New Lodge in Iraq

Fist Masonic Lodge in Iraq since 1975, The Land Sea Air Masonic Lodge:

www.dcmetronet.com...

What do you all make of this?

Very interesting, but the link does not provide very much information. I'm glad that people in Iraq have the freedom to join whatever groups and clubs they like now.

-- Boat

I think Iraq is a lot more diverse than most people realize.

You can see that there are Catholic Churches In Iraq, and a list of links can be found here.
And Christians In Iraq is worth a read.
Christians only make up 3 percent of the population, but they do have a choice.


From an article at the U.S. Department Of State Website you can get some insight into the U.S. position on religion in Iraq. I pasted in a small part, but I want to spend some time looking around the whole website.
(just remember to clear your cookies after a visit) :shk:

Under the former regime, an interim constitution provided for individual freedom of religion if it did not violate "morality and public order." However, in practice, the Saddam regime severely limited freedom of religion, repressed the Shi'a religious leadership, and sought to exploit religious differences for political purposes.

Islam is the majority religion in Iraq, though other religions are practiced. The Government exercised repressive measures against any religious groupings or organizations that were deemed as not providing full political and social support to the regime.

Although Shi'a Arabs are the largest religious group, Sunni Arabs dominated economic and political life during the Hussein regime. Sunni Arabs were at a distinct advantage in all areas of secular life. The Government also severely restricted or banned outright many Shi'a religious practices and for decades conducted a brutal campaign of murder, summary execution, arbitrary arrest, and protracted detention against religious leaders and followers of the majority Shi'a Muslim population and sought to undermine the identity of minority Christian (Assyrian and Chaldean) and Yazidi groups. The regime systematically killed senior Shi'a clerics, desecrated Shi'a mosques and holy sites, interfered with Shi'a religious education, and prevented Shi'a adherents from performing their religious rites.

And if you Google Jews In Iraq, you'll also get a lot of hits.
I'm happy the Masonic Lodge is open for business, and I hope Scientology sets up a Div. 6 in Fallujah.


The region will survive, as it always has, and diversity will be one of the things that strengthen the people............

Wow, this is great. It looks like its in the tradition of the old 'traveling lodges of the British imperial era. This is a fascinating development. Thanks for pointing it out!

And the guy is an engineer too, fahn-tas-tic!