52 replies to this topic

[Abu Muslim]

(Reuters) - At least 14 youths have been stoned to death in Baghdad in the past three weeks in what appears to be a campaign by Shi'ite militants against youths wearing Western-style "emo" clothes and haircuts, security and hospital sources say.
Militants in Shi'ite neighborhoods where the stonings have taken place circulated lists on Saturday naming more youths targeted to be killed if they do not change the way they dress.
The killings have taken place since Iraq's interior ministry drew attention to the "emo" subculture last month, labeling it "Satanism" and ordering a community police force to stamp it out.

http://www.reuters.c...E8290CY20120310

[shiasoldier786]

There are 'emos' in Iraq?

[Propaganda_of_the_Deed]

Well I guess they have a lot to be emo about with what's happened to the country over the years.





Dozens of Iraqi teenagers have been killed in recent months by militias who consider them to be devil worshippers, human rights activists claim.

The young people are described as "emos", a term used in the West to refer to youths who listen to rock music and wear alternative clothing.

Reports say that up to 58 teenagers have been beaten to death or shot in the last month, most of them men.

Iraq's interior ministry recently described emos as devil worshippers.

In Iraq, the term emo is also conflated with homosexuality, which although legal is socially and religiously taboo.

'Threatened'

Militias in Baghdad's conservative Shia neighbourhood of Sadr City have distributed leaflets with the names of 20 young people they say should be punished.
In a statement on his website, Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr described emo youths as "crazy and fools", but said they should be dealt with within the law.
"They are a plague on Muslim society, and those responsible should eliminate them through legal means," he said.

Mustafa, a young Iraqi, told the BBC he feels "threatened" when he wears black clothing.

"The Iraqi people look at you in a bad way," he said. "It is even worse when the Iraqi security for example arrest those in black or in the emo groups."

The interior ministry said it had not recorded any anti-gay or anti-emo killings, but said recent murders in Baghdad could be attributed to "revenge, or social, criminal, political or cultural reasons".

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, based in New York, told Agence France Presse that nearly 40 people have been kidnapped, tortured or killed in Iraq since February in a "new surge of anti-gay violence".




Iraqi activists said this picture belongs to a teenager who was brutally killed by religious police for having an “emo” hairstyle. Photo: Al Tahreer News


I'd wonder how they'd react if they ever went to parts of Tehran, where this style is actually quite the norm.

More of an Iranian influence than a Western influence by the looks of it.

Edited by Propaganda_of_the_Deed, 11 March 2012 - 04:27 PM.

[kadhim]

You know, I just might have to rethink my attitudes on this whole violent fundamentalism phenomenon. Can we get some of these militants active in North American suburbs? Could clean things up significantly.

[-Enlightened]

they can look Emo but they can be VERY VERY religious inside with a pure soul ..

they shouldn't judge anyone by their physical appearance

[Lanatin]

What has my beautiful Iraq come to...

[Aqua]

Yeah I definitely don't think any of these claims are true. I've been to Iraq and I've seen lots of gay guys who were quite openly gay and nobody did anything to them.

[Propaganda_of_the_Deed]

^ The stories may be exaggerated or distorted depending on the news source, but that isn't to say there are no Shia extremists and those intolerant to others with alternative lifestyles in Iraq. They may not be condoned by any authority, religious or governmental, but there are religious nutters everywhere, just happens to be more of a Sunni phenomenon, partly due to numbers, as well as its anarchic nature in comparison. Also not all Shias can be reigned in by scholarly opinion, if they don't do taqlid.

Edited by Propaganda_of_the_Deed, 12 March 2012 - 01:53 AM.

[Professor Higgins]

La, on 11 March 2012 - 07:36 PM, said:

What has my beautiful Iraq come to...

It was better before, wasn't it ?  

[Professor Higgins]

Mushu, on 11 March 2012 - 07:49 PM, said:

Some things need to be cleared up.

Furthermore, the most reputable Islamic authorities in Iraq have denounced the actions (Sistani and Yaqoobi). Even Muqtada al-Sadr expressed that though he believes the 'emo' subculture needs to be addressed, and has no place in Iraqi society, he did denounce the actions.

LOL  Muqtada even condemned the sectarian violence, that didn't stop some people claiming allegiance to him from doing it.

[Professor Higgins]

Zahratul_Islam, on 11 March 2012 - 07:29 PM, said:

People need to be careful about where they get their news as a lot of outlets have a bone to pick with the current government and say things that are just patently false. There is no "religious police" in Iraq, these are just some militant thugs in a conservative district who have been admonished by Sistani himself in a fatwa. The interior minister should have kept his mouth shut about teenagers who made him uncomfortable, but that doesn't mean this was government sanctioned or approved in any shape, way, or form. There has been tension far before he said anything, in any case.

