Samara Catastrophe

     I got up early today, I was going to the university today. I was very excited about it, first time I go to the university for three weeks. I do not like sitting in the house with nothing to do with my time. As I expected, it was mostly empty, only for the second attempt students. Second attempt students filled the university, I could tell them because they were studying and memorizing while the seminars had not started yet. I did not stay there much, me and my friend got back as soon as he finished his exams.

     When the cab was close to our main street, my cell phone started ringing. I looked at the number calling me, and it was a private number. It only meant one thing. Someone was calling me from outside Iraq. "Hey I'll get down here if you don't mind", I said to the driver. When I got off, I answered the call. A female voice said "hello" obviously she was not Iraqi, or she would have said "aloo" :) . She later introduced herself as a BBC reporter. I have dealt with them a few times before, especially after the period after the elections. I had been getting calls from them for the past few months now. So I was not surprised when she told me who she was. She asked if I had heard the big news today. I said no what happened.

     "Yesterday a group of armed men dressed in Iraqi Police broke into a shrine in Samara last night, and bombed it this morning after they tied the guards". Now I was confused, I know that the only shrine in Samara is the shrine that "Hasan Al-Askari" and "Ali-Al-hadi" were buried. However, would anyone dare do such a thing? The answer was yes.

     The shrine has a gold covered dome, which is more than 100-year-old. The dome is quite a landmark. It is Iraqi history. We used to see it from far away when we traveled from Baghdad to Mosul, as we pass by Samara. I consider it one of the main structures that define Iraq.

     I believe that the reason for such an attack, is an attempt to stir up civil war, between the Shias and Sunnis. In addition, of course, Al-Sadr is not helping at all. His militias are already calling for revenge, and raiding Sunni mosques. Someone should tell him that Sunnis condemned these attacks, and that no one has claimed responsibility yet, why should he presume it is Sunnis. Does he not notice that he is falling into the plain trap laid in front of him?
The government has just announced tomorrow, Thursday, to be an official holiday.
I will try to update this post as the situation changes.

Note: This post has been emailed to my Email List subscribers.