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Iraq seeks justice in
Sharia
By Sami Moubayed
DAMASCUS - One of the key sticking points
that has delayed agreement on a draft Iraqi
constitution hinges on the role of Islamic law, or
Sharia, in the "new Iraq".
Iraqi lawmakers
voted on Monday to extend by one week - to August
22 - the deadline for a constituent body
comprising Shi'ites, Kurds and Sunnis to come up
with a final draft, or risk derailing Iraq's
political process.
While all agree that
Islam will be Iraq's religion, some parties want
the constitution to specifically state that Islam
will be the only source of jurisdiction in
Iraq. This view is supported by the Shi'ite United
Iraqi Alliance, the majority bloc in parliament,
and Sunni bodies too. Others argue that Islam
should be one of many sources of
jurisdiction. Falling into this group are the
Kurds, who are Muslim but have a more secular
political culture.
In particular, many
Shi'ite delegates are calling for for Sharia to be
adopted in family and civil law. This has sent
shockwaves among moderate Iraqis, secularists,
women activists, Iraq's secular neighbors, the
West, and, particularly, the US. In America, many
are asking: "Did we send our troops to fight and
die in Iraq, to replace a secular dictatorship
with an Islamic one?" As far as they are
concerned, if the clerics get their way, Iraq will
become a new Iran, whose policies since the
Islamic revolution of 1979 have effectively been
shaped by clerics.
To many in the West,
Islamic law is synonymous with dictatorship, even
anarchy. They see the uncompromising face of
Islamic extremism everywhere: Osama bin Laden, Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi and Ayman al-Zawahiri; and the
havoc they have inspired is plain to see from New
York to London, Madrid to Baghdad.
The
general perception of Sharia is that women are
required to appear veiled in public, which is
true; not permitted to drive cars (applied, but
not true by Sharia standards); and not permitted
to take part in the political process (true). The
latter means that women cannot run for office,
become ministers or campaign for their rights.
They are also required to receive less inheritance
than men, have no divorce rights, and once
divorced are not allowed to maintain custody of
their children beyond a certain age.
Sharia is based on the teachings of the
Holy Koran, the sayings (hadith) of the
Prophet Mohammed, and his practices
(sunna). Islam as a religion does not
encourage hate or intolerance - on the contrary,
it is a religion of love, peace and tolerance. It
encourages the creation of a spiritual and pious
society on earth.
It is some clerics of
Islam who have ruined its image and distorted its
teachings, which in essence are practical and
just. Yet, the question prevails: can Sharia be
imposed on modern society?
Those
expressing the most concern about imposing Sharia
in Iraq are the country's women - which is no
surprise. They were among the most politically
active and free in the Arab world for the better
part of the 20th century. Iraq, for example, was
the first country to give women the right to vote
and run for public office, in 1948.
The
justifications for their fear from rising
religiousness are many. A woman lawyer in Najaf
was dismissed from her job by a Shi'ite cleric who
declared that judges must be "sane, mature and
male". Another woman, Dr Sawsan al-Sharafi, the
deputy minister of agriculture, is under fierce
attack because many of her employees are
complaining that they do not want to work for a
woman.
In April, a woman member of
parliament, Lamia Abed Khadouri, was murdered in
Baghdad when two gunmen knocked on her door and
shot her when she opened it. To date, they have
not been brought to justice.
Many
Christian women in Iraq are now being forced to
wear headscarves to avoid being recognized as
non-Muslims, and those of either faith showing up
for class at Basra University with no hijab
(veil) are being beaten at the university
entrance. Women activists are pushing for a law
that enforces gender equality, but they claim such
a law would be useless if Sharia were implemented.
The clerics argue that with regard to
inheritance, the only reason men get more money
than women is because men are the bread-providers
in society. A man has to provide for his mother,
if his father is deceased, his sisters, wife and
children. A woman is the responsibility of her
father until marriage, and from then on the
responsibility of her husband. Simply, the clerics
claim, men need money more than women and that is
why they receive a larger inheritance.
Another argument is that in Sharia, women
do not have a say in marriage and can be married
off, despite their will, at the consent of their
fathers or brothers. This also is not true,
although it does happen in many Muslim communities
due to ignorance rather than Sharia. Actually,
according to Sharia, a woman came to the Prophet
Mohammed and complained that her father wanted her
to marry a rich man whom she did not love. The
Prophet took her side and refused to marry her to
the rich suitor.
Even today, if Sharia
were implemented, a cleric could not authorize a
woman's marriage unless she accepted. Her father's
approval is not enough. It is a fact, however,
that in many countries where Sharia is partially
implemented, abuses of human rights in the name of
Islam are great. These countries include Iran,
Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. In Nigeria, for example,
23 Christian women have been brought before
Islamic courts, charged with not adhering to the
Muslim dress code, and punished.
Technically, Sharia does not require women
to stay indoors since the wives of the Prophet
Mohammed used to join him in battle. Sharia does
not prevent a woman from driving a car simply
because when the principles of Sharia were laid
down, no cars existed. These are just
superstitions imposed on Islam by the regimes of
Saudi Arabia and the Taliban when they ruled
Afghanistan.
Certainly, Sharia does
require modest dress for both men and women, to
avoid social and moral problems, and asks a man to
lower his gaze when looking at a female stranger.
It does not, however, require men to grow long
beards, nor does it require women to cover their
faces and hands - only their heads. Both
practices, once again, are imposed by fanatics in
the Muslim community.
Yet according to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone
has the right to "freedom of thought, conscience
and religion". In a democracy, both men and women
are free to choose whether they want to wear
modest dress or not. They are free to choose if
they want to get married in a religious court or
by civil marriage, are free to decide if they want
to pray or not, and free to choose the religion
that suits them best.
This is the dilemma
facing Iraq today. Is it going to become the
democracy of President George W Bush? Or the
theocracy of Shi'ite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani? If an Islamic dictatorship were
imposed on Iraq, and Sharia were included in the
constitution, then those who did not abide by the
hijab, for example, could go to jail.
Yet honesty, education and a decent life
are a prerequisite for applying Sharia to any
society. One cannot apply Sharia to a society
entrenched in war, whose people are hungry, poor,
occupied and tormented by civil strife. In Sharia,
for example, one who steals should be punished.
Yet in a country such as today's Iraq, a man who
steals to feed his hungry children should not be
punished as the government is simply incapable of
providing millions with food, shelter or a
livelihood.
One argument in Iraq is that
before applying Sharia, the clerics should first
make sure that Iraqis have enough food on the
table. An Islamic writer supported this view,
saying, "Sharia cannot be implemented on empty
stomachs." And sadly, the stomachs in Iraq are
empty.
The insurgency, too, will have to
stop so that some degree of normalcy can be
restored. Over 26,000 Iraqi civilians are reported
to have been killed since the US-led invasion. If
the insurgency rages the killing will continue,
with or without Sharia.
Sami
Moubayed is a Syrian political analyst.
(Copyright 2005 Asia Times Online Ltd.
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