NINEWA: INTERNATIONAL VISITOR RETURNS FROM PROGRAM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001706 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SCUL PHUM PGOV EAID PREL PINR ECON IZ SUBJECT: NINEWA: INTERNATIONAL VISITOR RETURNS FROM PROGRAM READY TO PROMOTE RECONCILIATION This is a Ninewa Provincial Reconstruction Team message. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. After his recent International Visitor Leadership program, Younis Faisel Kanjo, a Sunni Kurd member of the Ninewa Provincial Council, returned to Mosul ready to push forward a plan for interfaith communication in Iraq. He reported that he intends to meet with Iraqis to share his experiences in the United States and work with religious leaders to promote religious tolerance in Iraq. End summary. IVLP Changes Attitude About US -------------- ¶2. (SBU) During a debriefing session with PRTOFFS, Provincial Council member Younis Faisel Kanjo praised the quality of the IVLP and indicated that his attitude about the United States changed as a direct result of his program. Prior to departing for the US, his experience with the United States was limited to movies, military vehicles, and soldiers. He acknowledged holding what he termed the "wrong" ideas about American culture. He stressed that his impression prior to the program was that the American family unit was dysfunctional and that the moral code was broken. During his program he reported that he saw just the opposite at every stop. He witnessed strong family ties in every state and was overwhelmed by the generosity and graciousness of his American hosts. Younis' program took him to Washington, D.C.; Jackson, Mississippi; Helena and Bozeman, Montana; Chicago, Illinois; and New York City. ¶3. (SBU) Younis reported that the goal of his program was to examine how US religious and ethnic minority groups function in the context of a democratic society and to explore the role of faith-based groups. He indicated that he had several opportunities to speak to Americans in Mississippi and Montana and continually focused on things that Christians, Muslims, and Jews have in common. His discussions were warmly received by audiences in the United States. Based on his previous experience in Iraq and information gathered during the program, Younis told PRTOFFS that is proposing a plan for interfaith communication in Iraq to authorities in Baghdad. ¶4. (SBU) Younis said he was surprised at the personal and religious freedom he saw during his program. At a public school he found that when a Muslim girl in a burqua refused to take music class because she said it was against her religion, the school changed their regulation. As a teacher of religion, he knows that music and singing are not haram and was surprised to find that the school was taking her views into consideration. He reported that she did not need to take music and could take calligraphy instead. He indicated that would have never happened in Iraq. Participant Seeks Way to Inform Iraqis -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Prior to the program, Younis ran a series of three religious reconciliation conferences as part of an initiative that was funded through the Department's QRF assistance program. He said his objective is to continue discussing peaceful coexistence with people in Iraq, but now he also wants to share his experience from the United States with Iraqis to correct their impressions about American culture. He indicated that he would like the opportunity to speak to Iraqis to tell them what he saw in the United States about personal freedoms and human rights. He wants to tell people that the United States is not what they see on TV. Traveling in the United States, he saw that Americans do not complain