Coup successful
185-747: The Ramadan Revolution , also referred to as the 8 February Revolution and the February 1963 coup d'état in Iraq, was a military coup by the Iraqi branch of the Ba'ath Party which overthrew the Prime Minister of Iraq , Abdul-Karim Qasim in 1963. It took place between 8 and 10 February 1963. Qasim's former deputy, Abdul Salam Arif , who was not a Ba'athist, was given the largely ceremonial title of President, while prominent Ba'athist general Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
370-608: A General Conference of the Iraqi Ba'ath party in Syria to elect a new leadership (the faction's armed wing is The Return ). This move caused a significant amount of controversy within the party, with al-Douri issuing a statement criticizing Syria for what al-Douri claimed was an American-supported attempt to undermine the Iraqi Ba'ath party, although this statement was later downplayed. The conference elected al-Ahmed as secretary-general, and al-Ahmed issued an order expelling al-Douri from
555-549: A Mahdi claimant enabled unity among tribes and/or a region, often enabled them to forcibly seize power, but the lifespan of such a force was usually limited, as their Mahdi had to conform to hadith prophesies—winning their battles and bringing peace and justice to the world before Judgement Day—which (so far) none have. The Mahdi figure in Islam can be likened to the Maitreya figure of Buddhism . Both are prophesied saviors sharing
740-547: A bid to gain time, al-Mahdi also sought to shift the messianic expectations on his son, al-Qa'im : by renaming himself as Abdallah Abu Muhammad, and his son as Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad rather than his original name, Abd al-Rahman, the latter would bear the name Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abdallah. This was the name of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and it had been prophesied that the Mahdi would also bear it. The Fatimids eventually dropped
925-456: A coup. Because of the revelations, the Iraqi government initiated a purge of thousands of public officials. The purge triggered Sunni protests, with many calling for Sunni autonomy within Iraq. Surprisingly to outside observers, al-Douri's Ba'ath party opposed Sunni autonomy and, in a statement, referred to it as "a dangerous plan to divide Iraq along sectarian lines." However this condemnation
1110-519: A diplomatic settlement to the First Iraqi–Kurdish War , but its provision of military aid to the Ba'athist government emboldened Iraqi hardliners to resume hostilities against Kurdish rebels on June 10, after which Iraq requested additional emergency U.S. assistance including napalm weapons. President Kennedy approved the arms sale in part on the recommendation of senior adviser Robert Komer and
1295-401: A distinct concept of the Mahdi developed, with select Isma'ili Imams representing the Mahdi or al-Qa'im at various times. When the sixth Shia imam Ja'far al-Sadiq died, some of his followers held his already dead son Isma'il ibn Ja'far to be the imam asserting that he was alive and will return as the Mahdi. Another group accepted his death and acknowledged his son Muhammad ibn Isma'il as
1480-577: A drive to improve the party's internal security. In 1964, Hussein established the Jihaz Haneen, the party's secretive security apparatus, to act as a counterweight to the military officers in the party and to weaken the military's hold on the party. In contrast to the coup of 1963, the 1968 coup was led by civilian Ba'ath Party members. According to historian Con Coughlin, the President of Iraq Abdul Rahman Arif , who had taken over from his brother,
1665-599: A few days before his death in 941. With the death of the fourth agent, thus began the Major Occultation ( الغيبة الكبرى , ghayba al-kubra ), in which the communication between the Mahdi and the faithful was severed. The leadership vacuum in the Twelver community was gradually filled by jurists. During the Major Occultation, the Mahdi roams the earth and is sustained by God. He is the lord of
1850-465: A five-minute propaganda video, The End of the Criminals , which included close-up views of his bullet wounds amid disrespectful treatment of his corpse, which is spat on in the final scene. Qasim's former deputy, Abdul Salam Arif , who was not a Ba'athist, was given the largely-ceremonial title of President, and the prominent Ba'athist General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr was named Prime Minister. However,
2035-549: A messianic-like quality, and both are predicted to hold a position of world rulership. The prophesied savior duo of the Mahdi and the Messiah in Islam can be likened to the prophesied pair of the two Jewish savior figures, Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David, respectively, in the sense that the Islamic Messiah and Masiach ben David take a central eschatological role, while the Mahdi and Mashiach ben Yosef take
SECTION 10
#17327725302662220-400: A more or less permanent effect on the political developments in the country—particularly on the prospects of a Ba'athi revival." Marion Farouk-Sluglett and Peter Sluglett describe the Ba'athists as having cultivated a "profoundly unsavory image" by "acts of wanton brutality" on a scale without prior precedent in Iraq, including "some of the most terrible scenes of violence hitherto experienced in
2405-406: A new message. In 931, the then Qarmati leader Abu Tahir al-Jannabi declared a Persian prisoner named Abu'l-Fadl al-Isfahani as the awaited Mahdi. The Mahdi went on to denounce Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as liars, abolished Islam, and instituted the cult of fire . Abu Tahir had to depose him as imposter and had him executed. Meanwhile, in Syria, Sa'id ibn al-Husayn's partisans took control of
2590-568: A peaceful mujaddid (renewer of religion), who spreads Islam with "heavenly signs and arguments". Throughout history, various individuals have claimed to be or were proclaimed to be the Mahdi. Claimants have included Muhammad Jaunpuri , the founder of the Mahdavia sect; Ali Muhammad Shirazi , the founder of Bábism ; Muhammad Ahmad , who established the Mahdist State in Sudan in
2775-546: A secret radio beamed to Iraq was supplying the men who pulled the coup with the names and addresses of the Communists there so that they could be arrested and executed? ... Yet I am the one accused of being an agent of America and imperialism! Similarly, Qasim's former foreign minister , Hashim Jawad , would state that "the Iraqi Foreign Ministry had information of complicity between the Ba'ath and
2960-538: A statement condemning sectarianism within the party, specifically criticizing al-Douri's faction. The OCES condemned the leadership's decision of creating a primary Sunni leadership and a reserve Shiite leadership. This decision by the al-Douri faction leadership was a response to complaints by Ba'athist organizations in Shiite-dominated areas on what they considered policy errors which led to marginalization and exclusion of Shiite members. The OCES rejected
3145-563: A successful student strike at the University of Baghdad ." According to Wolfe-Hunnicutt, declassified documents suggest that the Kennedy administration viewed two prominent Ba'athist officials—Ba'ath Party Army Bureau head, Lt. Col. Salih Mahdi Ammash , whose arrest on February 4 served as the coup's catalyst, and Hazim Jawad, "responsible for [the Ba'ath Party's] clandestine printing and propaganda distribution operations"—as "assets." Ammash
3330-524: A third Ba'athist group. al-Douri has been considered more of a symbol, but he doesn't actually hold that much power over the party. In a discussion with the American embassy in Amman, Jordan, in 2007, retired Lieutenant General Khalid al-Jibouri stated that he believed "a powerful shadow group of personnel [was] behind him who really constitute the operational leadership of his faction". He further noted that
3515-583: A title for Jesus when he returns. Others, like the historian and the Qur'an commentator Ibn Kathir ( d. 1373 ), elaborated a whole apocalyptic scenario which includes prophecies about the Mahdi, Jesus, and the Dajjal (the antichrist) during the end times . The common opinion among the Sunnis is that the Mahdi is an expected ruler to be sent by God before the end times to re-establish righteousness. He
3700-512: A transition in Twelver arguments from a traditionist to a rationalist approach in order to vindicate the occultation of the twelfth Imam. The Twelver authors also aim to establish that the description of Mahdi in Sunni sources applies to the twelfth Imam. Their efforts gained momentum in the seventh (thirteenth) century when some notable Sunni scholars endorsed the Shia view of the Mahdi, including
3885-596: A union with Syria, which was ruled by the Ba'ath Party, while the more conservative military wing supported Qasim's "Iraq first policy". Factionalism and the ill-disciplined behaviour of the National Guard led the military wing to initiate a coup against the party's leadership. Al-Sadi was forced into exile in Spain . Al-Bakr, in an attempt to save the party, called for a meeting of the National Command of
SECTION 20
#17327725302664070-458: A way to improve their options. After much pressure by the U.S., the policy of de-Ba'athification was addressed by the Iraqi government in January 2008 in the highly controversial "Accountability and Justice Act," which was supposed to ease the policy, but which many feared would lead to further dismissals. The new Constitution of Iraq , approved by a referendum on 15 October 2005, reaffirmed
4255-553: A widespread perception of chaos and disorder. While it's still early, the Iraqi revolution seems to have succeeded. It is almost certainly a net gain for our side. ... We will make informal friendly noises as soon as we can find out whom to talk with, and ought to recognize as soon as we're sure these guys are firmly in the saddle. CIA had excellent reports on the plotting, but I doubt either they or UK should claim much credit for it. — Robert Komer to President John F. Kennedy , February 8, 1963. It has long been suspected that
4440-612: Is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad , who will appear shortly before Jesus . The Mahdi is mentioned in several canonical compilations of hadith , but is absent from the Quran and the two most-revered Sunni hadith collections, Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim . Thus, some Sunni theologians have questioned
