VZCZCXRO1742
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1706/01 1570745
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 050745Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7679
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001706 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SCUL PHUM PGOV EAID PREL PINR ECON IZ
SUBJECT: NINEWA: INTERNATIONAL VISITOR RETURNS FROM PROGRAM 
READY TO PROMOTE RECONCILIATION 
 
This is a Ninewa Provincial Reconstruction Team message. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. After his recent International Visitor 
Leadership program, Younis Faisel Kanjo, a Sunni Kurd member 
of the Ninewa Provincial Council, returned to Mosul ready to 
push forward a plan for interfaith communication in Iraq.  He 
reported that he intends to meet with Iraqis to share his 
experiences in the United States and work with religious 
leaders to promote religious tolerance in Iraq. End summary. 
 
IVLP Changes Attitude About US 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) During a debriefing session with PRTOFFS, Provincial 
Council member Younis Faisel Kanjo praised the quality of the 
IVLP and indicated that his attitude about the United States 
changed as a direct result of his program.  Prior to 
departing for the US, his experience with the United States 
was limited to movies, military vehicles, and soldiers.  He 
acknowledged holding what he termed the "wrong" ideas about 
American culture.  He stressed that his impression prior to 
the program was that the American family unit was 
dysfunctional and that the moral code was broken.  During his 
program he reported that he saw just the opposite at every 
stop.  He witnessed strong family ties in every state and was 
overwhelmed by the generosity and graciousness of his 
American hosts. Younis' program took him to Washington, D.C.; 
Jackson, Mississippi; Helena and Bozeman, Montana; Chicago, 
Illinois; and New York City. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Younis reported that the goal of his program was to 
examine how US religious and ethnic minority groups function 
in the context of a democratic society and to explore the 
role of faith-based groups.  He indicated that he had several 
opportunities to speak to Americans in Mississippi and 
Montana and continually focused on things that Christians, 
Muslims, and Jews have in common.  His discussions were 
warmly received by audiences in the United States.  Based on 
his previous experience in Iraq and information gathered 
during the program, Younis told PRTOFFS that is proposing a 
plan for interfaith communication in Iraq to authorities in 
Baghdad. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Younis said he was surprised at the personal and 
religious freedom he saw during his program.   At a public 
school he found that when a Muslim girl in a burqua refused 
to take music class because she said it was against her 
religion, the school changed their regulation.  As a teacher 
of religion, he knows that music and singing are not haram 
and was surprised to find that the school was taking her 
views into consideration.  He reported that she did not need 
to take music and could take calligraphy instead.  He 
indicated that would have never happened in Iraq. 
 
Participant Seeks Way to Inform Iraqis 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Prior to the program, Younis ran a series of three 
religious reconciliation conferences as part of an initiative 
that was funded through the Department's QRF assistance 
program.  He said his objective is to continue discussing 
peaceful coexistence with people in Iraq, but now he also 
wants to share his experience from the United States with 
Iraqis to correct their impressions about American culture. 
He indicated that he would like the opportunity to speak to 
Iraqis to tell them what he saw in the United States about 
personal freedoms and human rights.  He wants to tell people 
that the United States is not what they see on TV.  Traveling 
in the United States, he saw that Americans do not complain