Iraqi protesters storm Parliament demanding end to corruption
Lesson Brief
CNN Arabic
On April 30, Iraqi protesters flooded into the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad and stormed the Iraqi parliament to protest what they see as large scale corruption and called for an end to sectarian quotas. While the protests were largely peaceful, one Iraqi lawmaker was attack and government property was damaged or destroyed. According to media sources, the majority of the protesters were supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr, who has played a central role in the political chaos gripping the country. Iraqi security forces ultimately regained control of the parliament and were instructed to peacefully disperse the protests. This set features critical Arabic political vocabulary and many of the flashcards contain conjugated verbs and phrases, which are useful to implement into your own Arabic discussions on the situation in Baghdad.
Additional Vocabulary:
أعلن ، يعلن | to announce | كافة الشركاء | all partners |
إثر | following | القيادات الجماهيرية | (roughly) the leaders of the masses |
تشكيل الحكومة | forming a government | سمح ، يسمح | to allow, permit |
شعبنا الكريم | our honorable people | ما يهمنا | what concerns us |
العودة إلى | returning to | متحدث | spokesperson |
الممتلكات الخاصة | private property | بموجب | in accordance with |
طالب ، يطالب | to demand | للتظاهر | for demonstration, protest |
في الوقت نفسه | at the same time | سلميتها | its peacefulness |
الممتلكات العامة | public property | مؤسسات الدولة | state institutions |
مر به ، يمر به | to pass through | في مقدمتها | at the head of it |
Click and Match
- abiding by, committing to
- الالتزام به
- postponing
- تأجيل
- to rage
- ُعَصَفَ ، يَعْصِف
- has been buried
- َدُفِن
- guiding the protesters
- ترشيد المتظاهرين
- to call for
- اِسْتَدْعَى ، يَسْتَدْعِي
- sectarian (f)
- الطائفية
- quota-party system
- نظام المحاصصة الحزبية
- serious trouble
- مأزق خطير
- to harm our beloved Iraq
- ضَرَّعراقنا الحبيب ، يَضُرّعراقنا الحبيب