Bremer to Block Islamic Law in Iraq?

As I have reported here more than once, there are signs that Iraq could move to an Islamic theocracy once the Americans relinquish control of the country - something that is especially troubling to women in Iraq. There are, however, indications that Iraq's U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer would prevent Islam from becoming the "law of the land" in Iraq.

The Modesto Bee reports:

During a visit to a women's center in Karbala, administrator L. Paul Bremer said the current draft of the interim constitution, due to take effect at the end of this month, would make Islam the state religion and "a source of inspiration for the law" - but not the main source for that law. However, Mohsen Abdel-Hamid, the current president of the Iraqi Governing Council and a Sunni Muslim hard-liner, has proposed making Islamic law the "principal basis" of legislation. Iraqi women's groups fear that could cost them the rights they hold under Iraq's longtime secular system, especially in such areas as divorce, child support and inheritance. Bremer was asked what would happen if Iraqi leaders wrote into the interim charter that Islamic sharia law is the principal basis of legislation. "Our position is clear," Bremer replied. "It can't be law until I sign it."

Al-Jazeera reports:

Bremer used the inauguration ceremony at a women's centre in the southern city of Karbala to argue for more than "token" women's representation in the transitional government due to take power on 30 June. "I think it is very important that women be represented in all the political bodies," Bremer said. "Women are the majority in this country, in this area probably a substantial majority," he said, referring to the Saddam Hussein's alleged 1991 purges of Shia Muslim men. Those killings left the holy city of Karbala and other Shia cities dotted with mass graves and brimming with thousands of widows.

Ensuring a secular state where women's rights are protected may not be possible - after June, Iraqis will run things politically and they will create their own constitution in 2005. If they choose a repressive theocracy, there is nothing that the United States can do about it. It's a conceit to imagine that whenever people are given the opportunity to choose, they will always choose more freedom and more liberties, especially when one option is for a powerful group to exalt themselves at the expense of others.

Bremer might block Islamic law now, but he won't be around forever. What then?

Read More:

• Recent Books on Islam
• Islam
• Islamic Extremists
• Religion in Iraq