Life After the "Islamic State"

I was in primary school then, and in the afternoons, children would spill out of school and the streets would fill with shoppers, bringing the neighbourhood to life. We would often stay out until midnight, even during the difficult days of the United Nations sanctions.

One of the things that I enjoyed about the neighbourhood was its diversity. My closest friend, Thanaa, lived two blocks away. While she was pious and I am secular, such things were not an issue for us. She went to the mosque almost every day to pray and to hear the sermons of the imam. Although I wanted to accompany her, I never had enough faith to do so.

After the fall of Baghdad in 2003, everything changed. I started to hear strange stories about people being killed and kidnapped, some of whom I knew. Residents began leaving for safer areas.

Then it got even worse. By 2005, my neighbourhood had gained the reputation of being one of the most dangerous places in the capital. A Sunni extremist group calling itself the “Islamic State of Iraq” took over, declaring my neighbourhood their stronghold in Baghdad.

The members would patrol the area by night, either on foot or in cars. They has weapons slung over their shoulders and would shoot people dead in the street for breaking one of their “rules”.

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