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Religious Neutrality In 94% Muslim Iraqi
Kurdistan
19.6.2012
By Stephen Mansfield, New York Times best-selling
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Stephen Mansfield, New York Times best-selling
author. photo: urbanchristiannews.com
June 19, 2012
When Americans sent their sons and daughters to
fight in Iraq, whether they agreed with their
government's actions or not, they hoped for some
result greater than mere retribution. They did not
wish for miracles, but they did dare to hope that
when the war was over there might be opportunity for
a less militaristic, more democratic and certainly
more benign Iraq to arise and join the family of
well-intentioned nations.
We cannot know yet whether these hopes will be
fulfilled. The central government of Iraq in Baghdad
remains a scene of contention and conflict, with
heated debate over the most fundamental rights.
Americans have learned to their disappointment that
non-Muslims have been forced to flee from the South
of the country, that churches have been bombed, and
that the rights of minorities have been denied. It
is natural that many in the United States should
wonder if their sacrifices will make for a better
day anywhere in the Middle East -- but particularly
in Iraq.
On June 11, 2012, the government of Iraqi Kurdistan
gave an answer. The Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) -- which is responsible for the northern
quarter of the country, an ethnically Kurdish region
-- declared that its schools will now be religiously
neutral. This means that they will teach the great
religions of the world on an equal basis but will
not press any one religion upon students or even
make what is taught about these religions a part of
the final examinations required for graduation. This
is a profound change from the previous requirement
that Islam be preferred in the classroom and that
students master its doctrines as a requirement of
graduation. It is an astonishingly broad-mined move
by the government of a region that is 94 percent
Muslim, that is bordered by nations like Iran and
Syria, and in which an American teacher was shot and
killed just weeks ago.
Iraqi Kurdistan is now the only region in the Middle
East other than Israel in which the religions of the
world are taught on an equal basis in the public
schools but no one religion is given preference.
"This decision is a result of our Kurdish history,"
says Mariwan Naquishbandi, spokesman for the KRG's
Ministry of Religious Affairs. "Kurdish Islam is not
the Islam of Saudi Arabia or Iran. We have often
been made to suffer by those who were our Islamic
brothers. It has made us more tolerant, more able to
see the good that other religions offer to Kurdish
society."
It is an attitude that comes as a surprise to many
in the West who view all Muslims as alike -- equally
radical and equally oppressive of other religions.
The Kurds, though, are a unique people among the
nations of the Middle East. They are not Arabs but
are historically identified with the Medes, an
ancient people closely connected to Persian heritage
and culture. Most Kurds were Christians long before
they began converting to Islam in the sixth century.
In fact,www.ekurd.net
many Americans will know the Medes primarily from
the pages of the Bible. The Medes played a prominent
role in the story of the prophet Daniel, for example
and are listed among the nations present on the Day
of Pentecost, the day of the Christian Church's
birth.
Both their history and the heartrending suffering
endured at Muslim hands have made the Kurds --
already a people known for their hospitality --
particularly welcoming of other religions. Older
Kurds in Kurdistan today tell of how in 1948, when
Israel became a nation and the Kurdish Jews left
Kurdistan for their Holy Land, Muslim neighbors wept
over the loss and frequently maintained abandoned
synagogues -- in some cases for decades after -- in
honor of their departed Jewish friends
It is an openness the Kurdish government has had to
protect. When the Central Government in Baghdad
insisted upon sending its teachers to start schools
in the northern region of Kurdistan, the KRG
refused. "The religious sectors in Baghdad are
filled with religious fanatics," says Naquishbandi.
"We knew what they were trying to do. So we refused
because we are trying to achieve a more democratic
society."
Naquishbandi found the KRG's decision particularly
satisfying. He has been working on this and similar
reforms for years. As an example of the Kurdistan he
hopes for, this intense, pleasant man with a ready
laugh keeps both a Koran and a Bible on his desk. He
has gained a reputation for his fairness. When he
received complaints about an Arab evangelical pastor
in the region, a man named Pastor Yousif Matti,
Naquishbandi refused to move against the man until
he had met him. After lengthy conversation with
Matti, the official called those who complained and
said, "I will not act against this man, but perhaps
I will write something against you for condemning
him."
Over time, Matti and Naquishbandi became friends.
The official eventually accepted an invitation from
Matti to visit the United States. Along with his
brother, a general and military judge, Naquishbandi
toured parts of America, visited evangelical
churches Matti was connected to and even met with
Tennessee Congressman Marsha Blackburn in Nashville,
where the U.S.'s largest concentration of Kurds
live. "I had asked a Mullah to join us on the trip
to America," Matti says. "People in America could
not believe it, but this is how Kurdistan is
different. An evangelical pastor, an Islamic Mullah,
and two high-ranking government officials can travel
as friends to the United States. It would not be
possible for some other nation in the Middle East.
It is possible here." Matti founded and runs the
Classical School of the Medes, which will soon have
some 2500 students from all over Kurdistan.
The KRG's change in school policy regarding religion
is a stunning break from the traditions of the
region, but it is a step closer to what many
Americans have hoped for in these last years. For
Naquishbandi, it is simply what his society must do:
"This law is going to help with tolerance between
the religions. This is what Kurdistan should be."
- Stephen Mansfield is a New York Times
best-selling author best known for his
groundbreaking books on the role of religion in
history, leadership and politics. His bestsellers
have included The Faith of Barack Obama, The Faith
of George W. Bush, and The Search for God and
Guinness. Soon to be release will be his
much-anticipated exploration of Mormonism and a
fascinating study of the sixteenth U.S. president
entitled Lincoln's Battle With God. Mansfield is a
popular speaker and appears regularly on cable news
programs as a commentator on matters of faith and
culture. He lives in Nashville and Washington DC
with his wife, Beverly, an award-winning songwriter
and producer. He can be found online at
MansfieldGroup.com, at Facebook.com/MansfieldWrites
and on Twitter as @MansfieldWrites.
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