Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project

A commentary piece written by Sami Rasouli, Director of IARP’s partner organization the Muslim Peacemaker Teams, appeared in the Star Tribune on February 22, 2010. In the commentary, Sami writes, “In January, I returned to Iraq. I left Minneapolis with thanks for Americans’ commitment to peace and their generous spirit. I left, also, with a plea: Let us remember the people of my other homeland, Iraq. Let us remember our brothers and sisters.” To read the whole piece, click here.

After two weeks in their new Sister City of Minneapolis, 13 Iraqi delegates from Najaf departed on October 2 to head home. The delegates had a busy, productive time in the Twin Cities, meeting with hundreds of educators, business and nonprofit professionals, government officials, and Twin Cities residents. The delegates look forward to future visits and exchanges with Minneapolitans and Americans.

Sami Rasouli, Director of Muslim Peacemaker Teams, and Al Nettles, IARP Board Member, at the Cornucopia Art Center for the Iraqi Art Exhibition

One delegate, Dr. Asaad Al-Janabi, told us, “We are not here on vacation. We are here on a mission to tell Americans about life in Iraq and to work for closer relationships in the future.” Another delegate, Sameera Al-Halawi, said, “I am taking you all home in my heart.”

For more information about the delegation visit, please see “Small steps — and a serendipitous encounter — in journey toward peace in Iraq” by Michael Kiesow Moore in the MinnPost, or “Minnesotans help address Iraq’s water crisis, one filtration unit at a time,” by Kathlyn Stone in the TC Daily Planet.

Sami Rasouli, Muslim Peacemaker Teams Director and leader of the Iraqi delegation from Najaf, will remain in the U.S. for the next couple of months and will be available for speaking engagements. To schedule Sami for an engagement, please contact Marie Braun.

THE MPLS-NAJAF SISTER CITY

COMMITTEE INVITE YOU TO:

Arab Night

A celebration of the sister city relationship

between Najaf, Iraq and Minneapolis, Minnesota,

hosted by the visiting delegation from Najaf and

featuring:

Live Middle Eastern

Music

Catering by Big Marina’s Grill & Deli

St. Joan of Arc Choir

Iraqi Art by Najaf Artists via IARP

& More!

Thursday, SEPT 24th 2009. 7pm-9pm.

St. Joan of Arc Church Gym.

4537 3rd Ave S. Mpls, MN 55419.

$8 suggested donation.

For the English version, click here.

2009R-337

قرار مدينة منيابولس

بأصدار من:  هادجس, جوردن, حافستد, رمينجتن, جلدن

قبول دعوة من مدينة النجف الاشرف في العراق للانضمام بإتفاقية التوأمة و دعوة مواطني مدينتي النجف و منيابولس للمشاركة بالنشاطات المذكورة في الاتفاقية ، والموافقة على تطوير الخطط الخاصة بها من قبل منظمة “مشروع المصالحة العراقية-الامريكية” More »

EngageMN, an online project aiming to give voice to Minnesota’s Muslim community, recently published an article about the new Sister City relationship between Minneapolis, USA and Najaf, Iraq. The article also highlights the upcoming delegation visit to Minneapolis from Najaf. To read the article, click here.

After more than a year of moving toward this goal, the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project (IARP) and our partner in Iraq the Muslim Peacemaker Teams (MPT) are celebrating the beginning of a formal Sister City relationship between Najaf, Iraq and Minneapolis, MN USA. On Friday, July 31st, the Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution by unanimous vote establishing the two cities as official Sister Cities.

More »

The Iraqi & American Reconciliation Project, in conjunction with the University of Minnesota; Meet Minneapolis: Official Convention and Visitors Association; Twin Cities Peace Campaign: Focus on Iraq; Friends for a NonViolent World; Women Against Military Madness; and others are hosting a delegation of 12-15 Iraqis visiting the Twin Cities in the second half of September. They will be traveling here with Sami Rasouli, Iraqi-American and Muslim Peacemaker Teams Director when he returns for an extended stay.

Coming as peacemakers and visitors, these professors, former city council members, business professionals, NGO directors and members of the Muslim Peacemaker Teams (MPT) are like us, curious, smart and interested in making friends.

More »

Minneapolis artist Heba Amin was recently featured in a Star Tribune article about her work illustrating a book on female Muslim heroes (some of her illustrations are above). Amin says, “I’m very aware of cultural stereotypes. The image of Muslim women in the United States is of veiled, oppressed people who have no voice. But in fact, Muslim women have a long history of remarkable achievements.” A little-known but very true fact.

The book, “Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World,” was awarded a National Best Books 2008 Award and a Moonbeam Peacemaker Award. More info on the book can be found here.

On a (kind of) related note, EngageMN.com recently published an article on Muslim feminism and Muslim women in Minnesota: “For Muslim Women in Minnesota, Complex Identities”.

For quite a while now, IARP volunteers have been working to establish Minneapolis and Najaf as Sister Cities. What does that mean? A Sister City relationship is a formal agreement signed by the governing bodies of each city committing to long term sharing of cultural, educational, and citizen resources.

I’ll admit, I didn’t know that Minneapolis currently has nine Sister Cities. However, establishing such a formal relationship with an Iraqi city would have a large impact, I think, for a few reasons. Many people, myself included, feel strongly about the past, present and future U.S. relationship with Iraq; beginning a Sister City relationship would be a mutual statement of friendship and cooperation between the people of Najaf and Minneapolis. Looking at how damaged the U.S.-Iraq relationship currently is, the importance of making this statement official and “legitimate” should not be underestimated. It would be a big boost toward our large goal of reconciliation.

People on both “sides” who have doubts about the other would be exposed to exchange programs and events, in the media if not in person. While media coverage can play a large role in building support FOR war and vilifying the “enemy,” it can also be effective in countering such attitudes. And those who actually participate in exchanges will experience Iraqi culture, and some will develop long-lasting friendships.

Currently IARP and its partner in Najaf, the Muslim Peacemaker Teams (MPT), run or are affiliated with a number of exchange programs that make the two cities de facto Sister Cities. These include Letters for Peace, Water for Peace, the Iraqi Art Project, and exchanges between the University of Minnesota and the University of Kufa. This fall, Sami Rasouli, an Iraqi-American who resides in both Minneapolis and Najaf and is Director of MPT, will lead a delegation from Najaf to Minneapolis. The Sister City relationship would highlight these current opportunities for people to connect with their neighbors in Iraq.

Also, importantly, having these programs already in place means that the official relationship would cost Minneapolis very little money.