Most Sectarian Blog Ever - Revisited

Following on from The Kid declaring The Shaqawa to be 'The Most Sectarian Blog Ever' it is time to revisit this award in light of the last blog I reviewed.

Having written a positive post about Layla Anwar's blog An Arab Woman Blues it is time for some balance. When I reviewed her blog for the previous post I just read through a couple of posts and thought "she has issues but that's OK." Then I wondered ... this blog has been going on for a year now why on earth has no other IraqBlogCount member picked it up.

A short scan through her archive and I realized... Layla Anwar represents a part of Iraqi society that most ordinary Iraqi's would rather block out or pass on as not Iraqi. Her blog blatantly and crudely embodies the fanatical pro-Saddam sect that dogged the existence of nearly every Iraqi with ties to their country. And sectarian she is. You see, during the thirty years of Saddam's reign he built around his personality cult his own sect just as fanatical as any Shia or Sunni extremists that makes life in Baghdad hell for ordinary Iraqis.

What interests me is that our two most-sectarian bloggers have much more in common than they would like to admit.

A reverential love for their sect leader....

Here Layla is writing to Saddam:

I will address you as Saddam Hussein, Sir.
Even though I still consider you to be the legitimate President of Iraq, allow me not to use any formalities here. Let us forget titles , ranks and the rest . ... I don't care what they say about You . The misuses and abuses of power, the Dujails, the Anfals and the rest of the well knitted pieces of grossly exaggerated melodramas. I know one Truth Sir,You stayed in Iraq and did not run away like the rest.

And here is Shaqawa writing about Hakim:

Hakim is of course the leader of SIIC, the largest group of the largest list in parliament. So he is very powerful. He is the son of the Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mohsen al-Hakim, who was the most important leader of the Shi’a before Sayyid Abul-Qasim al-Khoei and Sayyid Ali al-Sistani. ... Of course there are so many sad stories in Iraq. Hakim getting sick is just one thing out of very many... I think there are some very good things about Hakim and also if Hakim is not acting as a leader for Iraq because of his health, it is bad for the Iraqi people

A pathological hatred of the opposition...

Compare...

Tawafuq MP Adnan al-Dulaimi ... this son of a bitch is suspected of crimes far beyond his most visible criminal act of wearing a stupid hat.

with...

Seems that the man in black, the turbaned, psychotic, farce called Muqtada al Sadr has returned as the Savior of Iraq.

And the irony that both bloggers do not consider themselves Sectarian. Layla talks proudly of her Shia roots while Shaqawa will write of his objectivity.

But, the real question is who wins. Well, after Layla's fawning letter to Saddam and labelling of Basra as an Iranian enclave; I am sorry Shaqawa you are going to have to hand over your award!