Rountable on Iraqi Religious Conference with Chaplain Col. Hoyt

Posted By Grim

This is the post promised below, on the recent religious conference in Iraq.  Chaplain Col. Michael Hoyt joined us to tell us about it.  The transcript is here.  This one is too important to excerpt.  You'll want to read it all -- especially the parts about the Samarra bombing, and how he has been treated by the Iraqi clerics.

After the jump, the fact statement that OASD sent out about the conference.

The conference resulted in an Accord calling upon mutual support,
tolerance, and unity of the Iraqi people around the free expression of
faith and the mutual protection of holy sites. It also renounces
violence and appeals to rule of law and Government structure to solve
Iraqi problems. It's a pretty comprehensive Accord considering the
audience that agreed and wrote it; a major accomplishment as a step
forward for GOI.  In the chaplain's estimation, this may be a
contributing factor to holding down violent outbreaks in the wake of
the mosque attacks.

This Accord is the first of its kind to set a process and structure in
place to allow religious leaders to debate issues in sub-committees and
present formal proposals through the IIRC Implementation Committee to
the government. This conference was only a first and foundational step
towards a working exchange of ideas and solutions using democratic
principles and allowing for the traditional role of clerics in an
Islamic society. It is not the silver bullet but it is unequalled in
its comprehensive commitments to religious leadership in problem solving,
support to democratic principles, denouncing violence, and displaying
Iraqi national unity and religious peace. Great potential.  -Hoyt

Bottom Line: Just the fact that these disparate groups met together and
began a reasonable dialogue of mutual commitment and tolerance is
unequaled in the last 3 years and a significant step to a viable peace
initiative and reconciliation mechanism.

Unique aspects of the conference include:

*  First one to create a mechanism for advancing the process of
religious leader involvement as a working body to assist the GoI with
credible mutual proposals from senior religious leaders of a variety of
faiths

*  First religious accord to have the PM's endorsement and signature
affixed to the document

*  First one to publicly denounce Al Qaeda

*  Broadest representation of faith groups and geographic dispersion to
meet in the last 37 years in Iraq

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Comments

[Some Soldier's Mom]

It has been some time since religion has been used to bring people of different faiths together. Perhaps we need one of these here on U.S. soil...

[Some Soldier's Mom]

I loved the "I'm honored to be part of your blogger thing." Me, too, Padre.

From the transcript, it sounds like a good beginning if they can just keep it going and keep any government interference out of the way. Sunni, Shi'a, Kurds, Christians... all in one room and everyone left in agreement and working towards the common good of Iraq. Has anyone told Harry?

[MAJ LOGGIE]

Chaplain Hoyt was our chaplain here at the 21st TSC. I never went to one of his sermons, but he sertainly qualifies as a "fighting chaplain". He's got more experience and Hooah badges you can shake a stick at. And he's kind of scary when you first meet him.

[Marzouq]

May The Most High, the benificent, the merciful bless the efforts of Col. Hoyt! Long live Ayatollah Sistani!

May Allah bless the Conference of Clerics for their couragious statement against the false Muslims of alQueda!

These criminals, infidel, either do not understand the words of The Most High written in the Holy Quran as dictated by the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him), or are missinterpreting them in order to fool the uneducated and illiterate for their own selfish gain an glory. They are either fools or servants of Satan.

We in the coalition must beware of Christian Taliban. They are easily identified. They speak of bombing Iran. They speak of bombing everything! They are also trying to influence the ignorant and illiterate for their personal gain and glory!

Salaam eleikum (peace be with you), Allahu akbar (God is greatest)!