Compulsion in Religion: Saddam Hussein, Islam, and the Roots of Insurgencies in Iraq

305 Pages·2018·3.99 MB·English

by  Samuel Helfont

Compulsion in Religion

Compulsion in Religion
Saddam Hussein, Islam, and
the Roots of Insurgencies in Iraq
SAMUEL HELFONT
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Helfont, Samuel, author.
Title: Compulsion in religion : Saddam Hussein, Islam, and the roots of
insurgencies in Iraq / Samuel Helfont.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2018. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017041408 (print) | LCCN 2017049303 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190843328 (Updf) | ISBN 9780190843335 (Epub) |
ISBN 9780190843311(hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Islam and state—Iraq—History. | Islam and politics—Iraq—History. |
Iraq—Politics and government—1958– | Hussein, Saddam, 1937–2006. |
Hizb al- Ba‘th al- Arabi al- Ishtiraki (Iraq)
Classification: LCC BP173.6 (ebook) | LCC BP173.6 .H45 2018 (print) |
DDC 322/.10956709049—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017041408
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
For Tally- le

CONTENTS
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IX
Introduction: Religion and Authoritarianism
in Saddam’s Iraq 1
PART I The Penetration of Iraq’s Religious Landscape 1979– 1989
1.  Saddam Takes Control 19
2.  Co- opting and Coercing Religion in Saddam’s Iraq 36
3.  Co- opting and Coercing Shi‘ism 52
4.  Suppressing the Islamist Opposition 69
5.  Addressing the Limits of Coercion and Co- optation 87
PART II The Gulf War and Its Aftermath 1990– 1993
6.  Continuity and Change in the Gulf War 103
7.  Iraq’s Religious Landscape in the Wake of the Gulf War 114
PART III The Faith Campaign 1993– 2003
8.  A Transformed Religious Landscape 131
9.  The Regime and the Shi‘is in the 1990s 145
10.  Mechanisms of Control 159
11.  Putting the System to Work 181
viii Contents
PART IV The Invasion of Iraq and the Emergence
of Religious Insurgencies
12.  American Misconceptions about Iraq and the 2003 Invasion 205
13.  Emergence of Religious Insurgencies in Iraq 219
Conclusion: Saddam the Counter- Insurgent and
Other Reflections on Ruling Iraq 234
NOTES 239
BIBLIOGRAPHY 269
INDEX 279
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The origins of this book can be traced to the invasion of Iraq in spring of
2003. I was 22 years old at the time and I found myself aboard an amphib-
ious warfare ship, the USS Duluth, in the northern reaches of the Persian
Gulf. I was a member of a small intelligence collection team from the now
defunct Naval Security Group, which was the Navy’s command at the
National Security Agency (NSA). We worked out of a small container—
no bigger than a minivan— that was welded onto the deck of the ship
and loaded with our equipment. In addition to providing intelligence,
we broadcasted a radio station into Iraq as part of a psychological opera-
tions (PSYOPS) mission. Prior to the invasion, we began playing a mix of
Arab and American music along with US propaganda and instructions for
Iraqis. American aircraft dropped flyers into southern Iraq encouraging
people to tune in. From what I understand, our station was quite popular.
The USS Duluth offloaded a contingent of Marines who made their way
through Kuwait and then fought into Iraq. With the Marines ashore, the
ship became a staging platform for Navy SEALs and Polish Special Forces.
They seized Iraq’s oil infrastructure including its Gulf Oil Terminals,
which were used to pump oil onto tankers too large for Iraq’s shallow
ports. When the SEALs and Poles arrived on the main terminal, they
found around two dozen Iraqi soldiers standing under a towering portrait
of Saddam. They were brought aboard the Duluth and became some of the
conflict’s first prisoners of war.