In this book, an innovative approach to the study of ideology in the Arab world explores how, through culture and the re-interpretation of history, a powerful totalitarian regime has endeavoured to cement internal unity among Iraq's diverse ethnic and religious communities. The book analyzes the ways in which, to imbue its citizens with a common destiny of Arab leadership, this regime has set out to convince the Iraqi people to see themselves as the heirs of all the great civilizations of Mesopotamia.

Inhalt

List of Plates - Foreword - Preface - Acknowledgements - List of Abbreviations and Transliteration - The Historical Setting - The Ba'th in Power: The Political and Ideological Setting - Folklore and Mesopotamian Culture - A Passion for Archeology - Mosul's Spring Festivals: Mesopotamian Rites, Contemporary Content - Mesopotamian Symbols in Official Iraq - Art with Local and Mesopotamian Components - Mesopotamian Inspiration in Theatre and Poetry - The Changing Features of the Past: Re-writing History - The Mesopotamian Myth, Pan-Arabism and Islam - The Changing Features of a Vision: Arab Unity from Integration to Confederation - Iraq's Opposition Groups and the Iraqi Entity - Conclusion - Endnotes - Sources - Index