Blowing The Roof Off?

Juan Cole worries that Iraqi's --
in considering how the fate
of the Askariya Shrine in Samarra
might cause the country  to unravel --
will come to sequence it like this....

(click)

(image 1: Khalid Mohammed/AP. February 2004.  Askariya Shrine. Samarra, Iraq. nyt.com; image 2: Meg Jones/Meg Jones online. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Samarra, Iraq.  June 6, 2005. sonline.com. image 3: Hameed Rasheed/A.P. February 22, 2006. Askariya Shrine. Samarra, Iraq. Via YahooNews.)

Comments

[Mad_nVT]

No surprise that Iraqis will relate the destruction of the Golden Dome to the American invasion of Iraq. So will millions of other Shia. And millions of others around the globe who warned that an invasion of Iraq would lead to instability and civil war. Duh.

The new image of the Golden Dome represents the Bush Administration's ill-considered dreams of Iraq as an American oil deposit and a fountain of democracy.

[futurebird]

Forgive my ignorance, but why was the dome scaffolded? Was that related to our presence there or just routine repair work?

This sequence for me reads "reconstruction failed."

The dome was beautiful-- unearthly I can understand why it's destruction has had such a great psychological impact.

[Alan]

you need to flip one of those two photos -- they are mirror images

[Alan]

oops, i take that back -- dyslexia kicking in again...

[lemondloulou54]

Note the dates of the photographs: top 2/04; middle 6/05; bottom 2/06

[lytom]

The core of the Shi'ite religious worldview is the Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, "The Guided One." While the stories of the first eleven Imams are historical in nature, the history of the twelfth Imam is mystical and miraculous. Born in 868 AD / 255 AH, Abu'l-Kasim Muhammad (which is the name of the Prophet himself), and when Hasan al-Askari, the Eleventh Imam, died in 874 AD / 260 AH, the seven year old boy declared himself to be the Twelfth Imam and went into hiding. The Shi'ites believed that he hid himself in a cave below a mosque in Samarra ; this cave is blocked by a gate which the Shi'ites call Bab-al Ghayba , or the "Gate of Occultation." This is one of the most sacred sites in Shi'a Islam, and the faithful gather here to pray for the return of the Twelfth Imam.
The central Shi'a doctrines revolving around the Hidden Imam are the doctrines of Occultation (Ghayba ) and Return (Raj'a ) . The Doctrine of Occultation is simply the belief that God hid Muhammad al-Mahdi away from the eyes of men in order to preserve his life. God has miraculously kept him alive since the day he was hidden in 874 AD / 260 AH; eventually God will reveal al-Mahdi to the world and he will return to guide humanity.

The above is a path to understanding the importance of the Askariya Shrine in Samarra. The destruction of the Shrine is a direct attack on all Shi'ites. Just like cartoons it will have terrible repercussions. Iraq people live in unimaginable situation which is now completely enveloped in fear for all and of all.

Seeing the beauty destroyed, my soul cries and I fear.

[Asta]

Terrible things are happening in Iraq as a result of this horrific destruction. I was listening to the news on the radio and it was being reported that people in Iraq were staying at home, not going to work, and were stocking up on food and water in fear of a civil war. Lots of execution style killngs, kidnappings, the whole laundry list of retaliations.

I think the Iraqi Civil War has begun.

Suppose Rummy will surface with his usual "everything's coming up roses" rhetoric?

[ummabdulla]

Thanks for explaining that, lytom. I didn't know all that about that shrine, but I saw Sistani's aide on the BBC explaining that for Shias, this was something worse than 9/11 was for Americans. Also, this month (by the Islamic calendar) is a very emotional month of mourning for Shias, so that doesn't help any.

People have been predicting this civil war since before the U.S. went into Iraq, and it seems that it might have reached that point... I wonder how Iran will react, because their President seems to be very interested in the Mehdi.

I also didn't understand about the scaffolding. In that picture, there are American troops, but was the mosque damaged?

[jt from BC]

An up to date compendium of events, as all groups known and unknown are being blamed, and the US says it will pay for all repair costs ? perhaps a token gesture for the recent threatening comments made by Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington's ambassador to Iraq.

Al Askari Mosque
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Askari_Mosque
follow links for photos or go direct to
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4738874.stm

lemondloulou54 observation "Note the dates of the photographs: top 2/04; middle 6/05; bottom 2/06" suggested I look more closely at Wiki and,

Ummabdulla, perhaps clues about the scaffolding issue may be found there as a photo shows Iraqi troops preparing to storm the Al Askari Mosque, then occupied by insurgents, in October 2004.

