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In a Sunni Quarter, A Day of Emotion
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"Sectarianism," volunteered Alwan, who said he was detained by U.S. forces in southern Iraq during January's vote for the National Assembly.
"Stealing our resources and losing our rights," said another friend, Suheib Muhi.
"At the basis, it's the occupation," Ali said.
"And those who serve it," Alwan added.
Their sentiments were not universal Saturday. Qusay Abdel-Rahman carried his 3-year-old daughter, Nour, to the polling station. He would vote "yes," he said, "to guarantee the rights of the Iraqi people." A young woman who declined to give her name, conscious of the anti-constitution sentiments around her, said she too would endorse it. "I'm happy with the new people," she said quietly.
But more common was the mood of Ali Sami, a 33-year-old pushed in his wheelchair past a checkpoint.
"Why would I say yes?" he asked.
To Sunni Muslims, Adhamiyah's resonance is both modern and ancient. It houses the venerated Abu Hanifa mosque, where its namesake was buried in the 8th century after laying the foundation of one of Sunni Islam's most important schools of law. The mosque complex -- minarets, clock tower and brick walls bordered in turquoise -- still serves as a spiritual center of the community.
It was near there that Hussein made his last public appearance, atop a car in the waning days of the U.S. invasion in April 2003. For days, as the rest of the capital celebrated his fall and descended into chaos, his militiamen and soldiers fought on against U.S. troops. Graffiti hints at sentiments that persist: "Long live the resistance of Adhamiyah!"
"We wish that Saddam would return. Really, we wish," said Shaker Mahmoud, 47, waiting in a line of voters in the girls school's courtyard. His anger seemed to grow with each phrase. "If he did, we'd slaughter sheep and camels for him."
His friends looked down, perhaps a little embarrassed, and he turned more reflective.
"It's not an issue of Saddam," the stocky, unshaven Mahmoud said a few moments later, his words slowing. "Saddam is gone. It's a national issue. As Iraqis, as people of Adhamiyah, we are united, we have one word, one voice. As Iraqi people, we can't recognize this document. There are so many mistakes in the constitution. There are paragraphs in it that will destroy Iraq."
