Advancing the stories and ideas of the kingdom of God.
Jayson Casper
Interfaith group uses projects and dialogues to push for greater religious freedom.
Christian (left) and Muslim (right) women praying and studying in Iraq.
This is the third article in a three-part series about the problem of sectarianism in the Middle East and ways the interfaith group Adyan seeks to pave a new path in Lebanon and Iraq. Read part 1 here and part 2 here.
Three years ago in Iraqi Kurdistan, an adherent of the Kakai faith posted on social media that he had been called an infidel by a Sunni Muslim sheikh.
Kakai is a synthesis of Zoroastrianism and Shiite Islam, with between 110,000 and 200,000 followers in Iraq. Persecuted throughout their history, some Kakai consider themselves an independent religion, others a sect of Islam. But most Kurds are Sunni. The offending adherent felt a clear threat; some interpretations of Islam call for the killing of infidels.
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Abdo Saad, regional programs director for Adyan Foundation, a Lebanon-based organization promoting interfaith dialogue and equal rights, reached out from his office in Erbil, Iraq, to the local ministry for religious affairs, alerting officials to the danger the Kakai follower may have faced. The authorities intervened and spoke to the sheikh privately. The Kakai man told Saad the issue had been resolved. But the ministry took no further action against the cleric.
Saad was not satisfied. In the honor-shame culture of the Middle East, it is often possible to resolve issues of religious freedom behind the scenes. Many converts to Christianity, for example, can live in relative peace if their Muslim families are not devout. Most authorities are not out to arrest believers.
However, if a conservative cousin publicizes the convert’s new faith, trouble may ensue. Wise officials may calm the situation, perhaps by relocating the convert to a different part of the city. They do not want Muslim extremists to discover the offense and call into question the religious legitimacy of a government that does not enforce the Islamic ban on apostasy.
Yet in the Middle East, only Lebanon allows a convert to officially register his or her new faith. For other nations in the region, religious scruples often trump religious freedom. Governments resolve many social issues along similar patterns, but human rights advocates lament that—as with the Sunni sheikh and Kakai Kurd—officials do not take a public stand.
Lebanon boasts one of the Arab world’s more robust expressions of political and cultural commitment to religious freedom. But Saad said the concept of rights-based citizenship has not sufficiently taken hold in any nation to enable a transition to a free and open democracy. He counsels Christians and Muslims to listen well to each other’s concerns so they can reform their nations together.
“I don’t have the answer for what this should look like,” he said. “I hope our grassroots work will push the leaders, but I don’t know.”
His uncertainty is warranted for Iraq as well. Under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, the nation had a nominally secular regime that integrated allied elites from different sects into its authoritarian governing structure. During the transition to democracy under US occupation, Iraqi political parties immediately organized along religious lines, and the majority Shiites captured power.
Sunni insurgencies followed, culminating in the creation of ISIS. Shiite militias backed by Iran joined the international coalition to defeat the jihadist threat but then kept their weapons and eroded national sovereignty. Neighboring Syria may witness a similar transition to conservative Sunni power now that a former al-Qaeda member has overthrown the Alawite-led regime.
Adyan registered in Iraq in 2022. An early project aimed to replicate the Lebanon success of Alwan, a school-based program to foster religious diversity and acceptance. Alwan means “colors” in Arabic. The Iraqi government welcomed the effort but insisted on calling it by the less kid-friendly name “Education on Active and Inclusive Citizenship,” as the original name made them think of the LGBTQ rainbow. Due to local sensitivities, the interfaith group accepted.
Other projects worked on social cohesion, Saad said. In a Chaldean Catholic city in the northern area of Nineveh, a Christian, Muslim, and Yazidi led joint efforts to renovate a public square damaged by ISIS. They restored electricity, installed benches, and held a public dinner. Some played backgammon long into the evening.
Similarly, in the southern city of Basrah, Iraq, with an overwhelmingly Shiite population, Adyan helped a Shiite and a Sunni lead a festival of diversity in the main city square. Artists and singers entertained onlookers, when a member of the minority Mandaean religion took the stage. He told Saad this was the first time he felt comfortable speaking publicly about his faith, in which John the Baptist is the greatest prophet.
Within a sectarian society, good social relations are possible—even common. It is harder to put controversial freedoms on paper. Adyan therefore convened a three-year national dialogue with 33 civil society leaders from all sects to create an Iraqi roadmap of reform. The goal was to raise awareness of a plan away from sectarianism toward a political system of equal rights that encourages all sects to shape both local and national governance.
Recommendations were bold. The final document challenged corruption and proposed shifting power from the central government to regional authorities. It called for transitional justice for victims of violence alongside the wise reintegration of ISIS families. And it urged the disarmament of sectarian militias while granting extra rights to religious minorities to secure their role in building a new nation.
The roadmap chided the nation’s constitution for being “ambiguous” on freedom of belief. Positively, it said Iraq could set an example of an “open and tolerant Islam.” But there was no clear statement on blasphemy laws or the right of conversion due to the sensitive nature of the topic.
Saad said that while Iraq guarantees religious freedom due to its diverse society, such issues are the “devil in the details.” Recognizing the challenge, Adyan is careful in how it words its advocacy, aiming to be both progressive and “conflict sensitive.”
The stakes are high. One of the 33 leaders went on to become the minister of culture. Another leader, a well-known researcher and critic of sectarian militia, was assassinated, likely by a non-state militia.
A second example of sensitivity concerns underage marriage. Linda Macktaby, a Congregationalist pastor in the Union of National Evangelical Churches, is working with Adyan and the UN children’s agency to produce a manual for Lebanon on children’s rights. Using verses from the Bible and Quran, it addresses issues of education, violence, and exploitation. “Who would oppose these?” Macktaby asked.
But to ensure buy-in from religious leaders, the manual speaks only about the “risks” of child marriage, she said, and doesn’t include that the UN and other rights experts say it should be forbidden. While a prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric condemned child marriage as incompatible with human dignity, others rely on classical Muslim sources that tie family happiness to a daughter’s marriage before menstruation.
Macktaby said that in the Middle East, it is often best to address sensitive topics indirectly. One has to choose: address an issue on secular foundations and lose its popular appeal, or involve religious leaders for wider circulation by carefully crafting the language.
“Teach tolerance,” Macktaby said of her preferred approach. “If someone is different than you, accept them.”
Similarly, Saad said Adyan tries to help spiritual leaders see religious pluralism within their holy books. The language may not match human rights legalese, but the texts are at least familiar. One regional charter on freedom of religion and belief quotes from a robust representation of Middle East faiths, selected by clerics from five nations and nine sects.
And it is specific without being inflammatory. The first principle declares, “Faith is a Voluntary Choice,” before also addressing issues of noncoercion, human dignity, diversity, and justice. The signatories committed to working gradually for change but were specific in their condemnation of anticonversion laws. The abandonment of a certain religion, it said, should not be criminalized.
Recommendations to religious leaders, however, do not challenge the uniqueness of their faiths. Instead, the document urges them to a solidarity that “transcends all affiliations” and works for the common good. This includes standing up for minority traditions in need of help, as with the Kakai believer.
There are no easy solutions for solving sectarianism. Adyan members disagree all the time. But Saad and Macktaby said they stick together, as there is wisdom in their religious diversity. And when sectarian fear keeps many separated, grassroots projects can expand their base of support.
“We are very good at bringing people together,” Saad said. “And this is needed for a new social contract.”
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