The Hawza Under Siege
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Boston University Institute for Iraqi Studies IISBU Occassional Paper | No. 1 | June 2013 The Hawza Under Siege A Study in the Ba‘th Party Archive Abbas Kadhim IISBU Occasional Paper | No. 1 | June 2013 The Hawza Under Siege A Study in the Ba‘th Party Archive Abbas Kadhim Boston University Institute for Iraqi Studies The Occasional Papers feature inter-disciplinary scholarship focusing on Iraq by leading and emerging scholars. All papers are refereed. Series Editor: Professor Augustus Richard Norton The Institute for Iraqi Studies at Boston University serves as a catalyst for research on contemporary Iraq. The Institute was founded in 2010 and periodically sponsors workshops, visiting fellowships, lectures, film series and conferences, in addition to the Occasional Papers. The Institute for Iraqi Studies at Boston University 232 Bay State Road Boston, Massachusetts 02215 Tel: +1 (617) 358-4648 Fax: +1 (617) 358-4650 http://www.bu.edu/iis/ Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Institute-for-Iraqi-Studies-at-Boston- University/353124494699062 Twitter: @IISBU Google+: https://plus.google.com/b/111085246710214157780/111085246710214157780/posts Cover photo courtesty of Mustafa Al-Kadhimi The views expressed in this paper represent those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Institute for Iraqi Studies or the Trustees of Boston University. Produced by IIS at Boston University © 2013 Institute for Iraqi Studies ISBN 978-0-9895097-3-2 (PDF) ISBN 978-0-9895097-1-8 (Kindle) Printed on recycled paper About the Author Abbas Kadhim is a Senior Fellow at the Boston University Institute for Iraqi Studies. He is also a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University since 2005. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2006. His recent publications include: “Reclaiming Iraq: the 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State,” Austin: The University of Texas Press (2012); Handbook of Governance in the Middle East and North Africa, London: Routledge (2013); “Efforts at Cross-Ethic Cooperation: the 1920 Revolution and Iraqi Sectarian Identities,” International Journal of Contemporary Iraq Studies, vol. 4, issue 3, 2010; “Forging a Third Way: Sistani’s Marja’iyya between Quietism and Wilāyat al-Faqīh, in Iraq, Democracy and the Future of the Muslim World, edited by Ali Paya and John Esposito, Routledge, July 2010; “Beyond the Oil Curse,” Iraq’s Wealthy State and Poor Society,” in Bob Looney (ed.), Handbook of Oil Politics, London: Routledge, 2012; and “Opting for the Lesser Evil: US Foreign Policy Toward Iraq, 1958-2008,” in Bob Looney (ed.) Handbook of US Middle East Relations, London: Routledge, 2009. His book translations include Shi’a Sects (Firaq al-Shi’a): A Translation with an Introduction and Notes, London: Islamic College for Advanced Studies Press (2007); Wahhabism: A Critical Essay, by Hamid Algar (Arabic Translation), Köln, Germany: Dar al-Jamal (2006); and Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping our Lives, by Anthony Giddens (Arabic Translation), with Dr. Hassan Nadhem, Beirut: (2003). His is currently engaged in a long-term project documenting the 1991 Uprising in Iraq, and a research project examining the Ba’ath Party Archives hosted by the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. 4 Boston University Institute for Iraqi Studies | No. 1 | June 2013 40 44 48 Ardabil¯ Caspian TURKEY Lake Tabriz¯ Sea Batman Adiyaman Diyarbakir Kurtalan Urmia Tigris Hakkari Mianeh¯¯ Orumiyeh¯¯ Maragheh¯ Euphrates Cizre ¸Sanliurfa Mardin Viransehir¸ Zakho - Al Qamishli¯ ¯ DAHUK Dahuk¯ ‘Aqrah Zanjan¯ dam Buhayrat¸ Mahabad¯¯ al Maws¸il Zab Al Hasakah¸ Tall ‘Afar Sinjar¯ - ARBIL Buhayrat¸ Saqqez Mosul Great Dokan 36 Ar Raqqah Arbil¯ 36 - - dam AS - -- dam NINAWÁ SULAYMANIYAH Khabur As Sulaymaniyah¯¯ al Zab Kirkuk Dayr az Zawr Buhayrat¸ Sanandaj Nahr - Darbandikhan Little AT TA’MIM Halabjah¸ SYRIA Euphrates (KIRKUK) dam Hamadan¯ Bayji¯ - Tikrit¯ Diyalá Buhayrat¸ -- IRAN al Qadisiyah- - SALAH¸¸ AD DIN Buhayrat¸ Nahr Al Qa’im¯ dam Buhayrat¸ Kermanshah¯¯ ath Samarra’¯¯ - Khanaqin Tharthar- Hamrin ¯ ¯ Tigris dam Hadithah¸ ¯ - DIYALÁ Mandali¯ Borujerd¯ ¯ ‘Akashat¯¯ dam Ba’qubah¯ IIam¯ - Hit¯ Ar Khorramabad¯¯ Ramadi¯ ¯ Al Rudkhaneh-ye- AL ANBAR Fallujah¯ - Al Habbaniyah¸ ¯ ¯ Baghdad -- Buhayrat¸¸ al Habbaniyah Simareh¸ BAGHDAD Ar Rutbah¸ - Buhayrat¸ - WASIT¸ alignment ar Razazah- BABIL Tigris Karbala’¯ dam approximate Al Hillah¸ Al Hindiyah¯ Al Kut¯ - Dezful¯ JORDAN KARBALA’ Al Hayy¸ - 32 An Nukhayb Ad Diwaniyah¯ ¯¯ MAYSAN 32 -- An Najaf canal Al AL QADISIYAH- -- (AD DIWANIYAH) ‘Amarah¯ - - Ahvaz¯ Eup DHI QAR hra tes As Samawah¯ - AN NAJAF un - ‘Ar‘ar An Nasiriyah¯¯¸ ¯ Kar canal - Al Basrah¸ Rud-e Khorramshahr As Salman¯ Az Zubayr Abadan¯ ¯¯ Iraq AL MUTHANNÁ AL BASRAH¸ Umm Al Busayyah¸ Qasr¸ International boundary Al Faw¯ Governorate (muhafazah)¸ - ¸ boundary Shatt KUWAIT al National capital Arab Rafha¸¯ - Al Jahra’¯ Governorate (muhafazah)¸ ¸ capital Kuwait Railroad Persian Expressway Gulf Road SAUDI 0 50 100 Kilometers ARABIA Hafar¸¸ al Batin¯ Ra’s al Khafji¯ 0 50 100 Miles 28 28 Lambert Conformal Conic Projection, SP 29 30N/3640N Boundary representation is 40 44 not necessarily authoritative. 