The meeting held by Iraq’s parliament on Aug. 26 perfectly reflected this truth. In the meeting, MP Haidar al-Mullah, from the Iraqiya bloc — which is dominated by Sunni forces — called for the removal of photos of the leader of the Iranian Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from the streets of Baghdad.
These photos had been spread throughout Shiite cities and the capital after some of the groups that are politically, financially and ideologically associated with Iran celebrated Quds Day, which was declared by Khomeini in 1979.
Mullah’s position was met by severe opposition on the part of a number of Shiite MPs, and the dispute turned violent, which prompted the speaker of parliament to end the session.
Two days before the incident [on Aug. 24], Mullah had stated on his personal Facebook page that he argued with Shiite MPs on the same issue. According to him, Khomeini “prolonged the Iran-Iraq war and his shells killed Iraqis in Basra.”
In his Facebook post, Mullah said that an MP belonging to the Iranian-sponsored Shiite Badr Organization, which was founded in Iran during the 1980s, accused him of lying and told him that his story was incorrect and that Saddam Hussein's army was the one responsible for the killing of civilians.
Once the parliamentary session closed, the Shiite National Alliance held a news conference in which it condemned Mullah’s attack on “religious leaders.” The president of the alliance, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, pointed to the honorable positions of Khomeini and Khamenei, who helped “maintain the unity of Muslims.”
A Shiite group (the Coalition of the Sons of Iraq) condemned Mullah’s position and raised the following question: “Why didn’t Mullah object to photos of the Turkish prime minister and the FSA flags? Why didn’t he object to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s support for terrorism in Iraq?”
This reflects a sharp conflict between the transnational sectarian narratives that make it difficult to establish an inclusive national identity. What is deemed by one side as normal and acceptable is deemed by the other as provocative and unacceptable. In light of this sharp polarization, it becomes difficult for any political force that defines itself as “national” and “trans-sectarian” to develop a national and neutral perspective that is deemed acceptable by everyone.
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