Sunday, October 13, 2024
Baghdad’s status continues to improve gradually, 13 OCT
Baghdad – An Iraqi professor leading a group of students on a walking tour of Baghdad’s historic centre invites them to stop and admire a centuries-old stone wall erected to shield the city from Mongol invaders.
Such a tour would have been unthinkable in the Iraqi capital through much of recent decades due to the country’s successive wars, which saw Baghdad pounded from the air, targeted by suicide bombers and hit with car bomb attacks.
“Several caliphs worked on it,” tour leader and professor Muaffaq al-Tai, 83, told the group as they passed under an impressive brick dome, smart phones and cameras in hand.
Braving an autumn heatwave, one of the tour organisers, Abdullah Imad, relished being able to help offer a deeper understanding of his hometown’s history.
“Before, there were security events… interest was limited, almost non-existent,” said architecture student Imad, 23.
“Now interest is growing… Stability has gradually returned to Baghdad,” he told AFP.
“We want to show the public what Baghdad has to offer in terms of Islamic architecture, its value and identity.”
Baghdad, founded in 762 AD by Abbasid caliph Abu Jaafar al-Mansur along the Tigris River, has long been a key hub in Arab and Islamic society.
In the 20th century, it thrived as a modern Arab city with top universities, a vibrant cultural scene and excellent healthcare.
However, decades of war and oppression from the late 1970s, including sectarian violence after the 2003 US-led invasion and the rise of the Islamic State group in 2014, led to significant decline.
– ‘Sites worth visiting’ –
A fragile stability has emerged since the defeat of IS in 2017 that has allowed a greater focus on Baghdad’s infrastructure and cultural scene.
Around 30 students and amateur photographers strolled through downtown, passing an 800-year-old Abbasid palace with an inner courtyard adorned with brick facades, arches and arabesque reliefs.
They also visited Bab al-Wastani, or the Central Gate, built around the 12th century, featuring battlements and flanked by thick walls.
Fatima al-Moqdad, a 28-year-old architect, said the renewed interest in Iraq’s heritage is “a source of hope for a positive change in our identity, and our heritage and its preservation”.
“When young people surf the internet, they see how other nations look after their heritage. They want and deserve the same,” she added.
“To be a tourist, you don’t necessarily have to go abroad.”
In Baghdad, home to nine million people, tuk-tuks, motorcycles and yellow cabs compete for space with porters pushing carts piled high with goods.
They push their way through the fish stalls, sunglasses vendors and counterfeit sneaker stands that have taken over the pavements of the historic centre.
On the eastern bank of the Tigris, brutalist buildings from the 1960s stand alongside elaborate facades from the 1920s, decorated with flowery mouldings and sagging wrought-iron balconies.
Around 2,400 buildings are registered in the historic centre, but around 15 percent have been destroyed or altered, according to the municipality.
Many of the properties once belonged to Jewish families or other Iraqis driven out during one of the country’s many upheavals.
The waves of emigration also resulted in a brain drain, depriving Iraq of expertise particularly in architectural restoration.
– Restoration drive –
The municipality, in partnership with an association of private banks, has taken on two major restoration projects, including Al-Mutanabi Street, famous for its many bookshops.
They are also restoring another street that houses the old Serail, or Ottoman Empire’s seat of government.
The restoration has primarily involved repaving sidewalks, updating lighting and cleaning up facades.
Mohammed al-Soufi, an architect overseeing the restoration, noted the “aesthetic value of the brick buildings”, dating from the 19th century and the 1920s and 1930s.
Among the many challenges in restoring the area is the difficulty in obtaining permission from the original owners, many of whom no longer live in Iraq, as well as a lack of funding.
The Baghdad municipality’s next focus will be Al-Rashid Street, inaugurated in 1916.
“It’s the soul of old Baghdad, its identity,” said the municipality’s head of communications Mohammed al-Rubaye.
