IRAQ today Scenes from
IRAQ today Scenes from Iraq PHOTO BY AP/MOHAMMED IBRAHIM PHOTO BY AP/SAMIR MIZBAN PHOTO BY AP/THE IDAHO STATESMAN, KIM HUGHES Clockwise from top: An Iraqi girl lights a candle during Palm Sunday services at the al-Najat Syrian Orthodox Church in Baghdad on March 20. Idaho National Guard Spc. Jared McKenzie, left, a medic from Boise, Idaho, helps an Iraqi man on March 20 who was injured in a car accident a few days earlier in Kirkuk. Iraqis gather around a burning vehicle after an engagement involving a U.S. helicopter, in which one woman and two children were killed, and many others injured, according to witnesses in Mosul, Iraq on March 13. Municipal workers tend to a beautification project near the Tigris River in Baghdad on March 23. PERSONALIZED NUTRITION COUNSELING •Weight Problems •Diabetes •Hypoglycemia •High Cholesterol •High Blood Pressure Do you suffer from •Food Allergies •Ulcerative Colitis •Crohns Disease •Irritable Bowel Syndrome •Gastroesophageal Reflux (GERD) Nutrition Counseling can help with these and other Chronic Illnesses PAMELA THOMAS HADDAD, R.D., M.S. Registered Dietitian Health Educator PREVENTION IS THE BEST CURE! Pamela provides Nutrition Counseling designed for the specific health goals of each client. Call (248) 908-3472 for more information and to schedule your appointment Office located in Farmington Hills 32841 Middlebelt Road 14 CHALDEAN NEWS APRIL 2005
Iraqi Christians exhorted to be ‘like leaven’ PHOTO BY AP/KHALID MOHAMMED LONDON/ZENITH.ORG Chaldean Archbishop Gabriel Kassab of Basra says that the Christians in Iraq must be “like leaven” in changing their society. On a visit to London, Archbishop Kassab, 65, explained to the international charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that the help provided through the Church in Iraq was widely appreciated by various communities. As an example, the prelate reported that the Church in Basra now runs three kindergartens, where 90 percent of the pupils are Muslim. The archbishop added that although some Christian families fled during the insurgency, a number have since returned since the January elections. He estimated that there are now about 1,000 Christian families in his archdiocese. “We may represent only about 3.5 percent of the population, but the influence of educated Christians is widely recognized and appreciated,” the Chaldean prelate said. “With your help we can sustain the Christian presence here and become like yeast, or leaven, within a new society that must now grow up,” he told ACN. “With 14 projects in Basra — including providing food, medicines, kindergartens and pastoral help — we have found that Christianity is known better through our actions.” Reprinted courtesy of the Assyrian International News Agency (aina.org). San Diego Chaldeans Nominate Shiite cleric for Nobel Prize BAGHDAD, Iraq/Associated Press A group of Chaldeans in the San Diego area has nominated Iraq’s top Shiite Muslim cleric for the Nobel Peace Prize, drawing more than 7,000 signatures from around the world on a petition. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, 75, is Iraq’s mostrevered Shiite cleric and a symbol of Shiite political power. The group said he has repeatedly opposed anti-American violence, including a bloody summer uprising by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sistani “gave Muslims all around the globe a good example how to follow peaceful ways to resolve complex social (and) political challenges that face them, condemning terror and emphasizing ... rule of law,’’ the petition said. ``We are forwarding the petition for the 2005 prize. If they accept it for this year, it will be great, if not, we will still apply next year,’’ said Dr. Labib Sultan, one of the petition writers. The Norwegian Nobel Committee makes its choice based on nominations submitted by Feb. 1 every year. Because this petition was submitted in March, its status is unclear; it may be considered for next year instead. The petition was initiated by members of the Chaldean community in El Cajon City, California, near San Diego. “We may represent only about 3.5 percent of the population, but the influence of educated Christians is widely recognized and appreciated.” — CHALDEAN ARCHBISHOP GABRIEL KASSAB Shiites have been targets of dozens of mass suicide bombings and attacks blamed on Sunni insurgents that are widely seen as efforts to spark a sectarian civil war. Al-Sistani is believed to be a major force preventing an allout confrontation between the two sects, with his repeated calls on Shiites to refrain from retaliating. Shiites, who make up 60 percent of Iraq’s 26 million people, are poised to take power for the first time after decades of Sunni domination. The frail, white-bearded Al-Sistani has millions of followers who decorate their homes, stores and offices with his picture in a black robe and turban. He is seen as a spiritual figure who guides Shiites from his home in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad. The petition can be viewed at http://www.petitiononline.com/ocsi2005/petition.html. WELCOMING NEW PATIENTS ROBERT R. ROMAN, M.D., P.C. Robert R. Roman, M.D., F.A.A.P. Mary Sue Sylwestrzak, M.D., F.A.A.P. 30335 Thirteen Mile Road • Suite 103 • Farmington Hills Specializing in the Care of Infants, Children & Teenagers 248-855-4144 APRIL 2005 CHALDEAN NEWS 15
