An unwanted long weekend

AMARAH, IRAQ —  Another brief footnote to the absurdity of daily life in Iraq: On a recent Thursday, the Rafidain Bank in the southern city of Amarah was not serving customers, though employees were inside and it was not a holiday.

The reason? At that point, two weeks into military operations to restore the rule of law in an area dominated by the followers of radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr, Maysan province had not shed its outlaw status in one respect: It was the only one of Iraq’s 18 provinces that had not yielded to Baghdad’s definition of the workweek.

Under pressure from Sadr’s followers, the provincial council in the predominantly Shiite region had declared Saturday unacceptable as a day off -- because it is the Jewish Sabbath. The weekend in Maysan was officially made Thursday and Friday.

Elsewhere in Iraq the days of rest are Friday, the Islamic Sabbath, and Saturday.

As the central government began to assert its authority, the Maysan weekend became problematic for institutions such as banks that are under federal regulation. Having already shifted to a weekend that began Thursday, local institutions had to decide whether to defy the authorities in faraway Baghdad or those nearer at hand here. Adopting a prudent course, Rafidain Bank decided to serve both masters.

The bank had employees come in to work Thursdays, but did not open its doors to customers. As a consequence, its customers got a three-day weekend away from bank services, whether they wanted it or not.

It has now been a month since the beginning of Operation Herald of Peace, the central government’s military campaign to tame Amarah. If a clear sign of its success was needed, it appeared a few days ago when the Maysan council quietly capitulated to Baghdad. It ruled that Friday and Saturday would be the province’s official weekend.

Now customers will be able to do their banking Thursdays.