c. 2006 Religion News Service

BAGHDAD, Iraq _ Jawad al-Maliki’s appointment Saturday (April 22) to head Iraq’s national assembly ended a four-month stalemate among politicians here, and opened a passage to forming a new government to tackle the country’s overwhelming troubles.

Al-Maliki, 55, a member of Daawa, Iraq’s oldest Shiite political party, served on the committee that drafted the country’s constitution last year, and as deputy speaker of Iraq’s interim government in 2003.

But Iraqis know little more about al-Maliki, in part because he fled to Syria in 1979 and didn’t return until after U.S.-led coalition forces toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime three years ago.

Still, many Iraqis in Baghdad view their parliamentarians’ agreement on a new leader as a step toward creating a strong government that will restore order to their country by stemming sectarian violence, terrorist attacks and rampant crime.

“We don’t want anything but security,” said Qassam Al-Saada, 32, a co-owner of the Karrada Nights Cafe in central Baghdad.

Al-Saada’s plea came less than two hours after a barrage of mortars struck within a mile of his establishment, which sits along a road lined with barbed wire and armed guards between Iraq’s defense ministry and the fortified Green Zone.

“I don’t know anything about the new prime minister, but people here seem to have a good feeling about him,” Al-Saada said this week, as about 50 elderly and unemployed men sat inside his spacious cafe sipping black tea, smoking Egyptian water pipes and slapping dominoes on metal tables.

“Most Iraqis are optimistic,” said Ali Majbel, a 52-year-old electrician, as he sat puffing a cigarette inside the cafe. “The new government must have time to prove itself because we have no security and the infrastructure is destroyed. We’re starting over from zero.”

But the new prime minister immediately faces the enormous challenge of halting sectarian tensions between the country’s dominant Shiite population and the disenfranchised Sunni minority that threatens to drag Iraq into a civil war.

Mosdek Rashid, 55, a Sunni whose mother and daughter-in-law are Shiites, said Iraq’s new leadership must recognize the majority of its people are united, and protect them from divisive threats.

“We’re all struggling to survive this violence,” Rashid said as he palmed black prayer beads. “The new prime minister and his government must be strong and not tolerate any sectarian attacks. They must severely punish anyone attempting to divide the Iraqi people.”

Despite this widespread attitude to keep working toward a better life, not everyone in the Iraqi capital is as sanguine.

“It’s been three years and nothing has been accomplished except destruction,” said Mohammed Al-Mossawi, 52, as he sat in a dark corner of his dry cleaner shop in central Baghdad with no electricity. “Perhaps the situation here will improve for the next generation, but it’s too late for me.”

On the campus of Baghdad University, members of Iraq’s next generation expressed additional concerns about their future beyond security and unity.

Khalel Taha, 23, a senior at the school, said he hopes Iraq’s government will improve the economy and create more employment opportunities. “It’s difficult for me to study knowing that after I graduate I may be just sitting home without a job,” said Taha, a physical education major.

Antisar Jaweshi, a 26-year-old junior at the university, said she wants Iraqi leaders to focus more on women’s rights. “I would like to see the government stop religious extremism and create a secular society that allows women more freedoms and chances to participate,” said Jaweshi, who wore a stylish head scarf, baggy jeans and red sneakers.

Al-Maliki, the new prime minister, has 30 days to form a new government, including appointing ministry leaders, which is seen as crucial step to defining his leadership.

“The prime minister must choose the most qualified people to head the ministries, and not base his decisions on political or religious affiliations,” said Kadhem Al-Rawi, who heads the influential Muslim Scholars, a group of Sunni academics. “If he makes his choices based on the wrong reasons, we may fall into deeper trouble.”

Amin Al-Delawe, a spokesman for the Kurdish Democratic Party, said he sees no further hindrances to forming a new government. “We’re at a good point now because all of the parties are cooperating,” Al-Delawe said in a telephone interview. “The worst is over.”

MO PH END PALMER

(James Palmer wrote this story for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.)