The Interior Ministry is infiltrated by sympathizers of Islamist fundamentalist parties.  Militants have always been there in conservative neighborhoods but they were stopped from doing their thing.

[Abu Muslim]

Zahratul_Islam, on 13 March 2012 - 01:49 AM, said:

Maybe for your sorts.  

I would love to say you stand alone and that i haven't come across other Palestinians/Pan Arabs like yourself, but I would be lying through my damn teeth if i did so.

I support the Palestinian cause because it simply must be one against a brutal oppressor. An oppressor so brutal that Palestinians have shown time and time again they are willing to worship the worst and bloodiest of dictators if he happens to support their cause and agenda, even if in doing so they are paying lip service to dead, tortured, mutilated, gassed, raped Iraqi bodies. Even if by doing so they fail to realize they are the very definition of irony.

Free people do not do this unless they are inherently evil, entirely unmotivated by socioeconomic factors.  That is why the Palestinians I know who have been here for a while or are relatively educated tend to denounce Saddam.

Therefore you are either  
1) A fob
2) uneducated
3) evil
4) any combination of the above

Your call, buddy.

I have seen you attack this user on many occasions. I understand that you don't like his views, but stop the personal attacks.You can make your dislike towards his views known in a more civilized way.

[Isner]

I just hate violance.... please do not post such things

[ShiaBen]

Feel sorry for those that died.

But seriously, when I saw emo next to Iraq.

I just died of laughter.

It's the most cheesiest thing I have ever heard or even conceptualized in my brain.

And not to mention, especially when you're self-aware that a place like Iraq has a lot of people that take things by the book or take culture and religion extremely seriously, you have to have enough common sense, not to act/behave in a certain manner that can result in the loss of lives.

[Professor Higgins]

Zahratul_Islam, on 13 March 2012 - 02:22 AM, said:

.
That being said, this user came on shiachat to praise a dictator infamous for his slaughter of Shias, so I am going to go ahead and guess that he wasn't exactly looking for civil discourse and that his cyber pair is made of steel.

Furthermore, this member has private messaged me images of Saddam in his glory years stating that they *would be back*, so I am pretty sure he is going to be fine emotionally.. albeit the mental state of someone who promises to revive a long dead dictator is a little less reassuring.

Saddam did not slaughter Shias for who they were, he did not attack their beliefs and places of worship, he did not send death squads to massacre them. Stop exaggerating and quoting from cliched Western academics who don't know jack about Iraq.

For all you know, many of the people who were involved in the "atrocities" of 1991 are still working in the Iraqi Gov't.  Just last year Barzani pardoned 5,000 former Kurdish collaborators (Jash), who had taken part in the Operation Anfal, and reinstated them in the Peshmergas.



You were irritating me with images of Saddam's capture and posting them on these forums, so I responded in kind.

[Iraqiah_Shia]

Mushu, on 13 March 2012 - 06:19 PM, said:

Bro aren't you Indian or something?

Indian, Palestinian or Dutch, who cares? He and his likes can keep dreaming. Saddam and his days are over and nothing will ''bring it back'', and Maliki, he'll be PM for a quite a time, so get used to Shia rule. Enjoy this picture by the way

Edited by Iraqiah_Shia, 14 March 2012 - 07:19 PM.

[Professor Higgins]

Iraqiah_Shia, on 14 March 2012 - 07:18 PM, said:

Indian, Palestinian or Dutch, who cares? He and his likes can keep dreaming. Saddam and his days are over and nothing will ''bring it back'', and Maliki, he'll be PM for a quite a time, so get used to Shia rule. Enjoy this picture by the way

Maliki and his camp are powerless and don't know a damn thing.  And since you always bring up "Shia rule", need I remind you that your people (Shia Arabs) have never ruled themselves in history, forget about ruling others.  Without generous help and guidance from others (Russia and Iran), "Shia rule" in Iraq or Bahrain or any part of the Arab world is an illusion.

[Professor Higgins]

Mushu, on 15 March 2012 - 08:21 AM, said:

Umm, Iraq is 70% Shia. Being ruled by anything other than Shia is an illusion.

This is the problem. Why should Iraq be ruled by Shia or Sunni or Kurd ?  Why can't Iraq be ruled by Iraqis ?  There is no difference between Sunni or Shia, so why keep saying Shia rule ?  When the Baath Party ruled, did they say this is Sunni Rule ?   Did they force you to abandon your religious practices ?  Then why this hatred ?


By your logic, Saddam's rule was Shia rule ( actually it was).