Rebuilding Mosul: Challenges and Hope for Sunni IDPs Amidst Sectarian Tensions 🛠️🌟

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How ISIS divides societies: the Re-displacement of Sunni Muslims in Mosul, Iraq


Sunni IDPs around Mosul


Since the defeat of ISIS in 2017 in Mosul, Northern Iraq, most refugee camps have closed as life returns to normal. However, many Sunni Muslims wish to stay in these camps because they fear they don’t belong in their former city. According to the United States’ International Religious Freedom report 2022, 1.2 million Iraqis remained displaced within Iraq, with 665,000 in the north, 40% being Sunni Arabs. The report also indicates that Sunnis account for about 90% of prisoners and 9,000 death sentences out of 11,000 since 2014.


Why do Sunni Muslims struggle to see a future in post-war Mosul, despite being the majority?


A Vicious Cycle of Revenge and Exclusion


Iraq, especially Mosul, has suffered from two authoritarian rules and civil wars in the last 50 years. This extreme violence has caused deep trauma and division, leading to sectarian identities based on bloodshed. The exclusion of Sunni Muslims is often due to their association with ISIS and Saddam Hussein’s Baathist party, both Sunni movements.


The regimes’ actions and repression caused sectarian tensions and distrust towards Sunnis. Saddam’s regime (1979-2003) was responsible for over 290,000 ‘disappearances’ and the genocide of Iraqi Kurds (Human Rights Watch), and ISIS killed over 5,000 in its genocide and tortured and killed many Iraqis during its Shariah law enforcement from 2014 to 2017. Sunni Arabs are now associated with these mass killings, regardless of their individual actions.


The negative associations have ostracised Sunnis, who are amalgamated with ISIS-supporters and divided the community. For most Sunni Moslawis, this means their human needs for esteem and belonging are met with contempt and rejection, depriving them of safety, shelter, water, and food. Identifying the causes and consequences of this denial of Sunni Muslims IDPs’ needs requires understanding the recent history of this community, from Saddam’s execution in 2003 to the reclaiming and rebuilding of Mosul since 2017.


The 2003 US Invasion of Iraq and ISIS’ Rise to Power


After the US executed Saddam Hussein in 2003, the new Iraqi state purged his party’s supporters, the Sunni Baathist party, affecting Mosul, a stronghold. This transition left thousands of Sunni Muslims jobless and without services. The Iraqi army disbandment left many armed men unemployed. The US left the country without a post-Saddam plan, leading to former soldiers forming militias and Baathist workers losing income and status, leading to a civil war from 2006 to 2009. In 2011-2013, the Arab Spring took over Sunni Mosul in protests against the government’s counter-terrorism legislation. Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) capitalized on Sunni Muslims’ grievances, leading to the birth of ISIS, sparking a second civil war from 2013 to 2017.


Surprisingly, when ISIS took Mosul in 2014, they were initially welcomed by locals. After the civil war, Sunnis were frequently arrested by government checkpoints, and the lack of local administration limited access to electricity and clean water. ISIS gained popular support by improving infrastructures, removing checkpoints, and subsidizing bread and fuel.


Organizations like AQI and ISIS promote the expansion of an extremist branch of Sunni Islam, Salafism, advocating for the enforcement of Islamic law (sharia) through armed struggle (jihad). Under ISIS’s caliphate, which expanded from North and East Syria to Northern Iraq, any behaviour opposed to sharia would be severely reprimanded. Most Sunnis in Mosul did not follow Salafism, and suffered from ISIS’s rule. As a result, ISIS rapidly lost popular support due to its extreme violence.


The Liberation of Mosul


In 2016-2017, Iraqi armed forces, Shia militias, and a US-led coalition recaptured Mosul from ISIS. Both sides committed human rights violations, killing an estimated 10,000 civilians. Violence against Sunni Muslims was intense as they were suspected of collaborating with ISIS. Identification was challenging and few citizens were granted a fair trial. Tribal law in Iraq held whole families accountable if one member was affiliated with ISIS.


This is still true for Sunni IDPs and a main reason why they fear returning. Most Sunni men have been imprisoned or executed by the armed forces, leaving mostly women and children in camps. The tribal system attributes collective guilt to the families of those accused of collaborating with ISIS, allowing other groups to revenge on these Sunni IDPs. In a cycle of violence, Yazidi militias, nearly exterminated by ISIS, also commit crimes against Sunnis who refuse to return home. Most Sunnis are displaced because they lost their sense of belonging in their home-city.


Consequences of Sunni IDPs’ Loss of their Sense of Belonging


Belonging is a basic human need that affects fu...