“Ama-gi” (the lower word), the first known written expression of the idea
of freedom, from an inscription found in the city
of Lagash — Telloh in contemporary Iraq
I just finished and sent off for translation a list of principles on constitutional democracy and a corresponding Powerpoint presentation for my presentations to Iraqis. Boiling down the principles to two pages was a useful project and gathering images that Iraqis would recognize and appropriate as their own was a challenge. After the documents have been gone over by a few other people, I may post them. (Or I may wait until after I get back.)
The Great Mosque of Samarra, built between 847 and 851 under the caliphate of
al-Mutawakkil, is a widely recognized monument in Iraq
I recall thinking, at the beginning of the Invasion of Iraq, how bemusing it was to watch the religious right supporting the bombing of Iraq, the geographic location of Biblical Eden. Now I find that in addition to bombing the Biblical origin of life, the U.S. government is also bombing the origin of the political concept of liberty. Talk about your poetic justice…