Showing results by author "Weam Namou" in All Categories

What secrets lie hidden in the Faith and Church Gallery of the Chaldean Museum? When a group of sixth graders steps into the exhibit, they discover it’s far more than a collection of ancient artifacts—it’s a gateway to the remarkable story of the Chaldean people. As they explore, the gallery hums with questions. How have the Chaldeans, indigenous to Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), preserved their faith and culture for thousands of years? How did they manage to keep speaking Aramaic—the very language of Jesus—through centuries of change? At the center of the exhibit stands a ...

In Witnessing a Genocide, Weam Namou shares her visit to Iraq in 2000, a journey where she embraced Easter with relatives, remembered her magical childhood in Baghdad, and enjoyed her ancestors’ town of Telkaif in Mosul. The trip, held dear to her heart and preserved through pictures of extravagant picnics, tours of ancient monasteries and other lively explorations, is soon drowned by the events that follow the 2003 US-led invasion. Like the rest of the Iraqi American community, Namou watches from a distance the destruction and devastation befalling her birth country. The violence and ...

Archaeological evidence proves that women in ancient Mesopotamia had great political and religious status during the Garden of Eden period where, once upon a time, goddesses and gods lived harmoniously together. That is why there was a design and rhythm to the Garden of Eden, a yin and yang concept. Through the veil of ignorance, we lost that paradise. To create that balance in a new way, we first have to heal the earth by opening certain stories and putting them back onto the page and into our collective memory. In Mesopotamian Goddesses: Unveiling Your Feminine Power, Eric Hoffer award-...

In the weeks before the election of Donald Trump, Niran, a young, liberal, Iraqi Muslim immigrant, struggles to find her footing in a neighborhood of well-to-do, conservative Iraqi Christians. Inspired by her idol Enheduanna, the first recorded writer in history and famed priestess of Ancient Mesopotamia, Niran navigates societal challenges, fights against cultural stereotypes, and most of all, aims to make her voice heard by all around her. With a desire to study, work, and love, Niran rediscovers her purpose in life.

Life has an odd way of bringing to you what you need when you need it most. Author Weam Namou learns this through her experience with Lynn Andrews shamanic school. When one day Namou sits down to write her next book, she feels resistance in her fingertips and a void in her spirit. She soon realizes that years of struggling in her writing career, witnessing the war in her birth country, Iraq, and juggling her responsibilities as a housewife and mother has caused her to lose her literary voice. On a quest to once more find her voice, she comes across Writing Spirit, a book that rejuvenates ...

This book tells the fascinating story of Elias al-Musili, a Chaldean priest from the seventeenth century who made an unprecedented journey from Baghdad to colonial Spanish America. Discovered in 1905 by Jesuit scholar Antun Rabbat, Elias’ writings offer a unique perspective on the New World through the eyes of a Middle Eastern traveler. With papal support and royal authorization, Elias’ twelve-year adventure took him across vast landscapes, encountering diverse native peoples and their customs, the Spanish conquistadors, and the burgeoning colonial society. His detailed observations ...

When a group of sixth graders visits the Chaldean Museum, they discover more than just ancient artifacts. As they wander through the vibrant Ancient Mesopotamia Gallery, mosaic lions roar to life, cuneiform tablets whisper secrets, and the towering Code of Hammurabi seems to hold a mysterious power. With each step, history awakens, and the stories of powerful rulers and incredible inventions spark their imaginations like never before.

The Oneida Man embarks on a captivating journey that explores the unique and thought-provoking friendship between the author, a woman of Chaldean descent, and a Native American man. Set against the backdrop of a city in Michigan nicknamed “Little Baghdad,” this tale delves into the complexities of cultural identity, language, and the power of human connection. The story invites readers on an intimate and illuminating journey of self-discovery and cross-cultural explorations. With its rich tapestry of conversations, cultural insights, and heartfelt revelations, the story offers a ...

