ALOHA!
Posted on 10/04/2008 10:22:58 AM PDT by SandRat
CAMP TAJI — Warrior Brigade continued its tradition of eliminating cultural divides by hosting an recent Iftar dinner here.
Col. Todd McCaffrey, commander, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, and other senior leaders hosted Iraqi Army (IA), Police (IP) and National Police (NP) commanders during the traditional meal, which Muslims have at the end of daily fasting during Ramadan.
“The colonel ate dates and drank water to break the fast, just like one of us,” said NP Col. Ahmed Mohammed Mohammed Saleh, commander, 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, referring to the Quran verse “When one of you breaks his fast he should do so with dates for they provide blessing, but if he cannot get any he should break his fast with water for it is purifying.”
After prayers, ISF commanders joined McCaffrey, his battalion commanders and other leaders in the dining facility to begin the meal.
“Thank you, to our Iraqi partners. It’s our honor to entertain you.” McCaffrey said. “Ramadan is a holy time for people in Iraq, and during this time we’re learning more about your culture … it’s an honor to serve with you and have you leaders here.”
A cultural advisor worked with the dining facility’s head chef to prepare food for the meal. People piled plates with cabbage rolls, Kabuli rice, beef kabob, crab-stuffed trout and more.
“The dinner was very beautiful,” commented IA Staff Gen. Ya’arub Mahdi Hassan al Khafaji, commander, 34th Brigade, 9th Infantry Division.
“Excellent,” agreed IA Staff Col. Ala’a Hussein Jiwad, commander, 36th Bde., 9th IA Div.
According to Sgt. 1st Class Valentin Fletes, an S7 team member, it took four weeks to coordinate the dinner.
“Ramadan is only once a year, and seeing as our cultures can be so different it’s important to bridge the gap,” said Fletes, after describing the work that went into overseeing the preparation. “And we especially wanted to bring pineapples. Although they’re known in Iraq, they’re considered to be a bit exotic and we wanted to definitely share that.”
The brigade ensured each Iraqi attendee got a pineapple.
Although not a requirement, many Muslims bring desserts or sweet gifts for Iftars.
McCaffrey felt the pineapple was fitting and exemplified his message.
“When you leave we have a gift for each one of you. I’m not clear if the pineapple is common in Iraq … but in Hawaii this represents the spirit of hospitality, and here it represents how much you mean to us. This present is a display of the unity we all share,” McCaffrey said.
“It’s a pineapple that represents Hawaii, but I think it was probably grown in the Philippines,” he added, drawing some laughter from the crowd. “Please spend some time with us; we look forward to continue serving with each one of you – shukran.”
Recently, Warrior Brigade shared traditional Polynesian dancing with some of their Iraqi partners, so the dinner wasn’t the first cultural exchange. Most likely it won’t be the last before the brigade redeploys, according to Fletes.
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