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Iraqis find common ground – on a soccer field
In a match pitting Iraq against Iran, our reporter wades into the stands to find Sunnis and Shiites united.
By Dan Murphyfrom the June 19, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 3
The new Iraq that America's "neocons" once dreamed of – undivided by sectarian animosities and proudly looking toward the future – was finally on display at a soccer match.
Flags waved amid a sea of Iraqis Saturday night. A middle-age Shiite shop-owner and the Rolex-wearing Sunni businessman sitting next to him joined the throng in the latest chant of "We'd give our blood so you can live, Iraq."
Hamid Shukri, a doctor from Baghdad, leaned over to me when he realized I'm an American. "Don't worry," he shouted above the din, grinning ear to ear. "There are no terrorists here."
I'm not worried, though not because I'm brave or a fool. Instead "here" is about 200 miles from the Iraqi border, in the Jordanian capital of Amman.
A soccer pitch in a foreign country is one of the few places that Iraqis can now find common ground and divert their attention from the relentless violence back home.
And it's not just the Iraqis who will be seeking solace in soccer this week. The Palestinian territories, Syria, Iran, and Lebanon are also lining up at the West Asian Football Federation Championships here, which is shaping up to be something of a World Cup for weakened – or at least threatened – states.
The Iraqis on Saturday night were making the most of it.
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