Religion throws wrinkle into Iowa flood recovery

By HENRY C. JACKSON Associated Press Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa—Tayeeb Foods Inc. always enjoyed a modest profit, but Nazar Osman said running his six-year-old Sudanese grocery was never about the money.
Now the survival of his store in Coralville depends on finding money, but unlike hundreds of other small Iowa businesses affected by last month's flooding Osman can't accept low-interest loans from the federal Small Business Administration.
Like many Muslims, he takes a strict interpretation of the Quran's prohibition against paying interest.
Osman, 41, was among the thousands of Iowans pushed out of their homes and businesses by flooding last month.
He had prepared for the likelihood that about a foot of water would hit his business, hurriedly raising his freezers, refrigerators and everything else a foot off the ground.
However, the Iowa River eventually filled his store with water 8 feet deep, soaking everything for days.
The grocery played a large role in the community.
"I was serving 400 to 500 people from Sudan and other parts of Africa," Osman said. "It was a small store, but it was important to that community. For the last six years this was the only store surviving in this area for these people."
Osman's landlord is Brian Ho, who says he will rebuild the complex that held his Chinese restaurant and Osman's grocery.
Osman said that gives him hope, but even with a repaired building he figures he must find about $18,000 to reopen and restock—money he said would be difficultto find without paying interest.
His lawyer has told him the best course may be to declare his businesses bankrupt, but Osman views that as akin to declaring defeat.
"We survived the last six years with little profits," he said. "This is not about profits."
Osman has begun to look into alternative loan programs, run by Muslim banks, and said he will also consider dipping into personal savings if it is feasible.
But in the meantime he tries to keep everything in perspective.
"With all of our losses here, even the loss of a six year effort, I still feel that we were blessed," he said. "I thank God that I have a home that was safe and a job. I can't imagine my wife and five kids if I lost my home."

Heath Ledger's Last Role...

I'm not much of a superhero buff, much less a fan of superhero movies (though Ironman was surprisingly quite good) but I am an admirer of Heath Ledger's work and loved him in "Brokeback Mountain" -- I thought he was brave to take up a role that was viewed as so risky about it dealt with a taboo issue, and play it in such a manner that any one could relate to his character's tortured feelings of love. But, several of my guy friends insisted that I check it out, though, and I think I will, not only because it seems to be getting rave reviews, but also because it's the last work of Ledger's that I will be able to see.

You see, my generation grew-up with Heath Ledger. We aged with him. We were cheering for him in his first American movie, "10 Things I Hate About You", as he repeadtedly tried to woo Julia Stiles and again in "A Knight's Tale" when he was trying to prove his worth not only to society, but to himself. Sure, the same critics that praise him "Dark Knight" bashed him then because to them, he was playing typecast roles in movies aimed towards the pre-teen and teenage audience. But, let me tell you, those pre-teens and teenagers loved him and appreciated the dedication with which he played those characters that we were so invested in for that mere hour-and-a-half. I should know, because I was one of them.

So, I think it's safe to say that unless you belong to my generation, you won't be able to completely understand the gravity of the loss we will feel as we walk out of the movie theater after seeing Ledger in his last, complete performance because you simply did not see him as we did.