Hardwired Stands With Victims on the Frontlines in the War Against Islamic State (ISIS)

Hardwired Stands With Victims on the Frontlines in the War Against Islamic State (ISIS)

By Jeremy Reynalds, Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service (jeremyreyanlds@gmail.com )

RICHMOND, VA. (ANS-April 30, 2016) -- As Jewish families around the world recently prepared for Passover, a holy day commemorating the Jewish exodus from Egypt many years ago, Hardwired was in Washington, D.C. with a mission to prevent another exodus of sorts in Iraq of Jewish and other religious communities.

Hardwired is a non-profit organization providing education and training for indigenous leaders worldwide to defend the freedom of religion or belief for all people.

According to a story from Hardwired, the group hosted Kurdistan's Director of Religious Affairs, Mariwan Naqshbandi, and the man he appointed to a historic position as the first Representative for Jewish Affairs in the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Sherzad Mamsani, in meetings with various U.S. officials.

Mamsani holds a position in a region plagued with anti-Semitism and a history of expelling Jewish believers from their homes.

His vision of reconnecting Kurdish Jews with their history and preserving their identity is being championed by Naqshbandi and other Kurdish leaders at a time when Iraq's many minority faith communities are on the verge of erasure, offering hope to all of what is possible when religious freedom is made a priority.

In meetings with Members of Congress, the State Department, and the White House, Hardwired said it called on officials to help Iraq's Legislature as they grapple with amendments to a proposed National ID Card Bill that has dangerous implications for the rights of Kurdish Jews and other religious communities.

Currently, Yezidis, Jews, Baha'i, and other members of minority groups hold identity cards that label them as Muslims - the result of a Saddam-era law that sought to destroy their religious identity.

Under the proposed law, Hardwired said, Muslims would experience greater restrictions on their freedom of religion or belief, and other religious communities would be forced to raise their children as Muslims if one parent converts to Islam.

According to Hardwired President, Tina Ramirez, “The normative effects of this new law on minority faith communities would signal their end in Iraq, but it would also further sectarian divisions among Iraqis.”

In the past year, Hardwired said it has been responding to the current genocide by training over 60 Iraqi leaders to defend the freedom of religion or belief in the midst of escalating intolerance and sectarian conflict.

Now, these leaders are working together to challenge the law as it threatens to further erase their religious identity in Iraq. Ramirez stated, "To prevent the erasure of historic religious communities, Iraq's Legislature must acknowledge their existence first."

Hardwired will head a letter among non-governmental organizations to the Iraqi Government, calling for the withdrawal of Article 26 of the National ID Card bill and for the full protection of the identity and presence of Iraq's minority faith communities.

During meetings, the delegation also met with various groups interested in helping to preserve historic Biblical sites and assist the Jewish community with re-connecting with their Jewish history, traditions and practices.

To learn more, visit www.hardwiredglobal.org.

Photo captions: 1) Group on Capitol Hill. 2) Hardwired President, Tina Ramirez, at KWVE after doing an interview with ANS founder, Dan Wooding. 3) Elma and Jeremy Reynalds.

About the writer: Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, www.joyjunction.org. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "From Destitute to Ph.D." Additional details on the book are available at www.myhomelessjourney.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife, Elma. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@gmail.com . 

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