Whether you were pro the execution of Saddam Hussein or against it, his execution today will mark a historic moment in the history of Iraq and the Arab World. This is the first time ever in modern Arabic history, where an Arab President found guilty by a national court and executed by his own fellow men after standing a lengthy trial. The question whether the execution resembled the prevalence of justice or pure revenge is to be answered in history books. However I was saddened to hear the news. The truth is that I have never been a fan of Saddam. I always thought of him as a brutal ego-maniac dictator who percieved himself as a living God. A harsh God figure who did not hesitate to commit herrondus acts in the name of protecting his own glory, power and fame.
While Hussein was in power, his statue guarded the entrance to every village, his portrait watched over each government office and he peered down from at least one wall in every home. His picture was so widespread that a joke quietly circulating among his detractors in 1988 put the country's population at 34 million — 17 million people and 17 million portraits of Saddam.
But I just can not celebrate the death of a human soul. I believe in redemption and I thought Iraq would and will be better if Saddam could have stayed behind bars. His excution, I argue will only divide Iraq across a sectarian line. In few months and as memories of his crimes fade in many Iraqis' minds, his status will be elevated to the martyrdom status particularly by Sunnis who will miss his and their golden era.
His excution will only then fulfil his wish for his name to be inscribed alongside those of the Kings Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar, not only as the builder of modern Iraq but also as "Saddam the Martyr." This of course will only help to recruit more fanatics In Iraq and our region and keep the "conspiracy theory" believers in our part of the world well and strong.
Saddam was 69 when he was hanged early this morning. He did not live to see 2007.
