Secularists want more influence in Iraq
"The forgotten secularists of Iraq are making political maneuvers they hope will strengthen their voice and position them to seize more power before the next elections."
. . . Iyad Jamaleddin, a Shiite cleric who says that the people of Iraq want a secular government, "has a conference planned for this summer to launch what he calls the Iraqi Democratic Secular Movement. Former interim prime minister Ayad Allawi and former foreign minister Adnan Pachachi, meanwhile, have been barnstorming Iraq and the Middle East in recent weeks to gain support for a proposed coalition of groups both inside the parliament and outside the government that would unite secularists and moderates from different sectarian backgrounds.
. . . Critics of the current Shiite-led government complain that Islamic theology infuses many of its decisions.
. . . 'We want to be very careful not to push the country toward civil war . . . ,' said Hachim Hasani, a secular Sunni member of Allawi's faction. 'It's going to be very difficult. . . . You've got all these different groups who are not in harmony among themselves. I don't know if they're going to be able to build something out of that.' " [1]
There are also bills coming before Parliament like the draft oil law and the draft Baathist law that, if passed, could do much to curb the violence and make it easier for the secularists to get things they want. So while it's important for the so-called secularists to organize and have influence within the Iraqi political structures, they don't want to do things that would harm these important steps towards national reconcilliation.
They might also think about forming a secularly governed, mixed region or province when the new federalism law takes effect in about a year. The Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds have their own regions or provinces from which they can live their lives as they want while still working towards building a better country for all Iraqis. Why can't secularists, who apparently comprise a significant portion of Iraq, have the same thing?
And if it is going to truly be a mixed, secularly governed province or region, then its mixed, secular nature should be the foundation of harmony on which it is built, despite differences that the various groups may have. (This new province or region would not be anti-religion.)
source
[1] Partlow, Joshua. (The Washington Post). Putting Faith in the Masses To Forge New Secular Rule. April 6, 2007.
related posting
Mixed marriages targeted: Is mixed region a solution? March 06, 2007.
posted: sunday, april 8, 2007, 10:02 AM ET
update: sunday, april 8, 2007, 10:20 AM ET
tags: iraq secular federalism iyad jamaleddin
. . . Iyad Jamaleddin, a Shiite cleric who says that the people of Iraq want a secular government, "has a conference planned for this summer to launch what he calls the Iraqi Democratic Secular Movement. Former interim prime minister Ayad Allawi and former foreign minister Adnan Pachachi, meanwhile, have been barnstorming Iraq and the Middle East in recent weeks to gain support for a proposed coalition of groups both inside the parliament and outside the government that would unite secularists and moderates from different sectarian backgrounds.
. . . Critics of the current Shiite-led government complain that Islamic theology infuses many of its decisions.
. . . 'We want to be very careful not to push the country toward civil war . . . ,' said Hachim Hasani, a secular Sunni member of Allawi's faction. 'It's going to be very difficult. . . . You've got all these different groups who are not in harmony among themselves. I don't know if they're going to be able to build something out of that.' " [1]
There are also bills coming before Parliament like the draft oil law and the draft Baathist law that, if passed, could do much to curb the violence and make it easier for the secularists to get things they want. So while it's important for the so-called secularists to organize and have influence within the Iraqi political structures, they don't want to do things that would harm these important steps towards national reconcilliation.
They might also think about forming a secularly governed, mixed region or province when the new federalism law takes effect in about a year. The Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds have their own regions or provinces from which they can live their lives as they want while still working towards building a better country for all Iraqis. Why can't secularists, who apparently comprise a significant portion of Iraq, have the same thing?
And if it is going to truly be a mixed, secularly governed province or region, then its mixed, secular nature should be the foundation of harmony on which it is built, despite differences that the various groups may have. (This new province or region would not be anti-religion.)
source
[1] Partlow, Joshua. (The Washington Post). Putting Faith in the Masses To Forge New Secular Rule. April 6, 2007.
related posting
Mixed marriages targeted: Is mixed region a solution? March 06, 2007.
posted: sunday, april 8, 2007, 10:02 AM ET
update: sunday, april 8, 2007, 10:20 AM ET
tags: iraq secular federalism iyad jamaleddin
Labels: federalism, iraq, secular
posted by eric at 8:14 AM
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