VZCZCXRO9502
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1118/01 1170827
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 270827Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2853
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001118 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SOCI PREL IR IZ
SUBJECT: KARBALA MODE: INAUGURAL EDITION 
 
This is a PRT Karbala Reporting Cable 
 
(U)  This message is Sensitive but Unclassified; handle 
accordingly.  Not for distribution on the Internet. 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Karbala Mode is a vehicle for capturing 
observations and anecdotes about life in the "world Shi'a 
capital" that otherwise might not be reported.  In this 
inaugural edition, we ponder Persian pills, hear from "the 
Mahdi" and his friend, learn why taking credit for good deeds 
is not always advisable, and see how the Iranians offend 
local sensibilities at a trade fair.  End Summary. 
 
The Ecstasy and the Agony 
------------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) We regularly receive reports of the Iraqi Security 
Forces (ISF) arresting persons involved in the illicit drug 
trade in Karbala Province.  In early April, for example, the 
ISF announced that it had taken 150 alleged local dealers 
into custody.  Knowledgeable contacts say that the most 
widely available contraband substance here is Ecstasy, which 
is smuggled in pill form from Iran.  Most users reportedly 
are under- and un-employed male youths who are too secular to 
seek solace in religion and too jaded to find life without 
drugs anything but agonizing. 
"The Mahdi" is on the Phone... 
------------------------------ 
¶3. (SBU) Entertainment options here may be limited, but 
Karbalans' creativity and sense of humor are not.  Cell-phone 
cameras are the medium of choice for locals seeking to poke 
fun at their own society.  Clips depicting real and bogus ISF 
interrogations of hapless rubes currently are all the rage 
among phone-film cognoscenti.  One (probably staged) example 
viewed by PRT officers recently showed a pudgy, bearded man 
with kohl-rimmed eyes claiming to be the Mahdi handcuffed to 
a chair while being taunted by the person (apparently a 
police officer) holding the phone.  "If you're the Mahdi, why 
don't you set yourself free?" the interrogator asks as the 
detainee squirms and shouts imprecations.  Inasmuch as cell 
phones, particularly those with cameras, are expensive and 
thus more likely to be in the possession of those with means, 
such clips suggest that lampooning the ignorance of common 
folk may be as popular a pastime among secular elites in 
Karbala as it is in Washington. 
...and on the Couch 
------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) The followers of extremist Karbala imam Mahmoud 
al-Hasani al-Sarkhi are considered a credulous cult by the 
chattering classes here.  A well-to-do business owner 
underscored this perception when he related the following 
tale to PRT members several days ago:  Sarkhi was seated on a 
couch in his study and called his servant to bring two 
glasses of tea.  The servant asked why two glasses, when 
Sarkhi was by himself, to which the imam replied that the 
Mahdi -- whom the servant, because of his low level of 
spiritual development, could not see -- was seated next to 
him.  Ecstatic, the servant asked whether he could kiss the 
Mahdi's hand or the hem of his gown, to which Sarkhi curtly 
replied "no" and shooed him away to bring the drinks.  Once 
the tea was served, Sarkhi closed the doors to his study and 
proceeded to drink both glasses.  He then summoned the 
servant to remove the empties.  When the latter, upon 
arriving, asked whether the Mahdi had enjoyed his tea, the 
imam replied yes.  He then stated that the guest had 
departed, and -- proffering a 10,000-dinar note -- said "he 
left this for you." 
Modesty is the Best Policy 
-------------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) Some of our contacts, worried that Iran may be 
stealing a march on the PRT in terms of public recognition 
for reconstruction efforts here, have urged us to make a 
greater effort at publicizing our (much larger) contributions 
Qgreater effort at publicizing our (much larger) contributions 
to Karbalans' welfare.  Leaders in Tehran, they claim, insist 
that a "gift of Iran" placard be attached to anything donated 
by the Islamic Republic, even to small items such as 
water-coolers.  The more religiously inclined among our 
friends here, however, have a different take.  They regard 
Iran's actions as self-aggrandizing, and -- while 
acknowledging that it can be helpful for Iraqis to know about 
America's good deeds -- insist that the important thing is 
for God to know.  They cite a Qur'anic verse encapsulating 
their perspective:  "To be charitable in public is good, but 
to give alms to the poor in private is better and will atone 
for some of your sins.  God has knowledge of all your 
actions." 
Trade Fair Faux Pas 
------------------- 
¶6. (SBU) On March 10, Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Hasan 
Kadhumi Qomi inaugurated an Iranian trade and industrial fair 
in Karbala with 150 participating Iranian companies. 
According to locals, who described attendance at the five-day 
event as light, many of the items on display were 
manufactured goods:  Farm equipment, tires, pumps and hand 
 
BAGHDAD 00001118  002 OF 002 
 
 
tools.  Foodstuffs such as pistachios and cooking oils also 
were shown, as were home and decorative items, including 
carpets, linens, furniture and mirrors.  Displays ran toward 
the garish, with red-white-and-green bunting, Iranian flags, 
gilt-framed posters of Ayatollah Khomeini and blaring Persian 
music throughout.  There were no direct sales; Iranian 
officials evidently intended the fair to be more of a 
&political presence" event.  Bizarrely, according to a woman 
Provincial Council (PC) member who attended the fair's 
opening, a plough producer used what appeared to be either 
real or mock-up Katyusha rockets to decorate its booth.  She 
said it was not clear whether the company wished to show that 
it also makes the rockets or to identify its wares with 
presumed symbols of Iranian technical prowess.  Either way, 
the PC member commented, the rockets' presence was extremely 
offensive to Karbalans, whose memories of the deaths of many 
of their husbands, brothers and sons in Iraq's long (1980-88) 
and bloody war with Iran remain raw. 
HILL