Mithal al-Alusi -Heather Robinson
Mithal al-Alusi [pictured above], a Sunni Arab, has become the country's chief advocate for liberal values including a free market, free press, religious pluralism, cooperation among democracies in fighting terror, and human—including women's—rights.
Trouble started for Alusi in September 2004 when he traveled to Israel to attend a counterterrorism conference at the Institute for the Study of Counterterrorism (ICT) in Herzliya. Alusi explain[ed] that normalized relations between Iraq and Israel are in the self-interest of Iraqis. "Israel," he said, "is a modern state and an important part of the Middle East."
Upon his return, the Iraqi Interim Government stripped him of both his government position and security protection... Then, on February 8, 2005, terrorists murdered his two sons, Ayman, 30, and Gamal, 22...
Minutes after the attack, he told reporters, "Even if these terrorists try to kill me again, peace is the only solution. Peace with Israel is the only solution for Iraq. Peace with everybody, but no peace for the terrorists."
In the spring of 2006, as militiamen targeted progressives across the country, he attended women's rights rallies in Baghdad. "They are brave women," he said at the time. "To meet a few hundred Iraqi women these days who will stand [up] for their rights...it is very difficult. [H]ow long can they face the extremists without support?"
Alusi's boldness has paid off. On November 24, 2008, Iraq's Federal Supreme Court, the highest court in the nation, ruled in his favor, maintaining it was no longer a crime for Iraqis to travel, including to Israel.
After he returned to his Baghdad headquarters, hundreds of supporters greeted him openly, a scene that would never have occurred under Saddam. Alusi cites many Iraqis' increased willingness to openly express their support for him as a hopeful sign.
"The Iraqi street is free," he says.
[Middle East Quarterly]
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Mithal al-Alusi [pictured above], a Sunni Arab, has become the country's chief advocate for liberal values including a free market, free press, religious pluralism, cooperation among democracies in fighting terror, and human—including women's—rights.
Trouble started for Alusi in September 2004 when he traveled to Israel to attend a counterterrorism conference at the Institute for the Study of Counterterrorism (ICT) in Herzliya. Alusi explain[ed] that normalized relations between Iraq and Israel are in the self-interest of Iraqis. "Israel," he said, "is a modern state and an important part of the Middle East."
Upon his return, the Iraqi Interim Government stripped him of both his government position and security protection... Then, on February 8, 2005, terrorists murdered his two sons, Ayman, 30, and Gamal, 22...
Minutes after the attack, he told reporters, "Even if these terrorists try to kill me again, peace is the only solution. Peace with Israel is the only solution for Iraq. Peace with everybody, but no peace for the terrorists."
In the spring of 2006, as militiamen targeted progressives across the country, he attended women's rights rallies in Baghdad. "They are brave women," he said at the time. "To meet a few hundred Iraqi women these days who will stand [up] for their rights...it is very difficult. [H]ow long can they face the extremists without support?"
Alusi's boldness has paid off. On November 24, 2008, Iraq's Federal Supreme Court, the highest court in the nation, ruled in his favor, maintaining it was no longer a crime for Iraqis to travel, including to Israel.
After he returned to his Baghdad headquarters, hundreds of supporters greeted him openly, a scene that would never have occurred under Saddam. Alusi cites many Iraqis' increased willingness to openly express their support for him as a hopeful sign.
"The Iraqi street is free," he says.
[Middle East Quarterly]
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