Saddam On The Spotlight

Saddam Hussein on the spotlight By Abdel Aziz Dimapunong Imam, Masjid Alkhairi, Manila Secretary General, International Islamic Civilian Relations

Last November 4, 2006, a death sentence was read to Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq. The reading of that judgment drew some colorable reactions in the Philippines. The ousted president was accused of killing tens of thousands of Shiites following a 1991 uprising during his dictatorial regime. For the specific verdict that was read, Saddam was convicted for crimes against humanity. He was sentenced by the Iraqi High Tribunal for having ordered the execution of about 150 Shiites from the city of Dujail following a 1982 attempt on his life. The decision is plausible because of many reasons. First it was arrived at by a justice system under the grip of political gladiators headed by the United States with its occupying forces. The Chief Judge Raouf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman is a Kurd who was accused of being bias on the ground that his hometown of Halabja was attacked with poison gas allegedly ordered by Saddam Hussein in 1988. In the Philippines, those celebrating are more than those denouncing the judgment. That is because the Philippines is not a Muslim country. The Muslims here are in the minority. At the start of the war in Iraq, the Philippine Government was also among the so-called Coalition of the Willing. As to the Muslims in the Philippines, the mix reactions depend on the way they perceived Saddam Hussein as a former president. The mix reactions are based on Islamic considerations among Muslims of the world and they have nothing to do with non-Muslims. Under the principles of Islam, for example, Saddam was required by Islamic standard to reach out to those in need among his Muslim

brothers through Zakat. This is an Islamic tithing that is not optional but mandatory of every rich Muslim individuals or governments, like Saddam and his former regime, in an oil producing country. Saddam Hussein has been prejudged by his enemies (I am not among them because I have no enemies). Some people even predate their reactions over Saddam Hussein on the basis of the Persian Gulf War (September 1980 to August 1988). Some Filipinos do not mind any judgment about Saddam Hussein because they were disappointed with his military misadventures in Iran and later in Kuwait in the 1980s up to the 1990s. When his government invaded Kuwait, many overseas workers in the Philippines were displaced. Hundreds of Muslim students under study scholarship to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were sent back home. We now pray for all the people of Iraq, Sunnis and Shiites alike. And we hope that freedom and democracy grow stronger in that country under any legitimate and constitutional government of the Iraqi people. For those who find it hard to search for the location of the “freedom verse” in the Holy Qur, an, please read the first three verses of Sura Balad (Qur’an 90.v1-3). “Hillun” on the second verse has been translated by Josef Ali as “a man with lawful rights. A man freed from such obligation as would attach to a stranger in the city (that is in his native country). “That is freedom in Islam. …………… The author, Abdel Aziz Dimapunong is Secretary General of the International Islamic Civilian Relations (IICR), a non-governmental organization that is dedicated to civilian relations, conciliation, reconciliation and Islamic arbitration in trade and commerce. It is a non-militant group that advocates peace, forbearance and tolerance.