Sitting at the heart of the Middle East – where ancient hatreds are again driving war across the region – Iraq is taking an extraordinary step to quell such hatred. In an agreement with the United Nations in July, it formally decided to conduct a population census without asking Iraqis to identify themselves by religious sect or ethnicity – “to avoid any division within the society,” the government stated.

The move was endorsed by Iraq’s highest court earlier this year. It reflects a rising sentiment among Iraqis to be treated as individual citizens after decades of violent conflicts driven by ethnic and sectarian stigmas.

A survey of Iraqis in 2022 found that fewer than a third feel they experience social and economic equality. In 2019, mass youth-led protests took aim at Iraq’s democratic power structure in which top positions are divvied out to Sunnis, Shiites, or Kurds, creating an inherently corrupt system of patronage. “Yazidis, Sunnis, Christians, we are all here to just be real Iraqis and support each other for freedom and for a good life,” said one protester.