October 20, 2013
SLÊMANÎ, Kurdistan region 'Iraq',— Kurdish Islamic parties and activists have been angered by a couple’s public kiss in Kurdish city Slêmanî [Sulaimaniyah].
A statue representing love was burnt in the city’s Azadi Park (Freedom Park). In protest, a Kurdish man kissed his Dutch girlfriend in public, sparking anger within conservative communities and Islamic parties.
The Kurdistan Region in Northern Iraq is often considered more secular than the rest of Iraq, yet it is still relatively conservative.
The two Kurdish Islamic parties; Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG) and Kurdistan Islamic Movement (KIM) denounced the couple’s actions and said their deeds were against Islamic traditions.
“We are against anything that may be offensive, and we recommend that the love statue be replaced with one of executed Kurdish youths,” said KIM spokesperson Shwan Qaradaghi.
Sulaimaniyah has seen some attacks on secular symbols, the latest being when an unidentified group vandalized the grave of late Kurdish poet Sherko Bekas,www.ekurd.net also situated in Azadi Park.
“Everyone should be against the kiss. It’s an effort to disorientate Kurdish Muslim Youths,” added Muhammad Hakim, a KIG Spokesman.
Meanwhile, Human and women rights activists have taken to social media to criticize the Kurdish Islamists.
“In my country kissing is forbidden, but braking graves and statues and blowing yourself up is OK,” wrote women’s rights activist Avin Ibrahim on her Facebook page.
Sulaimaniyah, with an estimated population of over 1.5 million, is Kurdistan’s second most important city, it’s regarded as the Iraq’s most secular city.
Sulaimaniyah is often called the “Paris” of Iraq for its vibrant cultural life and its wide tree-lined boulevards. Known as the cultural capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
By Hoshmand Sadiq. Published by Ekurd.net in cooperation with Basnews.
Lol, as if there is nothing in Kurdistan more offensive for moral than a kissing couple : poverty, moral suffering, injustice, illness, and so on. And placing instead a martyr's statue is a meaningful way to tell to youth : Prefer Death to Love.
By the way, Sulaymaniah seems to be the favorite place for controversial statues : there has been already the scandal of the Donkey statue, which was vandalized once.
More seriously I have read that Sheko Bekas's grave has been vandalized also, but no more details about that ?
