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Samuel Helfont draws on extensive research with Ba'thist archives to investigate the roots of the religious insurgencies that erupted in Iraq following the American-led invasion in 2003. In looking at Saddam Hussein's policies in the 1990s, many have interpreted his support for state-sponsored religion as evidence of a dramatic shift away from Arab nationalism toward political Islam. While Islam did play a greater role in the regime's symbols and Saddam's statements
in the 1990s than it had in earlier decades, the regime's internal documents challenge this theory. The "Faith Campaign" Saddam launched during this period was the culmination of
a plan to use religion for political ends, begun upon his assumption of the Iraqi presidency in 1979. At this time, Saddam began constructing the institutional capacity to control and monitor Iraqi religious institutions. The resulting authoritarian structures allowed him to employ Islamic symbols and rhetoric in public policy, but in a controlled manner. Saddam ultimately promoted a Ba'thist interpretation of religion that subordinated it to Arab nationalism, rather than depicting it as an
independent or primary political identity.The point of this examination of Iraqi history, other than to correct the current understanding of Saddam Hussein's political use of
religion throughout his presidency, is to examine how Saddam's controlled use of religion was dismantled during the US-Iraq war, and consequently set free extremists that were suppressed under his regime. When the American-led invasion destroyed the regime's authoritarian structures, it unwittingly unhinged the forces that these structures were designed to contain, creating an atmosphere infused with religion, but lacking the checks provided by the former regime. Groups such as the Sadrists,
al-Qaida, and eventually the Islamic State emerged out of this context to unleash the insurgencies that have plagued post-2003 Iraq.
Samuel Helfont draws on extensive research with Ba'thist archives to investigate the roots of the religious insurgencies that erupted in Iraq following the American-led invasion in 2003. In looking at Saddam Hussein's policies in the 1990s, many have interpreted his support for state-sponsored religion as evidence of a dramatic shift away from Arab nationalism toward political Islam. While Islam did play a greater role in the regime's symbols and Saddam's statements
in the 1990s than it had in earlier decades, the regime's internal documents challenge this theory. The "Faith Campaign" Saddam launched during this period was the culmination of
a plan to use religion for political ends, begun upon his assumption of the Iraqi presidency in 1979. At this time, Saddam began constructing the institutional capacity to control and monitor Iraqi religious institutions. The resulting authoritarian structures allowed him to employ Islamic symbols and rhetoric in public policy, but in a controlled manner. Saddam ultimately promoted a Ba'thist interpretation of religion that subordinated it to Arab nationalism, rather than depicting it as an
independent or primary political identity.The point of this examination of Iraqi history, other than to correct the current understanding of Saddam Hussein's political use of
religion throughout his presidency, is to examine how Saddam's controlled use of religion was dismantled during the US-Iraq war, and consequently set free extremists that were suppressed under his regime. When the American-led invasion destroyed the regime's authoritarian structures, it unwittingly unhinged the forces that these structures were designed to contain, creating an atmosphere infused with religion, but lacking the checks provided by the former regime. Groups such as the Sadrists,
al-Qaida, and eventually the Islamic State emerged out of this context to unleash the insurgencies that have plagued post-2003 Iraq.
Preface and Acknowledgements
Introduction: Religion and Authoritarianism in Saddam's Iraq
Part I: The Penetration of Iraq's Religious Landscape 1979-1989
Chapter 1: Saddam Takes Control
Chapter 2: Co-opting and Coercing Religion in Saddam's Iraq
Chapter 3: Co-opting and Coercing Shi'ism
Chapter 4: Suppressing the Islamist Opposition
Chapter 5: Addressing the Limits of Coercion and Co-optation
Part II: The Gulf War and its Aftermath 1990-1993
Chapter 6: Continuity and Change in the Gulf War
Chapter 7: Iraq's Religious Landscape in the Wake of the Gulf
War
Part III: The Faith Campaign 1993-2003
Chapter 8: A Transformed Religious Landscape
Chapter 9: The Regime and the Shi'is in the 1990s
Chapter 10: Mechanisms of Control
Chapter 11: Putting the System to Work
Part IV: The Invasion of Iraq War and the Emergence of Religious
Insurgencies
Chapter 12: American Misconceptions about Iraq and the 2003
Invasion
Chapter 13: Emergence of Religious Insurgencies in Iraq
Conclusion: Saddam the Counter-Insurgent and other Reflections on
Ruling Iraq
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Samuel Helfont is Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania and Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.
"Compulsion in Religion was a timely contribution. It provides a
nuanced understanding of Saddam's religious policies, based on the
regime's internal documents, and sheds light on some of the
unintended consequences of the 2003 war." -- Michael Brill,
Princeton University, The Middle East Journal
"Helfont gives us a compelling picture of religious life under
Saddam. This book can serve as an invaluable resource for anyone
who wants to understand Iraq and its sectarian conflicts better.
The Western media and politicians love to paint Iraq in single
colors, focusing on corruption or the constant violence. Helfont
gives us a nuanced and rich view of the Iraqi religious landscape."
-- Joshua Karnes, H-Net
"Compulsion in Religion is the definitive account of the religious
policies of Saddam's regime and mosque-state relations in Ba'thist
Iraq. It will be of interest to scholars of Iraq, religion,
comparative politics, and general readers searching for an antidote
to inaccurate information on the subject." -- Middle East
Journal
"This work is indispensable for scholars of religion and
authoritarianism as a hypothesis-generating case study and is a
welcome contribution to the field of religion and politics in
particular." -- Ann Wainscott, Perspectives in Politics
"[S]cholars have been hard at work refining and challenging
conventional narratives regarding Ba'thist Iraq. ... Compulsion in
Religion forms a significant contribution to this more general
effort. â [It] will be of great interest to students of Iraqi
history and modern Iraqi politics alike." -- Cole Bunzel, Yale Law
School, Orbis
"[A] fascinating new book."--Gareth Smyth, The Arab
"Samuel Helfont has provided us with groundbreaking insights into
the way Saddam Hussein's Ba'th Party used Islam to control the
Iraqi population during his dictatorship-and how the abrupt removal
of that control influenced the insurgencies that erupted in the
wake of the American invasion in 2003. Most importantly, this book
illuminates why those insurgencies were so virulent, and how the
wake of Saddam Hussein's use of Islamic institutions to control
the
Iraqi population will continue to ignite conflict in the Middle
East for generations to come."
--John Nagl, Lieutenant Colonel, USA (Retired), and author of
Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from
Malaya and Vietnam
"Samuel Helfont tackles an important subject that is
significant
"Samuel Helfont tackles an important subject that is significant
not only for its historical aspects but also for its relevance to
current affairs given the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and ISIL.
He has tapped the Iraqi archives, providing a real contribution to
the literature on Iraq's history and issues related to current
politics."
--Joseph Sassoon, author of The Iraqi Refugees: The New Crisis in
the Middle East
"Compulsion In Religion is one of a series of recent books to use
the Baathist documents to shed new light on the former regime.
Helfont provides a totally original look at how Saddam observed,
co-opted, repressed, and then operationalized religion to secure
his rule and use it as another means to control society. He
counters much of the previous research that largely dismissed
religion in Iraq under the Baath. The book could also lead to a
whole new
range of research into how the insurgency and militias emerged in
post-2003 Iraq. It's therefore essential reading for Iraq
researchers." - Musings on Iraq
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