A new explosion of proletarian discontent in the first ten days of September raised the already high social temperature in southern Iraq. The violent mass demonstrations that took place in the important city of Basra assumed a clearly economic character from the start, escaping the control of the political and religious apparatus.

With local unemployment exceeding 25% (compared with 20% nationally), the last straw was the salty, foul water in the water mains, which has caused the hospitalization of about 30,000 inhabitants. Proletarians rose in revolt. Overwhelmingly young Iraqis poured into Basra’s streets and squares in the first days of September. Then on September 6 and 7 the clashes became even bloodier: the demonstrators attacked and set on fire the seats of government parties, militias allied with Iran and their television stations, while the police fired on unarmed protesters causing numerous deaths: at least 15 and dozens injured.

As various observers have explained, apart from the extreme poverty of most of the population, the causes of social instability and of this wave of protests (which are the natural continuation of protests that took place last July) include the demobilization of young service-people who now find themselves without sustenance.

But there is a factor that seems to give the protest a character that is unprecedented in the Middle Eastern over the past two decades: the demonstrators have not channeled their discontent into religious obscurantism, which has played such an important role in the political life of the country. This situation has been confirmed by many parties, including the Washington Post. “In this context, it makes little sense to understand Basra’s protests through the sectarian lens popular with external observers [...] “Popular sectarian allegiances are receding in Iraq.”

The message delivered by the protesters against the Shiite leadership linked to Iran has also taken on “troubling” and “unacceptable” forms for the component led by Moqtada al-Sadr, which wants to free Iraq from the hegemony of its powerful neighbor. To mock the pro-Iranian militias, protesters even carried photos of Mia Khalifa, a Lebanese porn star of Catholic background and now a naturalized American. She has been used by Hezbollah as a symbol of eternal damnation. Slogans written on the placards stated that she deserved more respect than local politicians.

No cleric, of any faith, will stop the resurgence of the class struggle, which is driven by the unbearable living conditions to which workers of all countries are condemned by the bourgeoisie.

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