4625-571: Is accepted among scholars that the CIA ... assisted the Ba’th Party in its overthrow of [Qasim's] regime," that "barring the release of new information, the preponderance of evidence substantiates the conclusion that the CIA was not behind the February 1963 Ba'thist coup." Peter Hahn argues that "[d]eclassified U.S. government documents offer no evidence to support" suggestions of direct U.S. involvement. On
4810-414: Is ample evidence that the CIA not only had contacts with the Iraqi Ba'th in the early sixties, but also assisted in the planning of the coup." Nathan J. Citino writes that "Washington backed the movement by military officers linked to the pan-Arab Ba‘th Party that overthrew Qasim," but that "the extent of U.S. responsibility cannot be fully established on the basis of available documents," and that "[a]lthough
4995-536: Is fraught with grave dangers to the future of this people which is an integral part of the Arab nation. We have endured all we could. ... The army has answered the call of the people to rid them from this terror. —President Abdul Salam Arif , 1963. The U.S. provided $ 120,000 in "police assistance" to Iraq during 1963–1965, considerably less than the $ 832,000 in assistance that it provided to Iran during those years. The Kennedy administration officially advocated
5180-514: Is fraught with grave dangers to the future of this people which is an integral part of the Arab nation. We have endured all we could. ... The army has answered the call of the people to rid them from this terror. —President Abdul Salam Arif , 1963. The Ba'athist government collapsed in November 1963 over the question of unification with Syria and the extremist and uncontrollable behavior of al-Sa'di's National Guard. President Arif, with
5365-630: Is held to be from among the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali , and his physical characteristics including a broad forehead and curved nose. He will eradicate injustice and evil from the world. He will be from the Hasanid branch of Muhammad's descendants, as opposed to the Shia belief that he is of the Husaynid line. The Mahdi's name would be Muhammad and his father's name would be Abd Allah. Abu Dawud quotes Muhammad as saying: "The Mahdi will be from my family, from
5550-470: Is such that the possibility of US–UAR collaboration with Ba'ath Party activists cannot be ruled out," concluding that "[w]hatever the validity of [Sale's] charges, at the very least currently declassified documents reveal that US officials were actively considering various plots against Qasim and that the CIA was building up assets for covert operations in Iraq." The assassins, including Saddam, escaped to Cairo , Egypt "where they enjoyed Nasser's protection for
5735-575: Is that al-Ahmed's faction, which is based in Syria, does not have exclusive Syrian support and, considering that it is based in Syria, the party is susceptible to Syrian interference in its affairs. However, despite the differences between the al-Douri and al-Ahmed factions, both of them adhere to Ba'athist thought. On 2 January 2012, the Organizations of Central Euphrates and the South (OCES), believed to be headed by Hamed Manfi al-Karafi, issued
Ramadan Revolution - Misplaced Pages Continue
5920-707: Is the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order . According to Abu Muhammad, a Ba'ath Party spokesman from al-Douri's faction, on the eve of Saddam's death, "Comrade Izzat has been leading the [Ba'ath] party's political and resistance factions since 2003, but it is a matter of protocol and internal regulation to appoint him officially as the party's secretary-general." Al-Douri was elected the party's secretary-general in early January. Despite al-Douri's succession, another high ranking Ba'athist, Younis al-Ahmed , called for
6105-483: Is the now-extinct Husaynites in Yemen , who denied the death of al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim al-Iyani and awaited his return. In Sunni Islam , the Mahdi doctrine is not theologically important and remains as a popular belief instead. Of the six canonical Sunni hadith compilations, three— Abi Dawud , Ibn Maja , and al-Tirmidhi —contain traditions on the Mahdi; the compilations of al-Bukhari and Muslim —considered
6290-446: Is unlikely that the Ba'athists would've needed assistance in identifying Iraqi communists, it is widely believed that the CIA provided the Ba'athist National Guard with lists of communists and other leftists, who were then arrested or killed. Gibson emphasizes that the Ba'athists compiled their own lists, citing Bureau of Intelligence and Research reports. On the other hand, historians Nathan Citino and Brandon Wolfe-Hunnicutt consider
6475-439: Is unlikely that the Ba'athists would've needed assistance in identifying Iraqi communists, it is widely believed that the CIA provided the National Guard with lists of communists and other leftists, who were then arrested or killed under al-Wanadawi's and al-Sa'di's direction. This claim first originated in a September 27, 1963 Al-Ahram interview with King Hussein of Jordan , who declared: You tell me that American Intelligence
6660-647: The Ba'ath Party called for immediate unification with the United Arab Republic (UAR). In an attempt to create a state of political equilibrium, the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP), which opposed unity, tried to discount cooperation with the UAR in economics, culture, and science rather than political and military agreements. Gradually, Abd al-Karim Qasim 's relations with some of his fellow members of Al-Ahrar worsened, and his relationship with
6845-617: The Dajjal , as well as secular reports about long-lived men. Along these lines, Tabatabai emphasizes the miraculous qualities of al-Mahdi, adding that his long life, while unlikely, is not impossible. He is viewed as the sole legitimate ruler of the Muslim world and the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes him as the head of the state. Before his reappearance ( Arabic : ظهور , romanized : ṭuhūr ),
7030-580: The Himyarite Kingdom . They also believed that he would eventually conquer Constantinople . It has also been suggested that the concept of the Mahdi may have been derived from earlier messianic Jewish and Christian beliefs. Accordingly, traditions were introduced to support certain political interests, especially anti-Abbasid sentiments. These traditions about the Mahdi appeared only at later times in hadith books such as Sunan Abi Dawud and Sunan al-Tirmidhi , but are absent from
7215-591: The Iraqi Parliament's Law 28 of 1932 "Governing the Rights and Duties of Cultivators". By 1953, the party, led by al-Rikabi, was engaged in subversive activities against the government. The party initially consisted of a majority of Shia Muslims, as al-Rikabi primarily recruited his friends and family, but it slowly became Sunni -dominated. The Ba'ath Party, and others of pan-Arab orientation, found it increasingly difficult to recruit Shia members within
7400-636: The November 1963 Iraqi coup d'état , which was followed by a purge of Ba'ath Party members. Some time after the Homeland Officers' Organization , or "Al-Ahrar" ("The Free") succeeded in toppling the monarchy and transforming the Iraqi government into a republic in 1958 , signs of differences between political parties and forces and the Homeland Officers' Organization began when Pan-Arab nationalist forces led by Abdul Salam Arif and
7585-524: The Presidential Palace by Arif, who asked them if they knew of an imminent coup against him. Both al-Naif and Daud denied knowledge of any coup. However, when the Ba'ath Party leadership obtained this information, they quickly convened a meeting at al-Bakr's house. The coup had to be initiated as quickly as possible, even if they had to concede to give al-Naif and Daud the posts of Prime Minister and Defence Minister, respectively. Hussein said at
Ramadan Revolution - Misplaced Pages Continue
7770-531: The Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) "to annihilate anyone who disturbs the peace," detained, tortured, or executed thousands of suspected Qasim loyalists. Furthermore, the National Guard, which developed from a core group of perhaps 5,000 civilian Ba'athist partisans but increased to 34,000 members by August 1963, who were identified by their green armbands, was poorly-disciplined, as militiamen engaged in extensive infighting and created
7955-540: The Second Muslim Civil War (680–692), after the death of Mu'awiya I ( r. 661–680 ), the term acquired a new meaning of a ruler who would restore Islam to its perfect form and restore justice after oppression. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr , who laid claim to the caliphate against the Umayyads and found temporary success during the civil war, presented himself in this role. Although the title Mahdi
8140-732: The Shafi'i traditionist Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Gandji. Since then, Amir-Moezzi writes, there is Sunni support from time to time for the Twelvers' view of Mahdi. There has also been some support for the mahdiship of the twelfth Imam in Sufi circles, for instance, by the Egyptian Sufi al-Sha'rani . Before the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate , as a major Isma'ili Sh'a dynasty, the terms Mahdi and Qa'im were used interchangeably for
8325-612: The Waqifites to argue that Musa al-Kazim , the seventh Imam, had not died but was in occultation. In parallel, traditions predicting the occultation of a future imam also persisted in the writings of the mainstream Shia, who later formed the Twelvers. Based on this material, the Twelver doctrine of occultation crystallized in the first half of the fourth (tenth) century, in the works of Ibrahim al-Qummi ( d. 919 ), Ya'qub al-Kulayni ( d. 941 ), and Ibn Babawayh ( d. 991 ), among others. This period also saw
8510-437: The bureaucratisation of the party, and decision-making was often cumbersome and inefficient. This inefficiency meant that Saddam could govern without fearing any rivals. The Department for Organisational and Political Affairs (DOPA) was the most important department of the secretariat. It prepared material for discussion that the secretary-general ( Arabic : amin sir ), the party's leader, personally ordered. The DOPA also
