Iraqi Shiites will fashion their Iraqi system of government after that of Iran
Rauf Naqishbendi
July 05, 2007
Nationalism and religious extremism are the most notorious forms of fanaticism. Truly each one is a disease of the mind that together have been responsible for more human casualties than any physical ailments known to man. No religious group and no particular nation is immune from these diseases, which have thrived in every age throughout history, from the Dark Ages to the Age of Enlightenment. Even today, as we make great leaps in scientific advancements, still these two obsessions continue to be remarkably fatal, eroding the peace of mind and security that humanity lives to obtain. The most devastating feature of these diseases are their origin, as both are manufactured in the hearts and minds of men with evil appetites and destructive ambitions, who aren’t satisfied in ruining themselves, but seek to annihilate those around them as well.
When ordinary faith advances to strict legalism, it is a small step up to religious fanaticism based on a perception of a moral superiority over the rest of mankind. When national pride becomes an obsessive patriotism, it elicits a feeling of national superiority that warrants the birth of extreme nationalism. For both of these infected parties, domination presents itself as the next logical step, and to that end they ravage everything that stands in their way. Their passion for domination is not satisfied by conquering small groups, or by reaching the borders of their own countries; instead, a small conquest only feeds the fire of their obsession, and soon the entire world becomes their enemy to subdue.
This is nothing new. But history continues to be ignored, and thus the struggles of mankind are full of redundancies. Consider the Iraqi situation. The dominant Shiite population in Iraq is gearing up to inject as much Islamic law into the Iraqi constitution as possible. Make no mistake: when the Shiites reign, they will make the Iraqi constitution a mirror image of their extreme religious beliefs.
These Iraqi Shiites should examine their neighbors. Saudi Arabia is a country whose laws are based on Islam and who believes it is the custodian of the faith of the prophet Mohammed. And yet, it allows the existence of a system of repression and corruption, evidenced by the royal family themselves, who continue to rob the nation of its natural resources in order to lavishly share this wealth amongst themselves. Another example close to the hearts of Iraqi Shiites is Iran. The Ayatollahs in Iran have been generously financing terrorism everywhere they can and financing trouble across the globe, all while using that otherwise could help millions of their own unprivileged Iranian citizens to improve their living conditions. Additionally, there is no such thing as freedom in Iran, for the only "freedom" one can exercise is what is in line with Mullahs. Do the Iraqi people want to have a system of government like that of Saudi Arabia or Iran?
The Iraqi people must realize that religion and freedom are mutually exclusive. Religion is a set of moral values that dictates individual conduct and interaction with others and that typically provides precise instructions in governing every behavior in absolute terms. In the world of religion, covenants are to be obeyed, not to be filtered, added to, or removed if experience should indicate that they aren’t working.
Even as the Iraqi Shiites struggle for an Islamic republic, the US is attempting to downplay the influences of Islam within this group. Vice President Dick Cheney, who has tried to make a distinction between Shiites in Iran and Iraq, asserted that "The Iraqis have watched the Iranian operate for years and create a religious theocracy that has been a dismal failure". But at the same time, Al-Hakem, the clergyman heading the Shiite ticket, has been quoted as calling Islam the "source of legislation." But in order to mask his intentions, he went on the record to say that "We will have neither a totally Islamic state nor a completely secular one, but something in between." He knows he needs to get his foot in the door before he can bring in his religiously fanatic policies. In a related subject, a spokesman for an influential Grand Iraqi Shiite Ayatollah, Ishaq Al-Faladh, said, "We call on Iraqi officials to preserve the face of Iraq and not to separate religion and state."
As reported by the Independent News, the views of Ayatollah Sastani, the leading Shiite clergy, include the following: "Crickets is allowed but chess is absolutely forbidden. Women may not shake hands with men. Music is permitted but only if it is not for enjoyment. Men cannot pray when wearing earrings." This is reminiscent of the Saudi royalties or Talibans, the former Afghan regime. To Mr. Cheney’s dismay, the Iraqi Shiites will fashion their Iraqi system of government after that of Iran.
