Q: They refer to Iraqis as "Hajjis"?

[norml]

Army reservist witnesses war crimes
New revelations about racism in the military

By Paul Rockwell
Online Journal Contributing Writer

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April 1, 2005—Aiden Delgado, an Army Reservist in the 320th Military Police Company, served in Iraq from April 1, 2003 through April 1, 2004. After spending six months in Nasiriyah in Southern Iraq, he spent six months helping to run the now-infamous Abu Ghraib prison outside of Baghdad. The handsome 23-year-old mechanic was a witness to widespread, almost daily, U.S. war crimes in Iraq. His story contains new revelations about ongoing brutality at Abu Ghraib, information yet to be reported in national media.


snip



DELGADO: There was a Master Sergeant. A Master Sergeant is one of the highest enlisted ranks. He whipped this group of Iraqi children with a steel Humvee antenna. He just lashed them with it because they were crowding around, bothering him, and he was tired of talking. Another time, a Marine, a Lance Corporal—a big guy about six-foot-two—planted a boot on a kid's chest, when a kid came up to him and asked him for a soda. The First Sergeant said, "That won't be necessary Lance Corporal." And that was the end of that. It was a matter of routine for guys in my unit to drive by in a Humvee and shatter bottles over Iraqis heads as they went by. And these were guys I considered friends. And I told them: "What the hell are you doing? What does that accomplish?" One said back: "I hate being here. I hate looking at them. I hate being surrounded by all these Hajjis."

Q: They refer to Iraqis as "Hajjis"?

DELGADO: "Hajji" is the new slur, the new ethnic slur for Arabs and Muslims. It is used extensively in the military. The Arabic word refers to one who has gone on a pilgrimage to Mecca. But it is used in the military with the same kind of connotation as "gook," "Charlie," or the n-word. Official Army documents now use it in reference to Iraqis or Arabs. It's real common. There was really a thick aura of racism.



snip



http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/040105Rockwell/040105rockwell.html

[jpgray]

1. I doubt it comes from the Arabic--more likely Johnny Quest (nt)

[thedevilinthedetails]

2. No, it is an Arabic term,

The "Haj" is the pilgramige to Mecca

[jpgray]

4. You've misunderstood--I'm not denying it's an Arabic word

But I doubt that's where the soldiers got it from.

[thedevilinthedetails]

5. Ok, I see what you are saying

I am not familar with Johnny Quest really and certainly didn't know about his sidekick that you are referring to.

Link here backing up your point:

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:u4EmtuEq894J:hnn.us/roundup/entries/4609.html+johnny+quest+Hajjis&hl=en&client=firefox-a

Yeah, your probably right :D

[jpgray]

6. Welcome to DU, by the way!

:toast:

That they would base such slang on the holy pilgrimage just seemed a little too bizarrely respectful to me. :D

[norml]

7. Haji, from Jonny Quest

[Swamp Rat]

3. That was my first impression too. n/t

[norml]

8. Some search results for "Hajjis Iraqis"

"Hajjis" and Exploding Body Armor
... "Hajjis" and Exploding Body Armor. More information is surfacing about the
... in the wedge driven between the US forces and the Iraqis in the Guard. ...
www.antiwar.com/blog/comments.php?id=1562_0_1_0_C - 16k - Cached - Similar pages

Tom Moody - Miscellaneous Posts
... Iraqis, friend or foe, are called hajjis. Kuwaitis are called hajjis.
Even people brought in by civilian contractors to work in mess halls or drive ...
www.digitalmediatree.com/tommoody/miscellaneous/?23820 - 7k - Cached - Similar pages

UnFairWitness: "Hajjis" and Exploding Body Armor
... but in the wedge driven between the US forces and the Iraqis in the Guard.
... Listed below are links to weblogs that reference "Hajjis" and Exploding ...
ancapistan.typepad.com/unfairwitness/ 2004/12/hajjis_and_expl.html - 40k - Cached - Similar pages

DMCS Military News
... to Mecca and we had 70000 Hajjis pass through our AO without much incident.
... there to help if needed and show the Iraqis that Marines where around. ...
www.dmcs.org/dmcsmilitarynews.htm - 17k - Cached - Similar pages

Occupation Watch: Iraqis Report a Variety of Complaints About ...
... The returning pilgrims, or hajjis, who had complained flew into the ... Mr.
Salih, the deputy prime minister, said that some 33000 Iraqis all told had ...
www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=9069 - 20k - Cached - Similar pages

Colin's Adventure in Iraq
... Colin: So all Hajjis are Iraqis, but not all Iraqis are Hajjis? Ensemble: Right.
Actually, that’s not too far from something I heard on the BBC World ...
colinjudge.blogspot.com/ 2004_12_01_colinjudge_archive.html - 66k - Cached - Similar pages

MSNBC - ‘Lord ... Just Help Us Kill ‘Em’
... The troops now refer to Iraqis as “Hajjis”—in the Arab world, this is a term
of respect for those who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca, ...
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3339592/site/newsweek/ - 51k - Cached - Similar pages

Oregonlive.com: Search
... Typically, the soldiers referred to most Iraqis as "hajjis," an Arabic word
that roughly translates to "pilgrims." All of the other soldiers who talked ...
www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/ base/front_page/110277020069150.xml?oregonian?fpfp - 38k - Cached - Similar pages

Iraqis Report a Variety of Complaints About Irregularities on ...
... From the center, the hajjis were taking buses to their cities across ... Mr.
Salih, the deputy prime minister, said that some 33000 Iraqis all told had ...
www.christiansofiraq.com/Newyork%20.html - 50k - Cached - Similar pages

eXile - Issue #184 - Kino Korner - Bring Back Sherman! - By Mark Ames
... In fact, yeah, they're a lot like Iraqis. The Confederates ululate with their
tongues like Hajjis, they fire into the air like Hajjis, ...
www.exile.ru/2004-February-19/kino_korner.html - 28k - Cached - Similar pages

[davepc]

9. Charlie, Kraut, Jap, etc etc

the enemy always gets a nickname