A Switzerland in the Middle East?

Today’s Inquirer ran an interview with an Iraqi Catholic priest who is working to secure a constitution for Iraq that separates religion and state.

As part of a religious minority (Christians constitute about 3 percent of Iraqis), editor of a theology journal, member of Baghdad’s literati, social activist, and dogged bridge-builder across faiths, [The Rev. Yousif Thomas] Mirkis brings an unusual perspective to the conflict. In a recent interview during his Philadelphia stop, the 56-year-old Dominican pressed his urgent case for a new Iraq “beyond ideology.”

Like many others, Mirkis believes the United States “succeeded in making war but didn’t succeed in making peace.” Still, he says, Saddam needed to be toppled, and Mirkis is not eager to have coalition forces pull out soon. He leaves it to Americans to hash out American policy, focusing instead on the volatile realities of Iraqi society that preceded the occupation and will outlast it.

Inquirer: Since the war, Christians have suffered attacks from extremists. Was it different under Saddam Hussein because his regime was secular?

Mirkis: Yes, but I cannot compare our situation before and now. Saddam’s government was never afraid we could collapse the regime, so we weren’t enemies of the regime. We wanted only to live peacefully.

But it was a big prison. Christians were doctors, engineers, but we didn’t feel involved in politics. Politics was prohibited for everybody who was not with the regime. Now, the situation is very different. We can be a target for all kinds of fundamentalism, terrorism, even gangs who are now free to kidnap people, to take money. The ancient peace was false. The new chaos is not to compare with it.

Inquirer: Many Christians are fleeing the country now, right?

Mirkis: Some try. Others cannot go because they have no economic possibility. And there are those who don’t want to go because they believe their place is in Iraq and they can do something.

I like this third kind and try to encourage them. Yes, stay, but we have to change our mentality. We are not only 2 to 3 percent of the population. We have between 30 and 40 percent of the high [college] diplomas. Twenty percent of doctors in Iraq are Christian, 30 percent of engineers and architects. And we can have another role in this society.

Inquirer: Are Christians involved in drafting Iraq’s constitution?

Mirkis: Yes, we have at least two among the 71 members of the constitution [drafting committee]. Before I left, I spent one month gathering interviews about the constitution with different kinds of people, not only Christians. By Internet, and with readers of my magazine. Fifteen percent of my readers are Muslims. I asked about 600 people 40 questions.

Inquirer: What were the main findings?

Mirkis: They didn’t want to speak about “minorities.” We all belong to Iraq, so that word is very bad. Until now, in our identity cards we wrote the religion. We don’t want it anymore… . There is something that can unify all our religious denominations, which is Iraq. Our model is Switzerland, which is four nations with four languages. Why can’t we do it like them?

[…]

Inquirer: What are the consequences for Christians if Islam becomes the official religion of Iraq?

Mirkis: We are afraid, because they can oblige our women to wear the veil. They can oblige the population not to drink alcohol. The situation of women is dangerous, not only the Christian woman. Even if the [Saddam] regime was difficult, the situation of women was rather good… . The problem is, 35 years of terrorism under the regime created a kind of passivity in the Iraqi population. People are frightened. They have not enough strength to go in the streets to make manifest against this kind of decision.

Inquirer: What can the American church do?

Mirkis: Pray for us. Not only the church, but all Iraqis who suffer too much. We need to take some rest.

When you read stuff like this it’s hard not to conclude that we have an obligation to stay on and try and help make something decent out of this mess.