Sami Rasouli Speaks at SJA

“Salaam is not just a greeting…it is the goal,” - a powerful opening line from a passionate advocate for peace. Born and raised in Iraq, Sami Rasouli first came to Minnesota to seek medical attention for his son. He later opened Sinbad’s, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Minneapolis, and became known as a pioneer in introducing Arab culture to the Twin Cities area.

In November 2004, Sami embarked on the first of a series of 6-month trips to Iraq. Between trips, he returns to the U.S. for 2-month periods to speak about the suffering, violence, and devastation caused by the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Sami recently returned from his second trip and currently is on a speaking tour, discussing the state of his homeland.

On February 16, Sami Rasouli spoke to an audience of over 200 people in the St. Joan of Arc gym. After his opening line, he explained that “salaam,” the Arabic word for peace, is both a familiar greeting and the goal of the Muslim Peacemaker Team (MPT) in Iraq. Sami has worked extensively with this organization as well as the Christian Peacemaker Team to provide humanitarian aid to refugees, to document human rights abuses, and to clean up and re-build war-torn areas.

While in Fallujah, Sami worked closely with Tom Fox, one of the four Christian Peacemakers kidnapped on Nov 26, 2005. Together, Sami and Tom walked the streets of Fallujah, where over 30,000 homes were destroyed, and they spent time with survivors and refugees of the U.S. assault. Sami spoke of Tom’s courage, his commitment to non-violence, and his love for humanity. He said that he saw a videotape of Tom recently and it was difficult to recognize him because he had lost so much weight. Sami also shared a beautiful poem dedicated to his friend. (A link to the poem can be found at the end of this article.)

Muslim Peacemakers Team with children of Fallujah

Sami went on to say that a specific goal of the MPT is to protect and aid Palestinians in Iraq. As refugees from the occupied territories, Palestinians are a minority and have endured a long history of oppression. Sami explained that when Palestinians show their ID’s at American and Iraqi military checkpoints, “they are more likely to be harassed, interrogated, detained, tortured, or killed because they are Palestinian.” Sami spoke of one instance when he and other members of the MPT were accompanying some Palestinian-Iraqi families on their way to Syria. While fleeing the violence, they were stopped by Iraqi soldiers, and one of the Palestinian men was accused of blowing up a shop. He proclaimed his innocence explaining that it was his shop that had been destroyed. Nevertheless, he was detained and tortured. When he was finally freed, he was arrested again just minutes after his release when an Iraqi soldier saw his Palestinian ID. He was eventually freed again when the authorities realized he was the same man they had just released.

The following day, Sami and the Palestinian families arrived in Syria, only to be denied social services because they didn’t have the documents required by the Syrian government. That night, they slept in the desert, facing freezing temperatures and hungry rats. Soon after, a car loaded with food, clothing, and blankets arrived on the scene. The providers of assistance were representatives of Hamas, the Palestinian political party best known for their resistance to the Israeli occupation and their recent electoral victory at the polls.

While much of the world denounces Hamas as a terrorist organization, Sami pointed out their commitment to providing humanitarian aid for poor Palestinians as well as their priorities during the recent cartoon controversy. While members of the rival Fatah party were storming foreign embassies in anger over recent cartoons insulting the prophet Mohammad, Hamas protected Christian churches from the violence.

Sami explained that in his opinion, the root of all the problems in the Middle East is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and he also shed some interesting light on the origins of Saddam Hussein’s infamous Baath party. Founded in 1948, the party’s original goal was to liberate Palestine from Israeli control. The Baath party is not unique to Iraq; Baathists can be found in several Middle Eastern countries. Under Saddam’s rule, Iraq’s Baath party became a tool of oppression as the minority Sunni’s dominated the majority Shiites. But Sami explained that the current Shiite-controlled government in Iraq is hardly a proponent of freedom or a protector of minority rights. Though Iraq once had the most secular government in the Middle East, the new Iraqi government is composed primarily of Islamic fundamentalists who are heavily influenced by Iran. All women, including Christians, now fear appearing in public without a hijab, or head covering, whereas this would not have raised alarm in the past.

