|
Shiâites renaming Baghdad streets
Edited for brevity.BAGHDAD, Iraq â Thereâs no Yasser Arafat Street in Baghdad anymore, and a main thoroughfare along the Tigris River once named for an 8th century poet has a new name as well. Both have been renamed for Shiite Muslim imams whose memory had no place in Saddam Husseinâs rule, when Sunni Muslims dominated despite being a minority in Iraq. The obvious tributes to Saddamâs megalomaniacal 23-year-rule went long ago. Signs at Saddam International Airport, Saddam Bridge, Saddam University, Saddam Hospital and the Saddam City neighborhood came down as the capital fell in April, along with countless statues and posters of the dictator. Less dramatic changes in recent weeks illustrate the shifting political tide in Iraq, where Shiites make up 60 percent of the population but have never ruled. "These old names did not reflect the will of the people," said Abu Sajjid, guardian of a Shiite shrine just off the newly renamed Imam al-Mehdi Street. Most Shiites consider al-Mehdi, who was born in 869, to be Islamâs 12th and last imam, and believe he will return. Iâd leave the plastic on the sofa for this guy. Saddam had named the street for Yasser Arafat when Israel put the Palestinian leader under virtual house arrest in 2000. Signs bearing Arafatâs name disappeared overnight in late June, and new ones with the imamâs name went up. Posted by: Dar 2003-08-04 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=17262 |