8695-531: The original Ba'ath Party , before changing its allegiance to the Iraqi-dominated Ba'ath movement following the 1966 split within the original party. The party was officially banned following the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, but despite this it still continues to function underground. The Iraqi Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party was established in 1951 or 1952. Some historians claim that
8880-461: The Abbasids and establish his righteous caliphate . The propaganda of the Mahdi's return had a special appeal to peasants, Bedouins, and many of the later-to-be Twelver Shias, who were in a state of confusion ( hayra ) in the aftermath of the death of their 11th imam Hasan al-Askari, and resulted in many conversions. In 899, the leader of the movement, Sa'id ibn al-Husayn , declared himself
9065-693: The Arab Nationalist Movement, the United Arab Front, and the Socialist Unity Movement. As Hanna Batatu notes, that took place without the fundamental disagreement over immediate or "considered" reunification having been resolved. The Ba'ath moved to consolidate its power within the new government by purging Nasserist officers in April. Subsequent disturbances led to the fall of the al-Bitar government, and in
9250-696: The Audit Department. The only non-department under the direct responsibility of the secretariat was the Saddam Institute for the Study of the Qur'an . The functions and responsibilities of the secretariat were drawn up in a detailed manner. The Office of the President issued a directive to formulate its hierarchy , and the functions of the sections and departments were clearly defined. The secretariat encompassed all party branches. This system led to
9435-424: The Ba'ath Party . The meeting exacerbated the party's problems. Aflaq, who saw himself as the leader of the pan-Arab Ba'athist movement, declared his intent to take control of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party. The "Iraq first" wing was outraged. President Arif lost patience with the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, and the party was ousted from government on 18 November 1963. The 12 Ba'ath members of the government were forced to resign, and
SECTION 50
#17327725302669620-471: The Ba'ath Party ban, stating that "No entity or program, under any name, may adopt racism , terrorism , the calling of others infidels , ethnic cleansing , or incite, facilitate, glorify, promote, or justify thereto, especially the Saddamist Ba'ath in Iraq and its symbols, regardless of the name that it adopts. This may not be part of the political pluralism in Iraq." Some or many of its members in
9805-492: The Ba'ath Party collaborated with the CIA in planning and carrying out the coup. Pertinent contemporary documents relating to the CIA's operations in Iraq have remained classified and as of 2021, "[s]cholars are only beginning to uncover the extent to which the United States was involved in organizing the coup," but are "divided in their interpretations of American foreign policy." Bryan R. Gibson, writes that although "[i]t
9990-460: The Ba'ath Party's original ideology of secular pan-Arab nationalism which, in many cases, has proven successful in Iraq's Shi'a dominated southern provinces. However, despite his attempts, al-Ahmed has failed in his goal to overthrow al-Douri. Al-Douri's faction is the largest and the most active on the Internet, and the large majority of Ba'athist websites are aligned to al-Douri. Another failure
10175-519: The Ba'athist government, supporting Kurdish rebels under the leadership of Mustafa Barzani with propaganda and a "small monthly stipend for Barzani," suspending military shipments to Iraq in May, convincing its ally Mongolia to make charges of genocide against Iraq at the UN General Assembly from July to September, and sponsoring a failed communist coup attempt on July 3 . The same year,
10360-580: The Baghdad Embassy's political section from 1961 to 1964, would state that he personally witnessed contacts between Ba'ath Party members and CIA officials, and that: The [1963 Ba'athist] revolution was of course supported by the U.S. in money and equipment as well. I don't think the equipment was terribly important, but the money was to the Ba'ath Party leaders who took over the revolution. It wasn't talked about openly—that we were behind it—but an awful lot of people knew. Conversely, according to Gibson,
10545-606: The Ba‘ath." Lakeland, a former SCI participant, "personally maintained contact following the coup with a National Guard interrogator," and may have been influenced by his prior interaction with then-Major Hasan Mustafa al-Naqib, the Iraqi military attaché in the U.S. who defected to the Ba'ath Party after Qasim "upheld Mahdawi's death sentences" against nationalists involved in the 1959 Mosul uprising . Furthermore, "Weldon C. Mathews has meticulously established that National Guard leaders who participated in human rights abuses had been trained in
10730-485: The CIA and the US to overthrow Abd al-Karim Qasim and take over power" was comparable "to how Lenin arrived in a German train to carry out his revolution, saying they had arrived in an American train." Similarly, then secretary general of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, Ali Salih al-Sa'di , is quoted as saying that the Iraqi Ba'athists "came to power on a CIA train." Former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia , James E. Akins , who worked in
10915-446: The CIA official working to instigate a military coup against Qasim, and who later became the head of the CIA's operations in Iraq and Syria, has "denied any involvement in the Ba'ath Party's actions," stating instead that the CIA's efforts against Qasim were still in the planning stages at the time: "I was still engaged in contacting people who could play a role in a coup attempt against [him]." U.S. officials were undoubtedly pleased with
11100-400: The CIA. In many cases the CIA supplied the Ba'ath with the names of individual communists, some of whom were taken from their homes and murdered." Gibson emphasizes that the Ba'athists compiled their own lists, citing Bureau of Intelligence and Research reports stating that "[Communist] party members [are being] rounded up on the basis of lists prepared by the now-dominant Ba'th Party" and that
11285-453: The ICP had "exposed virtually all its assets" whom the Ba'athists had "carefully spotted and listed." On the other hand, Wolfe-Hunnicutt, citing contemporary U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine, notes that assertions of CIA involvement in the Ba'athist purge campaign "would be consistent with American special warfare doctrine" regarding U.S. covert support to anti-communist "Hunter-Killer" teams "seeking
SECTION 60
#173277253026611470-824: The Iraqi Ba'ath Party who were purged and dismissed went on to join Al-Qaeda in Iraq which eventually morphed into the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant . On 31 December 2006, one day after Saddam Hussein's execution by hanging, a previously unknown group called the Baghdad Citizens Gathering publicly issued a statement in Amman , Jordan, at the Jordanian Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party endorsing Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri as
11655-445: The Iraqi Ba'ath leadership for his supporters, including Saddam. In 1962, both the Ba'ath Party and the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) began plotting to overthrow Qasim. On 8 February 1963, Qasim was finally overthrown by the Ba'athists in the Ramadan Revolution ; long suspected to be supported by the CIA, however pertinent contemporary documents relating to the CIA's operations in Iraq have remained classified by
11840-423: The Iraqi Regional Branch was established by Abd ar Rahman ad Damin and Abd al Khaliq al Khudayri in 1947 after their return from the founding congress of the Ba'ath Party held in Damascus , Syria the same year. In another version, Fuad al-Rikabi established the Iraqi Regional Branch in 1948 with Sa'dun Hamadi, a Shia Muslim , but became secretary of the Regional Command in 1952. The Iraqi Regional Branch
12025-422: The Iraqi branch leadership locally or abroad, while continuing organizational activities according to the Organizations of Central Euphrates and the South leadership's decisions that were reached last year based on prior understandings with the national leadership". Despite breaking with al-Douri's faction, al-Karafi's faction has not aligned itself with either al-Ahmed's faction or Resurrection and Renewal Movement,
12210-416: The Iraqi garrison town of Kufa in the name of Ali's son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya , whom he proclaimed as the Mahdi in the messianic sense. The association of the name Muhammad with the Mahdi seems to have originated with Ibn al-Hanafiyya, who also shared the epithet Abu al-Qasim with Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. Among the Umayyads, the caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik ( r. 715–717 ) encouraged
12395-439: The July 1962 Moscow Conference for Disarmament and Peace in Iraq's leftist press to compile lists of Iraqi communists and their supporters ... Those listed included merchants, students, members of professional societies, and journalists, although university professors constituted the largest single group." Wolfe-Hunnicutt comments that "it’s not unreasonable to suspect [such a] list – or ones like it – would have been shared with
12580-402: The Mahdi is a messianic figure and if signs and predictions of his time had been satisfied. In Medina, among the conservative religious circles, the belief in Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz being the Mahdi was widespread. Said ibn al-Musayyib ( d. 715 ) is said to identify Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz as the Mahdi long before his reign. The Basran, Abu Qilabah, supported the view that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
12765-420: The Mahdi recognized as ruler by the people. The Dajjal would appear and will spread corruption in the world. With an army bearing black banners, which would come to his aid from the east, the Mahdi would fight the Dajjal, and will be able to defeat him. Dressed in saffron robes with his head anointed, Jesus would descend at the point of a white minaret of the Umayyad Mosque in eastern Damascus (believed to be
