We all come from the same God. We all pray to the same God. As Muslims we believe that all religions are correct because they turn to the same God. We believe in the messengers of other religions because their messages are from the same God. —Abdulla Wasman Adm Monday night, September 17, a delegation of six Muslim Kurdish people from Rania, a city in the northern area of Iraq, had dinner with the Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery. They were:
- Abdulla Wasman Adm — Director of the Muslim clerics in Rania
- Mohammed Ali Adullah — leader of the delegation and President of the University of Raparin in Rania
- Dr. Bahzad Waso Hamad
- Kalid Qadar Mohammed — works with Duluth’s Michelle Naar-Obed to arrange the international exchanges
- Paiman Ramazan Ahmed — Director of media and public relations at Raparin University in Rania and Kurdish/English translator
- Nishtiman Abdalla — Kurdish/English translator
Afterward, they gave a presentation about who they are which included some of their history, insights into their Muslim religion and Kurdish history, and their hopes for their Kurdish future. The four men and two women comprise the second such delegation to come to Duluth to take tours of meaningful sites and talk with a variety of people in a variety of settings: religious centers such as the Islam Center of the Twin Ports, First United Methodist Church, and St. Scholastica Monastery; University of Minnesota Duluth and The College of St. Scholastica; the Duluth Library; and Duluth’s Domestic Abuse Intervention Project. They and their Duluth counterparts are seeking exchanges of experiences, ideas, and understandings of each other’s religious and political beliefs and practices. Duluth delegations have made two similar visits to Rania.
Delegation members with Sister Lois at Dinner
Michele Naar-Obed Speaking at Presentation