Can Iraq's geeks save the country?

By Tim Hume, for CNN

Updated 1747 GMT (0147 HKT) January 29, 2013

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Bilal Ghalib, an Iraqi-American advocate for hackerspaces in the Middle East, told CNN he wants to see "A thousand hackerspaces from Turkey to Morocco." Here, he demonstrates new equipment to members of Fikra Space, Baghdad's first hackerspace.
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Fikra Space: Iraq's hackerspace – Bilal Ghalib, an Iraqi-American advocate for hackerspaces in the Middle East, told CNN he wants to see "A thousand hackerspaces from Turkey to Morocco." Here, he demonstrates new equipment to members of Fikra Space, Baghdad's first hackerspace.
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Fikra Space member Mujtaba Zuhair experiments with some open-source technology at Baghdad's first hackerspace.
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Fikra Space: Iraq's hackerspace – Fikra Space member Mujtaba Zuhair experiments with some open-source technology at Baghdad's first hackerspace.
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Bilal Ghalib, an advocate of hackerspaces in the Middle East, models a 3D printer to members of Fikra Space.
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Fikra Space: Iraq's hackerspace – Bilal Ghalib, an advocate of hackerspaces in the Middle East, models a 3D printer to members of Fikra Space.
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Fikra Space members experiment with Google Maps in a Baghdad park.
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Fikra Space: Iraq's hackerspace – Fikra Space members experiment with Google Maps in a Baghdad park.
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Story highlights

  • Hackerspaces have begun operating in Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East
  • Hackerspaces are open-access laboratories intended to promote entrepreneurship
  • Its members hope to generate tech solutions to some of the problems facing Iraqis
Politicians, generals and clerics have all played their part in shaping the new Iraq, with varying results.