A Brief History of Iraq

By definition, Islam is a religion of those who obey the doctrines of the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad, who in the 7th century lived in Arabia, initiated a religious movement that throughout the Middle East was supported by the Arabs. Today, not only in Middle East origins, Islam has adherents, where it is the dominant religion in all countries (Non-Arab, and Arab), but also in other parts of Africa, Asia and, of course, as well as in the United States. Those who are loyal to Islam are called Muslims. The Sunni, Shiite conflict in Iraq started long before the ruling of Saddam Hussein, but when Hussein became Prime Minister of the country the conflict between the two religious sects was taken to a new level. Right when Hussein gained full power, under his control, began years of persecution of the Shiite Muslims in the country. But, before this happened, the conflict was based upon Muhammad and who was to rule after he had died. When Muhammad had died there were many disputes on who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad after his death in 632. Shiites believed that the prophet’s son-in-law, Ali, was to be the successor. Both consider the Koran the word of God. But, devoutness and religious practice distinguish between the two sects. However, Islam teaches that all Islam is equal so Sunni and Shiite sects fight with each other not only because of “hatred” but, also because of religious

The world still faces problems today that are linked back to World War I. World War I killed more that sixteen million people and crushed century-old empires and dynasties, all in four years. A country that still faces many conflicts from this time is Iraq. Iraq became a country after the Ottoman Empire was split up and Britain cobbled different provinces together. These provinces were at odds as much back then as they are today. Britain installed a king in Iraq. This was followed by Suddam Hussein overthrowing the king in 1968. He ruled until a U.S. invasion in 2003. This invasion led to the country having many different views and problems regardless of efforts from

Iraq and Iran have been subjected to a civil war since the seventh century (Murphy 1). This existing problem began because of political and theological divergence, but with the help of outside forces such as Britain, Russia, and North America, it developed into a more complex crisis.

Aided by European conflicts and growing nationalism, imperialized people won their autonomy in the 1900s. While this feat represented the will of determined ethnicities, the minimal presence of European powers allowed the uprisings to succeed. Unlike the 1900s, many powerful nations are heavily invested in the state of the Middle East, resulting in a fragile system of alliances that can easily crumble with increasing conflicts. Therefore, although the Iraqi Kurdish people overwhelmingly desire independence, the deterioration of the global ecosystem justifies the need for the United States to support a unified Iraq.

Iraq is very attractive to colonizers due to its high amounts of oil and other natural resources. this made it the perfect target for a post world war one great britain, who needed oil to supply their machinery and troops after they had used so much of it. after the ottoman empire fell after WWI, Iraq became a mandate of the British empire in 1919 and was used primarily for oil and gas. when they took over many arab states after the ottomans, they drew random borders, which mixed ethnicities and beliefs. This resulted in many conflicts between cultures, the kurds and sunnis, and made life for many in the country hard. The anti colonial movement began the next year in 1920, during the Iraqi revolts, which were

During the war England promised all of these countries in the middle east region their own land and country to get them on their side. However, when the war ended the English realized how hard it would be to follow through on every promise so they just made a few countries grouping different types of people together. This will cause problems later in time because the people who were grouped together in these new countries did not want to be together since they can not identify with each other. This will cause these countries to receive a lot of pushing back from their people, wanting separate

During the First World War, Iraq was ruled by Great Britain (). Iraq was ruled by Great Britain until they declared themselves a republic in 1958 (). Today Iraq is dominated by violence (). Even though newspapers and the news show violence, a culture inside is trying to come out ().

A period of civil unrest and revolt plagued the British mandate government in Iraq. Arab nationalist and other political activists led an uprising against the Regent monarch resulting in a coup d’etat in July 1958 by members of the newly formed Ba’ath Party. (4) A series of power struggles ended 10 years later placing Ahmed Hasan al-Bakr as President, with a young Saddam Hussein as his deputy.

