'Illegal'
Execution Enrages Arabs
By Dahr Jamail &
Ali Al-Fadhily
04 January, 2007
Inter
Press Service
BAGHDAD, Jan 2 (IPS)
- The execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein carried out
at the start of the Muslim festival Eid al-Adha has angered Iraqis and
others across the Middle East.
Saddam Hussein was hanged
on what is held to be a day of mercy and feasting in the Islamic world.
It is usually celebrated with the slaughter of a lamb, which represents
the innocent blood of Ishmael, who was sacrificed by his father, the
prophet Abraham, to honour God.
Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin,
the Kurdish judge who had first presided over Saddam Hussein's trial
told reporters that the execution at the beginning of Eid was illegal
under Iraqi law, besides violating the customs of Islam.
Amin said that under Iraqi
law "no verdict should be implemented during the official holidays
or religious festivals."
While Iraqi Shias, particularly
those in the U.S.-backed Iraqi government, view the execution as a sign
that Allah supports them, many Sunnis across Iraq and the Middle East
now see Saddam Hussein as a great martyr.
"Saddam Hussein is the
greatest martyr of the century," Ahmed Hanousy, a student in Amman
in Jordan told IPS. A 50 year-old man in Baghdad said "the Americans
and Iranians meant to insult all Arabs by this execution."
Others see the execution
in all sorts of ways. Sabriya Salih, a 55-year-old man from Baghdad
who was evicted from his home by Shia death squads told IPS "I
am happy for this end. I have too much to worry about now, but look
what a holy death Saddam received."
Salih paused and added: "He
died at the holiest moments of the year with pilgrims just finishing
their pilgrimage ceremonies hailing "Allahu Akbar" (God is
greatest) as if God meant to give him that glory."
In official expression of
anger, Libya denounced the timing of the execution and announced three
days of official mourning. Eid celebrations were cancelled. The government
of Saudi Arabia also condemned the timing of the execution.
Many Iraqis said they were
disturbed by the footage just before the execution. "They surprised
us by showing the video," 40-year-old Um Sammy told IPS in Baghdad.
"I was busy preparing sweets for my guests when I heard my little
kids crying in terror. All the children were terrified."
A nine-year-old girl from
Fallujah who is a refugee in Baghdad said she cried when she saw the
footage on television. "Why did they do it in Eid? Why did they
put it on TV to scare us?"
Later, shots of the execution
taken by a witness from a mobile phone showed Saddam being taunted by
his executioners in his final moments. The video has exacerbated tensions
between Sunnis and Shias, who follow Islam in different ways.
First broadcast by al-Jazeera
Sunday, the shots recorded someone praising Muhammad Bakr al-Sadr. Al-Sadr,
founder of the Shia Dawa party and an uncle of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr,
was executed by Saddam in 1980.
This, coupled with images
of Saddam smiling at those taunting him from below the gallows, has
evidently drawn widespread sympathy for Saddam. The Sunni Association
of Muslim Scholars issued a statement condemning the execution. The
Association said this was an execution carried out by the government
of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "for the Americans."
The fact that those hanging
Saddam praised al-Sadr is evidence that the Mehdi Army militia of Muqtada
al-Sadr controls at least a large portion of Iraq's security forces.
This underscores Sunni views that the security forces have been deeply
infiltrated by Shia militias.
A member of Saddam's defence
team, Najib al-Nuaimi, told reporters the day after the execution that
no Sunni lawyer was allowed among the witnesses at the execution. "This
is not within normal procedures," al-Nuaimi said. He added that
the execution was an act of revenge and carried out for political purposes.
"It is rather stupid
of those in government and their American allies," a Sunni cleric
in Ramadi told IPS. "They gifted Saddam the best death at the best
moment of the year and enlisted him a hero by all measures."
Others were deeply offended
by the move. A garbage collector who gave his name as Ali said he wept
when he heard the news. "How could there be killing on such a day,"
he said. "He was 69 years old, and they could have just left him
to die in his jail for God's sake."
Some Shias objected to the
timing for their own reason. "They spoiled my pleasure of his execution
by killing him like that," Ilwiya, a 35-year-old Shia woman from
Washash village west of Baghdad told IPS. "Now he will be called
a martyr because of the bad timing."
Thus far, violence continues
unabated across Iraq following the execution. The U.S. military has
been placed on high alert in anticipation of retaliatory attacks.
More than 3,000 U.S. soldiers
have now died in Iraq, and according to the Pentagon, the U.S. military
is facing more than 100 attacks a day.
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