Contradictions at the Heart of Iraqi Society

In 1951, a young Iraqi scholar named Ali al-Wardi published The Personality of the Iraqi Individual (shakhsiyat al-fard al-iraqi). This work of social psychology is still readily available at the bookshops of Iraq, and widely recommended by Iraqis when I have asked for book suggestions. When he wrote the book, al-Wardi had just completed his Ph.D. at the University of Texas in sociology, and was starting what would be a long career at the University of Baghdad. In the book, al-Wardi sought to analyze the cultural traits that make Iraqis distinct and to address some of the key defects he saw in Iraqi social life.

The key point al-Wardi tries to make in the book is that Iraqis live a sort of duality or dual personality (izdiwaaj, in Arabic) in both their public and private lives. At the most abstract level, al-Wardi identifies a grand historical (civilizational, as he calls it) narrative for this duality: For thousands of years, Iraq’s society has been shaped by two competing, often contradictory, systems of thought and values. Iraq — Mesopotamia — is the birthplace of civilization and settled urban life. At the same time, for its entire history, it has been surrounded by nomadic tribal culture, which has consistently conquered and imposed itself on the settled, civilized culture. As a result, al-Wardi says, these two systems create, deep in Iraqi society, a contradictory understanding of social norms and values. The Iraqi is both the oppressor — the Bedouin warrior ravaging the settlements of Mesopotamia — and the oppressed victim of that oppression. The Iraqi is a masochist when confronted with someone stronger, he suggests, and a sadist when confronted with someone weaker — quick to cry oppression, and quick to oppress.

About the Author

Sam Sweeney

Sam Sweeney, a writer based in the Middle East, is the president of Mesopotamia Relief Foundation, which works in northeastern Syria.

Featured Tags

Manage following

Iraq

In 1951, a young Iraqi scholar named Ali al-Wardi published The Personality of the Iraqi Individual (shakhsiyat al-fard al-iraqi). This work of social psychology is still readily available at the bookshops of Iraq, and widely recommended by Iraqis when I have asked for book suggestions. When he wrote the book, al-Wardi had just completed his Ph.D. at the University of Texas in sociology, and was starting what would be a long career at the University of Baghdad. In the book, al-Wardi sought to analyze the cultural traits that make Iraqis distinct and to address some of the key defects he saw in Iraqi social life.

The key point al-Wardi tries to make in the book is that Iraqis live a sort of duality or dual personality (izdiwaaj, in Arabic) in both their public and private lives. At the most abstract level, al-Wardi identifies a grand historical (civilizational, as he calls it) narrative for this duality: For thousands of years, Iraq’s society has been shaped by two competing, often contradictory, systems of thought and values. Iraq — Mesopotamia — is the birthplace of civilization and settled urban life. At the same time, for its entire history, it has been surrounded by nomadic tribal culture, which has consistently conquered and imposed itself on the settled, civilized culture. As a result, al-Wardi says, these two systems create, deep in Iraqi society, a contradictory understanding of social norms and values. The Iraqi is both the oppressor — the Bedouin warrior ravaging the settlements of Mesopotamia — and the oppressed victim of that oppression. The Iraqi is a masochist when confronted with someone stronger, he suggests, and a sadist when confronted with someone weaker — quick to cry oppression, and quick to oppress.