Salafi The terms Salafi and Wahhabi are often used interchangeably. Salafis also take the example of the rule of the Prophet Mohammed and the early Caliphates as the template for observance and decry any innovation or modern interpretations of Islam. Modern politics, for example, are a distraction from the true path of Sharia (or Koranic) law.
Imam A religious leader or preacher, most likely Sunni.
Mullah A Shia religious leader or preacher.
Sheikh Confusingly the world Sheikh can refer either to a religious leader or to a tribal leader.
Acknowledgments
WHEN PEOPLE LEARN THAT I HAVE SPENT A lot of time in Iraq and the Middle East they often cock their heads to one side and say, “Really, but for a woman, a blonde one…isn’t it, well, a bit—” The simple answer is no. In Iraq no one ever harassed me or threatened me personally or showed me any disrespect. On the contrary, in difficult and violent circumstances; in the circumstances of an occupation for which (by virtue of my half American–half Brit nationality) both my governments were responsible, I never received anything but the most gracious hospitality. Iraqis helped me, fed me, talked to me, took me into their homes and, most important, patiently explained their lives and their experiences.
For finding and translating these experiences I am indebted to several Iraqis in several countries, who must, in these dangerous times, remain on a first name basis only:
Othello (first day on the job, I said: “Let’s go to Abu Ghraib!” Can’t believe you stuck with me for six months), Salih (very patient with the absurdity of me holding a pink umbrella against the Baghdad August sun), Mona (incomparable, indomitable, simply the best), Mahmoud (truly above and beyond…), Maher (short, but very effective), Ahlam (I hope, I hope, you got out of Seyda Zeinab and to America) and Sirwan (the great picnic organizer).
The support of friends and colleagues and comrades-in-car-bombs is sometimes the greatest solace for the loneliness of the long distance correspondent: For all those conversations, bottles of wine and evenings; floors to sleep on, advice and difficult roads traveled together: Jon Lee Anderson, Michael Goldfarb, Omar Abdul Qadr, Molly Bingham and Steve Connors, Abdul Rahman Al Jobouri, Dan Murphy, Jill Carroll, Rory McCarthy and Juliette von Seibold, Sean Langan, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, George Packer, Matt McAllester, Patrick Bishop, Patrick Cockburn, Adrien Jaulmes, Charlie Glass, Damien Quinn, Lina Sinjab, Khalid Oweis, Malika Browne, Ramsay Al Rikabi, Deb Amos, Kate Brooks, Maen Abdul Salam and Aliya Mawani, Oliver August, Hassan Fattah, Janine Di Giovanni, Viyan Sherif and Katherine Zoepf.
I would also like to thank the International Crisis Group who write the best reports on Iraq and whose towers of experience and knowledge were invaluable to me: Joost Hiltermann and Peter Harling were especially kind and helpful to me.
Finally thank you to my Beirut family: Lina Saidi, Nadim Mallat, Jeroen Kramer, Ferry Biedermann, Emilie Seuer and especially especially Imma home from home and to those in Paris who kept me going through long winter paragraphs, in particular Mounir Fatmi and Blaire Dessent and Robert Hudson. And to my dad, who always picks me up from the airport, tells me not to worry too much about having a proper job and who bought me a new laptop when mine got fried by Lebanese electrical surges.
About the Author
WENDELL STEAVENSON is the author of the acclaimed memoir Stories I Stole. She has lived in and reported from post-Soviet Georgia, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. Her work has appeared in the London Observer, the Telegraph, Prospect magazine, the Financial Times, Slate, Granta, the New Yorker, and Time. She lives in Paris.
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Also by Wendell Steavenson
Stories I Stole
Credits
Jacket design by Julie Jenkins
Cover photograph © Ziyah Gafic/Getty Images
Photograph of Wendell Steavenson by Ghaith Abdul Ahad
Copyright
THE WEIGHT OF A MUSTARD SEED. Copyright © 2009 by Wendell Steavenson. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition FEBRUARY 2009 ISBN: 9780061871702
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