[mikeus_maximus]

I understand the rationale. Dropping a nominally democratic government in the ME, especially one which bows to Islam, is a poor and indirect attempt to change a widespread religious belief. It's as naive as the belief of the 60's children that we could have global peace if we just spread enough love.

[rob777]

Dropping a nominally democratic government in the ME, especially one which bows to Islam, is a poor and indirect attempt to change a widespread religious belief. It's as naive as the belief of the 60's children that we could have global peace if we just spread enough love.




No argument here, I'm not sure yet that the jury is in as to whether the Iraq government will end up bowing to "traditional" Islam.
To a majority of Muslims, the Koran is recited as a religious ritual. The actual interpretation is not as fixed with them as it is with the leaders. (It has more of a symbolic value than an ideological one) Those who actually take the literal meaning of the Koran seriously are the one who are the problem. I say let them keep their devotion to Islam as religious symbolism, but change the ideological content of traditional Islam. (What some Muslim reformers are now calling "political Islam") The new proposed constitution names Islam as a source of law, but it also names basic human rights as a source as well. The two are not compatible according to traditional Islam, or a literal reading of the Koran. The fact that they are both included in the new constitution, coupled with the polls I have seen showing VERY little support for an Iran style Islamic Republic leaves me to believe that some major reinterpretation of the basic doctrines of Islam are in the works. (This has been going on in Iraq amongst some Shiites since Saddam was toppled. I even read one post where a Muslim seminary was being set up that would allow one to study Islam in the context of the modern ideas and other religions, especially those ideas that supported the ideal of liberty. There were also some earlier comments made by Grand Ayatollah Sistini that amounted to something akin to the separation of Mosque and State. (As opposed to religion and government)

I think the jury is still out as to whether this will work.
As to the possibilities of an Iran like Islamic Republic, I highly doubt it. The more likely result is a three way split up of Iraq among the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds following a protracted period of civil strife.