Kuwait's Lost Treasures: How Stolen Riches Remain Central to Rift with Iraq
THE GUARDIAN: Hundreds of artefacts were plundered during Gulf war, and project to repatriate them is ongoing

The Kuwait National Museum is still trying to trace 487 priceless artefacts looted after Saddam Hussein’s invasion. Photograph: The Guardian
In a spacious but frugal office in Kuwait, a glossy catalogue lists the dozens of reasons why Kuwait and Iraq are still at daggers drawn after all these years.

Sheikha Hussa Salem al-Sabah thumbs through the pages of the booklet, pointing out the most egregious cases – page upon page of priceless treasures looted by Saddam Hussein's invading army 20 years ago and still missing: a dazzling 234-carat emerald the size of a paperweight; a slightly smaller gem inscribed with exquisite Arabic calligraphy; Mughal-era ruby beads.

"The Iraqis still don't understand the damage they did to us, not just financially, but for our souls," says the daughter-in-law of Kuwait's emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who maintains the dynasty's heirlooms. "It was emotionally wrenching and still is."

Though many of the priceless treasures have been returned to the collection in the bitter decades since, up to 57 remain missing – perhaps lost for ever. At the National Museum across town, they report that the whereabouts of another 487 treasures remain unknown.

Many of the pieces, Kuwaitis believe, now form the core of private collections in post-Saddam Iraq and around the Arab world. To the victims of the 1990 invasion they remain the central reason of a failure to close the unfinished business of the first Gulf war – just as the second one is beginning to wind down. >>> Martin Chulov in Kuwait | Monday, June 21, 2010

Baghdad's Night Life Falls Foul of Religious Right
THE GUARDIAN: Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki accused of colluding with fundamentalists to shut down night clubs

Dancers perform for an all-male clientele in one of the clubs that reopened as security improved in Baghdad. Photograph: The Guardian
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

Radical Iraq Cleric Orders 'Depraved' Homosexuality to Be Eradicated
Moqtada Sadr urged for the eradication of homosexuality. Photo courtesy of Pink News
PINK NEWS: Moqtada Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric in Iraq, has ordered that the "depravity" of homosexuality must be eradicated, yet urged an end to violence against gays and lesbians.

His spokesman Sheikh Wadea al-Atab said today that a series of meetings are being held with clerics, tribal leaders and police to tackle the "phenomenon".

According to AFP, Atabi said: "The purpose of the meetings is to fight the depravity and to urge the community to reject this phenomenon. The only remedy to stop it is through preaching and guidance. There is no other way to put an end to it."

Regarding the recent killings of six gay men in Sadr city, on the outskirts of Baghdad, Atabi said: "Al-Sadr rejects this type of violence … and anyone who commits violence [against gays] will not be considered as being one of us."

Homosexuality is not illegal in Iraq but religious leaders condemn it.

Two gay men were found dead in the Baghdad Shiite slum of Sadr City In April following condemnations of homosexuality by a leading local cleric.

A further four were murdered in March after the Shiite cleric Sattar al-Battat allegedly repeatedly condemned homosexuality in Friday prayers. >>> By Jessica Green | Friday, May 29, 2009

YOUTUBE: Gay Life, Gay Death in Iraq


YOUTUBE: Gay in Iraq