Identity

The last couple of years especially since the American invasion on Iraq, identity has became like a sword cutting Iraqi ties, or something like a concentrated, venomous acid dissolving beautiful pictures of Iraqi bonds and relationships.Sunnism and Shi'asm became rather a notorious topic that many started talking about it audibly, to be honest I have had a couple of conversations with Canadian Iraqis from my generation (early twenties) and we all discovered that we discovered out sects only when we came to Canada, I never knew that my parents were Sunnis, adding fumes to fire, non-Iraqis love asking the question when they know I am from Iraq, whether I am this or that, it seems it gives them a boost that they are actually know the ins of the Iraqi society. In the matter of fact, when I recall my childhood memories in Iraq, I can hardly vision of which one of my friends were Shi'as or Sunnis, and I just recently discoved that Shi'a Kurds are called Fayles, and somehow with deductive analysis I discoved that my best friend back home was a Fayle Kurd, however, there are friends who I could not reach an exact approximation on whether they are Sunnis, Shi'as or Sushis.It might be ignorance on my behalf but Iraq's society did not have such a divisive epedemic, at least through my experience. It is crazy though, how this issue is becoming widespread. The other day my two sisters went to visit my parent's friends especially that mom is working somewhere else, so we need to keep in touch. While my sisters were watching Davinci Code, mom's friend was talking on the phone with Khala B, and both are from different sects and they are friends since UAE before migrating here, and according to my sisters they had an ongoing heated arguments about this ever so infamous topic, Suna and Shi3a. I just hate it. I think people should just shut and never talk about it, or if they wana talk about it, they should replace their closed-minded heads with an open-minded ones. Yes, we need a surgical operation. And I am sick and tired of being bombarded with this topic every step I go.But this issue had made me look at my family, it made me look at my roots, and where I come from, I have just recently about two years ago discoveredd new things about my dad.Dad is from Baghad, however due to the craziness that Iraq is enduring, I kind of searched his background, he is not actually one hundred percent originally Baghdadi, his dad is originally from Iraq's holliest cities Karbala, and his mom is from Haditha, the Anbar province, west of Iraq. Haditha, which is by now famous due the masscare that happened against its people done by the American soldiers avenge. How interesting, so my dad is a Sushi. Welcome democracy, enlightment, it is something interesting and cool to have in the family.This discovery made me feel the carefree reaction like the one I got when I first listened to Michael Jackson's song of "it does not matter if it is black or white", and then my mind went back tracking to trace the joy of the 1970s the era that I was not born in, and my dad suddenly appeard as a memorabilia of the 1970s. No wonder why is he so good looking and carefree, probably because he is made through a heated, democratic, fiery sexual intimacy between sunni and shi'a bodies. Such lucrative-- hot---seductive never thought to be imagined intercouse and intimacy between my grandparents, one whom I never seen, is just a desperate attempt of my brain to collect my flying everywhere, hyper, sensual nervous system, that such marriage is widely thought to be odd nowdays, a sunni from western Iraq and Karbala2i shi'a, WOW! My grandparents are the democrats of the democrats, and right on the face of all the secterian supermacists and haters!But the sad thing is, that before it was an alright thing, but now it is such a big thing jointed with my big ideas of a peaceful united Iraq!It seems that my dad followed suite after grandmother along with his siblings, but all his uncles and cousins from his father side, all are Shi'as.As for my mother's site, she is not entirely one hundred percent Basrawi, only half, her mom is a beauty from Baghdad, and my grandfather is proudly a basrawi. Both are sunni arabs, so not much fun there really! Only different provinces.So my roots cover a big Chunk of Iraq from the west to the south and to the centre of Iraq, Baghdad.With all the stuff happening, one of my sisters is planning to marry a Shi'a just to make things even more cool. It is interesting how identity shapes decisions, interactions and human relationships, but not alot of people realize how adaptable we are to accomodate differences, but such realization is not felt yet in Iraq's political sphere!But then again, I am a Canadian and I lived in Jordan and Malaysia and I befriended with many types of people of many different backgrounds, so my roots are more vivacious and rich as I loved people accross continents, and cultures, and even my identity as an Iraq won't stop me from reaching to others, and to help others if I can. As an Arabic poet once said "kha6awati Ana", so yes, my steps make me, and hope if I can walk the world to be the world at heart.