c. 2005 Religion News Service

SAMI AL ASSI, Iraq _ America’s hopes for a more secure and stable Iraq depend on men like Sheik Abdullah Sami al Assi.

The sheik, a Sunni Muslim and the oldest son of a tribal elder who gave his name to this northern Iraqi village, braved death threats and encouraged villagers to vote in the January national election. When he personally voted, defying instructions from a cousin to boycott the election, he said through a translator, “Thanks to Allah, I got a good victory.”

Despite the sheik’s willingness to support the popular vote, Iraq’s Sunni Arabs largely were disenfranchised by the election. The final tally gave the vast majority of seats in the 275-member national assembly to Shiite and Kurdish candidates.

Most Sunnis, meanwhile, boycotted the election at the request of their leaders. The results were greeted with bitterness by many Sunnis, a minority group that had dominated Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s reign.

Political leaders in Washington and Baghdad are reacting to that bitterness by reaching out to respected Sunnis such as Sheik Abdullah as Iraq’s new assembly prepares to draft a constitution. One of the biggest threats to Iraq’s future is the prospect of a civil war that could materialize if Sunnis feel marginalized.

“I’m very sorry about the Arab villages that didn’t take part in the election, because the election was very important for Iraq,” the sheik said recently to a U.S. delegation led by Oregon Army National Guard Capt. Dominic Kotz of La Grande. “I hope the next election will be very good.”

The relationship with the sheik is an important one for the Oregon Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry, which is responsible for security over much of the region south and southwest of the city of Kirkuk. The relationship is what the military calls a “sphere of influence engagement” for Lt. Col. Dan McCabe, the battalion’s commander.

Kotz, who commands one company of the 3rd Battalion, and 1st Lt. Eric Vandewalle of Aberdeen, Wash., go with their soldiers frequently to speak with the sheik’s younger brother, Maad Sami al Assi, who is a member of the town council in Taza Khurmatu.

Maad Sami al Assi, they say, is a “voice of reason” on the council. The village of Sami al Assi falls under the jurisdiction of neighboring Taza Khurmatu.

After the soldiers came to call recently at the sheik’s household and removed their body armor, helmets and boots, Maad Sami al Assi seated them in a reception hall in front of the fireplace where servants burned bundles of tree roots. He treated them to a breakfast tray of eggs, yogurt, marmalade and pan-sized flatbreads, delicate glasses of sugary chai and slender cans of Pepsi.

When they finished eating, they were joined by the sheik, a dignified, barefoot man wearing a full-length robe known as an abaya, along with a black-and-white head scarf. He seated himself next to the masked translator brought by the Americans and began speaking in a low, steady tone.

“The terrorists can’t control us,” the sheik said, according to the translation. “We must challenge them for this area to be safe and good for our people.

“The election shows we can do anything. In Iraq, we have a saying, `The good tree, there are many guys who want to cut it.”’

Kotz agreed. “I appreciate the courage he showed in the election by voting,” he said to the translator, who repeated his words in Arabic to the sheik. “I can’t think of a better leader for his people than him.”

The sheik received the compliment without a smile. “Thank you very much,” he said. “I hope it will be good not just for Arabs, but for Kurds and Turkmen and everyone in Iraq.”

Privately, the soldiers said they believe the sheik and his family are sincere.

“You can trust most of what they say,” said 2nd Lt. Gary Bartholomew of Stansbury Park, Utah. “These guys are very trustworthy.”

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The military has responded to the sheik’s friendly overtures by starting construction of a small health clinic named for his father.

As workers laid courses of cinder blocks in the February sunshine, the sheik gestured up and down the road where the clinic is taking shape. He explained that it would allow people of nearby villages to visit for minor medical treatment. And he said he intends to add a gasoline station and market to the intersection, so that area residents wouldn’t need to drive to Taza Khurmatu or the nearby town of Daquq for their goods.

Kotz pronounced the sheik’s plans “an excellent idea.”

Sheik Abdullah said the area also would benefit from a local newspaper and radio station. It takes him two or three days to speak to the people in surrounding villages, he said. With a radio station, he could do the same thing in two hours.

He also said the area continues to suffer from poor roads, a lack of adequate schools and electricity. Then he apologized for sounding too needy.

“I wish we could do that overnight,” Kotz said of the sheik’s list. “But because of time, materials, equipment and funding, it’s not feasible. All we can do is not give up.”

MO/PH/JL END FRANCIS

(Mike Francis is a staff writer for The Oregonian of Portland, Ore.)