[Quentin]

To feel the mood in Baghdad after the destruction of the Askariya mosque read Riverbend. Maybe it's also a good time to remember that after the occuption of Baghdad, Iraq lost its entire archive of the Ottoman and Royal periods, some five hundred years of written history, the entire library of historic Qur'ans and many, many artefacts in the National Museum. Iraq's history has permanently entered the realm of history, but unlike the Mehdi there is no hope of return. Also the pillaging of archaeological sites goes on and the flow off decorative bric-a-brac to collectors around the world is in full swing.

Now switch gears and envisage His Assholiness the President clearing brush and His Even More Despicable Unholiness the Vice-president shooting quail. As Mrs. Mary Carville said on a pundit outpost last Sundy, DELICIOUS.

[readytoblowagasket]

This reminds me of the desecrations of the Qur'an by U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo and elsewhere (because it's *so* outrageous, and yet so obvious). I wonder if we'll learn one day that the U.S. had something (everything?) to do with this bombing and that the ensuing chaos was one of our sick goals. If you *want* to kick the civil war into gear, this would be how to do it.

[Asta]

What would be the objective of a civil war, or should I say, payoff? I agree about the "sick goals", but I can't see how this event could serve our "purposes", unless it is to pull Iran into this mess somehow and give us the excuse to attack them.

[donna]

Wasn't the mosque slightly damaged in the fighting with Sadr's troops?

[jt from BC]

From a blogger I have generally considered the most informed of the conspiracy theorists, I occasionally check his site and in light of RTBAG comment here is an excerpt from his posting today,

"If the Sunnis and Shia are busy killing each other, it will be more difficult to rally them to fight against the Anglo-American forces in Iraq, especially after the planned shock and awe campaign against Iran, now considered inevitable."
http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=243

[jt from BC]

difficulty with: http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=243

try: http://kurtnimmo.com/

[Cactus]

Asta, the purpose of starting a civil war is chaos. When a country/region is in chaos, it cannot protect its assets. One of the tricks of thieves is to start a brawl and have cohorts run around the circle and steal everyone's valuables.

I second Quentin's suggestion that you all read Riverbend's blog entry about the feeling in Baghdad. From what I've read, she is a former computer programmer (?) in her mid 20's. Here is the url:

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

I wonder if, fifty years from now, whoever is left will look back on this act as the tipping point. I cannot rid myself of this pervasive feeling of dread.

[Quentin]

Cactus, if you return more often to this site you will one day understand that asta dissembles, to put it mildly, inveterately, provocates.

[DonM]

More violent than violence or war posing for the camera? The same as it has always been only mediated by technology. Now violence for the sole purpose that we all see it.

[Quentin]

DonM, now we all see it, before we all read about it. Nothing has changed. Violence is a way to achieve an end: see the U.S. and U.K. war on and occupation of Iraq.

[Asta]

My, a long string of adjectives. Dissembles, inveterates, provocates. Now, just to be snarky (alert! alert!) provocate is not found in the dictionary, but I think it deserves to become a real word. I like it!

Cactus, I think Quentin is trying to tell you that I persistantly feign provocation. Which is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me.

But let's get back to the Chaos Theory. I'm going over to Kurtnimmo per JT's direction and learn something.

Oh, and I've been reading Riverbend from it's beginning. She has a gift for writing, I truly care about what happens to this lovely, intelligent young lady and her family. I would get them out of Iraq if I could/knew how to save them from the coming killing fields.

[readytoblowagasket]

The question to ask is what would the Sunnis (who are first in line to be suspected) have to gain by blowing up this shrine? *Nothing.* Although the Sunnis are paying for this act, I doubt they are responsible for it. It's just too stupid a move ("stupid" being a consistent hallmark of the U.S.). Speaking of stupid, another false note is that wanker Tony Blair has publicly "condemned" it, as if on cue. So, let's just wait and see who gets the contract to rebuild it.

[mugatea]

The WashPost ran a picture of Shia, in a group, holding pieces of the golden dome above thier heads.
The look in thier eyes said "civil war." Holy chaos, Bagman.

Chaos in the region is good for oil company profits.
Can they top last quarter? But of course, at any cost.

[jt from BC]

RTBAG & ASTA, since my last reference to http://kurtnimmo.com/
he has written an additional short article, if and when you have time I would really appreciate your opinions on his prognostication.
thanks, jt

[Asta]

JT, are you referring to the "Pentagon Controlled Iraqi National Guard" article? If so, yeah, I read that first off. Made sense to me on the Chaos Level. If not, I'll read the other essays.

Of course, on the MSM news tonight, THEY trotted out one of our generals who claimed Al-Qaeda was behind this.

I looked at my watch...right on time.

[Asta]

I would like to know why TheBag chose the particular presentation of these three photos. Why the tiny (click) photo in the middle? I've been trying to figure out the meaning behind it, I know there is one, perhaps symbolism... .

(Megan said we weren't paying enough attention to the psychological aspects of the photos and she's right. Let's not forget the Roots of TheBag!)