12950-407: The Mahdi, the earth would be filled with anarchy and chaos. Divisions and civil wars, moral degradation, and worldliness would be prevalent among the Muslims. Injustice and oppression would be rampant in the world. In the aftermath of the death of a king, the people would quarrel among themselves, and the as yet unrecognized Mahdi would flee from Medina to Mecca to take refuge in the Ka'ba. He would be
13135-423: The Mahdi. This brought about schism in the unified Isma'ili community as not all adherents of the movement accepted his Mahdist claims. Those in Iraq and Arabia, known as Qarmatians after their leader Hamdan Qarmat , still held that Muhammad ibn Isma'il was the awaited Mahdi and denounced the Salamiyya-based Mahdism. In the Qarmati doctrine, the Mahdi was to abrogate the Islamic law (the Sharia ) and bring forth
13320-408: The Mahdi. Although the concept of a Mahdi is not an essential doctrine in Islam, it is popular among Muslims. Over centuries, there have been a vast number of Mahdi claimants . The Mahdi features in both Shia and Sunni branches of Islam , though they differ extensively on his attributes and status. Among Twelver Shias , the Mahdi is believed to be Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi , twelfth Imam, son of
13505-558: The Minaret of Jesus) and join the Mahdi. Jesus would pray behind the Mahdi and then kill the Dajjal. The Gog and Magog would also appear wreaking havoc before their final defeat by the forces of Jesus. Although not as significant as the Dajjal and the Gog and Magog, the Sufyani , another representative of the forces of dark, also features in the Sunni traditions. He will rise in Syria before
13690-473: The National Guard was dissolved and replaced with the Republican Guard . Some authorities believe that Aflaq supported Arif's coup against the Ba'athist government in order to weaken al-Sadi's position within the party and strengthen his own. At the time of al-Sadi's removal from the post of Interior Minister, factionalism and discontent were growing within the party. al-Sadi and Mundur al-Windawi,
13875-534: The Qur'an. The party sought to control these institutions so that no single opposition party could gain a foothold in them. Below the Regional Command were the bureau structures ( Arabic : maktab al-tandhimat ), which would gather all party activities in a single geographic area into the responsibility of a single unit. Until 1989, there were six bureau structures in the country: in Baghdad , Al-Forat,
14060-571: The Regional Command of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, became deputy prime minister and Minister of Interior – a post he lost on 11 May. Despite not being prime minister, al-Sadi had effective control over the Iraqi Ba'ath Party. Seven out of nine members supported his leadership in the party's Regional Command. According to Coughlin, in the aftermath of the coup, the National Guard initiated an "orgy of violence" against all communist and other left-wing elements. This period led to
14245-474: The Sunni belief, although in some Twelver traditions it is the Mahdi who would kill the Dajjal. Those who hold enmity towards Ali ( Arabic : نَواصِب , romanized : nawāṣib , lit. 'haters') will be subject to jizya (poll tax) or killed if they do not accept Shia Islam. The Mahdi is also viewed as the restorer of true Islam, and the restorer of other monotheistic religions after their distortion and abandonment. He establishes
14430-528: The Syrian Ba'ath Military Committee, represented by Salah Jadid , Muhammad Umran , Hafez al-Assad , Salim Hatum and Amin al-Hafiz ; and the Iraqi military wing, which supported Arif's presidency, represented by al-Bakr, Salih Mahdi Ammash , Tahir Yahya and Hardan Tikriti. The military wings in Syria and Iraq opposed the creation of a pan-Arab state, whereas al-Shufi and al-Sadi supported it. Aflaq officially supported it, but privately opposed it because he
14615-664: The Syrian and Iraqi military. Ammash, the Iraqi Minister of Defence , became the chairman of the Higher Military Council. The unified headquarters was in Syria. The establishment of the military union became evident on 20 October 1963, when Syrian soldiers were found fighting alongside the Iraqi military in Iraqi Kurdistan . At this stage, both Iraqi and Syrian Ba'athists feared excluding Nasser from
14800-422: The U.S. government, although the Iraqi Ba'athists are documented to have maintained supportive relationships with U.S. officials before, during, and after the coup. Several army units refused to support the Ba'athist coup. The fighting lasted for two days, during which 1,500–5,000 were killed. Qasim was captured on 9 February and, an hour later, was killed by firing squad . To assure the Iraqi public that Qasim
14985-570: The United States as part of a police program run by the International Cooperation Administration and Agency for International Development ." The attacks on the people's freedoms carried out by the ... bloodthirsty members of the National Guard, their violation of things sacred, their disregard of the law, the injuries they have done to the state and the people, and finally their armed rebellion on November 13, 1963, has led to an intolerable situation which
15170-437: The United States did not initiate the 14 Ramadan coup, at best it condoned and at worst it contributed to the violence that followed." Ba'athist leaders maintained supportive relationships with U.S. officials before, during, and after the coup. A March 1964 State Department memorandum stated that U.S. "officers assiduously cultivated" a "Baathi student organization, which triggered the revolution of February 8, 1963 by sponsoring
15355-488: The United States when the American forces had been withdrawn and when the government had been toppled. As of 2013, it has been reported that al-Douri is living in the city of Mosul , having left Syria because of the ongoing civil war . Many analysts are afraid that the Ba'ath Party has the potential power to initiate another civil war in Iraq because of al-Douri's popularity in localities with Sunni majorities. The Regional Command (RC) ( Arabic : al-qiyada al-qutriyya )
15540-660: The Zaydi imamate doctrine lacks eschatological characteristics and there is no end-times redeemer in Zaydism. The title of mahdi has been applied to several Zaydi imams as an honorific over the centuries. In the Ahmadiyya belief, the prophesied eschatological figures of Christianity and Islam, the Messiah and Mahdi, actually refer to the same person. These prophecies were fulfilled in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908),
15725-472: The aftermath of Jasim Alwan ’s failed Nasserist coup in July, the Ba'ath monopolized power. The attacks on the people's freedoms carried out by the ... bloodthirsty members of the National Guard, their violation of things sacred, their disregard of the law, the injuries they have done to the state and the people, and finally their armed rebellion on November 13, 1963, has led to an intolerable situation which
15910-607: The agreement, fearing that handing over the tank to the U.S. would irrevocably harm Iraq's reputation. Shibib subsequently recounted that the incident damaged Iraq's relations with both the U.S. and the Soviet Union: "On the one side Iraq would lose the Soviets as a source of intelligence. On the other the United States would see us as a bunch of kid swindlers." Throughout 1963, the Soviet Union actively worked to undermine
16095-455: The appearance of Mahdi. When the latter appears, the Sufyani, along with his army, will either be swallowed up en route to Mecca by the earth with God's command or defeated by the Mahdi. Jesus and the Mahdi will then conquer the world and establish caliphate. The Mahdi will die after 7 to 13 years, whereas Jesus after 40 years. Their deaths would be followed by reappearance of corruption before
16280-501: The assertions plausible because the U.S. embassy in Iraq had actually compiled such lists, were known to be in contact with the National Guard during the purge, and because National Guard members involved in the purge received training in the U.S. Furthermore, Wolfe-Hunnicutt, citing contemporary U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine, notes that the assertions "would be consistent with American special warfare doctrine" regarding U.S. covert support to anti-communist "Hunter-Killer" teams "seeking
16465-692: The belief that he was the Mahdi, and other Umayyad rulers, like Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ( r. 717–720 ), have been addressed as such in the panegyrics of Jarir ( d. 728 ) and al-Farazdaq ( d. 728–730 ). Early discussions about the identity of the Mahdi by religious scholars can be traced back to the time after the Second Fitna . These discussions developed in different directions and were influenced by traditions ( hadith ) attributed to Muhammad. In Umayyad times, scholars and traditionists not only differed on which caliph or rebel leader should be designated as Mahdi but also on whether
16650-446: The bilateral Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1972. At the time of Saddam's fall in April 2003, the Ba'ath Party had 1.5 million members. In June 2003, the U.S. -led Coalition Provisional Authority banned the Ba'ath Party, and banned all members of the party's top four tiers from the new government and from public schools and colleges, a move which some criticised for blocking too many experienced people from participating in
16835-429: The bilateral unification process between Iraq and Syria. In the aftermath of the coup-led against the Ba'ath Party, al-Bakr became the party's dominant driving force and was elected secretary-general of the Regional Command in 1964. Saddam Hussein received full party membership and a seat in the Regional Command of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party because he was a close protege of al-Bakr. With al-Bakr's consent, Hussein initiated
17020-505: The book. The associated verb is hada , which means to guide. However, Mahdi can be read in active voice, where it means the one who guides, as well as passive voice, where it means the one who is guided. Some historians suggest that the term itself was probably introduced into Islam by southern Arabian tribes who had settled in Syria in the mid-7th century. They believed that the Mahdi would lead them back to their homeland and re-establish
