Amir Taha

Historian. University of Amsterdam.
Focus : 1980s Baathist Iraq.
Interests: Neo-liberalization, state formation, mobilization and cultural representations

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

For my article on the Mahdi Army I analyzed over 65 sadri songs, listened to all of Muqtada's 2003-2006 speeches, dissected and did interviews. In this thread I'll share a few of my insights and my favorite Sadri songs.
#Iraq
Link article :
https://t.co/dyrfo7bedF

[أَبُو عِرْفَانِ پارسی @A_E_P_1979]

🧵 Video thread — rare videos from the 1991 Iraqi Shia uprising and its aftermath.

Listed in the comment section 👇👇👇

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

@A_E_P_1979 Is the ebook still available somewhere?

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

I dont get how Iraq is pulled into the Iran conducted Sunni genocide discourse -at this crucial- moment, some outsiders might not know, but for the average Iraqi it is rememberd that it was ISIS that killed 40.000 Iraqis and not Iran.

[Abu Aisha @al_Samancii]

This is what Shia/Iranian militias did to the Grand al-Nuri Masjid in Mosul, Iraq in 2017,

Built by Nur al-Din Zangi, Teacher of Salahuddin in 568AH,

So don't tell me you love Salahuddin while supporting those who spit on and curse his legacy.

So no, I dont stand with Iran.

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

This was a week ago, june 5. Likely related.

[Señor. BasicIraq @IraqBasic]

Does he know why the Abbasids rose to power in Baghdad?

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

@LongshotIbrahim My point is more that this concept of a sunni led Iraq was institutionally generated and was internalized. It gained a life its own and had political consquences .

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

Actually, yes they did promote and go out of their way to instill and manufacture the idea of a "sunni led Iraq". Did wonders for Islamic unity or a plural Iraq.

[Ibrahim Abdul-Rauf @LongshotIbrahim]

This itself was a silly idea, since Brits weren't going out of the way to promote Sunnis over Shias; it just so happened that their premier vassal, who had fought with them since 1916, happened to be Sunnis, but so were a lot of their opponents (esp. Turks/Kurds in north).

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

@LongshotIbrahim Yes, but Gertude Bell was quite central to the formation of imperial policy in Iraq. But ofcourse its indeed not an actual "sunni led Iraq" its a set of elites that benefitted from this myth.

[SLUG @generalslug]

me trying to remember that one lenin quote

[Hadas Weiss @weiss_hadas]

hi! i’m a character in an ethnographic anecdote. i unwittingly support the argument

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

And yes ive read all the reports about supposed "Shia militias" persecuting palestinians, most of it is alleged and assumed. There is no hard evidence that tanzim Badr or Jaysh al Mahdi purposfully sought out Palestinians to kill them.

[Heshmat Alavi's Trenchcoat @UrOrientalist]

I mentioned at the beginning of this episode that its been six years to the day that I launched the show. Can't believe it's been six years of screaming into a microphone. Thanks to all the guests, patrons, and listeners--and my many haters too!

[Iraq Now @irq_now]

Over 100 Lebanese students in Iraq have enrolled in the Iraqi school system to continue their education without losing a year. So far, Iraq has welcomed more than 16,000 Lebanese citizens seeking safety following Israeli aggression. #lebanon

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

Found the selected works of Kim il Sung (1971, Pyongyang) at the public archive of Diwaniya in Iraq. No idea how it got there and it felt out of place next to mainly Iraqi newspapers and government publications. I suspect that N.korea donated it to them in the 1970s.

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

IR/PolSci scholars studying Iraq used "Iran-backed militia" for years, with little qualification or nuance, not realizing this term comes from security establishments and in the long run normalized a discourse that justifies strikes (and other) on Iraqi and Lebanese citizens

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

If anyone is interested I have detailed 3000 word article on the plight of palestinians during the US occupation of Iraq, which covers also "Shia militias". But ive been unable to find a platform to publish it on. If you know any spot interested in publishing this let me know !

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

Nowhere did Muqtada get angry about this, stop lying and fanning sectarian divisions. Interesting how you do not mention that the US was occupying Iraq at the time. That was structurally the most significant factor that explains violence at the time.

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

And yes ive read all the reports about supposed "Shia militias" persecuting palestinians, most of it is alleged and assumed. There is no hard evidence that tanzim Badr or Jaysh al Mahdi purposfully sought out Palestinians to kill them.

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

Nowhere did Muqtada get angry about this, stop lying and fanning sectarian divisions. Interesting how you do not mention that the US was occupying Iraq at the time. That was structurally the most significant factor that explains violence at the time.

[Amir Taha @5000Emir]

Saddam during the Iran-Iraq war named the Tawaklna division after the in God we trust motto written on the US dollar, in honor of the intelligence the CIA provided him during the war.