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REPORT ON TRIP TO IRAQ
(July 1st-9th, 2003)
A PIFRAS team lead by John Prabhudoss visited Iraq to gain
first hand knowledge of current political realities and plan what assistance PIFRAS can provide to help in the nation’s transition to a pluralist modern democratic country. Specifically the team’s Mission was to
meet with key religious leaders within the country to discuss the proposed Art of Governance project. The project is to be implemented by a consortium of US institutions coordinated by PIFRAS to train Iraqi
professionals and political leaders in the principles and practices of democratic functioning.
The PIFRAS team consisted of :
Mr. John Prabhudoss (Executive Director, PIFRAS)
Mr. Tracy Ammons (Member, Advisory Board, PIFRAS)
Dr. Kannarkat Verghese (Member, Board of Directors, PIFRAS)
Ms. Hali Jilani (Member, Advisory Board, PIFRAS)
Mr. Mike Mathews (Media Outreach, PIFRAS)
Ms. Gabriella Monteanu (Regional Director – Middle East, PIFRAS)
Fr. Sleiman A. Issac (Country Office – Baghdad, PIFRAS)
The team was able to establish personal contacts with the top leadership of various
Iraqi religious groups for the purpose of creating the trust, confidence and a working relationship with them.
Iraq by default is an Arab country with 96% of the population divided between the Sunni and
Shi’ah sects of Islam. There is also a strong and vibrant Christian community amounting to about 4% of the population, besides a tiny Jewish community. (Most of Iraq’s original Jewish population migrated to
Israel since 1948).
Religion is a way of life for most Iraqis.
Religion plays a pervasive role in the public and private life of most Iraqi people. Often times the distinction between the religious and political realms gets lost in the way Iraqi society organizes itself to deal with current issues.
The delegation also met academics in the University of Baghdad apart from religious and political leaders. The delegation discussed a number of issues including:
The vision that the religious leaders have for a future government in Iraq,
The chances of being able to create a modern pluralist democracy in Iraq,
The possibility of evolving a
government which would not be dominated or influenced by a particular religious sect or group,
Training of key Iraqi religious and political leaders to participate in the modern plural democratic form of
governance (The Art of Governance Program)…etc
The PIFRAS team received appreciation, and promise of
cooperation from all religious leaders, for the Art of Governance initiative.
Meeting with the Leaders of the Christian Community:
Though the Christian population is very small in number
(4% of the population) it is highly educated. Members of the community have held important positions and served the government well and in addition they enjoy high esteem in the society.
Many members of the Christian community have in the past been very effective in shaping government policies.
The team had the assistance of the Iraq Country Office Director for PIFRAS, Fr. Sleiman
Issac, in organizing meetings with the following Christian leaders who were based in and around Baghdad city.
His Holiness Mar Addai II, the Patriarchate of the Holy Apostolic Church of the East.
His Grace Mar Severius Jamil Hawa the Archbishop of the Syrian Orthodox Church,
The representative of His Grace Mathew Matooka, the Syrian Catholic Church,
The representative of His Grace Antwan Athamian, the Armenian Catholic Church,
The Most Rev. Archbishop Avak Assadourian, the Primate, Armenian Orthodox Church of Iraq.
His Grace Gewargis Sliwa, The Archbishopric of the Church of the East in Iraq.
Other Christian leaders that the team wanted to meet in Baghdad were away from the country.
It was suggested that a second meeting be organized in Baghdad in October 2003 to meet them.
The Leaders highly appreciated the initiative being taken by PIFRAS and stressed the importance of such a
program for Iraq’s emerging political and governmental institutions. The leaders also thanked the US Government for removing Saddam Hussein from power.
His Grace Gewargis Sliwa suggested a joint
meeting of all Christian religious leaders in Iraq to formally adopt and support the Art of Governance program officially. He suggested that the number of candidates trained in such program be doubled in the
beginning since a large number of people with such skills and understanding of a modern democratic way of governance would be needed to set the direction in which the government in Iraq would be headed.
Meeting with the Leaders of the Shi’ah Community:
The team met with important Shi’ah leaders in Baghdad. The Council of Shi’ah Religious Leaders expressed their gratitude and appreciation to the US
for removing Saddam Hussein from office.
The Council of Shi’ah leadership in Baghdad pledged its total support to the Art of Governance Program. Some of the top clerics confided that many of their own
family members had been
killed or kidnapped by Saddam Hussein’s regime. They expressed an interest in participating in the Art of Governance training program themselves to understand clearly its potential to promote a pluralist government in Iraq.
The Council of Shi’ah in Baghdad suggested that the PIFRAS team should meet the Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Husseini al-Sistani Hawa al-Ilmiya, the supreme leader of Shi’ah community in Iraq, who is based in
Najaf – 200 miles from Baghdad.
The Council leaders offered to accompany the team to Najaf. But due to time constraints and weather conditions it was decided that this meeting at Najaf with the Grand Ayatollah could take place in October.
The following are the names of the Council of Shi’ah leaders in Baghdad who met the team (to be completed):
Al-Sheikh Mothana Al-Maiahy
Al-Sheikh Safa Al-Lamy
Al-Saeed Mahdi Ali Al-Shawky
Al sheikh
Al Sheikh
Meeting with the Leaders of the Sunni Community:
The team was scheduled to meet Sheikh Ahmed al-Kubeizy, the leading Sunni Imam who recently returned to Iraq from exile
in the Persian Gulf countries. He had reportedly given a very strong anti-American sermon on a Friday prayer in Baghdad. Sheikh Kubeizy is the Imam of Abu Hanifa Mosque, a popular Mosque in Baghdad.
However Sheikh Kubeizy was away from Baghdad at the time and so the team was kindly received by the Sheikh Kubeizy’s personal assistant in their office. The team was informed that the Imam was to return towards the
end of the week. As the team was scheduled to leave for the US the very next day the meeting could not take place. The team is to meet with Sheikh Kubeizy in October. The officials at his office paid close
attention to the proposals of the Art of Governance program and expressed interest in supporting the participation of leaders in their community in the program.
Other important Sunni leaders are
based in Kirkuk, Erbil and other cities.
Because of the time and weather considerations the team was unable to travel to these cities and it is proposed that the October visit will be used to schedule these meetings.
Main Accomplishments of the Visit:
The PIFRAS team was able to meet the top leaders and representatives of the religious communities based in and around Baghdad.
All leaders whom
the team met expressed strong support to the Art of Governance Program.
PIFRAS was able to build personal contacts and goodwill with these leaders.
The team was able to secure
cooperation of the leaders in identifying and recruiting candidates for the program.
The possibility of starting an academic program at the University of Baghdad to monitor and provide intellectual
support to the idea of a pluralist democratic government in Iraq was discussed with a few professors.
A PIFRAS Country Office was established in Baghdad and a dedicated local Iraqi volunteer was appointed
to coordinate the program in Iraq.
A PIFRAS Regional Office for the Middle East was established in Jordan. The office will support planning and liaison functions for the Art of Governance Program.
Medical Relief Supplies:
The PIFRAS team which consisted of Dr K.P. Verghese, a medical doctor, brought general medical supplies with it to Baghdad.
The medical relief supplies were handed over to the local Red Cross hospital in Baghdad through an Iraqi Dr Faiz Nadhem. PIFRAS identified the above hospital and established communication links so that the needed medical supplies could be shipped periodically. (PIFRAS decided to send medical supplies periodically to Baghdad though it is not a relief agency. The medical supplies are sent purely as a humanitarian effort.)
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