HISTORY

The Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project (IARP) began in 2005 when Iraqi-American and 25-year Minneapolis resident Sami Rasouli returned to his home in Najaf, Iraq to reconnect with his family and society. There, Sami founded the Muslim Peacemaker Teams (MPT), a grassroots, non-religious, nonprofit organization. Colleagues in Minnesota started IARP the same year. IARP was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in July of 2007.

Since it was founded in 2005, IARP has shown works of art from the Najaf area throughout the upper Midwest. Through its Iraqi Art Project, the organization has presented over 450 works by Iraqi artists. In 2010, IARP presented its first major exhibit, The Art of Conflict, a juried exhibit that brought together 15 pieces by Iraqi artists and 15 pieces by American (mostly Minnesotan) artists. In 2011, IARP presented the Navigating the Aftermath arts tour in Minneapolis and six other Minnesota towns, and the organization continues to present exhibitions featuring Iraqi and American artists in dialogue.

In cooperation with one of our primary partners, the City of Minneapolis, IARP nurtured a resolution, unanimously passed by the Minneapolis City Council in July of 2009, to become Sister Cities with Najaf, Iraq. That same year, IARP began person-to-person exchanges and educational programs between Americans and Iraqis, when 18 doctors, university deans and professors, city council members, engineers, and members of Najaf’s Chamber of Commerce visited the Twin Cities. Since that time, IARP has organized seven additional delegations to the Twin Cities and sent several Minneapolis citizens to Najaf.

Through its Water for Peace project, IARP has involved many student, civic, and faith-based organizations in raising funds for clean water projects in the Najaf area, providing clean water to more than 80 schools and tens of thousands of Iraqi students. Many participants in the program in the US and Iraq have also exchanged letters and photos, teaching each about the others’ hopes, dreams, and common humanity.