Voices of the Awakening: One-Year Anniversary of Abdul Sattar's Death

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Today FDD's Center for Terrorism Research brings you the third installment of our Voices of the Awakening project, authored by Sterling Jensen, which is designed to provide Westerners a better understanding of ongoing developments in Iraq's Awakening movement. This regular feature includes critical translations of Awakening news and documents, Jensen's observations and analysis, and occasional interviews with the movement's leaders.

The most significant news this week was the commemoration of the one-year anniversary of Sheikh Abdul Sattar's death, and Sheikh Ahmad Bezia's trip to Baghdad to visit such national leaders as prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, Sayed Ammar al-Hakim, and national security adviser Muafaq Rubaie. An excerpt:

In three separate articles, the Awakening reported the one-year anniversary of the martyrdom of Sheikh Abdul Sattar Bezia Abu Risha. Commemoration of the event included a eulogy of Sheikh Abdul Sattar, interviews with his brothers Sheikh Ahmad Bezia and Abdul Jabbar Bezia, videos of him, a visit to the site of his assassination by locals and the General Secretariat of the Iraqi Awakening, a ceremony in honor of Sheikh Abdul Sattar and all other victims of terror, and an iftar feast (breaking the Ramadan fast) in their honor. Among the many things mentioned about Sheikh Abdul Sattar's life and impact on Iraq was the fact that his memory is recorded in Iraq's national history. His name is mentioned whenever the Iraqi, Arab and Western media talk about the end of terrorism in Iraq, or reconciliation and national unity. In Anbar, his name is honored at every provincial dedication and ceremony. Sheikh Abdul Sattar will be remembered as a national hero.

INSIDER'S PERSPECTIVE: The content's focus in remembering Sheikh Abdul Sattar was positive: he was an inspiration, and the Awakening will continue his legacy. In an area of the Middle East where it is common to wail and weep in memory of the dead for centuries, this commemoration of Abdul Sattar's martyrdom is being presented in a way to lift Anbaris and Iraqis to a better future. Abdul Sattar's brother, Sheikh Abdul Jabbar, gave a speech about national unity saying that only by working together with national government institutions in the spirit of unity would Iraq awake to a better, more secure future. The lack of pessimism and divisiveness in the ceremonies, interviews, and reporting is projecting the Awakening's goal of an optimistic era for the new Iraq.

For the entire Voices of the Awakening update, click here.

TrackBack