17205-565: The building of the cult of personality of Saddam. From the 1990s until the fall of the Ba'ath Party in 2003, it became involved in the handling of food distribution, the pursuing and apprehension of military deserters and, by the end, it was responsible for the preparations for the 2003 invasion of Iraq . Branches and sections enjoyed powers similar to those of the police in the West . Outside of Baghdad, they were "legally authorised to incarcerate suspects using Extrajudicial procedures ". One of
17390-746: The central Syria in 903, and for a time the Friday sermon was read in the name of the "Successor, the rightly-guided Heir, the Lord of the Age, the Commander of the Faithful , the Mahdi". Eventually, the uprising was routed by the Abbasids. This forced Sa'id to flee from Syria to North Africa, where he founded the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya in 909. There he assumed the regnal name al-Mahdi Billah ; as
17575-547: The centre, southern and northern Iraq, and one bureau for military affairs. By 2002, there were 17. Below the bureau structures was the branch ( Arabic : Fir ), which supervised the activities of the sections, divisions and cells ( Arabic : shu'ba, firqa and khaliyya) . Several of these organs were merged or split, and the number of branches had increased to 69 branches by 2002. The numbers of sections and divisions varied between provinces. As membership increased, new sections and divisions were established. In Maysan province ,
17760-512: The country. The secretariat had the power to propose marriages and, in certain cases, to approve and disapprove marriages for the sake of the party. At the 8th Regional Congress, the leadership laid emphasis on building "a strong and central national authority." The party leadership's response to the party's apparent lack of centralisation came with a Revolutionary Command Council resolution which stated that "all correspondence between state ministries and party organisations are to be sent through
17945-513: The coup's outcome, ultimately approving a $ 55 million arms deal with Iraq and urging America's Arab allies to oppose a Soviet -sponsored diplomatic offensive accusing Iraq of genocide against its Kurdish minority at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. In its ascension to power, the Ba'athists "methodically hunted down Communists" thanks to "mimeographed lists [...] complete with home addresses and auto license plate numbers." While it
18130-412: The coup, which added to the high casualties: "An estimated eighty Ba'thists and between 300 and 5,000 communist sympathizers were killed in the two days of fighting to control Baghdad's streets," as recounted by Ariel Ira Ahram. On 9 February, Qasim eventually offered his surrender in return for safe passage out of the country. His request was refused, and in the afternoon, he was executed on the orders of
18315-522: The coups of 1958 and 1963, the 1968 coup was a "relatively civil affair". The coup begun in the early morning of 17 July, when the military and Ba'ath Party activists seized several key positions in Baghdad, such as the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, television and radio stations and the electricity station. All the city's bridges were captured, all telephone lines were cut and at exactly 03:00,
18500-419: The day of Ashura (the tenth of Muharram ), the day the third Imam Husayn ibn Ali was slain. He will be "a young man of medium stature with a handsome face," with black hair and beard. A divine cry will call the people of the world to his aid, after which the angels, jinns , and humans will flock to the Mahdi. This is often followed shortly by another supernatural cry from the earth that invites men to join
18685-488: The decision, and considered them illegitimate. In its statement, the OCES stated that "the failure to implement [its] decisions is considered a rebellion against legitimate authority [...]" and "a conscious and explicit threat, and an attempt to impose a bitter reality through decisions that are tainted by sectarian and regional motivations." In its ending remarks, the OCES statement read "any connection or link with any member of
18870-465: The descendants of Fatimah". Another hadith states: Even if only one day remains [until the doomsday], God will lengthen this day until He calls forth a man from me, or from the family of my house, his name matching mine and his father's name matching that of my father. He will fill the Earth with equity and justice just as it had previously been filled with injustice and oppression. Before the arrival of
19055-533: The desert between Mecca and Medina. When the people see this, the righteous men ... of Syria and ... Iraq will come to him and pledge allegiance to him. Thereafter a man of the Quraysh will arise whose maternal uncles are of Kalb. He will send an expedition against them, but they will defeat them ... He will then divide the wealth and act among them according to the Sunna of their Prophet. Islam will settle down firmly on
19240-477: The early morning of 8 February 1963, when the communist air force chief, Jalal al-Awqati , was assassinated, and tank units occupied the Abu Ghraib radio station. A bitter two-day struggle unfolded with heavy fighting between the Ba'athist conspirators and pro-Qasim forces. Qasim took refuge in the Ministry of Defence, where fighting became particularly heavy. Communist sympathisers took to the streets to resist
19425-414: The early works of Muhammad al-Bukhari and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj . The term al-Mahdi was employed from the beginning of Islam, but only as an honorific epithet ("the guide") and without any messianic significance. As an honorific, it was used in some instances to describe Muhammad (by Hassan ibn Thabit ), Abraham , al-Husayn, and various Umayyad caliphs ( هداة مهديون , hudat mahdiyyun ). During
19610-484: The eleventh Imam, Hasan al-Askari ( d. 874 ), who is said to be in occultation ( ghayba ) by divine will. This is rejected by Sunnis, who assert that the Mahdi has not been born yet. The term Mahdi is derived from the Arabic root h-d-y ( ه-د-ي ), commonly used to mean "divine guidance". Although the root appears in the Qur'an at multiple places and in various contexts, the word Mahdi never occurs in
19795-526: The eleventh imam, Hasan al-Askari . According to the Twelvers, the Mahdi was born in Samarra around 868, though his birth was kept hidden from the public. He lived under his father's care until 874 when the latter was killed by the Abbasids . When his father died in 874, possibly poisoned by the Abbasids, the Mahdi went into occultation by the divine command and was hidden from public view for his life
19980-401: The eleventh imam. Through him the Mahdi would answer the demands and questions of the Shia. He was later succeeded by his son Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri , who held the office for some fifty years and died in 917. His successor Husayn ibn Rawh al-Nawbakhti was in the office until his death in 938. The next deputy, Ali ibn Muhammad al-Simari , abolished the office on the orders of the imam just
20165-467: The enemies of the Mahdi, and would appeal to disbelievers and hypocrites. The Mahdi will then go to Kufa , which will become his capital, and send troops to kill the Sufyani in Damascus. Husayn and his slain partisans are expected to resurrect to avenge their deaths, known as the doctrine of raj'a ( lit. ' return ' ). The episode of Jesus' return in the Twelver doctrine is similar to
20350-454: The establishment in Baghdad of several interrogation chambers. The government requisitioned several private houses and public facilities, and an entire section of Kifah Street was used by the National Guard. Many of the victims of the rout were innocent, or were victims of personal vendettas . According to Coughlin, the most notorious torture chamber was located at the "Palace of the End," where
20535-403: The expectations of his propagandists and followers who expected him to do wonders. Al-Mahdi attempted to downplay messianism and asserted that the propaganda of Muhammad ibn Isma'il's return as the Mahdi had only been a ruse to avoid Abbasid persecution and protect the real imam predecessors of his. The Mahdi was actually a collective title of the true imams from the progeny of Ja'far al-Sadiq. In
20720-546: The final end of the world. In Twelver Shi'ism , the largest Shia branch, the belief in the messianic imam is not merely a part of creed, but the pivot. For the Twelver Shia, the Mahdi was born but disappeared, and would remain hidden from humanity until he reappears to bring justice to the world in the end of time, a doctrine known as the Occultation . This imam in occultation is the twelfth imam, Muhammad , son of
20905-483: The floor and stains over the walls. Arab Socialist Ba%27ath Party %E2%80%93 Iraq Region The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region ( Arabic : حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي في العراق Ḥizb al-Ba‘th al-'Arabī al-Ishtirākī fī al-'Irāq ), officially the Iraqi Regional Branch , is an Iraqi Ba'athist political party founded in 1951 by Fuad al-Rikabi . It was the Iraqi regional branch of
21090-406: The founder of the movement; he is held to be the Mahdi and the manifestation of Jesus . However, the historical Jesus in their view, although escaped crucifixion, nevertheless died and will not be coming back. Instead, God made Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the exact alike of Jesus in character and qualities. Similarly, the Mahdi is not an apocalyptic figure to launch global jihad and conquer the world, but
21275-416: The fourteenth day of Ramadan, and so the coup was called the 14 Ramadan Coup. It had been in its planning stages since 1962, and several attempts had been planned, only to be abandoned for fear of discovery. The coup had been initially planned for January 18, but was moved to 25 January and then 8 February after Qasim gained knowledge of the proposed attempt and arrested some of the plotters. The coup began in
21460-437: The government, Qasim created an alliance with the Iraqi Communist Party , which was opposed to the notion of pan-Arabism. Qasim's policies angered several pan-Arab organisations, including the Ba'ath Party, which later began plotting to assassinate Qasim at Al-Rashid Street on 7 October 1959 and take power. One assassin was to kill those sitting in the back of the car, the rest would kill those in front. Abdul Karim al-Shaikhly,
