An image grab taken from a propaganda video released on July 5, 2014 by Al Furqan Media allegedly shows the leader of the Islamic State (IS) group, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, aka Caliph Ibrahim, adressing Muslim worshippers at a mosque in the militant-held northern Iraqi city of Mosul. AFP Photo
An image grab taken from a propaganda video released on July 5, 2014 by Al Furqan Media allegedly shows the leader of the Islamic State (IS) group, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, aka Caliph Ibrahim, adressing Muslim worshippers at a mosque in the militant-held northern Iraqi city of Mosul. AFP Photo
An image grab taken from a propaganda video released on July 5, 2014 by Al Furqan Media allegedly shows the leader of the Islamic State (IS) group, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, aka Caliph Ibrahim, adressing Muslim worshippers at a mosque in the militant-held northern Iraqi city of Mosul. AFP Photo
An image grab taken from a propaganda video released on July 5, 2014 by Al Furqan Media allegedly shows the leader of the Islamic State (IS) group, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, aka Caliph Ibrahim, adressing

Islamic State campaign hurts Sunni ambitions for self-rule


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Many Iraqi Sunnis were initially heartened by an insurgent blitz through the north and west of the country last month: they thought it might be a blow so severe that it would be tough, if not impossible, for Shiite prime minister Nouri Al Maliki to secure a third term in office.

But the stunning battlefield successes by militants from the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, are hardly what Sunnis had in mind when they wished for an end to the perceived bias and discrimination by Mr Al Maliki.

In fact, the success of the Islamic State has ominously fed tensions in Baghdad and elsewhere between Sunnis, who were powerful when Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq, and Shiites, the country’s largest community. Tit-for-tat killings now occur on a near daily basis.

Moreover, it has created an undesired association between Sunnis and militants from the brutal Islamic State, who last week declared the creation of a self-styled “caliphate” in areas under their control in Iraq and across the border in neighbouring Syria.

For their part, Mr Al Maliki and his government have gone to great lengths to portray the ongoing crisis as a fight against terrorism and not the culmination of years of Sunni persecution that may have contributed to creating a favourable climate for the militants.

By using this tactic, Mr Al Maliki is hoping to gain the support of Sunni tribes in areas captured by the Islamic State. His aim is to persuade them to rise up against the militants and drive them out as they did with Al Qaeda in 2007 and 2008.

Mr Al Maliki has also insisted that Sunnis are volunteering to join the government security forces to fight the Islamic State. Yet the claim has yet to be substantiated and is widely seen as an attempt by the prime minister to show that the fight against the Sunni militants transcends sectarianism.

It is unlikely that Mr Al Maliki has the credibility to succeed with this. Over the past month, it has become clear that the Islamic State has allies inside Iraq's Sunni community who don't necessarily agree with the brutal tactics of the militants, but find them to be useful allies for the foreseeable future.

Among the Islamic State’s allies are Saddam Hussein loyalists, fighters from smaller Islamist groups, along with some disgruntled members of local tribes.

According to Iraqi officials, most Sunni tribes remain unconvinced that they should join the efforts against the Islamic State and its allies, instead demanding that Mr Al Maliki step down before they lift a finger to help the government.

The response appears justified on several levels. Despite statements to the contrary, Mr Al Maliki has given the campaign to mobilise against the Islamic State a sectarian bent.

For example, he has given his implicit blessing to Shiite militias to join the fight and turned a blind eye to their shows of force on the streets of Baghdad. This included a two-hour parade by the Mahdi Army, which like other Shiite armed groups, played a significant role in the killing of Sunnis during the peak of Iraq’s sectarian bloodletting in 2006 and 2007.

He has also sought aid from non-Arab, Shiite Iran and even invited Qassem Suleimani, the country’s most powerful general, to Iraq, and allowed Iranian drones to fly reconnaissance missions.

For many Sunnis, these decisions confirmed longtime suspicions about Mr Al Maliki’s proximity to the Iranian regime.

Beyond Mr Al Maliki, Shiite leaders themselves have portrayed the fight as one that is focused on the defence of the sect’s revered shrines in the cities of Baghdad, Samarra, Najaf and Karbala. The Islamic State has vowed to march on all four cities and a representative of Ali Al Sistani, Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, cited this as a reason for an urgent call to arms on June 13.

The group’s successes, and, equally, the humiliating defeat of government forces, have also fuelled sectarian tensions. In recent days, Shiite militants have enjoyed a degree of acquiescence by the government, readopting past tactics of intimidation and scaremongering in Baghdad with the aim of frightening Sunnis and heading off a possible uprising by the community in the capital. Shiites themselves have been victims of an unrelenting campaign of car and suicide bombings carried out by Sunnis.

At another level, many Sunnis feel that the crisis created by the Islamic State's onslaught into the north and west of Iraq may offer them their best opportunity yet when it comes to pushing for a self-ruled region. The right to create such regions is enshrined in Iraq's constitution, but Mr Al Maliki, widely seen as an authoritarian ruler at heart, has worked tirelessly to derail any such attempt.

Now, with the West speaking out about Mr Al Maliki’s failure to hold the country together, and urging him to accommodate the aspirations of Iraq’s minorities, many believe the moment to demand greater self-rule has arrived.

Still, the greatest fear among moderate Sunnis is that their campaign for equal rights or a self-ruled region will be associated with the Islamic State, whose propaganda speaks of delivering Sunis from the tyranny of “heretic” Shiites.

This may mean that their aspirations are put on hold until the militants are defeated.

foreign.desk@thenational.ae

The British in India: Three Centuries of Ambition and Experience

by David Gilmour

Allen Lane

Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars

Results

4pm: Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)

4.35pm: Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m; Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

5.10pm: Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Canvassed, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

5.45pm: Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

6.20pm: Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Lord Glitters, Daniel Tudhope, David O’Meara

6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass

7.30pm: Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Final Song, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
 

Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt

Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure

Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers

Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised

Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Pieces of Her

Stars: Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, David Wenham, Omari Hardwick   

Director: Minkie Spiro

Rating:2/5

Abramovich London

A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.

A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.

Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.

Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.

The%20trailblazers
%3Cp%3ESixteen%20boys%20and%2015%20girls%20have%20gone%20on%20from%20Go-Pro%20Academy%20in%20Dubai%20to%20either%20professional%20contracts%20abroad%20or%20scholarships%20in%20the%20United%20States.%20Here%20are%20two%20of%20the%20most%20prominent.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EGeorgia%20Gibson%20(Newcastle%20United)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20reason%20the%20academy%20in%20Dubai%20first%20set%20up%20a%20girls%E2%80%99%20programme%20was%20to%20help%20Gibson%20reach%20her%20potential.%20Now%20she%20plays%20professionally%20for%20Newcastle%20United%20in%20the%20UK.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMackenzie%20Hunt%20(Everton)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EAttended%20DESS%20in%20Dubai%2C%20before%20heading%20to%20the%20UK%20to%20join%20Everton%20full%20time%20as%20a%20teenager.%20He%20was%20on%20the%20bench%20for%20the%20first%20team%20as%20recently%20as%20their%20fixture%20against%20Brighton%20on%20February%2024.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
JERSEY INFO

Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.

RESULTS

West Asia Premiership

Thursday
Jebel Ali Dragons 13-34 Dubai Exiles

Friday
Dubai Knights Eagles 16-27 Dubai Tigers