Church leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Iraq met and hosted a visit from the newly formed Ministry of Religious Affairs. This ministry has three separate branches, one each for Shia, Suni and Christians. The ten-member team of Ministry officials visited the Church headquarters last week to discuss the future of the Adventist Church in Iraq. Basim Fargo, Secretary-Treasurer for the Church in Iraq commented that, "one of the officials had studied in the Adventist school in Mosul years earlier. Others of the Ministry team recalled the days when the Adventist Church operated one of the best health care facilities in the country, the Dar es Salam Adventist Hospital in Baghdad.

Discussions covered a wide range of topics including Adventist history and beliefs. The team posed for a group picture and the visit ended with a time of prayer.

Iraq is home to around 800,000 Christians including over 200 Adventists. Christians are a small minority of this primarily Muslim country, making up around 3% of the country's population. In the past, Christians and Muslims have harmoniously lived and worked together. Looking to the days ahead, one wonders what the future may hold. [Editor: Michael Porter for ANR/APD]