Segment 1: IARP.org. On this edition of The Doug Noll Show we review the recent history of Iraq and speak with Iraqi peace activist Sami Rasouli. Sami is Executive Director of the Muslim Peacemakers Team, which is part of Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project (www.reconciliationproject.org), a nonprofit organization that works to rebuild what war and occupation has destroyed.
On September 12th, 2001, Sami was scared and confused and did not want to go to work, or even out in public. He tells us that once it was learned that a group of Muslims were responsible for the attack of 9/11, every Muslim was affected negatively. At that moment he felt self-hatred for being a Muslim. However, his family forced him to go to work and face his fears.
Segment 2: Healing from 9/11. When Sami was at work, two Jewish women came in to see him and talk to him about what happened. He was offered a safe-haven --- a place to hide and heal. Sami and these two women shared food, hopes, dreams, and tears on that day. They brainstormed about how to heal from 9/11. They decided to form a dialogue organization to bring together families of all races, religions and nationalities. They do not talk about politics or religion; they only socialize and have a good time together. Kids are encouraged to attend. At the moment the idea for the organization was created Sami says he felt an inner peace, and something inside him woke up and started paying attention.
Segment 3: The Attraction to Violence. Doug believes there are a lot of people who are attracted to violence because they don’t have any choice. They perceive threats to their existence. In some areas, where there is a poor education system, the women are oppressed, and there is deep poverty and no hope, they turn to violence. They see a Western lifestyle that is affluent compared to their lifestyle, and it scares them. Their identity and existence are being threatened, and it angers them. As a result of this fear and anger, young men who have no hope are driven to violence.
Segment 4: The Division of Iraq. Prospects for Iraq: Sami thinks one of the important objectives of the invasion of 2003 by the U.S. was dividing Iraq into three pieces. For the last 11 years the Iraqi people have woken up each morning to find themselves divided into different ethnicities. The invasion and its objectives were implemented, one after another. Baghdad is considered a mixture of people, although Southern Iraqis feel it’s dangerous to visit Baghdad. They are psychologically already divided. There are a lot of people outside of Iraq that want to see Iraq broken into a number of pieces. The goal is to fragment and dismember the country into smaller pieces. To find out more about Sami’s organization, please visit http://reconciliationproject.org/.
To listen to the entire interview, CLICK HERE or visit http://wsradio.com/070314-reviewing-conflict-iran-middle-east/.