Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: February 11, 2021 at 7:57:54 AM EST > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-War]: Karnes on Helfont, 'Compulsion in Religion: > Saddam Hussein, Islam, and the Roots of Insurgencies in Iraq' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Samuel Helfont. Compulsion in Religion: Saddam Hussein, Islam, and > the Roots of Insurgencies in Iraq. New York Oxford University > Press, 2018. 304 pp. $38.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-19-084331-1. > > Reviewed by Joshua Karnes (Air University, Air War College) > Published on H-War (February, 2021) > Commissioned by Margaret Sankey > > Saddam Hussein's Baathist Iraq dominated international headlines for > almost twenty-five years. His phoenix-like ability to emerge from the > Iran-Iraq War and the first Gulf War with his country in ruins but > his power still intact has fascinated historians and international > policy experts alike. One of the most convincing arguments for > Saddam's staying power was his ability to harness and control his > country's religious forces. Samuel Helfont's _Compulsion in Religion: > Saddam Hussein, Islam, and the Roots of Insurgencies in Iraq _is an > in-depth dive into the historical sectarian religious forces at work > in Iraq; it explores how Saddam used both the principles of Baathist > Arab nationalism and the iron fist of state control to mold and > massage the country's religious institutions to support his > dictatorship. Helfont currently serves as a faculty member at the > Naval War College's Postgraduate School in Monterey, California; the > book is an extension of his PhD thesis, which he completed in Near > Eastern studies at Princeton University. > > The author organizes _Compulsion in Religion_ into four parts. Part > 1, entitled "The Penetration of Iraq's Religious Landscape," explores > both the historical roots of Baathism and the characteristics of > Iraqi religious society, including the sectarian conflicts between > Sunni and Shi'a Islam. Using official government records seized in > the aftermath of the second Gulf War, the author chronicles Saddam's > bloody rise and his rocky efforts to solidify power both over the > country and its religious institutions during the brutal Iran-Iraq > War. Part 2, "The Gulf War and Its Aftermath," tells the story of the > lead-up to the first Gulf War in 1991 and how Saddam used the > religious elite to justify the invasion and ensure compliance with > the war effort. Part 3, "The Faith Campaign," examines the aftermath > of the Gulf War, including the brutal repression of the sectarian > uprisings that spread in its wake. Despite Saddam's famous "Faith > Campaign," the author uses this section to refute other experts, like > Amatzia Baram, who argue that Saddam experienced a religious > awakening. He argues that instead of a newfound love for Islam, > Saddam was reaping the fruits of his decade-long effort to control > and coerce Iraq's religious institutions to follow his personal brand > of Baathist Islam. Part 4, "The Invasion of Iraq and the Emergence of > Religious Insurgencies," describes the impact of the Second Gulf War > in 2003 and how it unleashed the sectarianism that Saddam had spent a > lifetime suppressing. The author chronicles the rise of ISIS and the > Sadrist movement up to 2017 and how the West's misreading of Iraqi > culture and its total reliance on Baathist control resulted in some > of the most horrific sectarian violence in the last century. > > Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq with an iron fist for three decades. The > author argues that Saddam was able to exert control over Iraq's > religious institutions through his unique brand of Baathist Islam, > the active control and co-opting of religious institutions, and the > use of his vast national security apparatus and its network of spies. > Most readers may not know that the great and violent schism that > split Islam into its two largest sects, Sunnism and Shi'ism, > originally occurred in Iraq. These groups have vied for political and > military supremacy ever since the Prophet Muhammad's death in 632 CE. > Twentieth-century philosophers, looking for a way to unite Islam's > many regional sects, developed the philosophy known as Baathism, > meaning "renaissance" or "resurrection." Like others before him, > Helfont traces Iraq's unique style of Baathism to Michel Aflaq, a > Syrian Christian philosopher. Aflaq argued that the populations of > the Middle East should first identify as Arab and that the "spirit of > Islam was, of course, Arab nationalism" (p. 27). Unlike the > prevailing philosophy of Marxism, which negated all religions, and > Islamism, focused first on the broader Muslim identity, Aflaq > believed that Islam-centered Baathism could unite all the sects, > including Christianity, under a unique Arab identity. Saddam fully > embraced this philosophy and worked to integrate it into all aspects > of Iraqi life. > > Even before seizing control of the country, Saddam realized that he > would need the support of both Shi'a and Sunni religious authorities > to legitimize both his rule and pan-Arab interpretation of Islam. > Helfont goes into great detail describing how each religious sect was > organized in the country. Whereas Sunni institutions historically > relied on state funding for mosques and schools, the Shi'a had a > sustainable system of community financing of religious institutions. > These