21645-531: The ground ... He will stay seven years and then die, and the Muslims will pray over him. Refusing to recognize the new caliph, Yazid I ( r. 680–683 ), after Mu'awiya's death in 680, Ibn al-Zubayr had fled to the Meccan sanctuary. From there he launched anti-Umayyad propaganda, calling for a shura of the Quraysh to elect a new caliph. Those opposed to the Umayyads were paying him homage and asking for
21830-460: The hadith's prediction was successful in removing Ibn al-Zubayr. The hadith lost relevance soon afterward, but resurfaced in the Basran hadith circles a generation later, this time removed from its original context and understood as referring to a future restorer. Around the time when Ibn al-Zubayr was trying to expand his dominion, the pro-Alid revolutionary al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi took control of
22015-486: The historian Heinz Halm comments, the singular, semi-divine figure of the Mahdi was thus reduced to an adjective in a caliphal title, 'the Imam rightly guided by God' ( al-imam al-mahdi bi'llah ): instead of the promised messiah, al-Mahdi presented himself merely as one in a long sequence of imams descending from Ali and Fatima. Messianic expectations associated with the Mahdi nevertheless did not materialize, contrary to
22200-492: The idea. al-Jundi was given the task of setting up a committee to begin establishing the union. al-Jundi selected al-Sadi as Iraq's chief representative in the committee in a bid to strengthen al-Sadi's position within the Ba'ath Party. Work on the union continued with the signing of the Military Unity Charter which established the Higher Military Council, an organ which oversaw the integration and control over
22385-529: The imam instead. When he died, his followers too denied his death and believed that he was the last imam and the Mahdi. By the mid-9th century, Isma'ili groups of different persuasions had coalesced into a unified movement centered in Salamiyya in central Syria, and a network of activists was working to collect funds and amass weapons for the return of the Mahdi Muhammad ibn Isma'il, who would overthrow
22570-640: The increasing influence of the Communist party in the use of the slogan, proclaimed by many Communists and government supporters during marches: "Long live leader Abd al-Karim and the Communist Party in governing great demand!" Qasim began to minimize the Communist movement. He ordered the party to be disarmed and most of the party leaders to be arrested. However, the party retained Air Commander Jalal al-Awqati and Lt. Col. Fadhil Abbas Mahdawi, Qasim's cousin. Qasim's removal took place on 8 February 1963,
22755-487: The kingdom of God on earth and Islamizes the whole world. In their true form, it is believed, all monotheistic religions are essentially identical to Islam as "submission to God." It is in this sense, according to Mohammad Ali Amir Moezzi , that one should understand the claims that al-Mahdi will impose Islam on everyone. His rule will be paradise on earth, which will last for seventy years until his death, though other traditions state 7, 19, or 309 years. In Isma'ilism
22940-502: The late 19th century. The Iranian dissident Massoud Rajavi , the leader of the MEK , also claimed to be a 'representative' of the Mahdi. The adherents of the Nation of Islam hold Wallace Fard Muhammad , the founder of the movement, to be the Messiah and the Mahdi. Adnan Oktar , a Turkish cult leader, is considered by his followers as the Mahdi. Ibn Khaldun noted a pattern where embracing
23125-574: The leader of the Ba'ath Party's National Guard, led the civilian wing. President Arif led the military wing and Talib El-Shibib led the pro-Aflaq wing. However, a bigger schism was underway in the international Ba'athist movement. Four major factions were being created: the Old Guard led by Aflaq; a civilian alliance between the secretaries-general of the Regional Commands of Syria and Iraq, led by Hammud al-Shufi and al-Sadi respectively;
23310-552: The leader of the Free Officers Movement which overthrew the king , supported joining the UAR, but changed his position when he took power. Several members of the Free Officer Movement were also members of the Ba'ath Party. The Ba'ath Party considered the President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser , the leader of the pan-Arab movement, to be the leader most likely to succeed, and supported Iraq's joining
23495-612: The leader of the assassination plot, recruited a young Saddam Hussein to join the conspiracy after one of the would-be assassins left. During the ambush, Saddam (who was only supposed to provide cover) began shooting prematurely, which disorganised the whole operation. Qasim's chauffeur was killed and Qasim was hit in the arm and shoulder. The assassins thought they had killed him and quickly retreated to their headquarters, but Qasim survived. Richard Sale of United Press International (UPI), citing former U.S. diplomat and intelligence officials, Adel Darwish , and other experts, reported that
23680-455: The meeting, "I am aware that the two officers have been imposed on us and that they want to stab the party in the back in the service of some interest or other, but we have no choice. We should collaborate with them and liquidate immediately during, or after, the revolution. And I volunteer to carry out the task". The 17 July Revolution was a military coup, not a popular revolt against the incumbent government. According to Coughlin, compared to
23865-606: The messianic imam anticipated in Shia traditions. With the rise of the Fatimids in the tenth century CE, however, al-Qadi al-Nu'man argued that some of these predictions had materialized by the first Fatimid caliph, Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah , while the rest would be fulfilled by his successors. Henceforth, their literature referred to the awaited eschatological imam only as Qa'im (instead of Mahdi). In Zaydi view, imams are not endowed with superhuman qualities, and expectations for their mahdiship are thus often marginal. One exception
24050-574: The millenarian rhetoric. The Tayyibi Musta'li Isma'ili Shia believe that their Occulted Imam and Mahdi is Abu'l-Qasim al-Tayyib , son of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah . In Zaydism , the concept of imamate is different from the Isma'ili and Twelver branches; a Zaydi Imam is any respectable person from the descendants of Ali and Fatima who lays claim to political leadership and struggles for its acquisition. As such,
24235-403: The most authoritative by the Sunnis and the earliest of the six—do not, nor does al-Nasa'i . Some Sunnis, including the philosopher and historian Ibn Khaldun ( d. 1406 ), and reportedly also Hasan al-Basri, an influential early theologian and exegete, deny the Mahdi being a separate figure, holding that Jesus will fulfill this role and judge over mankind; Mahdi is thus considered
24420-485: The new government. Thousands were removed from their positions, including doctors, professors, school teachers and bureaucrats. Many teachers lost their jobs, causing protests and demonstrations at schools and universities. Under the Ba'ath Party, one could not reach high positions in the government or in schools without becoming a party member. Membership was also a prerequisite for university admission. While many Ba'athists joined for ideological reasons, many more joined as
24605-487: The new president of Iraq and the party's secretary-general following Saddam's death. The statement referred to Iraqis killed in the 1980–88 war with Iran , the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait and the 13 years of sanctions afterwards, and went on to say, "We vow to liberate our country from the heinous criminals, neo-Zionists and the Persians in order to restore Iraq's unity". The party's armed wing since al-Douri's ascension
24790-527: The newly formed National Council of the Revolutionary Command (NCRC). Qasim was given a mock trial over Baghdad radio and then killed. Many of his Shi'ite supporters believed that he had merely gone into hiding and would appear like the Mahdi to lead a rebellion against the new government. To counter that sentiment and to terrorize his supporters, Qasim's dead body was displayed on television in
24975-600: The now-extinct sects of Nawusites and Waqifites . For instance, these traditions were cited by the now-extinct Kaysanites , who denied the death of Ibn al-Hanafiyya, and held that he was in hiding in the Razwa mountains near Medina . This likely originated with two groups of his supporters, namely, southern Arabian settlers and local recent converts in Iraq , who seem to have spread the notions now known as occultation and raj'a . Later on, these traditions were also employed by
25160-448: The number of sections increased from five in 1989 to 20 in 2002, each section in turn having 93 divisions. By September 2002, there existed 4,468 party offices in the country, and there were 32,000 cells. Nationally, the Ba'ath Party functioned as an institution acting as the eyes and ears of the government. During its rule, the party gained influence over the military, the government bureaucracy, labour, professional unions and, not least,
25345-427: The operation and took them into custody. At the show trial , six of the defendants were sentenced to death and, for unknown reasons, the sentences were not carried out. Aflaq, the leader of the Ba'athist movement, organised the expulsion of leading Iraqi Ba'athist members, such as Fuad al-Rikabi , on the grounds that the party should not have initiated the attempt on Qasim's life. At the same time, Aflaq secured seats in
25530-508: The order was given to march on the Presidential Palace. President Arif was asleep and had no control over the situation. al-Bakr masterminded the plot, but Hussein and Saleh Omar al-Ali led operations on the ground. A power struggle began between the Ba'ath Party led by al-Naif and the military led by Daud, which al-Bakr had anticipated and planned. Daud lost his ministership during an official visit to Jordan , while al-Naif
25715-412: The orthodoxy of the Mahdi. The doctrine of the Mahdi seems to have gained traction during the confusion and unrest of the religious and political upheavals of the first and second centuries of Islam. Some of the first references to the Mahdi appear in the late 7th century, when the revolutionary Mukhtar al-Thaqafi declared Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya , a son of Caliph Ali ( r. 656–661 ), to be
