The position of religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq on the revolution of July 14, 1958 AD

Abstract

God has blessed the land of Iraq with the presence of a diverse group of religious, ethnic and national sects among its inhabitants, who have lived on its land for hundreds of years as one group without discrimination between them, including Muslims, Christians, Jews, Yazidis, Kurds, Kakai, Turkmen, Baha'is, Faili Kurds, Shabaks and Zoroastrians.. Therefore, these minorities played a distinctive role in Iraq through their participation in various political, economic, social, cultural and intellectual fields that Iraq witnessed following the revolution of July 14, 1958. The position of minorities towards this revolution, which came to turn a bitter page in the pages of the struggle of the Iraqi people with its various components and to begin the page of the republican era with the government of Abdul Karim Qasim, which was welcomed by all components and minorities of the Iraqi people, and welcomed and supported the revolution and its leader, raising their demands to Abdul Karim Qasim in the hope of recognizing their rights and entities.

The religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq welcomed the government of Abdul Karim Qasim and considered it a glimmer of hope for obtaining their rights and recognition of their entities. The convoys of minorities rushed to offer congratulations and blessings to the government on the new era, and to present their demands to the leader of the revolution, Abdul Karim Qasim, to obtain their religious rights and recognition of their entities. During his rule, minorities lived in equality and freedom in practicing their religious beliefs, in addition to issuing many laws that serve the interests of minorities and serve them, including: official holiday laws that were granted to minorities, and the participation of some of them in important government jobs. The conditions of minorities in Iraq improved after the revolution, and all measures taken against them during the royal era were cancelled, including, but not limited to, the restrictions that oblige Jews who seek to leave Iraq to return to it within six months. This was considered a paragraph that contradicts the constitution and principles of the revolution and the natural rights granted to every citizen that cannot be taken away from him. Government universities also opened their doors to minorities. The July 14 Revolution was a glimmer of hope for a peaceful and prosperous life for minorities. Nothing prevented them from continuing their work and living their normal lives. Minorities were respected and appreciated by Abdul Karim Qasim.