When a Shiite cleric on Al‑Forat TV declared the popular game of dominoes religiously forbidden according to Grand Ayatollah Ali al‑Sistani, a seemingly simple question turned into a public controversy. The televised fatwa spilled onto Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, where Iraqis fiercely debated the limits of religious authority over everyday leisure and the soft pressures shaping cultural freedom.
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I work carefully and imperceptibly below the surface when it comes to freedom of artistic expression. Deep down I stand by those who want to break it but remind them of realities above the surface. At the same time, the water becomes shallower. This is my duty as a producer.
(Faisal Kiwewa, Bayimba, Uganda.)