25900-409: The other hand, Brandon Wolfe-Hunnicutt writes that "CIA involvement in the 1963 coup ... has been an open secret for decades," citing "compelling evidence of an American role," and publicly declassified documents that "largely substantiate the plausibility" of the CIA's involvement. Eric Jacobsen, citing the testimony of contemporary prominent Ba'athists and U.S. government officials, states that "[t]here
26085-481: The overwhelming support of the Iraqi military, purged Ba'athists from the government and ordered the National Guard to stand down and disarm. Although al-Bakr had conspired with Arif to remove al-Sa'di, on 5 January 1964, Arif removed al-Bakr from his new position as Vice President for fear of allowing the Ba'ath Party to retain a foothold inside his government. After the November coup, mounting evidence of Ba'athist atrocities emerged, which Lakeland predicted "will have
26270-477: The party in the area. Kurds who had moved from Kurdistan would, in most instances, not be allowed back unless they were loyal Ba'ath Party members. The Military and Armament Department was responsible for coordinating the distribution of arms to party officials. Mahdi The Mahdi ( Arabic : ٱلْمَهْدِيّ , romanized : al-Mahdī , lit. 'the Guided';; Persian : مهدی )
26455-472: The party organisation. Most Shias saw pan-Arab as largely Sunni, since most Arabs are Sunni. As a result, more Shias joined the Iraqi Communist Party than the Ba'ath Party. In the mid-1950s, eight of 17 members of the Ba'ath leadership were Shia. According to Talib El-Shibib , the Ba'ath foreign minister in the Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr government, the sectarian background of the leading Ba'ath members
26640-618: The party secretariat." The head of the secretariat was the deputy director, who was the second in the order of precedence . The office of director of the secretariat was the leading organ within the body. The secretariat had 11 departments: the Military and Armaments Department, Vocational Schools Department, Courses Department, Finance Department, Organisational and Political Department, Party Affairs and Information Department, Personnel and Administrative Department, Technical Department, Information and Studies Department, Legal Department and
26825-473: The party was modernizing, in the sense that it recognized it would be impossible to return to power alone, while, at the same time, it returned to its old, Ba'athist ideological roots. In another note, al-Jibouri noted that the Ba'ath Party had become a major enemy of al-Qaida in Iraq . In the wake of Muammar Gaddafi 's downfall , the new Libyan government sent documents to the Iraqi government which claimed that Ba'athists, with help from Gaddafi, were planning
27010-558: The party's first secretary-general of the Regional Command. Emerging as the party strongman, Hussein used his growing power to push al-Bakr aside in 1979 and ruled Iraq until the 2003 Invasion of Iraq . Several major infrastructures were laid down to assist the country's growth, and the Iraqi oil industry was nationalised with help from the Soviet Union . Alexei Kosygin , Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers , signed
27195-414: The party's military committee in Syria succeeded in persuading Nasserist and independent officers to make common cause with it and successfully carried out a military coup on 8 March . A National Revolutionary Command Council took control, assigned itself legislative power, and appointed Salah al-Din al-Bitar as head of a "national front" government. The Ba'ath participated in the government, along with
27380-532: The party's most important functions was gathering information about its opponents. In Northern Iraq , the Ba'ath gathered information about the Kurdish Democratic Party by tracking their activities among the local population. They tried to recruit members from Kurd -dominated areas through supplying food or a literacy campaign. During the drive to Arabise Kurdistan , the party resettled several hundred loyal party officials there to strengthen
27565-603: The party, resulting in al-Douri issuing a counter order expelling al-Ahmed and 150 other party members. These events led to the existence, in effect, of two Iraqi Ba'ath Parties: the main party led by al-Douri, and a splinter party led by al-Ahmed. al-Ahmed's Ba'ath Party is based in Syria. It is believed to contain most of the remaining leading party figures who were not arrested or executed, including Mezher Motni Awad , To'ma Di'aiyef Getan, Jabbar Haddoosh, Sajer Zubair, and Nihad alDulaimi. In contrast to al-Douri's group, al-Ahmad's faction has had success in recruiting Shi'as to
27750-528: The party. While al-Ahmed and the faction's senior leaders are Sunnis, there are many Shiites who are working in the organization's middle level. Upon his election as leader, an al-Ahmed's faction statement said he was "of Shia origins and coming from Shia areas in Nineveh governorate". In contrast to al-Ahmed, al-Douri has stuck to a more conservative policy, recruiting members from a largely Sunni-dominated areas. It could be said that al-Ahmed has returned to
27935-505: The postwar Middle East." "As almost every family in Baghdad was affected—and both men and women were equally maltreated—the Ba'athists' activities aroused a degree of intense loathing for them that has persisted to this day among many Iraqis of that generation." More broadly, the Slugletts state, "Qasim's failings, serious as they were, can scarcely be discussed in the same terms as the venality, savagery and wanton brutality characteristic of
28120-647: The public proclamation of his caliphate, forcing Yazid to send an army to dislodge him in 683. After defeating rebels in the nearby Medina , the army besieged Mecca but was forced to withdraw as a result of Yazid's sudden death shortly afterward. Ibn al-Zubayr was recognized caliph in Arabia, Iraq, and parts of Syria, where Yazid's son and successor Mu'awiya II ( r. 683–684 ) held power in Damascus and adjoining areas. The hadith hoped to enlist support against an expected Umayyad campaign from Syria. The Umayyads did indeed send another army to Mecca in 692, but contrary to
28305-477: The regimes which followed his own." Batatu recounts: In the cellars of al-Nihayyah Palace, which the [National Guard's] Bureau [of Special Investigation] used as its headquarters, were found all sorts of loathsome instruments of torture, including electric wires with pincers, pointed iron stakes on which prisoners were made to sit, and a machine which still bore traces of chopped-off fingers. Small heaps of blooded clothing were scattered about, and there were pools on
28490-425: The remainder of Qasim's tenure in power." At the time of the attack, the Ba'ath Party had less than 1,000 members, however the failed assassination attempt led to widespread exposure for Saddam and the Ba'ath within Iraq, where both had previously languished in obscurity, and later became a crucial part of Saddam's public image during his tenure as president of Iraq . The Iraqi government arrested some members of
28675-426: The return to life of (some) Shia Imams, particularly Husayn ibn Ali , to exact their revenge on their oppressors. Traditions that predicted the occultation and rise of a future imam were already in circulation for a century before the death of the eleventh Imam in 260 (874 CE), and possibly as early as the seventh-century CE. These traditions were appropriated by various Shia sects in different periods, including
28860-463: The royal family was killed in 1958. Nadhim Kazzer, who became director of the Directorate of General Security , was responsible for the acts committed there. The party was ousted from government in November 1963, due to factionalism. The question within the Ba'ath Party was whether or not it would pursue its ideological goal of establishing a union with Syria, Egypt or both. Al-Sadi supported
29045-421: The secretary general of the Ba'ath Party, Ali Salih al-Sa'di , used his control of the National Guard militia, commanded by Mundhir al-Wanadawi, to establish himself as the de facto new leader of Iraq and had more authority in reality than al-Bakr or Arif. The nine-month rule of al-Sa'di and his civilian branch of the Ba'ath Party has been described as "a reign of terror " as the National Guard, under orders from
29230-528: The three factions within the Ba'ath Party, two out of three faction leaders were Shia. By the end of 1951, the party had at least 50 members. With the collapse of the pan-Arabist United Arab Republic (UAR), several leading Ba'ath members, including al-Rikabi, resigned from the party in protest. In 1958, the year of the 14 July Revolution that overthrew the Hashemite monarchy , the Ba'ath Party had 300 members nationwide. Brigadier Abd al-Karim Qasim ,
29415-427: The time ( صاحب الزمان sahib az-zamān ) and does not age. Although his whereabouts and the exact date of his return are unknown, the Mahdi is nevertheless believed to contact some of his Shia if he wishes. The accounts of these encounters are numerous and widespread in the Twelver community. Shia scholars have argued that the longevity of the Mahdi is not unreasonable given the long lives of Khidr , Jesus , and
29600-428: The union talks since he had a large following. The Syrian state and its Ba'ath Party criticised the fall of al-Bakr's first government but relented when they discovered that some members of the Iraqi cabinet were Ba'ath Party members. However, the remaining Ba'athists were slowly removed from office. The Syrian Revolutionary Command Council responded by abrogating the Military Unity Charter on 26 April 1964, ending
29785-507: The union. Of the 16 members of Qasim's cabinet, 12 were Ba'ath Party members. However, the Ba'ath Party supported Qasim on the grounds that he would join Nasser's UAR. Qasim, reluctant to tie himself too closely to Nasser's Egypt, sided with various groups within Iraq (notably the social democrats ) that told him such an action would be dangerous. Instead Qasim adopted a wataniyah policy of "Iraq First". To strengthen his own position within
29970-400: The unionist and nationalist currents, which had played an active role in supporting the 1958 movement, became strained. As for conflicting currents in the ICP, they were aspiring for a coalition with General Qasim and had long been extending their relationship with him. Qasim thought that some of his allies in the Communist party were coming close to leapfrogging the proposition, especially after
