February 27, 2011

Shining Turkish schools cement Iraq’s social unity

Aziz İstegün

Iraq has been experiencing unrest for seven of the last 30 years. The Halabja massacre, the US invasion, the overthrowing of Saddam Hussein, the sectarian conflicts and the problems concerning how to share political power have split the country into three regions, although not de jure: the Shiites to the south, the Sunnis in and around Baghdad and the Kurds to the north.

In Iraq, a country where demands for de jure or de facto segregation are frequently voiced, there are certain institutions that have been advocating peaceful coexistence since 1994. Moreover, these institutions put this idea into practice. The name of these institutions that cement Iraq’s integrity is the Ishik (Light) Schools.