To begin my story, you need to know that in Iraq we call the sunflower “Abbad Al-Shams.” Translated to English it means “sun worshiper.” 
We ate Abbad Al-Shams seeds, and we used its oil for cooking. We studied the fields of these flowers in Geography, and we learned how to grow them in our gardening classes. 
We had no other name for the yellow beauties that bent their heads towards the sun as if they were worshiping it until the day the name has been changed by a presidential decree. 

It was after the war of 1991 and during the times of the embargo, poverty, and mass depression when a meeting was broadcasted on TV. 
The recording showed the former president Saddam Husain receiving a group of people, mostly men. I do not remember if his guests were representatives from the agricultural or religious field, or maybe they were members of the Revolutionary Command Council. 

Anyway, they talked, and their conversation went from politics to religion and ended up with the sunflower. 
“Abbad Al-Shams, what a name!” The president said to his fellows. 
“Only God can be worshipped, right?” 
The guests agreed by clapping and were very enthusiastic about his remark. They continued discussing this topic as if it was the only problem left in Iraq to be solved.  

At the end of this meeting, the sun worshiper lost its name and was renamed to “Zahrat Al Shams” (translated to English “sun flower”). 

If this event was observed alone, it could have been funny. To see so many important men in suits and uniforms discussing the “sinful” name of a yellow flower and releasing a decree to rename it.  

Now, when I look back and see the big picture, I know that it was not a random event. It was one of many actions set by the government after 1991 to drive the Iraqi society into extreme religiosity.  

In Iraq, a country that is the home of more than 5 religions, divided into several confessional groups, religion in the wrong hands is a dangerous weapon.  

Keeping the people obedient by connecting the love and fear of God with the submissiveness to the leaders is a path that all Iraqi governments followed and are still following since then.