Posted on 10/15/2005 2:48:51 PM PDT by FairOpinion
We the sons of Mesopotamia, land of the prophets, resting place of the holy imams, the leaders of civilization and the creators of the alphabet, the cradle of arithmetic: on our land, the first law put in place by mankind was written; in our nation, the most noble era of justice in the politics of nations was laid down; on our soil, the followers of the prophet and the saints prayed, the philosophers and the scientists theorized and the writers and poets created.
Recognizing God's right upon us; obeying the call of our nation and our citizens; responding to the call of our religious and national leaders and the insistence of our great religious authorities and our leaders and our reformers, we went by the millions for the first time in our history to the ballot box, men and women, young and old, on January 30 2005, remembering the pains of the despotic band's sectarian oppression of the majority; inspired by the suffering of Iraqs martyrs - Sunni and Shiite, Arab, Kurd and Turkomen, and the remaining brethren in all communities - inspired by the injustice against the holy cities in the popular uprising and against the marshes and other places; recalling the agonies of the national oppression in the massacres of Halabja, Barzan, Anfal and against the Faili Kurds; inspired by the tragedies of the Turkomen in Bashir and the suffering of the people of the western region, whom the terrorists and their allies sought to take hostage and prevent from participating in the elections and the establishment of a society of peace and brotherhood and cooperation so we can create a new Iraq, Iraq of the future, without sectarianism, racial strife, regionalism, discrimination or isolation.
(Excerpt) Read more at iraqigovernment.org ...
Note also, that the Iraqi Transitional Government has a website, that's where the text was posted. You might want to visit their website.
Thanks. Nice post.
And the uninformed said we were creating an Islamic state under Sharia.
If this is the case, then quite frankly "Democracy" in Iraq has a snowball's chance.
It's a mixed bag, they also have statements in the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of other religions, etc.
It certainly would have been better without that, the last thing we want is to create an Islamic Republic Iran style.
In Iraq the Kurds and Sunnis hopefully won't let radical Islam take over.
But this is another reason why we MUST stay in Iraq for quite a long time, otherwise the radical Islamists would fill in the vacuum and overtake the country.
"Mixed bad" is apropos...
If the Koran supercedes ALL "law," than Iraq's "constitution" isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
"In Iraq the Kurds and Sunnis hopefully won't let radical Islam take over."
What's misunderstood is much of the constitution is subservient to the Koran. It won't take "radical" factions to subvert (or uphold) Sharia Law.
Our constitution and subsequent laws used the Bible and ten commandments as a basic sorce of legislation. All I ask is that we not prejudge.
Why not keep the context of that?
"CHAPTER ONE: BASIC PRINCIPLESI read about a third of the thing. It looks about as free as a typical European Constitution -- Freedom of religion, travel, property, speech, vote, trial, legal representation, association, privacy (but with a public morality out) and freedom from all kinds of discrimination. On the down side there are some right to work and right to healthcare statements that keep it down to about European level.
Article (1): The Republic of Iraq is an independent, sovereign nation, and the system of rule in it is a democratic, federal, representative (parliamentary) republic.
Article (2): 1st - Islam is the official religion of the state and is a basic source of legislation:
(a) No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules 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 "
"Apples and Oranges"
THIS is the only "context" you need:
(a) No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules of Islam.
Some one else want to get some "Rules" of Sharia Law ( ÔÑíÚÉ ) (women's rights, crimes against God (Hudud -bounds of acceptable behaviour.)
Nonsense. If (a) demands enforcement because its in the Constitution, then (b) and (c) must also be enforced. And each will have to be interpreted in a way that they dont conflict. Thats why context is critical.
In context, it will mean whatever the duly elected repesentatives want it to mean. Every 'rule' of Islam is disputed by one faction or another and saying it also can't dispute the principles of democracy of violate individual rights means whatever the majority thinks best--and the majority will NOT want a government based on strict Sharia law.
Islam and democracy can not exist.
INDONESIA!??!?!?!? Where Christians are being killed daily screaming "Allahu ackbar"? Indonesia , where people are slaughtered for being non Muslim, you bring Indonesia as an example???????????????????????????????????? lololololol This is the great Islamic Democracy??????????????????????? Please.....................
http://www.worthynews.com/news-features-2/muslim-militia-indonesia.html read the "democracy in Indonesia"
What actually are those rules, that's what I'd like to know. Maybe I'll get a translation of the Koran and find out. I'd be surprised if suicide bombings and genital mutilation are part of it, but maybe they are. Does any one know?
There are a lot of good things in this document, but they may all be null and void because of Article Two. Most of all it depends on the quality of the people. They are Arabs, with a millennial history of tribalism, bellicosity, and fanaticism. We'll see.
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