THE GUARDIAN: Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki accused of colluding with fundamentalists to shut down night clubs
The raids came just before midnight a week ago. At the start of Eid al-Adha, the four holiest days on the Islamic calendar, hundreds of Iraqi police and soldiers stormed each of Baghdad's 300 or so nightclubs. Officers from the most elite units stood outside as soldiers slapped owners' faces, scattered their patrons and dancing girls, ripped down posters advertising upcoming acts, and ordered alcohol removed from the shelves.
They left many of the clubs with a warning – any owner who tried to reopen would be thrown into prison, along with his staff.
The official reason for the mass raids is that none of the premises had licences. The reality is that a year-long renaissance in Baghdad's nightlife may be over, as this increasingly conservative city takes on a hardline religious identity. Bohemian Baghdad did not last long.
"They treated us like terrorists," said Sinan Kamal, a chef at the Jetar nightclub in east Baghdad, displaying both a licence and weekly receipts for fees collected by the Tourism Ministry. "They sat us on the ground and made us put our heads between our legs. They slapped us and were impolite with the girls. They were behaving like religious police."
Until last week nightlife was a growth story in Baghdad – once renowned as a city of 1,001 vices. "You can forget about a fair few of those now," said Kamal. "Dancing clubs are gone, so are singers and bars. Welcome to the new Iraq." For the large numbers of Baghdadis who believed an older Iraq was on its way back, the raids, and what they signify, are a bitter disappointment.
As security forces gradually won back the streets over the past year, areas of the capital that had long ago been hubs of entertainment were restored to their former decadent glory. Throughout the summer, garish shop fronts along the riverside suburb of Abu Nuwas and a nearby strip known as Sadoon Street were teeming with men and youths queueing for clubs touting dancing girls and whisky. Many of the clubs also doubled as brothels – a factor readily overlooked by Baghdad council and the Iraqi government, which were both apparently keen to breathe new nightlife – with all its trappings – back into the city's war-ravaged streets. >>> Martin Chulov, Baghdad | Sunday, December 06, 2009
