KR: Iraqis faking their IDs to hide religious affiliations

[Pirate Smile]

Iraqis faking their IDs to hide religious affiliations

By Nancy A. Youssef
Knight Ridder Newspapers

BAGHDAD, Iraq - On paper at least, Omar al-Dulaimi no longer exists.
With names that belong almost exclusively to Sunni Muslims in Iraq, al-Dulaimi feared that Shiite Muslims would single him out at one of the 12 checkpoints he crosses between home and work. So last week he bribed a government worker with $25 to change his name on his official paperwork.

"My biggest fear is militias. They move freely. They kill freely. They check your ID, and based on your name or surname they might kill you," said al-Dulaimi, 27, a merchant from Salman Pak who didn't want to reveal his new, more Shiite-sounding name, for obvious reasons.

In a country defined by religious and ethnic tensions, especially after the Feb. 22 bombing of the revered Shiite Askariya mosque in the mostly Sunni city of Samarra, al-Dulaimi has joined a growing number of Iraqis who think that changing their names is about survival.

For many, it's a big step. In Iraq, people define themselves by their tribes and their families, and one's name often includes reference to them all: a first name, followed by one's father's name, followed by one's grandfather's name, followed by a tribal name. Some who've taken the step describe a sense of shame at shunning their names or tribes, even on fraudulent papers.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/14435662.htm

[AlCzervik]

1. Just like Nazi Germany--show me your papers jew.

[Erika]

2. And we are there? Why?

Of course, in this country I can see a lot of Vasquezs' changing their name to Smith.

[AlCzervik]

3. so we can re liberate them again in 10 years, give the defense industry

something to plan for.