History of Iraq is a perfect example in order to understand the root causes of instability, violence and the resultant economic and social backwardness in a number of countries of the region. With the exception of the few, almost all the Muslim countries are facing the same problem. Iraq was part of Ottoman Empire till the First World War. During the Ottoman Empire, it was a country similar to other countries of the region. Majority of people belonged to agriculture and illiteracy, poverty and other problems were common among these countries. Industrial Revolution had not reached there and there were hardly any factories, except for those that existed in old times as well and where production was still carried out on old systems. At the same time, the West and America had almost solved their economic problems and the attention had diverted towards reforms in education, scientific innovations, military advancement, elections, rights of women, freedom of press and other important elements of a democratic government. In the same way, democracy had almost reached to the maturity and all its organs were functioning properly and the educated public made sure that all these organs functioned perfectly.

After WW1, the Ottoman Empire was broken down into pieces and distributed among the victorious nations. Iraq came under the control of Britain and was to be administered by this powerful nation of that time till 1932, according to the mandate of League of Nations. In 1921, the British imposed the Hashemite monarchy on Iraq and when they left the country in 1932, Iraq became an independent monarchy. But in fact, the Hashemite monarchy was considered as the puppet of Britain and they worked to safeguard the interests of Britain in return for the continuation of their rule. The discovery of massive oil reserves in Tikrit and other cities of Iraq only added to the power and magnificence of the ruling elite but did not bring any change to the actual condition of public that was suffering of poverty and lack of basic civic facilities. This gave rise to a general hatred against the monarchy and the foreign powers that continued their policy of interfering in Iraq for safeguarding their interests. This led to a series of bloody coups and power changes but none of them was stable. In 1958, General Abdul Karim Qassem overthrew the monarchy by killing the King and a large number of his family members. However, a group of military officers and Baath party members assassinated General Qassem in 1963. But soon the Baath party got divided into factions and the internal fighting brought an end to their government and President Arif got the control of the country. In 1968, a bloodless coup against President Arif brought an end to his government and country once again came into the hands of Baath party.

In similar circumstances, Saddam Hussein comes to scenario. The instabilities and abnormalities in actions and decisions of Saddam Hussein date back to his childhood. He was born of a poor family when his father worked as a poor peasant while his mother contributed to the family income by fortune-telling. Saddam was born orphan as his father had already died when he came to the world. His mother got married to another person and from here start the problems that left their permanent imprints on his personality. Saddam’s stepfather continuously humiliated him and did not let him attend the school. It is the reason why, he had not started learning to read and write until he was 10. However, his stepfather used to send him on petty criminal errands and in such a small age, Saddam used to carry an iron bar with him. Continuous insult, beating and lack of attention molded his personality in a way that he resorted to use of force in every single matter. As he did not have enough attention from his parents, he remained thirsty for this throughout his life and gave way to those who flattered him.

But Saddam’s rise to power was not a coincidence. His uncle Khairallah Tulfah discovered the hidden abilities of Saddam and soon moved him to Baghdad. Before coming to the capital city, he had completed his primary education in his native city. His uncle was a military officer and strongly supported the idea of Arab Nationalism. Just like majority of Iraqis, he hated the Hashemite monarchy and the interference and influence of Britain in the internal affairs of Iraq. From his uncle, he not only inherited the love of Arab Nationalism but also got the thirst of rising to power.

His political career was not bad right from the beginning. He was willing to go to any extent and he first assassinated a local government official in order to exhibit his loyalty to his uncle. This proved that he could be trusted. Here, his childhood habits were coming handy. He was part of the team that made a failed attempt to assassinate General Qassem in 1959 and Saddam was wounded and sent to exile. He went to Cairo where he completed his high school and started university but it was not completed when he was called to Iraq after the assassination of General Qassem in 1963.  After the revolution of 1968, he had become the second most important person in the country after President Bakr. In 1979, he grew so strong that he forced the president to resign in his favor and the control of country came into his hands. His rule continued until the US invasion of Iraq and in 2006, he was executed.

Ruling for such a long period was not easy so large number of people were executed, tortured and thousands more disappeared during the regime of Saddam. His time did bring some changes to the conditions of Iraqi people but overall, it was never going to be a long-lasting government as it was based on dictatorship and monarchy-style distribution of power among his family members.

More or less is the case with a large number of countries in the region. In Saudi Arabia, there is a monarchy and the government mostly strives for the preservation of the status-quo. Libya’s monarchy-style dictatorship also came to an end, leaving the country in tatters. Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Somalia, and many other countries in Asia and Europe are passing through the worst turmoil, full of bloodshed and violence. The reasons are almost the same for all. The presence of a ruling elite, the deprivation of people from education, and basic rights, interference of international powers and military generals and lack of concern to the maturity of democracy. All these have resulted to poor economic conditions and people are paying through the nose. It is the time the thinkers and scholars of the region must sit and devise strategy to make corrections to address the actual problems of these countries. In the same way, world powers must work to strengthen democracy and promote education and strengthen economy if they really want to save the world of destruction and spread prosperity to every corner of the world.