30155-409: The unsuccessful 7 October 1959 assassination attempt on Qasim involving a young Saddam Hussein and other Ba'athist conspirators was a collaboration between the CIA and Egyptian intelligence . Pertinent contemporary records relating to CIA operations in Iraq have remained classified or heavily redacted, thus "allow[ing] for plausible deniability." It is generally accepted that Egypt, in some capacity,
30340-413: The violent overthrow of a communist dominated and supported government", and draws parallels to other CIA operations in which lists of suspected communists were compiled, such as Guatemala in 1954 and Indonesia in 1965–66 . Abdul Salam Arif became the president of Iraq and Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr became prime minister after taking power in February 1963 . Ali Salih al-Sa'di , secretary-general of
30525-513: The violent overthrow of a communist dominated and supported government," and "speaks to a larger pattern in American foreign policy," drawing parallels to other instances where the CIA compiled lists of suspected communists targeted for execution, such as Guatemala in 1954 and Indonesia in 1965-66 . Also, Citino and Wolfe-Hunnicutt note that two officials in the U.S. embassy in Baghdad—William Lakeland and James E. Akins—"used coverage of
30710-424: The weapons were provided, but an offer by Iraqi general Hasan Sabri al-Bayati to reciprocate this gesture by sending a Soviet T-54 tank in Iraq's possession to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad for inspection became something of a "scandal" as Bayati's offer had not been approved by al-Bakr, Foreign Minister Talib El-Shibib , or other senior Iraqi officials. Ultimately, the Ba'ath Party leadership reneged on that part of
30895-553: The world will plunge into chaos, where immorality and ignorance will be commonplace, the Qur'an will be forgotten, and religion will be abandoned. There will be plagues, earthquakes, floods, wars and death. The Sufyani will rise and lead people astray. The Mahdi will then reappear in Mecca, with the sword of Ali ( ḏū l-fiqār ) in his hand, between the corner of the Ka'ba and the station of Abraham . By some accounts, he will reappear on
31080-458: Was Arab nationalist and vague in its socialist orientation. Al-Rikabi, expelled from the party in 1961 for being a Nasserist , was an early follower of Michel Aflaq , the founder of Ba'athism . During the party's early days, members discussed topics regarding Arab nationalism, the social inequalities that had grown out of the British " Tribal Criminal and Civil Disputes Regulation ", and
31265-464: Was (in practice) a tool in control of the Regional Command. The Ba'ath Party had its own secretariat ( Arabic : maktab amanat sir al-qutr ), through which every major decision in the country was channelled. According to Joseph Sassoon, the secretariat functioned as the "party's board of directors ," overseeing the running of the party branches which, in turn, controlled and collected information about civilian and military life throughout
31450-503: Was a weak leader. Before the coup, Hussein, through the Jihaz Haneen, contacted several military officers who either supported the Ba'ath Party or wanted to use it as a vehicle to power. Some officers, such as Hardan al-Tikriti , were already members of the party, while Abdul Razzak al-Naif , the deputy head of military intelligence, and Colonel Ibrahim Daud, the commander of the Republican Guard , were neither party members nor sympathisers. On 16 July 1968, al-Naif and Daud were summoned to
31635-521: Was afraid al-Sadi would challenge his position as secretary-general of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party, the leader of the international Ba'athist movement. Both Syria and Iraq were under Ba'athist rule in 1963. When President Arif visited Syria on a state visit, Sami al-Jundi , a Syrian cabinet minister, proposed the creation of a bilateral union between the two countries. Both Arif and Amin al-Hafiz , President of Syria , supported
31820-521: Was behind the 1957 events in Jordan . Permit me to tell you that I know for a certainty that what happened in Iraq on 8 February had the support of American Intelligence. Some of those who now rule in Baghdad do not know of this thing but I am aware of the truth. Numerous meetings were held between the Ba'ath party and American Intelligence, the more important in Kuwait. Do you know that ... on 8 February
32005-404: Was commonly given the epithet al-Qa'im ( القائم ), which can be translated as 'he who will rise,' signifying his rise against tyranny in the end of time. Distinctively Shia is the notion of temporary absence or occultation of the Mahdi, whose life has been prolonged by divine will. An intimately related Shia notion is that of raj'a ( lit. ' return ' ), which often means
32190-417: Was considered of little importance because most Ba'athists did not know each other's sectarian denominations . Between 1952 and 1963, 54% of the members of the Ba'ath Regional Command were Shia Muslims, largely because of al-Rikabi's effective recruitment drive in Shia areas. Between 1963 and 1970, after al-Rikabi's resignation, Shia representation in the Regional Command had fallen to 14 percent. However, of
32375-562: Was dead, as well as to terrorize his supporters, the Ba'athists broadcast a five minute long propaganda video called The End of the Criminals of Qasim's corpse being desecrated. Upon the Ba'athist ascension to power, Saddam would return to Iraq after spending nearly three years living in exile, becoming a key organizer within the Ba'ath Party's civilian wing. In its ascension to power, the Ba'athists "methodically hunted down Communists" thanks to "mimeographed lists [...] complete with home addresses and auto license plate numbers," and while it
32560-549: Was described as "Western-oriented, anti-British, and anti-Communist," and known to be "friendly to the service attaches of the US Embassy in Baghdad," while future U.S. Ambassador to Iraq , Robert C. Strong , would refer to Jawad as "one of our boys." Jamal al-Atassi —a cabinet member of the Ba'athist regime that took power in Syria that same year—would tell Malik Mufti that the Iraqi Ba'athists, in conversations with their Syrian counterparts, argued "that their cooperation with
32745-526: Was exiled after Hussein threatened him and his family with death. At the time of the 1968 coup, only 5,000 people were members; by the late 1970s, membership had increased to 1.2 million. In 1974, the Iraqi Ba'athists formed the National Progressive Front to broaden support for the government's initiatives. Wrangling within the party continued, and the government periodically purged its dissident members, including Fuad al-Rikabi ,
32930-487: Was in danger from the Abbasids. Only a few of the elite among the Shia, known as the deputies ( سفراء , sufara ; sing. سفير safir ) of the twelfth imam, were able to communicate with him; hence the occultation in this period is referred to as the Minor Occultation ( ghayba al-sughra ). The first of the deputies is held to have been Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Amri , a trusted companion and confidant of
33115-460: Was involved in the assassination attempt, and that "[t]he United States was working with Nasser on some level." Sale and Darwish's account has been disputed by historian Bryan R. Gibson who concludes that available U.S. declassified documents show that "while the United States was aware of several plots against Qasim, it had still adhered to [a] nonintervention policy." On the other hand, historian Kenneth Osgood writes that "the circumstantial evidence
33300-423: Was mostly symbolic as Al-Douri's group participated in protests where calls for Sunni Autonomy were present and allied with groups that believed in and agitated for autonomy. In July 2012, the Ba'ath Party published a videotaped speech of al-Douri, in which he condemned the existing government and American interference in Iraq. However, in a change of tone, al-Douri stated he wished to establish good relations with
33485-401: Was named Prime Minister. The most powerful leader of the new government was the secretary general of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, Ali Salih al-Sa'di , who controlled the National Guard militia and organized a massacre of hundreds—if not thousands—of suspected communists and other dissidents following the coup. The government lasted approximately nine months, until Arif disarmed the National Guard in
33670-516: Was not applied to him, his career as the anti-caliph significantly influenced the future development of the concept. A hadith was promulgated in which Muhammad prophesies the coming of a just ruler. There will arise a difference after the death of a caliph, and a man of the people of Medina will go forth fleeing to Mecca. Then some of the people of Mecca will come to him and will make him rise in revolt against his will ... An expedition will be sent against him from Syria but will be swallowed up ... in
33855-459: Was responsible for following up on political matters in party branches. One of DOPA's sections was responsible for gathering information for candidates for important positions within the party or the government. Some departments had a similar job to the DOPA section, and were responsible for admissions to the military colleges , institutions for higher education and the Saddam Institute for the Study of
34040-580: Was the Iraqi Regional Branch highest decision-making organ. Throughout its history, the RC has normally had 19-21 members. When in power, the Directorate of Security Affairs was responsible for the security of the president and the senior members of the Regional Command. The Regional Congress was (in theory) the de jure decision-making organ on Iraqi regional affairs when in session, but
34225-487: Was the Mahdi. Hasan al-Basri ( d. 728 ) opposed the concept of a Muslim Messiah but believed that if there was the Mahdi, it was Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz. By the time of the Abbasid Revolution in 750, Mahdi was already a known concept. Evidence shows that the first Abbasid caliph al-Saffah ( r. 750–754 ) assumed the title of "the Mahdi" for himself. In Shia Islam, the eschatological Mahdi
#265734