48 Base 803335AI (C00459) 1-08 The Hawza Under Siege - A Study in the Ba‘th Party Archive 5 To the memory of my father-in-law, Nadhem Abed al-Isawi, and his two sons, Haider and Salih, whose lives were taken away by a Ba‘thist whim. Salih was arrested in 1989 and executed a few weeks later, after his name was mentioned in the investigation of an Iraqi dissident group as a friend of one of the members. Haider, who participated bravely in the 1991 uprising, and was shot in the leg while engaging the regime’s security forces in Kufa, was arrested with his father by the Republican Guards, weeks later. Their date of execution and place of burial remain unknown as of the writing of these lines. 6 Boston University Institute for Iraqi Studies | No. 1 | June 2013 CONTENTS Acknowledgments .................................................................................................8 Introduction ...........................................................................................................9 The Containment of Ayatullah Al-Khoei ............................................................16 The Regime and “the Vocal Hawza” ...................................................................36 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................52 Appendices ..........................................................................................................57 Glossary ..............................................................................................................69 Bibliography .......................................................................................................71 The Hawza Under Siege - A Study in the Ba‘th Party Archive 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This is the first complete section of a larger project that is still in progress. Many friends and colleagues provided me with invaluable advice and assistance. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Richard Sousa, Senior Associate Director of the Hoover Institution’s Archive, Stanford University, and his staff, who provided me with great help during my many months of research. I would like to acknowledge the special assistance from Ahmed Dhia and Haidar Hadi at the Iraqi Archive, for their exceptionally helpful effort and positive attitude. My friend, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Director of the Oral History Division of the Iraq Memory Foundation, was very helpful and generously supportive of my research. I also owe special thanks my friends at the Al-Khoei Foundation in London (particularly, Hayder and Yousif al-Khoei), and the Center for Academic Shi‘a Studies, for allowing me the opportunity to present my early findings to a distinguished audience during the two events the Foundation hosted in September 2012. Fouad Jabir Kadhem, the project coordinator and researcher at the Centre for Academic Shi‘a Studies, spent exceptional effort in making the events academically rewarding. As‘ad Turki, Secretary General of al-Sadrain Institution for Strategic Studies, provided me with valuable help and information, for which I am very thankful. Professor Augustus Richard Norton took a special interest in the project and allowed me another excellent opportunity to make a presentation at the Boston University Institute for Iraqi Studies. He also offered his comments on an earlier version of the manuscript and helped my research by providing partial funding for the study and arranged for the publication of this study to become the first paper published by the Institute. In this effort, Professor Roger Owen of Harvard University and Professor Betty Anderson of Boston University provided invaluable comments on the content and structure of the manuscript. They deserve my deepest gratitude. My sincere thanks are due to Ann Fisher for her exemplary effort in copyediting the manuscript and making invaluable suggestions regarding terminology and style. My lifelong friend and prominent academic, Hassan Nadhem, continued to offer his usual candid critique of everything I write and think about. And, finally, my family deserves special thanks for sacrificing the most as I continue to spend most of my time on research, writing, and travel. 8 Boston University Institute for Iraqi Studies | No. 1 | June 2013 INTRODUCTION The Ba‘th Party archive was captured in various