Wow, this is really not good. According to the AP, "Some 3,000 people marched Friday through the Jordanian capital to protest Saddam's execution, lashing out at American and Shiite Muslim influence in the Arab world." Not only were these Jordanian Sunnis out marching, but in this theoretically moderate, pro-Western nation, they were shouting "Death to America and to Iran," linking together two bitter adversaries in some sort of broad anti-Sunni, pro-Shi'ite plot. Ugh.
Iran and the United States on the same side in a plot against the Sunnis? Yeah, that does sound a bit delusional here in the United States, where most people are concerned more about a possible U.S.-Iranian showdown than about a U.S.-Iranian alliance. Nonetheless, the perception of U.S.-Iranian, anti-Sunni duplicity appears to be spreading throughout the Sunni Arab world. Even Egyptian President Husni Mubarak, the leader of our top foreign aid recipient in the (Sunni) Arab world, says, "No one will ever forget the way in which Saddam was executed...They turned him into a martyr." Ugh.
In Libya, overwhelmingly Sunni and one of the Bush Administration's few foreign policy success stories the past six years, they plan to erect a statue of Saddam at the gallows. Ugh.
In Morocco, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Sunni Arabs marched to praise Saddam and to condemn the United States. According to the New York Times, a prominent banner in Beirut read, "God damn America and its spies; Our condolences to the nation for the assassination of Saddam, and victory to the Iraqi resistance." Ugh.
In Saudi Arabia, the heart of the Sunni Arab world (and home of Wahhabi fundamentalist Islam) "poems eulogizing Mr. Hussein have been passed around on cellphones and in e-mail messages." For instance, this one made it into a Saudi newspaper:
Prepare the gun that will avenge Saddam;
The criminal who signed the execution order without valid reason cheated us on our celebration day;
How beautiful it will be when the bullet goes through the heart of him who betrayed Arabism
Nice, huh? The country that is our main dealer...er, supplier of oil is overcome by admiration for Saddam Hussein. Ugh.
Unfortunately, the execution of Saddam, and specifically the grainy, cellphone, YouTube'd video of him standing up to his Shi'ite executioners chanting "Muqtada, Muqtada, Muqtada" (for firebrand Iraqi Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr), has caused Sunnis across the Arab world to reevaluate their views of Saddam. Pre-execution, Saddam was a brutal tyrant who had almost been forgotten. Post-execution, Saddam's image has, according to the New York Times, "undergone a resurgence of admiration and awe."
Specifically, Saddam's role in fighting off the dreaded Shi'ite Iranian hordes (and firing SCUD missiles into Israel) is now remembered with gratitutde across the overwhelmingly Sunni Arab world. For instance, the New York Times reports:
In the London-based pan-Arab daily Al Hayat, Bilal Khubbaiz, commenting on Iranian and Israeli praise of the execution, wrote, "Saddam, as IraqGÇÖs ruler, was an iron curtain that prevented the Iranian influence from reaching into the Arab world," as well as "a formidable party in the Arab-Israeli conflict."
So there you have it. Across the Sunni Arab world, Saddam Hussein is now a proud, fearless "martyr" who had stood as an "iron curtain" against archenemy Iran. And America? Well, we're in league with the Shi'ites against the Sunnis. How can people believe this? In part, it's undoubtedly the old "the enemy of your enemy is your friend" truism. In this case, it's Shi'ite vs. Sunni. But even more than that, I believe it's simple, powerful pride at the vision - whether accurate or not - of "a Sunni Arab hero who stood calm and composed as his Shiite executioners tormented and abused him."
All because of a disastrous Sunni-Shi'ite civil war in Iraq (heckuva job, Bush Administration!), a badly bungled, amateur-hour execution of Saddam Hussein (ditto), and a smuggled cellphone video that became a smash hit on YouTube.
Ugh.
P.S. For more on the Shi'ites and the Sunnis, I strongly recommend that you read anything written by Vali Nasr, including his powerful, fascinating book, The Shi'a Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future."
P.P.S. I've lived and traveled extensively in the Middle East, including Jordan and Egypt in 1997, and I can confidently say that although many of these nations are ostensibly pro-Western and "moderate," there is anti-American anger (in large part, redirected rage against their own governments) seething beneath the surface.