Compulsion in Religion

Compulsion in Religion investigates religion and politics in Saddam Hussein's Iraq as well as the roots of the religious insurgencies that erupted in Iraq following the American-led invasion in 2003. In looking at Saddam Hussein's policies in the 1990s, many have interpreted his support for state religion as evidence of a dramatic shift away from Arab nationalism toward political Islam. While Islam did play a greater role in the regime's symbols and Saddam's statements in the 1990s than it had in earlier decades, the archival records and the regime's internal documents challenge this theory.