Next, Sami shared more of his personal experiences from Iraq. He relayed an incident from January 23 of this year when he was traveling from Baghdad to Fallujah. He and his driver saw 3 U.S. humvees quickly approaching in the rearview mirror. The driver immediately pulled over so the convoy could pass. However, the three humvees stopped behind their car. Several U.S. soldiers jumped out, pointing their guns and demanding identification. When the soldiers saw Sami’s MN driver’s license, they were shocked. One soldier, pleasantly surprised, asked “What the f*** are you doing here?” During this commotion, an Iraqi man with a cart full of fruit was passing by, and the soldiers feared that he was concealing a bomb. They forced Sami to talk to the man with the fruit cart and make sure he wasn’t about to detonate any explosives (He wasn’t). Afterward, the soldiers questioned Sami and the driver before finally announcing that they were free to go. At this point Sami could see another U.S. military convoy up the road, so he asked the soldiers to radio ahead that his car had been cleared to pass through the area. A soldier assured Sami that they already had. However, when their car passed the second convoy, Sami could hear a soldier yelling, “You f***ing Iraqis, don’t blow up my truck!”

After passing the second convoy without being stopped, the driver hugged and kissed Sami. The driver thanked Sami for his life and said that if he hadn’t been with Sami, he probably would have been detained or killed. Even though they made it through this experience safely, the incident clearly illustrates the distrust between Iraqi civilians and the U.S. military and the paranoia of the occupation forces.

Sami continued his address by outlining his reasons why the U.S. should end their occupation of Iraq immediately. He explained that the levels of violence, fear, and sectarian conflict have only increased as the occupation continues, and that the so-called reconstruction efforts have yet to benefit the Iraqi people. The Iraqi government is riddled with corruption, and the vast majority of reconstruction money is spent on security and prison facilities for the 33,876 Iraqis currently being held in detention, many without formal charges. Meanwhile most ordinary Iraqis are unemployed, diseases such as Hepatitis are rampant, and most homes receive 4 hours of electricity per day. Iraq’s oil and other resources have been privatized while the majority of its citizens remain poor, hungry, desperate, and increasingly vulnerable to the ethnic conflicts currently raging in Iraq. Many Arabs feel that the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the so-called War on Terror is really a war against Islam. Neighboring countries have recently raised their levels of anti-American rhetoric, making the U.S. more vulnerable to future terrorist attacks and destabilizing the broader Middle East.

Sami concluded by saying that the heart of Islam is non-violent, and that the “peace of God within” gives him the courage to return to Iraq without fear so he can continue his important work. He thanked us for the opportunity to speak about

Jon and Katrina Plotz, a newly married couple, are thrilled to be a part of the St. Joan of Arc community. Jon teaches 10th grade English at Anoka High School and Katrina teaches 7th grade English at Oak View Middle School in Andover.

the effects of the war in Iraq, and he shared a paradoxical experience since returning to the Twin Cities. Earlier in the week, Sami was invited to speak on a right-wing radio show as an “eye-witness from Iraq.” As he delivered his message, a listener contacted the show and called him a “moron,” saying “you make me sick.” When Sami was listening later to the same station, he heard himself referred to as “that idiot Iraqi peacemaker.” Clearly, some people continue to deny the truth about the war in Iraq, even from someone who has witnessed it. That same day, Sami was a guest on Air America radio and was called the “patriot of the day.” Sami shared all these stories with humor, insight, and a clear sense that he will continue to do the work of peace both in the Twin Cities and in Iraq.

After a question and answer session, some gathered to admire the brilliant Iraqi artwork displayed at the back of the gym. While in Iraq, Sami encountered several artists who are struggling to make ends meet. He offered to sell their artwork in the Twin Cities if half the profits could benefit the Muslim Peacemaker Team in Iraq. This was a deal they couldn’t refuse, and several in attendance (including the authors of this story) seized the opportunity to buy a beautiful piece of art and support two such worthy causes. Representatives of St. Joan of Arc also purchased a painting on behalf of the parish that will be displayed soon as a sign of our solidarity with the Iraqi people and with Sami Rasouli as he continues to work for peace in his homeland.