28 July 2007
Baghdad: The list of targeted Iraqis does not include politicians, journalists, clerics, academics or innocent Iraqi citizens present in markets and public places, but also Kunafa Nabulsiah pastry shops.
Owners of this sweet Arabic dessert, one of the most famous in Palestine, Jordan and most of the Levant, complain of threats to their lives.
Gazi, a Palestinian resident in Baghdad, said to Gulf News: "I owned a simple Kunafa Nabulsiah shop in central Baghdad for 20 years. Two months ago I had to close it because I received threatening letters. Kunafa Nabulsiah referred to my Palestinian identity. I had to find another shop in the Al Baladiat neighbourhood which includes large numbers of Palestinian refugees and is a relatively safe place."
In the 1960s, Kunafa Nabulsiah pastry shops proliferated in Baghdad, operated by the thousands of Palestinians who had fled from Palestine after the Israeli occupation in 1948.
Identity trigger
Kunafa Nabulsiah is basically semolina cooked together and packed with cheese. It won the admiration of Iraqis who love Palestine and Palestinians.
Falah Abdul Atheem, an Iraqi citizen, told Gulf News: "I do not exaggerate when I say Kunafa Nabulsiah is my most loved dessert as I love Palestine and Palestinians. It creates an atmosphere of brotherhood and love between us, yet the recent situation is different now. The Kunafa Nabulsiah indicates the Palestinians' identity in a country where identity has become a trigger for assassination and abduction."
Some Kunafa Nabulsiah pastry shop owners in Baghdad decided to change their labels from Kunafa Nabulsiah to Kunafa Al Hussaini, Kunafa Abu Ahmad, Kunafa Al Taibat or any other name other than Nabulsiah because it guarantees the life and safety of the shop owners.
Until now, conditions have not worsened to the extent that they have stopped the preparation of Kunafa, but only to change its name or hide it. Extremists are targeting the Palestinians just as they do other innocent Iraqis.
In Al Baladiat, the largest Palestinian district in Baghdad, some Iraqis often visit the neighbourhood to buy the original Kunafa Nabulsiah, proving that terrorists have not succeeded in stopping local residents from seeking their fav-ourite Palestinian sweet, especially Kunafa.
Abu Ahmad, an Iraqi Kunafa fan, said to Gulf News: "Honestly, I travel from Al Karkh in Baghdad to Al Baladiat in Al Rusafa to buy my favourite dessert, Kunafa Nabulsiah, and this becomes daily every Ramadan."
By Basil Adas
Gulf News 2007. All rights reserved.
