.The Mayors of Iraq and Newark
The mayors dressed as mayors do. Newark's Cory Booker and the chief executives of two Iraqi cities were all in suits and ties. Mayor Booker looked directly at the Iraqi men and spoke of cutting violence in his city. They listened through a translator. "We built coalitions," he said. "We had clergy riding patrols with the police. We improved our parks. And so far we've reduced violence in Newark by 40%. "
The Iraqis listened through a translator, their faces lit with awe, surprise, admiration and maybe a touch of skepticism. Was it being in the United States for the first time and hearing a black American mayor address them with such courtesy and earnestness? Was it seeing the battles they had in common to fight? Was it in part integrating Booker's experience with his idealism?
Booker and the Iraqi delegates were guests on April 1 of the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University (http://diplomacy.shu.edu). The Whitehead School seeks to "foster global dialogue" on its South Orange campus. Great Britain's Tony Blair was a recent guest. Iran's president Mohammad Khatemi visited on November 2, 2001. These were nine Iraqi men, the mayors and seven clerics, from the Anbar Province - one of Iraq's largest. It is west of the capital, Baghdad, and borders Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The delegates were participating in a U.S. Department of State-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program (http://exchanges.state.gov).
The theme of the Whitehead School program was "Bringing Peace to Iraq through Interfaith Dialogue." The morning's discussion began with "Opportunities of Interfaith Dialogue," and included the Iraqi delegation and American Catholics, Protestants, and Jews from academia and the clergy. Dr. David Little of Harvard's Divinity School, Rabbi Alan Brill of Seton Hall's Graduate Department of Jewish-Christian Studies, and Rev. Monsignor Robert Wister of the Whitehead School were among the panelists.
Their overview of interfaith efforts in the USA was answered by assurances from the Iraqi delegation that minority faith communities have been respected in Iraq historically and by Islamic mandate. "People of all faiths helped build Iraq after World War One," one of the delegates reminded the audience. (We are not identifying them for their security.) Sectarian violence -- that is conflict between Sunni and Shiite Iraqis-- is instigated by foreigners who'd like to see a weak and divided Iraq, delegates said. Iraqis, they emphasized, have never held sectarian grudges. The battle between Muslims is anathema to them. "There is no internal religious breach," said a professor of Islamic law. "Rather, outsiders are causing the trouble." More than one delegate referred to Al Qaeda, noting that there had been no Al Qaeda in Iraq before the American intervention of 2003.
The second panel of the day was discussion between the Iraqi delegation, Mayor Booker, and his senior advisor, W. Deen Shareef. Newark was to be a case study: "Employing Interfaith Dialogue to Make Public Policy." Shareef, a retired executive from Nabisco-Kraft, is also an Imam, or Muslim prayer leader, with an active congregation in Irvington. His Newark portfolio includes economic development.
As is true with many panels centered on heady themes, this one veered in another direction, a path that needed treading before interfaith could elbow its way to the pavement, the path of violence. Violence is prevalent on the streets of Newark and is all-too familiar to leaders and citizens in Iraq. Responding to Cory Booker's opening reflections, one of the mayors recalled that when he came into office two-and-a-half years ago he had to act more like a general than a civil servant. Chaos reigned. "Since 2003, when you become mayor of an Iraqi city you need to create an entire government structure," one of them told Mayor Booker, who at least had an existing structure, however impaired, with which to begin. "We would leave our office and walk among decapitated bodies that we couldn't even bury. " He paused. "How do you set priorities?"
Booker was somber. He couldn't compare the violence of Newark to that faced by his Arab counterparts. The audience stilled itself, too.
"But now," said one of the mayors, "farmers are going back to their fields. We built six schools and four hospitals. We got support from the national government for machinery and to repave our roads."
Parks may be on the horizon.
When I visited Iraq with my family 30 years ago we delighted in the green of the parks along the riverbanks, cool in the evening, bringing relief from relentless summer heat. My grandmother lived in a neighborhood of Baghdad at the time. The museums were intact and overflowing with artifacts of historic human ingenuity. The call to prayer was sung from the minarets of gilded mosques; booksellers and craftspeople lined the souks. Hot, sweet tea was a staple, and so were fresh cucumbers, lightly salted, with yogurt.
I ache for the trials of today's Iraqi citizens: utterly innocent of the attacks on America and paying the ultimate price.
The mayors from Iraq told Cory Booker that when they came into office their families virtually went into hiding. Booker, who wryly noted that he didn't yet have a family, appreciated that few American leaders ever have to worry about the safety of their families as a consequence of stepping into the public sphere. He shared the story of the battle of Bunker Hill. A determined patriot defense kept the stronger British forces at bay but finally lost. The British commander, writing about the confrontation later noted that although they'd won the battle, a few more victories like that would lose them the war. "You," Booker said to the Iraqi delegation, "are the people who are building a new nation. You will be the heroes that your grandchildren point to."
