- Title: Kirkuk bookshop uses English to promote peace in divided Iraqi city
- Date: 5th September 2018
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF AL-TAREEQ (The Road) BOOKSTORE, SAMI SULAIMAN, SAYING: "We have a variety of activities, we do not stick a certain activity. We choose a cultural of social topic related to the life of the people and we try through it to convey awareness messages to improve the quality of social life of the people and at the same time create an atmosphere of fun. We (also) have educational topics, but we are trying as much as we could to have fun to present education through fun." VARIOUS OF ATTENDEES AT FREE ENGLISH FRIDAY GATHERING LECTURE AT BOOKSTORE YOUNG GIRL WRITING ENGLISH WORDS ON BOARD (SOUNDBITE) (English) GRADUATE OF LAW SCHOOL, MOROOJ EMAD, SAYING: "I am living in Sulaimaniyah right now, but I drive every Friday to Kirkuk to come and participate in Free English Friday in Al-Tareeq library. We do these activities to help other people to learn English and to have fun as well as we do some fun activities to make people have fun and enjoy our sessions. We are trying to support those who want to improve their English and we are trying to select topics to make them have more knowledge and more information about what is going on in other countries." VARIOUS OF FREE ENGLISH FRIDAY SESSION AT BOOKSTORE GROUP OF PEOPLE LEAVING AFTER END OF SESSION
- Embargoed: 19th September 2018 13:44
- Keywords: Iraq war peace conflict diversity books bookstore Kirkuk
- Location: KIRKUK, IRAQ
- City: KIRKUK, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA0038WCNB6D
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: All are welcome to attend free English language discussions and lessons in Sami Sulaiman's bookshop - on the strict condition that they steer clear of politics and religion and refrain from speaking their own languages.
The bookshop, Al-Tareeq ('The Road' in Arabic), is in the multi-ethnic northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, long riven by nationalist and sectarian tensions that have pitted Arabs against Kurds and Turkmens and Sunni Muslims against Shi'ites.
Sulaiman, a Kurd, said the aim of the three-hour-long English courses on Friday evenings was to promote peace and harmony among the diverse ethnic and religious groups that live in Kirkuk, which is the hub of a major oil-producing region.
"Discussions... about political and religious issues are not allowed. The main aim of the gathering is to bring together as many people as possible from all ethnic groups in Kirkuk but to prevent them from discussing politics," Sulaiman said.
The condition is vital in a city where even children in alleyways can be overheard talking politics, he added.
Many Iraqi Kurds have long seen Kirkuk as the future capital of an independent Kurdish state, but those hopes were dashed last October when Iraqi government forces took back control of the city following the defeat of Islamic State militants in northern Iraq.
Sunni Muslim Kurds comprise the largest community in Kirkuk, a city of more than one million people, followed by Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim Turkmen, Sunni Arabs and Christian Assyrians, according to data from the Iraqi Planning Ministry.
Sulaiman said the use of English as a politically neutral language was vital to his project, in which he is supported by a number of young volunteers drawn from Kirkuk's various ethnic and religious communities. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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