Saddam trial provokes Arab debate

By Jon Leyne
BBC News, Amman

Many in the Arab world feel ambivalent about the trial

It would be nice to paint a picture of Arabs across the Middle East watching Saddam Hussein's trial on television as they sit in smoke-filled cafes, tending to their water pipes.

But in the Islamic world, this is the holy month of Ramadan, and the cafes are empty during the day as observant Muslims refrain from smoking, eating or drinking in the daytime.

Still, almost everyone here in Jordan saw or heard about what went on during the first day of the former Iraqi leader's trial in Iraq.

As they broke the Ramadan fast at the Zad al-Khair restaurant in the capital, Amman, diners gave their reactions.

"You know that all people here in Jordan love Saddam," explained one Jordanian of Palestinian origin.

"All people here are looking at this as a show trial."

Saddam Hussein won support among Palestinians for his championing of their cause, he pointed out.

He did not mention what everyone here also knows - that most Jordanians are Sunni Muslims, like the former Iraqi leader.

Unease

Ibrahim Alloush, an economics professor and political activist, is an open supporter of the insurgency in Iraq - or resistance, as he describes it.

"Saddam Hussein, whether you agree or disagree with his politics, is still considered by many on the Arab street today not only as the legitimate president of Iraq that was deposed by a foreign occupation, but as an Arab national hero," he argued.

Some Jordanians paint a different picture of the former Iraqi leader

To speak to Mr Alloush is to see things from exactly the opposite perspective from the West, to visit an alternative universe in which Saddam Hussein is the good guy, and Britain and the US are the villains.

For every one of the former Iraqi leader's alleged crimes, he had an explanation.

"Most of the allegations have been trumped up for political purposes," he claimed.

"Had Saddam been willing to go along with what the Americans wanted, like [Libyan leader Colonel Muammar] Gaddafi is now doing and many other Arab rulers, I seriously doubt whether this trial would have taken place."

Not everyone here is quite so charitable.

As another diner in Amman put it: "Most of those in the Arab world believe he is guilty, but do not feel the way it has been dealt with is proper."

'Dignity'

In fact, many people in the Middle East quietly support the idea of bringing their leaders to account, though few openly voice such dangerous sentiments.

But whatever Arabs think of Saddam Hussein and his crimes, they are deeply sceptical of US intentions.

At the home of one family of liberal, middle-class Jordanians I visited, almost everyone doubted that Saddam Hussein would get a fair trial, even though none had any sympathy for him.

The unprecedented event has dominated the media

And in the Arab world, the issue of pride always has a prominent place.

"For the dignity of Arabs, a leader should not be tried in that way, especially under the occupation," argued one Iraqi exile living in Jordan.

"How would you feel if Queen Elizabeth was tried by an Iraqi?"

Nevertheless, what is fascinating about the trial of Saddam Hussein is the debate it has provoked.

Usually in Jordan, to interview ordinary people in the streets or in restaurants is to invite a barrage of obligatory cynicism.

Everything is an Israeli or US plot, doomed to disaster.

This time at least, some Jordanians are intrigued by the idea of Saddam Hussein's trial, even if very few trust the way it is being carried out.