Born in 1804, Chaldean author Maria Theresa Asmar offers a captivating firsthand account of her travels through Mesopotamia, Syria, Lebanon, and Jerusalem in her acclaimed memoir. Asmar, known in Europe as a "Babylonian Princess," provides a rare perspective on the Ottoman Empire's harem system and her time with the Bedouin. She traveled to France, England, and Italy and met with prominent individuals, including Queen Victoria and the Pope. This new edition, rewritten by Weam Namou, includes Asmar's full work Prophecy and Lamentation, providing additional context and insight into the ...

In Book 4 of Healing Wisdom for a Wounded World, Weam Namou reveals the key experiences of her final year as an apprentice in Lynn Andrews’ four-year shamanic school. Once again, she shares some of the ways Lynn’s students learned to apply these rich spiritual resources in their own lives. The fourth year is about the apprentices bringing all of their tools and talents together, specifying their vision, and setting their course into the world. It’s about the completion/creation cycle. Through the author’s journey, you will become aware how ancient teachings can awaken heightened ...

Mervat was born in Iraq as a minority Christian and in the late 1970s and came to America at age two. Torn between her cultural heritage which dates back over 7300 years and the new land of freedom and opportunity, she watches friends live an Americanized lifestyle while she clings onto Middle Eastern traditions, all along yearning for the courage to follow her own path, to "Trust thyself" as Ralph Waldo Emerson emphasized. Then she meets Johnny, the perfect potential suitor, but he brings along multiple complications. As their relationship faces its challenges, Mervat's desire for having ...

In Book 3 of Healing Wisdom for a Wounded World, Weam Namou shares the highlights of the third year of her apprenticeship in Lynn Andrews’ four-year shamanic school. Her biggest act of power this year is to make it to Storm Eagle, the training gathering in Arizona, and participate in the marriage ceremony. She wants to finally meet her mentors and Lynn Andrews in person. As she sets her intent and waits for the outcome, she dives into the schoolwork, which focuses on balancing one’s emotions, building endurance, working deeply with the chakra systems, and celebrating the marriage of ...

Little Baghdad is a loving, historical, and personal account of an indigenous group of people who were forced out of their ancestral home, Mesopotamia. They found refuge in the United States, specifically Sterling Heights where according to archaeologists Native Americans lived more than 11,000 years ago. Through her dreamlike poetic travels into homes, museums, and neighborhoods, Weam Namou, author, filmmaker, and journalist tells the story of how this ancient and unique group known as Chaldeans (Neo-Babylonians who still speak a modern form of Aramaic) have survived decades of oppression ...

Set in America and the Middle East in the early 1990s, The Feminine Art is the story of Suham, a married woman who distracts herself from boredom by trying to find her nephew, Michael, a wife. The perfect bride happens to be in Baghdad. As the arranged wedding takes a shape of its own, Suham and Michael are challenged to face the truths within themselves that had been kept hidden behind tradition and illusion.

Winner of Eric Hoffer Book Award “We came here for America’s freedoms,” Weam Namou writes. “As an immigrant, I saw through the Dawn Hanna case how we are losing the very things we came here for.” One day, a family approached Namou to write a story about their daughter, Dawn Hanna, who was accused of conspiring to broker telecommunication equipment to Iraq during the sanctions. Unbeknownst to Dawn and the jury which tried her, her co-conspirator was actually a CIA operative. The project was sponsored by the United States to listen in on Saddam and his men. Namou was drawn to this ...

In Book 2 of Healing Wisdom for a Wounded World, Weam Namou takes you through the second year of her apprenticeship in Lynn Andrews’ four-year shamanic school. Join her as she embarks on a deep transformation process. The school’s focus for this year is to understand how to bring form into the world; to experience holding energy and moving it out into the universe; to develop the ability to move energy into objects for healing and sacred work; to learn how to use sacred tools in a powerful way without manipulating ourselves or others; and to prepare for the building of dream bodies and ...

In this modern adaptation of Shall This Nation Die?, Weam Namou uncovers the overlooked narrative of Reverend Joseph Naayem’s resilience in the face of the 1915 genocide, exploring how it shaped his life. Naayem’s unwavering determination shines through despite enduring imprisonment and abuse by the Turks. In the most desperate times, his story exemplifies the power of hope, faith, and compassion to create change. By sharing this moving story with contemporary readers, Namou hopes to encourage greater moral courage in today’s society.