The world already has more than enough problems with the Iranian regime, and now these problems will multiply when this regime’s twin is birthed right next door. But the Kurds oppose a religious-based constitution, and because of that and their alliance with the US, they have been named infidels by almost the entire Islamic world. This alone is reason enough for the Kurds to be granted their own statehood immediately, otherwise it is inevitable that they will again be slaughtered by fanatics and again become the victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
When ordinary faith advances to strict legalism, it is a small step up to religious fanaticism based on a perception of a moral superiority over the rest of mankind. When national pride becomes an obsessive patriotism, it elicits a feeling of national superiority that warrants the birth of extreme nationalism. For both of these infected parties, domination presents itself as the next logical step, and to that end they ravage everything that stands in their way. Their passion for domination is not satisfied by conquering small groups, or by reaching the borders of their own countries; instead, a small conquest only feeds the fire of their obsession, and soon the entire world becomes their enemy to subdue.
This is nothing new. But history continues to be ignored, and thus the struggles of mankind are full of redundancies. Consider the Iraqi situation. The dominant Shiite population in Iraq is gearing up to inject as much Islamic law into the Iraqi constitution as possible. Make no mistake: when the Shiites reign, they will make the Iraqi constitution a mirror image of their extreme religious beliefs.
These Iraqi Shiites should examine their neighbors. Saudi Arabia is a country whose laws are based on Islam and who believes it is the custodian of the faith of the prophet Mohammed. And yet, it allows the existence of a system of repression and corruption, evidenced by the royal family themselves, who continue to rob the nation of its natural resources in order to lavishly share this wealth amongst themselves. Another example close to the hearts of Iraqi Shiites is Iran. The Ayatollahs in Iran have been generously financing terrorism everywhere they can and financing trouble across the globe, all while using that otherwise could help millions of their own unprivileged Iranian citizens to improve their living conditions. Additionally, there is no such thing as freedom in Iran, for the only "freedom" one can exercise is what is in line with Mullahs. Do the Iraqi people want to have a system of government like that of Saudi Arabia or Iran?
The Iraqi people must realize that religion and freedom are mutually exclusive. Religion is a set of moral values that dictates individual conduct and interaction with others and that typically provides precise instructions in governing every behavior in absolute terms. In the world of religion, covenants are to be obeyed, not to be filtered, added to, or removed if experience should indicate that they aren’t working.
Even as the Iraqi Shiites struggle for an Islamic republic, the US is attempting to downplay the influences of Islam within this group. Vice President Dick Cheney, who has tried to make a distinction between Shiites in Iran and Iraq, asserted that "The Iraqis have watched the Iranian operate for years and create a religious theocracy that has been a dismal failure". But at the same time, Al-Hakem, the clergyman heading the Shiite ticket, has been quoted as calling Islam the "source of legislation." But in order to mask his intentions, he went on the record to say that "We will have neither a totally Islamic state nor a completely secular one, but something in between." He knows he needs to get his foot in the door before he can bring in his religiously fanatic policies. In a related subject, a spokesman for an influential Grand Iraqi Shiite Ayatollah, Ishaq Al-Faladh, said, "We call on Iraqi officials to preserve the face of Iraq and not to separate religion and state."
As reported by the Independent News, the views of Ayatollah Sastani, the leading Shiite clergy, include the following: "Crickets is allowed but chess is absolutely forbidden. Women may not shake hands with men. Music is permitted but only if it is not for enjoyment. Men cannot pray when wearing earrings." This is reminiscent of the Saudi royalties or Talibans, the former Afghan regime. To Mr. Cheney’s dismay, the Iraqi Shiites will fashion their Iraqi system of government after that of Iran.
The world already has more than enough problems with the Iranian regime, and now these problems will multiply when this regime’s twin is birthed right next door. But the Kurds oppose a religious-based constitution, and because of that and their alliance with the US, they have been named infidels by almost the entire Islamic world. This alone is reason enough for the Kurds to be granted their own statehood immediately, otherwise it is inevitable that they will again be slaughtered by fanatics and again become the victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing.