"Protector of the Chaldean Catholics"

Over at Against the Grain, Christopher Blosser has a must-read post on some good news regarding the Chaldean Catholics still remaining in Iraq. The long-and-the-short of it, according to Chris, is that:

... Chaldean Catholics are now under the tribal protection of Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, the current head of the Sunni Anbar Salvation Council (the federation of tribes which partnered with Gen. Petraus to exterminate Al Qaeda in Iraq and rid the infestation of Ramadi/ Anbar province, becoming a strategic model for the rest of the nation).

Naming himself "Protector of the Chaldean Catholics" he is directing his funds to the rebuilding of churches and cemetaries that Al-Qaeda had vandalized. If Al Qaeda murders another Chaldean Christian, it would be as if they murdered a member of the Sahwah (a capital offense) -- which will definitely cause many would-be terrorists to think twice. Having lost much of his family to Al Qaeda, Ahmed is determined not to let it happen to others.

It's a phenomenal display of Qu'ran-based Muslim-Christian solidarity -- Ahmed had written Benedict XVI conveying his best wishes over Christmas and the Vatican returned the favor with a letter in March.