But the once-vital artery now houses mostly warehouses, industrial machinery and motor oil stores. Authorities plan to move these activities to the outskirts.
“We’re not telling people to leave. We’re telling them to stay, but let’s turn the wholesale warehouses into stores, cafes, cinemas and cultural and heritage sites,” Rubaye said.
EXCERPTS FROM MARKZ, 13 OCT
EXCERPTS FROM MARKZ
Iraq’s Parliamentary Legal Committee rejects foreign interference, 13 OCT
Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Legal Parliamentary Committee expressed, on Saturday, its rejection of any American and European interference in the Council’s functions regarding the amendment of the Personal Status Law.
“The committee rejects international statements and interference in the function of the parliament and the legislation, and neither the European Union nor the US or any other countries have the right to interfere in Iraqi affairs,” committee member Aref al-Hamami told Shafaq News Agency.
Al-Hamami explained that “the Parliament will not listen to such voices, and it is moving forward with its work. The amendment of the Personal Status Law will be on the agenda of the next session of the council.”
“The parliamentary legal committee has considered the input from political blocs and members of parliament, and the amendment to the Personal Status Law is now ready for a vote, set to be included in the agenda of the upcoming Council session,” he pointed out.
European Parliament
According to an official statement, European lawmakers warned of the consequences of the recent proposal, which they argue violates Iraq’s international obligations regarding fundamental women’s rights.
The members commended the Iraqi women, including female parliamentarians, as well as NGOs, activists, and civil society members, who have spoken out against the proposal, fighting to preserve one of the region’s most progressive laws.
They noted that the penal code currently does not legally protect women and children who are victims of domestic violence in Iraq. The proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law, if passed, would result in a "more radical" implementation of the law.
In a resolution passed on Thursday, the European Parliament urged Iraq to adopt a national action plan to eliminate child marriage, criminalize marital rape, combat domestic violence, and enhance the rights of women and girls in line with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The European Parliament also called on the EU delegation in Iraq to "make development grants conditional on judicial training related to sexual violence and the establishment of shelters for women" and urged EU member states to increase their support for women’s and children's rights defenders in the country.
Background
The first reading of the bill occurred on August 4, 2024. Similar amendments were introduced in 2014 and 2017 but failed to pass due to widespread public opposition. On September 3, 2024, Iraq’s parliament attempted a second reading of the draft bill, but a boycott campaign by opposing MPs successfully broke the quorum.
Despite these efforts, the second reading went ahead on September 16, with women MPs and other opponents expressing concerns that none of their recommendations had been incorporated, nor had a revised draft been shared. The following day, on September 17, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ruled that the amendments were in line with Iraq’sconstitution.
“Economic Researcher: The Iraqi budget enters the danger phase” BY MARKZ, 13 OCT
MarkZ
[via PDK]
“Gold in Iraq: A promising future for mining” this article is from 2015 but tells us how much gold they have in the ground etc.
I had the privilege of talking with someone in the industry dealing with equipment…they have started moving a lot of gold mining equipment to Iraq.
Iraq’s gold mining industry is starting to explode. They know they have a tremendous amount of gold and rare earth minerals there. As a Matter of fact experts over there say they may actually eclipse their oil revenues.
We do have some interesting news...
Article: “Economic Researcher: The Iraqi budget enters the danger phase” This article is telling us we are about to see an exponential change.
TIDBIT FROM FRANK26, 13 NOV
Frank26 The monetary reform policy is being introduced to you Iraqi citizens on a daily basis isn't it. It's is my hope. It ...
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Bank appointment for Currency EXCHANGE Instructions/Checklist Bank Name_________________________________________ Bank 800#____________...
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Walkingstick All these meetings that the CBI had with all these agencies that were helping them with their monetary reform are done. Al...
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JENTEL RV UPDATE RV NEWS- AA Uriel Payments are being received. They started yesterday in other countries. To meet today's requireme...