Deal on Iraqi Draft Constitution Brings Hope as Referendum Draws Near

Iraqi government leaders came to an agreement Wednesday on the draft constitution with compromises made to gain the vote of the Sunni party.

|TOP|In an effort to draw Sunni Iraqis to vote favourably this Saturday for the newly proposed constitution, President Jalal Talabani and other politicians called it a "historic day."

"I have good news for the Iraqi people on this historic day. An agreement has been reached on amendments to the draft constitution," said Talabani, according to the Associated Press. "There is no excuse for Arab Sunnis to boycott the vote now that we have responded to all their demands and suggestions."

Sunnis fear the passage of the charter will undermine its future as a unitary state and lead to a division of Iraq with Shiites and Kurds in control of the nation's oil revenues. Thus, the Sunni party had been asking its followers to reject the document.

Now, however, with changes on controversial points made to appease the Sunni Arabs, who are the majority in three Iraqi provinces, government leaders are looking to their "yes" vote in this weekend's referendum.

Four additions were made to the draft with hopes of satisfying the Sunni minority and subsiding the insurgency. The central addition allows the next parliament to form the commission, which will have four months to consider changes to the constitution.

The United Nations already has printed and distributed five million copies of the previous draft to the public before the vote, leaving the new additions difficult for the people to review.

While the constitution protects human rights and guarantees women representation in parliament, many Christian leaders have expressed concern over the language that could threaten these rights as well as religious freedom.

The draft states "Islam" as "the" fundamental source of law in Iraq, according to a former letter addressed to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by Freedom House.

"Subjugating all constitutionally guaranteed rights to a particular interpretation of Islam would undoubtedly lead to severe restrictions on human rights," stated the letter.

Nina Shea, director of Center for Religious Freedom of Freedom House, said in an interview with the Religion & Ethics Weekly television program, "We don't know who interprets Islamic law, and that's why it is a real threat to democracy and freedom."

Despite unclear language, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the deal on the constitution is a "positive step" that the White House welcomes in creating a stable democracy in the Middle East.

As Iraqis prepare to go to the polls, however, Christians feel their safety threatened.

In recent weeks, the mostly Sunni violent insurgency has been escalating. Bombings and several attacks in Baghdad and Baqouba raised the death toll in Iraq to nearly 400, according to AP, with Christians also victimised.

"An Anglican Pastor has been kidnapped in recent days and is presumed dead," said David Shibley with Global Advance, according to Mission Network News. "The son of an evangelical pastor has also been kidnapped. There have been threats against many churches and against many pastors.

"The primary reason behind this is because many people are coming to faith in Jesus Christ in Iraq."

Shibley gave reference to a recent meeting held in northern Iraq that gathered 650 people from all different denominations for a prayer conference.

"There was probably greater unity among the churches of Iraq than ever in the history of the church there," he said.

The approval of the draft constitution will set the stage for the December election for a new government.





Lillian Kwon
Christian Today Correspondent