The delegates breathed deeply. Then they asked about a sister-city relationship with Newark.
NJ.com
The Iraqis listened through a translator, their faces lit with awe, surprise, admiration and maybe a touch of skepticism. Was it being in the United States for the first time and hearing a black American mayor address them with such courtesy and earnestness? Was it seeing the battles they had in common to fight? Was it in part integrating Booker's experience with his idealism?
Booker and the Iraqi delegates were guests on April 1 of the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University (http://diplomacy.shu.edu). The Whitehead School seeks to "foster global dialogue" on its South Orange campus. Great Britain's Tony Blair was a recent guest. Iran's president Mohammad Khatemi visited on November 2, 2001. These were nine Iraqi men, the mayors and seven clerics, from the Anbar Province - one of Iraq's largest. It is west of the capital, Baghdad, and borders Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The delegates were participating in a U.S. Department of State-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program (http://exchanges.state.gov).
The theme of the Whitehead School program was "Bringing Peace to Iraq through Interfaith Dialogue." The morning's discussion began with "Opportunities of Interfaith Dialogue," and included the Iraqi delegation and American Catholics, Protestants, and Jews from academia and the clergy. Dr. David Little of Harvard's Divinity School, Rabbi Alan Brill of Seton Hall's Graduate Department of Jewish-Christian Studies, and Rev. Monsignor Robert Wister of the Whitehead School were among the panelists.
Their overview of interfaith efforts in the USA was answered by assurances from the Iraqi delegation that minority faith communities have been respected in Iraq historically and by Islamic mandate. "People of all faiths helped build Iraq after World War One," one of the delegates reminded the audience. (We are not identifying them for their security.) Sectarian violence -- that is conflict between Sunni and Shiite Iraqis-- is instigated by foreigners who'd like to see a weak and divided Iraq, delegates said. Iraqis, they emphasized, have never held sectarian grudges. The battle between Muslims is anathema to them. "There is no internal religious breach," said a professor of Islamic law. "Rather, outsiders are causing the trouble." More than one delegate referred to Al Qaeda, noting that there had been no Al Qaeda in Iraq before the American intervention of 2003.
The second panel of the day was discussion between the Iraqi delegation, Mayor Booker, and his senior advisor, W. Deen Shareef. Newark was to be a case study: "Employing Interfaith Dialogue to Make Public Policy." Shareef, a retired executive from Nabisco-Kraft, is also an Imam, or Muslim prayer leader, with an active congregation in Irvington. His Newark portfolio includes economic development.
As is true with many panels centered on heady themes, this one veered in another direction, a path that needed treading before interfaith could elbow its way to the pavement, the path of violence. Violence is prevalent on the streets of Newark and is all-too familiar to leaders and citizens in Iraq. Responding to Cory Booker's opening reflections, one of the mayors recalled that when he came into office two-and-a-half years ago he had to act more like a general than a civil servant. Chaos reigned. "Since 2003, when you become mayor of an Iraqi city you need to create an entire government structure," one of them told Mayor Booker, who at least had an existing structure, however impaired, with which to begin. "We would leave our office and walk among decapitated bodies that we couldn't even bury. " He paused. "How do you set priorities?"
Booker was somber. He couldn't compare the violence of Newark to that faced by his Arab counterparts. The audience stilled itself, too.
"But now," said one of the mayors, "farmers are going back to their fields. We built six schools and four hospitals. We got support from the national government for machinery and to repave our roads."
Parks may be on the horizon.
When I visited Iraq with my family 30 years ago we delighted in the green of the parks along the riverbanks, cool in the evening, bringing relief from relentless summer heat. My grandmother lived in a neighborhood of Baghdad at the time. The museums were intact and overflowing with artifacts of historic human ingenuity. The call to prayer was sung from the minarets of gilded mosques; booksellers and craftspeople lined the souks. Hot, sweet tea was a staple, and so were fresh cucumbers, lightly salted, with yogurt.
I ache for the trials of today's Iraqi citizens: utterly innocent of the attacks on America and paying the ultimate price.
The mayors from Iraq told Cory Booker that when they came into office their families virtually went into hiding. Booker, who wryly noted that he didn't yet have a family, appreciated that few American leaders ever have to worry about the safety of their families as a consequence of stepping into the public sphere. He shared the story of the battle of Bunker Hill. A determined patriot defense kept the stronger British forces at bay but finally lost. The British commander, writing about the confrontation later noted that although they'd won the battle, a few more victories like that would lose them the war. "You," Booker said to the Iraqi delegation, "are the people who are building a new nation. You will be the heroes that your grandchildren point to."
The delegates breathed deeply. Then they asked about a sister-city relationship with Newark.
NJ.com
posted by madtom at 10:09 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home