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Baghdad: In a Baghdad arena, a crowd cheers to the rhythm of drums, not for a football match but for a fiery centuries-old game enjoyed by Iraqis during Ramadan called “mheibes.”
“It’s a heritage game, the game of our ancestors, which unites all Iraqis,” said Jassem Al-Aswad, a longtime mheibes champion in his early seventies and now president of the game’s national federation.
The game involves members of one team hiding a ring — “mehbis” in Arabic — and the captain of the opposing team trying to guess who has it in the palm of his hand.
And he has to do so within 10 minutes.
Played during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the game first appeared as early as the 16th century in Ottoman-era Baghdad, according to Iraqi folklore expert Adel Al-Ardawi.
More than 500 fans and players gathered in the stands and on the field for two matches: the Baghdad neighborhood of Kadhimiya against the southern city of Nasiriyah, and the capital’s Al-Mashtal district versus a team from the port city of Basra.
Everyone watched as the 40 players on one team huddled together under a blanket to avoid prying eyes, and decided who would hide the “mehbis” or signet ring worn by many Iraqi men.
Sitting on the ground or on chairs, the members of the team hiding the ring then adopted serious expressions. Some closed their eyes, while others crossed their arms or even clenched their fists.
The rival team captain carefully read these facial expressions and body language to try and guess who had the ring — before pronouncing the verdict.
When the first team failed to guess correctly, the other team scored a point and the crowd went wild.
'It’s in our blood'
“Iraqis love football the most, but mheibes comes a close second. It’s in our blood,” Kadhimiya captain Baqer Al-Kazimi told AFP.
The clean-shaven 51-year-old, who wears a black robe called a jellaba, said he inherited his love of the game from his father.
Though mheibes was impacted during decades of conflict, including at the peak of the sectarian war between 2006 and 2008 marked by suicide attacks and kidnappings, Kazimi said he and others continued playing even during those dark years.
He said that only the coronavirus pandemic forced players to put their hobby on hold.
“Despite the sectarian violence, we played in cafes,” he said, recalling one game between players from the Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya and those from Kadhimiya, a predominantly Shiite area.
The two districts were separated by a bridge that had been closed for years because of the violence.
“We played on the bridge. Sunnis and Shiites met,” he said.
Ahmed Maala from Basra recalled a game with a team from Baghdad that lasted all night.
“I learned the game by playing with friends and family,” he said.
“Mheibes will go down in history for its very large fan base throughout Iraq.”
Passion for the game runs so deep that sometimes arguments erupt among players, even escalating into physical violence.
In a country with nearly 400 teams, annual competitions see players from across the nation competing against each other, with 10 teams qualifying in Baghdad alone to represent the city’s different neighborhoods.
Mheibes champion Aswad said he hopes the game will one day expand beyond Iraq’s borders.
“Just as Brazil popularised football, we will transmit this game to the whole world,” he said.

TORONTO: New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will run in an Ottawa area district as he seeks to join Parliament for the first time, the Liberal Party announced Saturday, a day before Carney triggers an early general election before a vote on April 28.
The election will take place against the backdrop of a trade war and sovereignty threats from US President Donald Trump.
The Liberal Party said Carney will run to represent the suburban Ottawa area of Nepean, noting in a social media post that Ottawa is where he raised his family and devoted his career to public service. He previously served as the head of Canada’s central bank and before that its deputy.
The election campaign for 343 seats or districts in the House of Commons will last 37 days.
The party that commands a majority in the House of Commons, either alone or with the support of another party, will form the next government and its leader will be prime minister.
Carney replaced Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January, but remained in power until the Liberal Party elected a new leader on March 9 following a leadership race by the governing party.
Carney, sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister on March 14, has said the government in a time of crisis needs a strong and clear mandate.
The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared a trade war. Trump has repeatedly said that Canada should become the 51st US state and he acknowledged Friday that he has upended Canadian politics.
What Trump hasn’t said is that the almost daily attacks on Canada’s sovereignty have infuriated Canadians. That has led to a surge in Canadian nationalism that has bolstered Liberal poll numbers.
The opposition Conservatives hoped to make the election about Trudeau, whose popularity declined as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged. But after decades of bilateral stability, the vote is now is expected to focus on who is best equipped to deal with Trump.
Trump put 25 percent tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products — as well as all of America’s trading partners — on April 2.
Carney still hasn’t had a phone call with Trump and that might not happen now until after the election. Trump mocked Trudeau by calling him governor, but he has not yet mentioned Carney’s name.
Carney, 60, was the head of the Bank of Canada during the 2008 financial crisis. In 2013, he became the first noncitizen of the United Kingdom to run the Bank of England — helping to manage the impact of Brexit.
Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservatives, is Carney’s main challenger. The party and Poilievre were heading for a huge victory in Canada’s federal election this year until Trump’s near-daily trade and annexation threats derailed them.
Poilievre, 45, for years the party’s go-to attack dog, is a career politician and firebrand populist who says he will put “Canada first.” He attacks the mainstream media and vows to defund Canada’s public broadcaster. His party announced that it won’t allow media onboard his campaign buses and planes.