resources allowed the clerics to be more financially > independent than their Sunni counterparts. Helfont chronicles how, in > the 1980s, Saddam worked to change the financing methods and > centralize religious education under the state. The government > focused on identifying loyal Baathists who were also willing to serve > as religious leaders and installed them in mosques throughout the > country. He also was very concerned about the outside Islamic > influence, both from Shi'a Iran and Wahabi, Salafist Saudi Arabia. > Despite its initially rocky start in the 1980s, this system of > patronage slowly bore fruit. While the author indicates that Saddam > overwhelmingly preferred carrots, he also had no problem using sticks > to ensure that imams and mullahs preached a Baathist-compliant > version of Islam across the country. > > The book details how the regime established committees for religious > awareness at the community level that would actively provide > pre-approved sermon topics for Friday prayers. If imams resisted, > they would be warned; if an imam persisted, he was often removed from > his position, replaced by a regime-friendly preacher. Many imams who > continued to defy the government experienced much worse. The author > documents the extensive torture, execution, and assassinations of > clerics whom the regime perceived as disloyal. For example, Helfont's > description of the Al-Sadr family's violent history with the regime > helps the reader to understand how Muqtada al-Sadr's leadership in > post-2003 Iraq became such a flashpoint, both among the US coalition > and the Sunni minority population. Baathists overwhelmingly came from > the middle and upper classes, while many of the most devout religious > leaders emerged from society's poorer segments. The author writes, > almost humorously, about the lengths that Baathists would go to > infiltrate religious schools and mosques and how those institutions' > leaders could quickly sniff them out. For example, he writes of the > Shi'a cleric who would ask students to unwrap and rewrap their > turbans. Only "the committed" knew how to; the Baathists did not (p. > 149). On the other hand, Salafists were known for their iconic beards > and short robes called a _dishdashah_; Baathist infiltrators would > wear the _dishdashah_ but would only grow a mustache (p. 173). These > kinds of anecdotes, peppered throughout the book, effectively move > Helfont's narrative forward, reminding us about the very real people > behind the various Iraqi religious sects. > > While not sugar-coating the decades of atrocities Saddam visited upon > Iraq's religious elite, the author sometimes comes across as a Saddam > apologist, stressing that despite his horrific actions, Saddam's > Baathist policies suppressed or eliminated sectarian bloodshed during > his reign. He is also very critical of the Bush administration and > the Western media for not better understanding the pressure cooker of > Iraqi sectarianism that exploded with Saddam's ousting. While > Saddam's repression did keep sectarianism at bay during his rule, the > violence that erupted after his downfall is clear proof that Saddam > never effectively addressed the underlying issues that have created > such animosity between Sunni and Shi'a over the last 1,400 years. > While I understand why the author focuses the bulk of his book on the > Sunni and Shi'a sects, I would have appreciated more on Saddam's > control of Iraqi Christians, including the vital role that Tariq > Aziz, the highest Christian in the Iraqi administration, played. > There is also no mention of Iraqi Jews or the Yazidi who received so > much attention during the darkest days of ISIS rule. Needless to say, > unpacking Iraq's religious sects and the families that run them, and > making the information accessible to a Western audience, is a huge > undertaking. Tables outlining the various sectarian and familial > connections could have helped keep the myriad of actors straight in > the reader's mind. Additionally, even though this book is essentially > about how Saddam used his own interpretation of Baathism to control > Iraq's religious community, beyond stressing the hierarchy of > pan-Arabism over Islamism, I never found a clear and concise > definition of Saddam's Iraqi version of Islamic Baathism. Still, > after reading Helfont's 238 pages, I have a decent idea. > > Despite these minor critiques, Helfont gives us a compelling picture > of religious life under Saddam. This book can serve as an invaluable > resource for anyone who wants to understand Iraq and its sectarian > conflicts better. The Western media and politicians love to paint > Iraq in single colors, focusing on corruption or the constant > violence. Helfont gives us a nuanced and rich view of the Iraqi > religious landscape. Writing in 2017, he ends the book with an > unsettling question. What will it take for Iraq to return to a > unified country where each person's religious heritage can be a > source of pride and not violence? Unfortunately, in 2020, as > sectarian violence continues to extract an unimaginable toll on the > Iraqi people, the jury is still out. > > Citation: Joshua Karnes. Review of Helfont, Samuel, _Compulsion in > Religion: Saddam Hussein, Islam, and the Roots of Insurgencies in > Iraq_. H-War, H-Net Reviews. February, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55980 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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