Denver Church Shows Good Faith to Iraqi Family

March 23, 2009

Author: Electa Draper

Source: The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_11974138

Call it a leap of faiths — there's a reason a committed Muslim such as Emad Hussain attends a Methodist church and why he will raise his Muslim children in its sanctuary.

Hussain fled Iraq in 2007 after he survived an attack by militants on his workplace and became a target, but he left without his wife and two young sons.

It would take a determined Denver congregation, University Park United Methodist Church, more than a year of prayer, worry and fundraising to bring Hussain's family together.

On Sunday, the church celebrated the reunion of Hussain; his wife, Rasha; and their children, 4 1/2-year-old Karrar and 2 1/2-year-old Haider. Haider was born the day after terrorists shot his father in the leg, setting in motion Emad Hussain's long interfaith journey.

"This church saved my family," Hussain said. "They shared my dream. They shared my suffering."