SOCIALLY, following the war with Iran in 1988, Iraq was ranked 50 in the 1990 UNDP Human Development Index, which measures national success in education, GDP, and health. Iraq was nearing the top of the middle range of countries in regard to the implementation of basic social services and infrastructure. However, under Saddam’s rule, the prosecution of Shiites and Kuwaitis was a normal occurrence. Called by some a genocide, the period of murder, terror, and persecution faced by these groups was the foundation for a long-lasting unrest within the hearts and minds of Iraqi citizens. The rest of the Iraqi citizens, however, lived normal, comfortable lives. In the late 20th century, many traveled from afar to utilize and learn from Iraq’s intricate network of hospitals and social centers regarded as the best in the region. (CIA 2) However, constant war drained Iraq’s wealth and decimated its people. In the Iraq-Iran War, Saddam Hussein unwillingly forced Iraq into a disastrous attempt to overthrow the Islamist government in Iran. When the dust settled, over 200,000 Iraqis were dead, and more than twice this number were wounded. Iraq’s increasing debt, nearing about 75 Billion, soon had the Arab

The war between Iraq and Iran initiated by Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein in September 1980 provided no gains or benefits to either country, at the end of the war in July of 1988 after 8 long years. At the conclusion of many wars throughout history, at least one party resulted in gaining territory, wealth, power, and other profits. However, in reality it is understood that no one ever wins in war due to the adverse affects among innocent humanity; exemplified by the Iraq-Iran war. The initial conflict begins in 1979 when Iran went through the Islamic Revolution overthrowing Mohammad Reza Shah, the current head of the Iran. This period of Iranian turmoil lead to a many changes in government, creating a politically weak country. Trying to gain from Iran’s turmoil Saddam Hussein made plans to control the region. Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq, wanted “exclusive Iraqi sovereignty over the Shatt-el-Arab River… forming Iraq’s best outlet to the sea” (History). This would give Iraq political and economic dominance of the gulf while making Hussein the leader of the Arab world. Saddam also felt that the new Iran revolutionary leadership “would threaten Iraq’s delicate Sunni Shia balance” (Federal Research Division). Ayatollah Khomeini was brought to power after the Revolution and directly opposed Saddam Hussein and “did not disguise his desire to see him toppled” (BBC). The distinguishing factors of the Iraq-Iran war were, due to Hussein’s commands, its indiscriminate missile

Different regions in the Middle East have different experienced different levels of colonialism. Prior to the First World War some regions of the Ottoman Empire were already under the influence of European countries (Owen 2006, p. 23). Between the first and second world wars most of the empire was formally divided between, and under the control of, Britain and France (Owen 2006, p. 25) and even after the second world war European influence lingered. Cole and Kandiyoti describe these periods as 'informal imperialism

The borders of Iraq were drawn at the end of WWI during the breakup of the Ottoman Empire by the allied powers. Iraq later gained its independence from Great Britain in 1932 ascending from a British mandate to full statehood. The societal tensions of Iraq are bipolar Much like Rwanda except that instead of Hutu’s and Tutsi’s it is between rival factions of Islam Shia and Sunni. Traditionally Iraq has been under Sunni leadership and Shia leadership has governed the state of Iran. The result of this was centuries of fighting between the rival factions of Islam creating instability. The Sunni Ba’ath

Then came the First World War and with it the defeat of the German army and their allies, including Turkey. As a result in 1919, Iraq, as well as Palestine, came under the control of Great Britain who proceeded to draw out the borders and establish a government that would best suit them. The years which followed were filled with revolutions, jihad, and unrest, as the British sought to maintain control of a nation with which they knew very little about.

In recent years, the Iraqi nation has endured a crisis that will forever remain in the hearts and minds of the Middle Eastern culture. However, the outcomes of the War on Iraq will not change the long-lasting and passionate traditions and memories that have been held in the country for decades. One major event that happened in Iraq’s history is that on October 3, 1932 Iraq was established as an independent nation. Iraq has always been a country in which respect and generosity have been highly valued and play an important cultural role in everyday life. Additionally, approximately ninety-five percent of Iraqis are Muslim, and therefore Islam is the official religion of this nation (Gutierrez 1). Furthermore, Iraq is a

Along with Kirkuk, the Kurds entered Mosul and tried to rule it for some months but the Sunni-Arab resistance proved too stiff and they were expelled. Mosulites never recouped their faith in an integrated Iraq—eventually ISIS moved in. We should all remember, as we bemoan the expansion of Iranian power over Iraqi terrain, that it was the Kurds who first triggered the chaotic fragmentation of the country after Saddam's ouster with their widespread looting to the very suburbs of Baghdad. They also forcibly took possession of Saddam's northern Tenth Army's heavy weapons