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Iraqi Writer Says Draft Constitution Serves "Political Islam"

Posted on: Saturday, 6 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

Text of article by Muhsin Sabit al-Jilawi entitled "Initial reading of the Iraqi draft constitution" published by Iraqi newspaper Al-Furat on 4 August; subheadings inserted editorially:

"Placing Iraq on the path of Iran"

Several newspapers and websites have published the proposed text of the draft permanent constitution, which will be discussed at a later stage. I cannot believe that after all this clamour that dominated the National Assembly sessions and political life in the country and after more than 70 personalities assumed the task of drafting the constitution, along with the other assembly members, the outcome was very miserable. This outcome indicates the reality and form of new Iraq under the authority of religion, no matter how much those people try to claim democracy and freedom. We have repeatedly said that what is happening on the ground reflects an integral plan that takes balances and internal and external factors into consideration, depending on a smart tactic to achieve this gradually. On the ground, they have adjusted the form and rhythm of life to match their standards and today they are heading towards what is more important; namely, the form of the state and its political system through a constitution that they can interpret in a way to establish absolute authority. This plan cannot be read without sensing that horizon, which seeks to make society yield to the will of the people who formulated this plan.

Article 1 refers to the Islamic and federal Iraqi Republic. Including the word Islamic means placing Iraq on the path of Iran. This word alone should make everybody fear for the future of Iraq and what is planned for at a later stage.

"This allows political Islam to destroy an entire country"

2. Article 2 says that Islam is the official religion of the state and is the main source of legislation. It adds that no law shall be passed if this law conflicts with the agreed-upon principles of Islam and that the constitution safeguards the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people (in its Shi'i majority and its Sunnis) and respects the rights of other religions. This article is indeed the most serious one in this bad draft. Instead of saying that Islam is one of the sources of legislation, it says that Islam is the main source. This allows political Islam to destroy an entire country and opens the door wide to the infamous Decision No 137. It will also place all laws in the country in front of the anvil of the Islamic legislator including all civil rights - inheritance, marriage, divorce and women's rights - as well as the position towards culture, arts and the entire creative life. It threatens the well-known Iraqi diversity.

I do not know who will determine the principles of society and according to which religious schools will these principles be formulated. What is it that determines the Islamic identity? What is the purpose of adding Shi'is and Sunnis, except for the sake of hateful sectarianism? This entire article is destructive and it constitutes a danger to Iraq's present and future. This article means that there can be no separation of religion from the state and there is no future for a secular state or a state in which all people, who embrace different beliefs and creeds, are equal. This paragraph is the core of the constitution and everything else pertains to details. Even what is positive in it will be trampled upon by the skilful legislation and concepts of the coming political Islam.

What is worse is that a female member of the National Assembly said in a television interview that she believes that this article will change to read as follows "Islam is the official religion of the state and the Koran is the main source of legislation." Apparently, Ammar al-Hakim [official from the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq] or Muqtada al-Sadr will then explain our rights or this could be done by the female members of the National Assembly, who, in the new millennium, find the idea of equality between men and women strange. What disaster is awaiting this country, which has a civilization dating back 5,000 years? Should we forget this?

Article 3 says that the Iraqi people are made up of two ethnicities...etcetera [ellipsis as published]. All ethnicities were mentioned except for the Armenians, although they make up an important minority in Iraq. Also, there is no emphasis on the Iraqi national character by reviving the Iraqi identity through an Iraqi nation in which national, religious and sectarian diversity is integrated. Thus, citizenship will be the criterion and basis for rights and duties and consequently this will remove Iraq from the illusion of the benefit of connections with the outside [Arab world] and that pan-Arab debate, which uses the slogan of nations, whose existence is doubtful practically and scientifically, as an Arab or Kurdish nation or others. We need a cohesive Iraqi nation that believes in and legislates equality in citizenship through political democracy. In my opinion, this is the best solution to Iraq's problems that have persisted for a long time.

"Will the religious authority determine the way we will live"?

Article 9 says that the family is the basis of society and that the state shall maintain its genuine Iraqi character, which is based on religious, moral and national principles and values. I do not know why is the individual not the basis of society to increase the rights of this individual in the family and society as a whole and as an integral situation. Also, the expression religious principles and values allows for different interpretations. Do we have one understanding of religious principles and values on the part of the group of Al-Sadr, Al-Da'wah [Party], Al-Sistani and the Communist Party?

Article 13 says that the Iraqi state shall be committed to international agreements without this conflicting with the provisions of the constitution. This expression allows any authority to interpret international laws that bolster civil rights, human rights, women's rights, children's rights and hundreds of international laws, which are the outcome of the collective human mind, in a reductive way and makes it possible to avoid the implementation of these laws, especially since political Islam does not believe in many of them.

Article 14 did not explain whether the members of the Armed Forces would have the right to vote or not.

Article 15 says that the religious authority is independent and has a guidance role. This is a clear reference to the Shi'i religious authority. Why give this authority a higher status than other religious authorities? There are several religious authorities in a country that has several religions and schools of religious thought. Why should the constitution of the state inflate its status? Will the religious authority determine the way we will live later? This expression is extraneous by all standards.

