- BAGHDAD (IPS) -- The execution
of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein carried out at the start of the
Muslim festival Eid al-Adha has angered Iraqis and others across the Middle
East.
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- Saddam Hussein was hanged on what is held to be a day
of mercy and feasting in the Islamic world. It is usually celebrated with
the slaughter of a lamb, which represents the innocent blood of Ishmael,
who was sacrificed by his father, the prophet Abraham, to honour God.
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- Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, the Kurdish judge who had
first presided over Saddam Hussein's trial told reporters that the execution
at the beginning of Eid was illegal under Iraqi law, besides violating
the customs of Islam.
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- Amin said that under Iraqi law "no verdict should
be implemented during the official holidays or religious festivals."
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- While Iraqi Shias, particularly those in the U.S.-backed
Iraqi government, view the execution as a sign that Allah supports them,
many Sunnis across Iraq and the Middle East now see Saddam Hussein as
a great martyr.
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- "Saddam Hussein is the greatest martyr of the century,"
Ahmed Hanousy, a student in Amman in Jordan told IPS. A 50 year-old man
in Baghdad said "the Americans and Iranians meant to insult all Arabs
by this execution."
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- Others see the execution in all sorts of ways. Sabriya
Salih, a 55-year-old man from Baghdad who was evicted from his home by
Shia death squads told IPS "I am happy for this end. I have too much
to worry about now, but look what a holy death Saddam received."
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- Salih paused and added: "He died at the holiest
moments of the year with pilgrims just finishing their pilgrimage ceremonies
hailing "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) as if God meant to give
him that glory."
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- In official expression of anger, Libya denounced the
timing of the execution and announced three days of official mourning.
Eid celebrations were cancelled. The government of Saudi Arabia also condemned
the timing of the execution.
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- Many Iraqis said they were disturbed by the footage just
before the execution. "They surprised us by showing the video,"
40-year-old Um Sammy told IPS in Baghdad. "I was busy preparing sweets
for my guests when I heard my little kids crying in terror. All the children
were terrified."
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- A nine-year-old girl from Fallujah who is a refugee in
Baghdad said she cried when she saw the footage on television. "Why
did they do it in Eid? Why did they put it on TV to scare us?"
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- Later, shots of the execution taken by a witness from
a mobile phone showed Saddam being taunted by his executioners in his final
moments. The video has exacerbated tensions between Sunnis and Shias, who
follow Islam in different ways.
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- First broadcast by al-Jazeera Sunday, the shots recorded
someone praising Muhammad Bakr al-Sadr. Al-Sadr, founder of the Shia Dawa
party and an uncle of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, was executed by Saddam
in 1980.
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- This, coupled with images of Saddam smiling at those
taunting him from below the gallows, has evidently drawn widespread sympathy
for Saddam. The Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars issued a statement
condemning the execution. The Association said this was an execution carried
out by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "for the
Americans."
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- The fact that those hanging Saddam praised al-Sadr is
evidence that the Mehdi Army militia of Muqtada al-Sadr controls at least
a large portion of Iraq's security forces. This underscores Sunni views
that the security forces have been deeply infiltrated by Shia militias.
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- A member of Saddam's defence team, Najib al-Nuaimi, told
reporters the day after the execution that no Sunni lawyer was allowed
among the witnesses at the execution. "This is not within normal procedures,"
al-Nuaimi said. He added that the execution was an act of revenge and carried
out for political purposes.
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- "It is rather stupid of those in government and
their American allies," a Sunni cleric in Ramadi told IPS. "They
gifted Saddam the best death at the best moment of the year and enlisted
him a hero by all measures."
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- Others were deeply offended by the move. A garbage collector
who gave his name as Ali said he wept when he heard the news. "How
could there be killing on such a day," he said. "He was 69 years
old, and they could have just left him to die in his jail for God's sake."
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- Some Shias objected to the timing for their own reason.
"They spoiled my pleasure of his execution by killing him like that,"
Ilwiya, a 35-year-old Shia woman from Washash village west of Baghdad told
IPS. "Now he will be called a martyr because of the bad timing."
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- Thus far, violence continues unabated across Iraq following
the execution. The U.S. military has been placed on high alert in anticipation
of retaliatory attacks.
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- More than 3,000 U.S. soldiers have now died in Iraq,
and according to the Pentagon, the U.S. military is facing more than 100
attacks a day.
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