Let the future begin now

Iraq | With a prominent Iraqi pastor feared dead, Iraqis are ready for new constitutional law and old order | Mindy Belz

Members of St. George's Anglican Church in Baghdad are likely to go to the polls Oct. 15 with heavy hearts. Their founding lay pastor, Maher Dakel, has been missing since Sept. 12 and—along with four other church members, including Mr. Dakel's wife and son—is presumed dead.

The group was on its way back to Baghdad after attending a pastor's conference in Amman, Jordan. Road travel through Anbar Province is treacherous but few Iraqis have the option of air travel, given the inflated cost. Mr. Dakel alerted a friend by cell phone when he reached the border and was expected in Baghdad three to four hours later. "Then he just vanished," said Nabil Haj, an Iraqi resident and Lebanese-American friend of Mr. Dakel who helped with restoration and reopening of St. George's two years ago.