Iraqi Christians fear prospect of Islamic law (exodus, minority, America)

[Scott1]

RAMPANT violence across Iraq is threatening the rebuilding of the country as it moves towards the drafting of its first post-Saddam constitution, which religious minorities are concerned may leave out any meaningful provisions for religious freedom.

More than 130 people were killed in a three-day bombing frenzy last weekend, including 90 who lost their lives when a suicide bomber blew up a propane gas tanker on Saturday near a Shia mosque in the town of Al-Musayyib, south of Baghdad.

The attack was the single deadliest strike since the formation of the new government in May, and was believed to have been the work of Sunni insurgents intent on sparking off sectarian conflict with Iraq’s Shia majority. Iraqi and US officials believe that keeping the political process on track is the only way to prevent the insurgency from spiralling out of control. Sticking to the political schedule looks to be key in preventing a full-scale civil war but, on Tuesday, three Sunnis working on the draft of Iraq’s new constitution were gunned down in Baghdad, rattling hopes expressed earlier in the day by interim president Jalal Talabani that the new charter might be completed ahead of next month’s deadline.

The latest attacks came as Iraq’s Christian leaders petitioned the United Nations and their country’s interim officials to urge a constitutional separation of religion from politics. Nine Christian leaders, including the Roman Catholic Archbishop Jean Sleiman of Baghdad, the Syrian Archbishop Athanase Matoka, the Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni and Mgr Andon Atamian, administrator for Armenian Catholics, made the plea in a letter delivered mid-July to Mr Talabani and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

In the letter, the Christian leaders said they feared discrimination if the draft constitution, to be completed by 15 August, enshrines sharia, or Islamic law. Iraq’s minorities are concerned that if the constitution names sharia as the main source of civil law – as suggested by many Shia Muslims, who make up 62 per cent of the country’s population – non-Muslims will be relegated to second-class status at best and, at worst, be driven out of the country, slain or forced to convert.

Painting a grim picture of life for minorities in Iraq, Christian leaders say that religious persecution has worsened since the Americans arrived in the spring of 2003 and that tens of thousands of Christians have fled to neighbouring countries. They are worried that things could get worse still, and that the discrimination experienced by other Christians under sharia, in Sudan and Nigeria for example, could also arise in Iraq if such a constitution is ratified.

Last week, Chaldean Bishop Andreos Abouna, an auxiliary in Baghdad, took the appeal to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop of Westminster. He warned that a pro-sharia constitution would massively speed up the exodus of Iraq’s 800,000 Chaldeans. Highlighting the unprecedented unilateral action by the Church leaders, Bishop Abouna told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need: “If we do not act together, we will lose. It is very urgent that we address this problem and that we do so together.”

“If there is a move toward the confirmation of the role of the Islamic religion in Iraqi society, then it is only natural to confirm the role of other religions that have been historically established in Iraq,” the Christian leaders said in their letter. “We are only asking for ... equality, freedom and equal opportunities and [prevention of] racial, religious and denominational discrimination.”

On Tuesday, President Talabani predicted the new constitution could be ready by the end of the month pending the settlement of some final differences with minority Sunnis on the drafting panel.

The Iraqi Government has promised that the constitution will be put to a referendum before it is ratified. Until then, Iraq will continue to be under the authority of an interim constitution, prepared before sovereignty was handed over in June 2004. This effectively sidestepped the issue of sharia, saying its place in Iraqi law would have to be decided at a later date. Mr Talabani said this week that the fast trial of Saddam was also essential in weakening the insurgency, with almost 25,000 Iraqi civilians killed since US-led troops invaded in March 2003, an average of 34 a day, according to a British study. Last Sunday the ousted dictator was charged for the massacre of 143 Shia villagers in 1982.
Michael Hirst


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