Article 4 says that the Iraqi nationality is a right for each Iraqi and shall not be revoked for any reason and it is the basis of his citizenship and the source of his rights and duties. The citizen has the right to demand restoring it if it was revoked and it is possible to have several nationalities. The sentence is confusing and contradictory. If the nationality is a right that cannot be revoked, then why does the same text say "demand restoring it if it was revoked"? This article allows for many interpretations that have different meanings on a serious issue, which is citizenship. Also, there is nothing that indicates the time needed for granting citizenship to a person living on Iraqi soil if this person wants to have it.

"Serious threat to the status of women"

Article 6 says that the state shall guarantee the basic rights of the woman and her equality with the man in the fields according to the rules of the Islamic shari'ah, etcetera. This article is the most serious with regard to public liberties, since it will make women's rights dependent on different religious interpretations and will pose a serious threat to the status of women. The complex of the clerics is the woman and by succeeding in legislating this, they will be able to trample upon all freedoms and rights for men and women together. This paragraph means practically adopting Decision 137.

Article 11 says that each individual has the right to freedom of expression by all means that are guaranteed by the law provided that this individual does not violate public order and morals. I do not know what these means are and what is the ceiling of morals in self- expression? The religious interpretation of morals means getting into the minutest details, such as hijab, dress code, listening to music, going to the movies or a bar and the attitude towards the theatre, etcetera. Repeating the word morals in any topic that has to do with people's freedoms means rationalizing and domesticating these freedoms to become consistent with the Islamic legislator, since the source of legislation is Islam and nothing else.

Concerning Article 3, I do not know how the electoral process is carried out to elect the National Assembly and how was it calculated that 100,000 [voters] equal one seat. Will the electoral process continue according to the single constituency system, which proved to be unfit for the reality of Iraq? This system did injustice to entire governorates and made them absent from the decision-making circle, according to the party lists that are subject to regional considerations, especially in representation that is proportionate with the population.

"Backwardness and narrow-mindedness"

Article 4 says that a person who wants to nominate himself to the National Assembly should: A. Be an Iraqi from two Iraqi parents by birth. B. Be at least 30 years old. I do not know why two Iraqi parents by birth. There are hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who are married to Arab or foreign people, be they men or women and I do not know why should we deprive them of the right to political action. This paragraph also affects equality between Iraqi citizens and the non-discrimination between them. This condition shows the backwardness and narrow-mindedness of the drafters of this constitution. Also, setting the age at 30 deprives Iraqi youths who are between 18 and 30 of their right to take part in this process. This young segment is important and active in political life and the future of modernity, progress and construction in Iraq will be based on it. This condition means lack of confidence in a generation, which has just emerged to life and work. Certainly, religious people insisted on this age group because there is ample evidence to suggest that they are against the policy and ideology of the religious people. We saw this during the incidents at the University of Basra and in other places, where young people were subject to blackmail and persecution by the gangs of political Islam.

Concerning the rights and duties of the members of the National Assembly, there is no paragraph about a member who is always absent and this is what we see now. The party leaders do not respect this assembly and do not attend its sessions except when there are ceremonies on certain occasions.

This article does not explain how the elections will be conducted in the region and whether or not they will be conducted along with the general elections. I do not know why set an age for the speaker, which is 40 years, while there is no age set for the president of the republic or the prime minister. Also, there is no mention of the presence of an army or federal police in the region. The state will thus become incapable of defending itself in front of smuggling gangs. The constitutional court is made up of four judges from the fuqaha al-shari'ah [experts in shari'ah] and law professors. I do not know what is meant by fuqaha al-shari'ah.

"Need for real political democracy"

These are some initial comments. Add to these the poor phrasing and a host of contradictions in the entire draft. This draft is open to interpretation and will greatly benefit political Islam. It is important to apply pressure to reveal the minutes of meetings and the sessions and discussions of the constitutional committee so that the Iraqi citizen will get to know the various views behind each article in this failed draft. Thus, we will be able to know the horizon sought by the drafters of this constitution. Besides, the idea that says that the Kurdistan Region will write its own constitution appears to me to be a bargain with the Kurds to turn a blind eye as long as their rights will be in a separate constitution and the resources will be safeguarded. The rest is a purely southern affair. This is my view and I hope that I am mistaken. If a separate constitution is written, will it be a democratic constitution or will it be subject to the political situation here or there? History has offered us undemocratic examples for the federation or the union as was the case in the former Soviet Union and currently in Russia and in the Yugoslav federation previously. It seems that we will have federations without a democracy and by this we will overcome the complicated political problem in Iraq, which is the need for real political democracy. According to this draft, it seems to be a distant goal. Thus, the cycle of problems and conflicts will continue and will not end anytime soon.

All the active forces in society and all the forces that care about the future of Iraq, by relying on the democratic and well- meaning forces in this world, are required to oppose this draft. Issuing such a draft means that what is coming will be worse. We see on the horizon a religious authority based on fatwas [religious rulings], sticks, a return to the harem authority and incriminating others.

Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East

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