Hi Steemit!
Who Am I?
My name is Bee and I am the 25year old Iraqi pictured above - I reside in Sydney, Australia and have lived most my life here. I was naturally always curious about my background and heritage. I was not aware of Iraqs history as a child, my family are Muslim and so most my knowledge of my country – and town in Iraq, are all of religious reference. In 2006 my family took me back to the Middle East to meet my extended family and hopefully re-engage with my ‘true identity’.
(circa 1994 , I'm the girl in the blue dress with my sisters, brother and uncles before coming to Australia)
We spent a few months in the Gulf then moved on to Iraq, most of this trip was Islam-centric and most of what I was shown was explained to me religiously. Having explored a substantial amount of Mosques, shrines and historical sites, I felt I really finally connected and understood Islam and what it is to be an Iraqi ‘Arab’. In my home town, the shrine of Imam Ali looms in the horizon, this entire city was built solely for Imam Ali and his people, which are by extension my people - the Shia Iraqis. I made the pilgrimage to Karabala, another special city not far from Najaf, the two cities share a special relationship in that both are built entirely for the purpose of sacredness and the peoples dedication to their beloved Imam Ali, his wife and sons.
The Beauty of Najaf
The atmosphere and shrines in Najaf and Karbala took my breath away, the two cities demanded respect, it was as if the entire place was possessed by the spirit of a higher power, some thing I find difficult to put into words even today as an Atheist.
However still, most of what I saw began to seem like a repeat of itself, until some thing new caught my eye, (of all things) the remnants of an old insignificant village that we walked through. When I prompted my mother for answers as to who would have lived here, she explained that this area has always been Shia, and so it must have been another city of Shia peoples, who would have abandoned it and moved further in to Najaf to be closer to the shrine.
I returned to Australia in 2008, I felt like I had indeed connected with my heritage and it inspired me to be a better Muslim, after all, how can I deny my religious duties anymore having seen where it all began? Clearly Islam is significant if it had survived so so long, it had to be significant if it produced such wonderful structures and cities, it must be true if it had compelled so many the way it has.
There is so much more to the Middle east than Islam!
I was obsessed and in love with everything I had seen. During my trip everyone presented Islam and history to me as if it where one and the same, as if the origin of human existence depended on Islam, that nothing existed before Islam, that we only became human when Muhammad revealed himself with the message of god, that before that the human was nothing but a savage Neanderthal, drunk, wreck-less, destructive, unable to thrive, engulfed completely by wickedness, and while my family and the general Middle Eastern and Pan- Arab community would like to tell me and you that all there is is Islam, this wasn’t the entire story of Iraq or the Middle East, as I soon discovered.
In fact the more I looked the more I realized Islam is only the latest, and most insignificant chapter of Iraqi history. What baffled me further was that Iraq is one of the only Middle Eastern countries that actually acknowledge and celebrate their pre-Islamic history (even though this wasn’t the impression I was given on my trip). This here is also the reason behind the recent destruction of Iraqi artifacts by the terrorist organisation ISIS, the goal is to eliminate any Pre-Islamic history so that future generations will never know or identify with anything other than Islam.
Neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia persecute any mention of their pre-islamic history all together and it is punishable for it to be discussed or taught. Even though Saudi curate and show their artifacts internationally in exhibitions, it bans the exhibition in its own Kingdom and from the sights of its own citizens – who like myself, are taught that before Islam there was nothing but ignorance and wickedness. This is a clear denial of identity, in any other culture this would be a flat out case of ethnic cleansing.
Why I’m Here
So why am I on steemit rambling like a mad woman?
I invite you all to join me on a journey to explore the true relics of Iraq and the Middle East, to look past the monopoly of religion, passed the media that suggests that every Iraqi is a Muslim, Arab or worse, a terrorist.
I will share the true identity of Iraqis with you, one that does not involve war, or religion -but literature , art, life, people and the real reason why Iraq was the very Cradle Of Civilisation, as well as the invention of Islam and the role it plays in the Middle East. My goal is to eliminate the stigma, to bring Iraqis out of the metaphorical box they have been placed in, all while sharing some thing , you (hopefully) find meaningful and relevant even in the present day. I will cover an array of other topics don’t worry, aside from being an Iraqi history lover, I’m an avid soccer fan, a cat lady and excellent cook with a vast knowledge of memes. (there will be no We Wuz Kangz-esque stuff promise).
I hope you will be as inspired as I was in discovering my history, and some of the worlds history, maybe you will find some of yours in it too. Please feel free to join the discussion, share your thoughts or even suggest a topic for me! (no I won’t teach you Arabic swear words).
Also I'd like to shout out to 
(;<
Peace out.