In his speech on the occasion of the centenary of Muhammad Shamdin Agha’s death, His Beatitude Patriarch Sako stated: “Our celebration today, marking a hundred years since the passing of Muhammad Shamdin Agha, is a reminder of the humanitarian, national values, and moral constants that he, his children, and grandchildren have carried to this day.” He also praised the work of the Masarat Foundation and its citizenship education program.
Sako remembers his father.
Sako added in his speech, “The late man did everything he could to welcome Christian refugees fleeing Turkish persecution between 1918 and 1925, including my father, who was a young man. He collaborated with the church in Zakho during the time of Bishops Ermia Makdissi and Yohanna Nisan to shelter, feed, and protect these families. These values are what we desperately need today to live together as brothers on the same land and in the same boat, and to build bridges between us. Violence, injustice, and the negation of the other contradict faith in God and public morals. He was honored by Pope Pius XI with the Knight’s Medal for his deeds. We hope to draw lessons from these bright markers in Iraq’s history.”
Masarat Medal for Citizenship
The Masarat Foundation awarded Mr. Saad Shamdin Agha the Medal of Active Citizenship on the occasion of the centenary of Muhammad Shamdin Agha’s death during an event organized by the foundation in collaboration with the National Library and Archives in Baghdad.
Sako’s tribute to the late man’s family
His Beatitude the Patriarch also presented a shield of the Patriarchate to Mr. Saad Shamdin Agha in recognition of his family’s contributions and to the Masarat Foundation in celebration of its citizenship education program, which enhances the pluralistic identity of the country and builds bridges of coexistence among its diverse social components
