Commitment to reconciliation in Iraq

Christian Science Monitor:

Hames al-Shimmari says he had good reason to brave a trip recently from his home in Shiite Sadr City to the mixed area of Al-Fadhel across the Tigris River: It was time to propose to Hanan Qasim, who is Sunni.

"Her area is ... a great danger for me, coming from a place that is Shiite to the core," said Mr. Shimmari, a sports journalist, as he celebrated their marriage last Friday. "We wanted to break the barriers between the sects, which is an ugly phenomenon."

Dumou Jalaleddin, a Kurd who celebrated her nuptials at the same event, echoed Shimmari's defiance. "I love this man," she said, pinning a carnation on the lapel of Haidar Hussein, her Arab groom. She stamped his cheek with a kiss. "We fell in love two years ago at the height of the war."

The two were among 70 couples taking part in a mass wedding in Baghdad, organized by a media magnate eager to send a message that average citizens are a more worthwhile symbol for reconciliation, through basic human rites like marriage, than are the country's feuding leaders. Washington has been pressing Iraqi leaders lately to embark on bold reconciliation measures in light of the improving security situation.

Fakhri Karim, owner of the Al-Mada newspaper and publishing group, decided to scour the city for couples from different confessions and ethnicities whose love endured bombs and transcended the sectarian and ethnic conflict that has torn apart Iraq's otherwise diverse society. He chose couples eager to tie the knot and could benefit from some financial help.

President Jalal Talabani, a secular Kurd and friend and financial backer of Mr. Karim, cheered the idea, which was dubbed the "Joyous Gathering" and cost some $200,000.

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These couples are a good sign that the sectarian civil war does not continue in Iraq. They are also a sign of hope for the country that many in the US have given up on.