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Iraq
Liquor-Shop Owners Being Killed in Iraq
2004-01-19
By most accounts, Sameer got off easy — the 42-year-old Christian liquor merchant received only a warning from the masked men who waved Kalashnikov rifles in his face and trashed his house in search of booze. Others weren’t as lucky. Abid Slewa was shot in the head as he unlocked the front door of his liquor store. Bashir Elias, caught selling alcohol from the back of his car, was shot to death Christmas Eve on a street crowded with cheering onlookers. Basra’s leading Shiite clerics deny any involvement in the killings. But they do acknowledge that their supporters have been warning people not to buy, drink or sell alcohol, which is banned under Islam. "These liquor shop owners, we talk to them and tell them that by selling alcohol they are injuring the whole community, bringing shame on all of us," said Sheik Abu Salaam, the Basra representative of hard-line cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Moqtada's position is that if Muslims can't do it, nobody can do it...
Under Islamic law, repeat offenders eventually would be put to death, he said. Besides the murders, dozens of liquor stores owned by Christians have been torched in recent months. Women in Basra say they have been admonished by angry men for leaving home without a headscarf. "If I leave my house with my head bare, people shout at me — they yell ’whore,’" said Aida Wahid, a 41-year Christian who owns a beauty salon. Men tell of being stopped at intersections by gangs of Islamic activists and ordered to shut off music.
Islam, the religion of peace and tolerance.

That's life in the Third World, where somebody else always knows what's best for you.
Posted by:TS

#11  Jon Shep U.K: hey,we have done a very good job down south,what will happen in the future down there no one knows but we have been doing a spiffing job me old mate.Tally ho Chuck

I think British forces are finding out that the Shiites are no Orangemen. (US forces know that the Sunnis aren't exactly Northern Irish Catholics, either). I find it strange, though, that we're not seeing these kinds of issues in the Baghdad area. You would think Sunnis are more likely to do this kind of thing, since the Saudis are flooding the zone with Wahhabi propaganda (which is anathema to the Shiites, since Wahhabis think that Shiites are worse than Jews and Christians). It may be that Islamic radicalism is more prevalent among Iraq's Shiites than among the Iraq's Sunnis, just as we had suspected. This is Iranian-, not Saudi-style radicalism.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2004-1-19 3:22:36 PM  

#10  Somebody in authority with some LARGE guns needs to tell these "Islamic activists" to STFU and MYOB. Once.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2004-1-19 2:58:27 PM  

#9  Sort of funny how things are handled differently in different parts of the world. In Indiana normally we would forgo the "armed conflict" option and maybe try zoning laws or something along those line. To each his own.
Posted by: Super Hose   2004-1-19 2:56:14 PM  

#8  The Brits have been doing a fine job--You can't fault them no more than you can fault any US police force for not preventing all crime.

"Islam: Your Gateway to the 12th Century."
Posted by: Dar   2004-1-19 2:01:18 PM  

#7  SH, Moqtada needs a bullet in the head before he causes more trouble. The moment we leave he'll cause a Civil War.
Posted by: Charles   2004-1-19 1:12:20 PM  

#6  "These liquor shop owners, we talk to them and tell them that by selling alcohol they are injuring the whole community, bringing shame on all of us," said Sheik Abu Salaam, the Basra representative of hard-line cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

And how, pray tell, is it shameful to sell alcohol? Unless, of course, members of your particular community are incapable of holding their liquor...

Yes, the Brits are doing a spiffy job in keeping order in the south.

Hey, if it's all in the name of "sensitivity", it can't be all that bad, right? ;)
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2004-1-19 1:01:24 PM  

#5  I expect to see a slow-motion cultural civil war continue in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as many other ME countries for the forseeable future. Right now the coalition forces are acting like linesmen in the NFL. Preventing and punishing non-insurgent violence is the job of the Iraqis.

They will eventually have to decide whether thy intend to permit alcohol sales and consumption in their society. While I am not for leagalizing more drugs, I am doubtful that fundementalist prohibition will be effectively enforced in Iraq. Local dry pockets might take hold, but general abstinence isn't in the cards.

Moqtada fundementalist stance will be popular with a section of society, but he is alienating the Sunni and Kurd elements.
Posted by: Super Hose   2004-1-19 12:35:52 PM  

#4  How DARE you say Islam is not a religion of peace(tm)!!! I'll KILL you for saying that!
Posted by: PlanetDan   2004-1-19 12:30:57 PM  

#3  To paraphrase an old saying: You can lead Iraqis to freedom, but you can't make 'em think.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder   2004-1-19 12:07:39 PM  

#2  hey,we have done a very good job down south,what will happen in the future down there no one knows but we have been doing a spiffing job me old mate.Tally ho Chuck
Posted by: Jon Shep U.K   2004-1-19 11:55:26 AM  

#1  Yes, the Brits are doing a spiffy job in keeping order in the south. [/sarcasm]
Posted by: Chuck Simmins   2004-1-19 11:48:12 AM  

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