Progress Is Progress
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Okay... I've had some time to think about it and to study the issue more. The draft constitution for Iraq does, indeed, say that islam will be the main source for legislation... but that is pretty much the limit of that type of wording.
The rest of the constitution is filled with positive articles and clauses... to wit:
[[ Article Seven
1. Any organization that follow a racist, terrorist, extremist, sectarian-cleaning ideology or circulates or justifies such beliefs is banned, especially Saddam's Baath Party in Iraq and its symbols under any name. And this should not be part of the political pluralism in Iraq.
2. The government is committed to fighting terrorism in all its forms, and works to protect Iraqi soil from being a center or passage for terrorist activities. ]]
Now THAT'S the kind of wording we need to see more of throughout the Middle East!
My optimism is back... and I think the world will soon see the emergence of a real, functioning, honest-to-goodness democracy.
We who are realists have been saying that islam and democracy are mutually exclusive... in fact, on that point, most of us have agreed with the islamo-fascists. Now, though, we have Iraq trying to rise from its own ashes like a new-age phoenix in the midst of terror and fundamental extremism... proclaiming itself as a democracy AND an islamic state. Okay...
Maybe this is the thing we have all been waiting for. There is no way to take islam out of the Middle East... but what if they succeed in taking the Middle East out of islam?? I think it may be the only way we will ever see stability there. Making muslims believe that the islamo-fascists and the western Conservatives are all wrong... and that islam CAN exists inside a flourishing democracy. Not to use the tired old "moderate" word, but it might be fitting here.
Maybe this is the first step in bringing islam out of the dark ages... and into a sort of reformation...?
Here's the draft of the constitution- it doesn't take very long to read.
(LINK to Iraqi draft constitution)
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posted by kmg at 06:50
9 Comments:
Talk is cheap. We'll see how long the committment to fighting "sectarian-cleaning ideology" lasts. My guess is it will mean nothing for the dhimmis in Iraq; it seems geared towards fighting Baathists and thier insurgent leftovers.
As for section 2, well, if you believe THAT isn't just to satisfy the US in the short run, I've got some fantastic beachfront property in Taos I could sell you.
Sorry, but the Islamic nations have a 0.0 batting average when it comes to this sort of thing, and most of them have it written into thier "constitutions."
Pomoze Bog.
Tsar Lazar
Thanks a lot, Tsar...!!
I finally get myself back to my usual optimism... and start looking for the good things... and you have to go and remind me that we're dealing with a morally and civily corrupt area...
...stupid facts...
Well, I'm going to hold out a measure of hope... and maybe if enough of us do that, then our idealism will become contagious, and...
oh, there I go again...
...geez... it's hard to be optimistic in the face of reality sometimes.
Keep the faith. Democracies generally try harder to live by their constitutions than dictatorships do. We should be prepared for failure, certainly, but to expect it is to assure its arrival. After all the blood and treasure spent there, by the Iraqi people as much as the Coalition, they deserve a chance to back their words with action, IMO.
Steve
I strongly concur, Steve... a functioning free state of Iraq is the biggest weapon we could ever have against islamic tryanny and terrorism.
Of course, in the interests of crushing your well-meaning but feeble optimism, if the Iraqi Republic DOES succeed, it will become a target of every free-ranging mujahadi in the Muslim world for just that reason. We're constructing a terrorist magnet with a big bulls-eye painted right in the center. It will be a bloody shooting gallery.
PS Just kidding about crushing your optimism, BTW... :) However, when it comes to the Islamic world, the glass is ALWAYS half-empty.
Pomoze Bog.
Tsar Lazar
Better to have that bullseye over there than over here. Although it will still be here but still its nice to spread the wealth!
Yes, Anon., I agree. I ALMOST mentioned that in last night's comment, but I didn't want to destroy kmg's optimism completely---I'd hate for him to give up blogging in despair. :p
But yes, from my own personal standpoint I hope they can succeed, because when the Iraqi Republic degenerates into a decade of civil war between various Islamic factions, it will accomplish several positives, in my view.
1) It will demonstrate once again that Islam and democracy are antithetical because of basic Muslim theology, thus MAYBE awakening the West to its danger
2) It will have Muslims at war with each other rather than with the (nominally) Christian West, which is always a good thing
3) It will keep the Tangos busy fighting in Iraq and less likely to aid Palestinians and other radical Islamic movements throughout the world
This sounds very Machiavellian, I know, but I view the Islamic threat as too great to be sentimental on this one.
My only regret with the failure of the Iraqi Republic will be for the innocents caught in the crossfire. God keep them and have mercy upon them.
Pomoze Bog.
Tsar Lazar
Husker:
A good comment, but just a few points.
The Kurds are hardly more secular; quite the opposite. One of the reasons why the Baathist regime tried to wipe them out is that they posed a threat to any attempts to truly secularize Iraq, especially in their northern provinces. They like oil, but they are Islamic hardliners---although not, perhaps, to the degree that the Shi'ites to the south are.
As to knowing who our friends are, in the case of the Kurds that may well be correct. I don't think they'll forget the ways the US has aided them now and in the past.
But the Shi'ites hate our guts. That's why the Brits were designated to be the liberators of the south; US troops would NOT have been welcomed there. We hung them out to dry during Gulf War I, and they haven't forgotten it. Also, the southern Shi'ites have close ties with Iran, which as a Muslim nation has a huge Shi'ite majority. That means the south will be looking towards Iran rather than to central or northern Iraq. I see major Iranian attempts to create a puppet state in southern Iraq in the near future, or at the very least setting up a regime that is favorable to Tehran.
Pomoze Bog.
Tsar Lazar
Yes, I agree about the Turks...they're going to have a cow if the Kurds leave the reservation. They'll see it as PKK Central Command.
A good response...thanks.
Pomoze Bog.
Tsar Lazar
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