"...an utterly corrupt new religion called environmentalism..."
If the history of this planet's climate over millions of years is any guide, we are about to enter a new ice age.
CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper indicated in a 1993 interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he wants to see the United States become a Muslim country.
The Draft Iraq Constitution
By R J Rummel (09/09/05)
You have heard much for and against democracy in Iraq. The keystone of democracy is the constitution that governs it, and Iraq's draft constitution is now available in translation (link here). Although constitutions can be a pack of lies, as was the constitution of the Soviet Union, for democracies they do define rule by law and the extent of human rights. Now, lets look at what the Iraqi constitution writers conceive democracy to be.
BASIC PRINCIPLES:
Article (1): . . . the system of rule . . . is a democratic, federal, representative (parliamentary) republic.
This is consistent with my reading of the constitution.
Islam is the official religion of the state and is a basic source of legislation: (a) No law can be passed that contradicts the fixed principles of Islam; (b) No law can be passed that contradicts the principles of democracy.(c) No law can be passed that contradicts the rights and basic freedoms outlined in this constitution.
Although, Western democrats will be uncomfortable with a state designated religion, this is tempered in three ways. But, Islam is "a," not "the," basic source of legislation, and any Islamic based legislation cannot violate "the," not "a," principles of democracy, or constitutional rights and basic freedoms. This goes surprisingly far toward liberal democracy and a secular society in light of religious pressures involved in the writing of this constitution.
This constitution guarantees the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people and the full religious rights for all individuals and the freedom of creed and religious practices.
Article (3): Iraq is a multiethnic, multi-religious and multi-sect country. It is part of the Islamic world and its Arab people are part of the Arab nation.
So,religious freedom will be respected, even though the construction understandably recognizes the regional religious and ethnic identity of Iraq.
Article (5): The law is sovereign, the people are the source of authority and its legitimacy, which they exercise through direct, secret ballot and its constitutional institutions.
Article (6): Government should be rotated peacefully through democratic means stipulated in this constitution.
Now, constitutionally, thehse two articles affirm democracy.
Article (7): Entities or trends that advocate, instigate, justify or propagate racism, terrorism, ''takfir'' (declaring someone an infidel), sectarian cleansing, are banned, especially the Saddamist Baath Party in Iraq and its symbols, under any name. It will be not be allowed to be part of the multilateral political system in Iraq, which should be defined according to the law.
This is the most controversial article and one reason the Sunni minority did not sign off on it. But, after Japan and Germany lost the Second World War, such a cleansing of Japanese militarists and Nazis from politics went far toward making for a stable democracy.
The constitution goes on to say:
This constitution shall be considered as the supreme and highest law in Iraq. It shall be binding throughout the whole country without exceptions.
This confirms the rule of law, even above government.
Civil and political rights.
Article (14): Iraqis are equal before the law without discrimination because of sex, ethnicity, nationality, origin, color, religion, sect, belief, opinion or social or economic status.
Article (15): Every individual has the right to life and security and freedom and cannot be deprived of these rights or have them restricted except in accordance to the law and based on a ruling by the appropriate judicial body.
Article (16): Equal opportunity is a right guaranteed to all Iraqis, and the state shall take the necessary steps to achieve this.
Article (17):1st -- Each person has the right to personal privacy as long as it does not violate the rights of others or general morality. 2nd -- The sanctity of the home is protected. They cannot be entered or searched or violated except by judicial decision and in accordance with the law.
Article (19): 1st -- The judiciary is independent, with no power above it other than the law. 2nd -- There is no crime and no punishment except by the text (of law). And there is no punishment except for an act that the law considers a crime at the time of its commission. No punishment can be enacted that is heavier than the punishment allowed at the time of the crime's commission. 3rd -- Trial by judiciary is a right protected and guaranteed to all. 4th -- The right to defense is holy and guaranteed in all stages of investigation and trial. 5th -- The accused is innocent until his guilt is proven in a just, legal court. The accused cannot be tried for the same accusation again after he has been freed unless new evidence appears.
Article (20): Citizens, male and female, have the right to participate in public matters and enjoy political rights, including the right to vote and run as candidates.
