups aren’t the majority but we hear about it a lot. I still feel we can live together. My brother proposed to a Shia girl last month.” |
| Young Sunnis like him continue to struggle with the issue of how to view Isis, which claims to be representing their interests by feeding off the ruins of an Iraqi body politic that has failed to re-enfranchise them. | Young Sunnis like him continue to struggle with the issue of how to view Isis, which claims to be representing their interests by feeding off the ruins of an Iraqi body politic that has failed to re-enfranchise them. |
| “I can understand why some Sunnis believe that the presence of Isis in Iraq helps to provide balance as Iran is interfering in Iraq’s business,” he said. “They say Iran is interfering everywhere like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and now Yemen. But I don’t believe in this. The real problem in Iraq that everybody is sectarian and the politicians are all sectarian. | “I can understand why some Sunnis believe that the presence of Isis in Iraq helps to provide balance as Iran is interfering in Iraq’s business,” he said. “They say Iran is interfering everywhere like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and now Yemen. But I don’t believe in this. The real problem in Iraq that everybody is sectarian and the politicians are all sectarian. |
| “The only chance we have for real reconciliation is to change all the corrupt politicians, Sunnis and Shias. From the invasion, we have stuck with the same faces who keep rotating positions.” | “The only chance we have for real reconciliation is to change all the corrupt politicians, Sunnis and Shias. From the invasion, we have stuck with the same faces who keep rotating positions.” |
| On another side of the city, Amar al-Hakim, one of Iraq’s most prominent Shia clerics – the leader of the Supreme Islamic Council – said reconciliation was now more important than ever. | On another side of the city, Amar al-Hakim, one of Iraq’s most prominent Shia clerics – the leader of the Supreme Islamic Council – said reconciliation was now more important than ever. |
| “We are a long way from our goal,” he said “We have to understand our limitations, given what we have gone through. We have to look at where we were and where we are now and are we advancing at the right speed and in the right direction. | “We are a long way from our goal,” he said “We have to understand our limitations, given what we have gone through. We have to look at where we were and where we are now and are we advancing at the right speed and in the right direction. |
| “This is a historical chance for a real reconciliation. Now every time we move one inch we can raise our voices. We are not fighting for the sake of fighting. We are fighting to live. | “This is a historical chance for a real reconciliation. Now every time we move one inch we can raise our voices. We are not fighting for the sake of fighting. We are fighting to live. |
| “All involved in conflicts are going to make fragile arrangements. We don’t blame others for having ambitions, but we blame ourselves for being tools in their hands.” | “All involved in conflicts are going to make fragile arrangements. We don’t blame others for having ambitions, but we blame ourselves for being tools in their hands.” |
| Hakim, who is affiliated with the leader of the Hashd al-Shaabi, an umbrella group of Shia militias at the vanguard of the fighting against Isis, said outreach to Sunni tribes around Tikrit had been successful. Indeed, Sunni tribal leader Ahmed Jaboor said his town of Alam had been liberated by militias who had encouraged residents to return and helped them clean up. “We couldn’t have done this without our brothers,” he said. | Hakim, who is affiliated with the leader of the Hashd al-Shaabi, an umbrella group of Shia militias at the vanguard of the fighting against Isis, said outreach to Sunni tribes around Tikrit had been successful. Indeed, Sunni tribal leader Ahmed Jaboor said his town of Alam had been liberated by militias who had encouraged residents to return and helped them clean up. “We couldn’t have done this without our brothers,” he said. |
| Elsewhere though, fear of what family names could mean in an Iraq again at war continue to discomfit officials and religious leaders, among them Hakim. | Elsewhere though, fear of what family names could mean in an Iraq again at war continue to discomfit officials and religious leaders, among them Hakim. |
| “We admit those problems and we are trying to change them,” he said of the reports of people changing their names. “Now we have an Omar who has changed his name to live in Baghdad, but in the past we had an Ammar who was living in Anbar and had to leave for 12 years.” | “We admit those problems and we are trying to change them,” he said of the reports of people changing their names. “Now we have an Omar who has changed his name to live in Baghdad, but in the past we had an Ammar who was living in Anbar and had to leave for 12 years.” |
| In north Baghdad, Mazen is now working as a helper inside a Shia community centre and mosque. His name change is now complete. And soon, it seems, will be his conversion to Shia Islam. “I want t live my life and protect my family,” he said with a shrug. “These guys have been good to me.” | In north Baghdad, Mazen is now working as a helper inside a Shia community centre and mosque. His name change is now complete. And soon, it seems, will be his conversion to Shia Islam. “I want t live my life and protect my family,” he said with a shrug. “These guys have been good to me.” |
| Additional reporting: Mais al-Baya’a | Additional reporting: Mais al-Baya’a |