Yasmina Khadra 

is the pen name of the Algerian author Mohammed Moulessehoul (born

January 10, 1955). The Sirens of Baghdad was written in 2006 and completes trilogy of novels
about Islamic fundamentalism (the other two are “The Swallows of Kabul” and “The Attack”).
The book “The Sirens of Baghdad” is set in Iraq after the second gulf war.

The Sirens of Baghdad is told through the eyes of a nameless narrator who is a Bedouin, from
Kafr Karam, a village lost in the sands of the Iraqi desert. As the novel begins he is in Beirut, for
reasons that are described as the story moves forward. The story is told in a series of flash backs.
The first being the narrator describes the wartime deterioration of life in Kafr Karam. And the
events that eventually pushed him to take the journey which takes him to Baghdad and Beirut,
finally to “the most important revolutionary mission undertaken since man learned to stiffen his
spine!” that will take him to London.

The book takes a look at violence and its effects on ordinary people in war torn country of Iraq.
And at the same time showing why the Americans still haven’t been able to “liberate” Iraq and
its people, even though they have won the war.

The nameless narrator is a trusting, open-minded soul who absorbs the violence around him.
Though the narrator isn’t living in an ideal situation but still it doesn’t justify his turn to violence.
The narrator can be said to be a coward as he is unable to bear the brunt of life and looks up to
violence to liberate him. But at the end, the beauty of life around him touches his conscious and
finally he gets his redemption.

"He is a monster, yes, but he was our monster" one of the character, from the book, describes
Saddam Hussain, "Look what they’ve done to our country: hell on earth," he adds. 

This is what the West has been turning a blind eye to; the real problem. Instead of willing to
shoulder their share of blame for creating these people or at least the circumstances that allows
them to exist, they find it convenient to blame it on their religion. Until they are willing to accept
the responsibility for the part they have played, the violence and the people who perpetuate their
own version of Islam will continue to grow in strength.