As the committee drafting Iraq’s new constitution considers how to structure the country’s new government, an international petition drive is urging Iraqi leaders to include a guarantee of religious freedom.

World Compassion – which works in countries where there are political, religious, and/or economic instabilities – launched the petition drive as the Iraqi National Assembly rushes to put the final touches to Iraq’s new constitution by mid-August.

"We’re not asking that a specific religion be practiced in Iraq," said World Compassion founder and president, Dr. Terry Law. "We just want Iraqis to have the freedom to choose for themselves."

According to Law, the goal of the petition drive is to collect one million signatures, not only from American-Iraqi citizens, but also from concerned people around the world.

"Do you think the recent war in Iraq was worth it? Everyone is asking themselves this question," said Law, who will present a sampling of the petitions to Iraq’s Prime Minister early next month. "It is my opinion that this war isn’t over until there is guarantee of religious freedom and basic human rights in the new constitution being created at this very moment.

"We must let the framers of this new document know the world is watching," he added.

Currently, petitions for residents of the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada can be downloaded from the worldcompassion.tv website. Although a sampling will be shown to the Iraqi Prime Minister, no names or address will be given to the Iraqi government to protect those who wish to remain anonymous. The petitions need to be returned by Aug. 5.

In addition to the Prime Minister, Law will also meet with those working on the new constitution, which has an Aug. 15 deadline for completion.

Kenneth Chan
Christian Today Correspondent