Assyrians in Modern Iraq: Negotiating Political and Cultural Space

Description

Examining the relationship between a strengthened Iraqi state under the Baʿth regime and the Assyrians, a Christian ethno-religious group, Alda Benjamen studies the role of minorities in twentieth-century Iraqi political and cultural history. Relying on extensive research in Iraq, including sources uncovered at the Iraqi National Archives in Baghdad, as well as in libraries and private collections in Erbil, Duhok, and Mosul, in Arabic and modern Aramaic, Benjamen foregrounds the Iraqi periphery as well as the history of bilingualism to challenge the monolingual narrative of the state. By exploring the role of Assyrians in Iraq's leftist and oppositional movements, including gendered representations of women, she demonstrates how, within newly politicized urban spaces, minorities became attracted to intellectual and political movements that allowed them to advance their own concerns while engaging with other Iraqis of their socio-economic background and relying on transnational community networks. Assyrian intellectuals not only negotiated but also resisted government policies through their cultural production, thereby achieving a softening of Baʿthist policies towards the Assyrians that differed markedly from those of later repressive eras. Cover Half-title Title Page Copyright information Dedication Contents List of Figures Preface Approach and Methods: Minoritization and Pluralism in Middle Eastern Studies Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration List of Abbreviations Introduction: Identity, Urbanization, and Citizenship Western Missionaries and Intercommunal Division The Rise of Nationalism and Claims of Common Ancestry Urbanization in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century: Trans-regional and Transnational Dislocations The World War I and Assyrian Dislocations The Simele Massacre: Dislocations Continued A Hierarchy of Citizenship 1 Assyrians and the Iraqi Communist Party The Assyrians and Communism in Iraq Kirkuk, Oil, and Labor Assyrians as Employees in the Iraq Petroleum Company Urban Violence in 1959 What Happened in 1963? Assyrians in the Courts Procedure Witnesses The Case of Josephine Warda A History of the Iraqi Women's Movement The Case Witness Testimonies Warda's Testimony Adib George: The Most Dangerous of Communists Lieutenant Ibrahim Tumas: Communism as the Root of Humanity Yalda Iliya The Case of Barkhu and His Colleagues Conclusion 2 The Role of Assyrians and Communists in the Kurdish Uprising (1961-1975) The Kurds from the Early Modern Times to Twentieth-Century Iraq Assyrians and the Kurdish Uprising, 1961-1963 Hurmizd Malik Chikku Kurds, Communists, and Assyrians after 1963 Assyrians within the Barzani Camp Margaret George and the Barzanis Political Opposition under the Baʿth: 1968-1980 The Formation of the Higher Committee for Christian Affairs Conclusion 3 Between Reconciliation and Repression: Baʿthist Policies toward the Assyrians in the 1970s Baʿthist Conciliation Policies Contradictory Policies The Aftermath of the Algiers Agreement The Baʿthification of Society Issues of Identity Islamic Religious Education Conclusion 4 Compliance, Negotiation, Resistance: Assyrian Press and Popular Culture (1970s-1980s) Mordinna Atouraya: Background Negotiating Simele Simele Remembered in Popular Culture Popular Culture and Songs of Defiance Mordinna Atouraya's Interview with Y¯aʿqo Language: A Medium for Discussion Identity: Athuriyyun or Ashuriyyun? The February Fire: Preserving Rural Traditions Modern Assyrian Narratives of Integration Co-optation and Negotiation between Socialism and the Abbasids Socialism Beyond Negotiation: Subtle and Defiant Forms of Resistance Kirkuki Assyrians: Celebrating a Baʿthist Holiday? Maneuvering around a Baʿthist Agent: ''Tasarrufat Matran'' Changes in the Magazine Conclusion 5 The Reestablishment of the Assyrian Nationalist Political Movement (1970s-1980s) The Iraqi National Arena The Baʿthification of Society: A Case Study An Assyrian Baʿthist in Context The Resurrection of Assyrian Political Organizations: Toward Armed Struggle The Path of an Assyrian Urbanite Intellectual toward Armed Struggle Case Study: The Assyrian Democratic Movement - ''Progressive Pragmatism'' Baʿthist Reports on the Iraqi Opposition and the Assyrian Movement Imprisonment, Torture, and Execution of ADM Members The Cult of Martyrdom Movement Activities in the Wake of Government Suppression Conclusion Conclusion Assyrians in Iraq's Northern ''Safe Haven'' (1991-2003) The Nineveh Plain Predicament: Historicizing Cultural and Political Ramifications Fast-Forward to 2014 Appendix 1 Census Data Tables Appendix 2 The ''Simele'' Song Select Bibliography Primary Sources Archives Official Documents Newspapers and Magazines Memoirs and Arabic-Language Sources Memoirs and Self-Published Reports in English Oral Interviews Media and Online Sources Secondary Sources Dissertations NGO Publications Journal and Book Sources Index