Thse articles establish the equal right to a fair trial by an independent judiciary. More important is that there will be no discrimination against women under the law.
PART TWO: Freedoms:
Article (35): 1st --(a) The freedom and dignity of a person are protected. (b) No one may be detained or investigated unless by judicial decision. (c) All forms of torture, mental or physical, and inhuman treatment are forbidden. There is no recognition of any confession extracted by force or threats or torture, and the injured party may seek compensation for any physical or mental injury that is inflicted.
2nd -- The state is committed to protecting the individual from coercion in thought, religion or politics, and no one may be imprisoned on these bases.
Article (36): The state guarantees, as long as it does not violate public order and morality: 1st -- the freedom of expressing opinion by all means. 2nd -- the freedom of press, publishing, media and distribution. 3rd -- freedom of assembly and peaceful protest will be organized by law.
Article (37):1st -- Freedom to establish and belong to political organizations and parties is guaranteed, and it will be organized by law. 2nd -- No person can be forced to join or remain a member of a political party or organization. Article (39): Iraqis are free in their adherence to their personal status according to their own religion, sect, belief and choice, and that will be organized by law.
Article (40): 1st -- The followers of every religion and sect are free in: (a) the practice of their religious rites, including the (Shiite) Husseiniya Rites. . . . 2nd -- The state guarantees freedom of worship and the protection of its places.
Article (41): Every individual has freedom of thought and conscience.
The rest of the constitution establishes a parliament called the Council of Representatives to which representatives are elected at large, one member per 100,000 people. It also sets up Council of Union that "will include representatives of regions and provinces to examine bills related to regions and provinces. The president of Iraq will be selected from among candidates by two-thirds majority of the Council. In other words, the president will be like a prime minister in a parliamentary system. As the politics of this work out, he will be the head of the party that gains a strong majority in the Council, or can form a coalition with minority parties.
There is a Supreme Federal Court that is an "independent judicial body, financially and administratively, [and] its work and its duties will be defined by law." It will consist of "judges and experts in Sharia (Islamic Law) and law, whose number and manner of selection will be defined by a law that should be passed by two-thirds of the parliament members."
Two more important constitutional directives. One is that the oil and gas that is extracted is "the property of the people" and its revenues is to be divided fairly "in a manner compatible with the demographical distribution all over the country. A quota should be defined for a specified time for affected regions that were deprived in an unfair way by the former regime or later on, in a way to ensure balanced development in different parts of the country. This should be regulated by law."
Second, the constitution establishes a federal system in which regions and provinces have considerable power. Note this in particular: "All that is not written in the exclusive powers of the federal authorities is in the authority of the regions. In other powers shared between the federal government and the regions, the priority will be given to the region's law in case of dispute." This is like the American Constitution in that what powers are not assigned explicitly to the federal government belong to the people or the states.
Finally, again as to women, "a proportion of no less than 25 percent of the seats in the Council of Representatives is specified for the participation of women." I'm against quotas of any shape of form, but I can be persuaded this is a helpful way to overcome the cultural and religious bias against women that has enslaved them in Arab Moslem countries.
How will the constitution be approved? Democratically. According to "Article (153): This constitution comes into effect after its approval by the people in a universal referendum and its publication in the official newspaper and the election of the Council of Representatives in accordance with its provisions."
There you have it. In my view, this is an impressive constitution in the freedoms it accords, the democratic procedures, and institutions it defines, its federalism, and in the way it handles the demand for an exclusive Islamic government. Three cheers for Humam Hammudi, the head of the Iraqi Constitutional Committee, and its other members for completing so well this very politically difficult job.
Original Blog
(Printer friendly version) Email: R J Rummel
R.J. Rummel is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science. He has published twenty-four nonfiction books (one that received an award for being among the most referenced), four novels, and about 100 peer-reviewed professional articles; has received the Susan Strange Award of the International Studies Association in 1999 for having intellectually most challenged the field; and in 2003 was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Conflict Processes Section, American Political Science Association. He was a 1996 Nobel Peace Prize finalist.
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