Bridges of Trust: A Campaign to Restore Trust and Organizing Minorities Life in Post-Daesh Era
More than 30 prominent clerics, civil activists, politicians and media men launched a media campaign aiming at restoring trust and organizing the life of minority groups in post – Daesh (i.e., ISIS) Era, by means of de-legitimizing ISIS deeds and forbidding sex slavery and property confiscation . This move may enhance the values of coexistence in the liberated areas. The campaign was launched in large symposium organized by MASARAT Institution for Cultural and Media Development in its HQ in Baghdad in partnership with Heartland Alliance International.The Campaign showed a documentary film in which clergymen from different schools of jurisprudence of Sunni Islam exposed a moderate reading of Islam focusing on the right of minority groups in a safe life, urging citizens to respect other people’s faith and privacy, in line with the teachings of Islam.Participants in the Campaign discussed the means of protecting diversity in Iraq, and how to reconstruct trust among the diversity of its components so as to confront Takfiri thought which poses a threat to the individual and community. Participants agreed that there are various readings and interpretations of Islam, some are extreme and some others expand moderation, coexistence, acceptance of the different Other, and banning any violation of his rights. Therefore, media organs and outlets should focus on the moderate readings, and should present them as being the interpretations of the essence of Islam whose true humanitarian message was hijacked by some extreme and random readings and interpretations, such as that of ISIS extremism.In addition, they discussed the importance of preparing the intellectual soil as well as the cultural, educational and media background which may foster a trend that protect the rights of religious minorities in the media. This is to be attained via urging the different media organs to highlight the importance of a large Iraqi social trend which may do justice to such minority groups as the Yazidis, Christians and other minorities, and by means of spreading awareness as per the rights of non-Muslim minority groups in order to protect religious diversity of Iraq. Participants focused on the importance of the role played by the media to treat the shocks of memory arising from the focus on some specific painful events only, forgetting about centuries of shared life and peaceful coexistence on one region. Glorious past needs to be reconstructed by reviving the legacy of coexistence and restoring the bridges of trust, away from marginalization and violence. It is worth stating that the Campaign will continue and move around from Baghdad to the regions where minorities live, such as Mousil city and Ninawa plains, in the coming weeks.
