| Commentary |
■ Guest commentary
Democracy does not
imply the separation
of church and state
The Iraqi elections are scheduled
to take place Jan. 30 despite the rise
in violence over the past few weeks.
Along with the escalating insur
gency, the elections will have to con
tend with other obstacles, such as a
potential Sunni boycott. If the elec
tions run smoothly, Iraq will have a
275-member legislative assembly
that will draft a constitution and be
responsible for electing a future Iraqi
prime minister.
Although the elections signal the
beginning of Iraqi self-determina
tion, observers are questioning what
form that autonomy will take. Many
elements of the Iraq assembly are
likely to be pushing for sharia, or
traditional Islam-inspired law, to be
the basis of Iraq’s legal structure.
The majority Shia population of
Iraq, led by Ayatollah Sistani, who is
expecting to gain considerable influ
ence in the assembly, will be among
those looking to establish sharia.
Mohsen Abdel-Hamid, the president
of the Iraqi Governing Council and a
Sunni hardliner, has already pro
posed to make Islamic law the prin
cipal basis for legislation.
This possibility has led to very dif
ferent opinions across the political
spectrum, as well as mixed responses
from the White House. On Oct. 19,
when asked his thoughts on what
should happen if Iraq becomes a fun
damentalist Islamic state, President
Bush replied, “I will be disappointed,
but democracy is democracy.” How
ever, in February, Paul Bremer, top
U.S. administrator in Iraq, made
veiled comments that sharia would
not take precedence over Iraqi civil
rights. The debate over sharia’s role
in Iraqi society is sure to be hotly
contested in these final weeks lead
ing up to the election. Most of the op
position to sharia in Iraq comes from
Iraqi women, who have been desig
nated 25 percent of the assembly. It is
difficult to blame Iraq’s women for
detesting sharia law because in many
ways they are treated as second-class
citizens under it. However, if the ma
jority of the country — including
women — votes to govern via sharia
law, should the U.S. oppose that and
move to protect women’s rights?
Before answering that question,
we must remember our own history
of women’s suffrage. Americans have
always considered the U.S. to be a
democracy after throwing off
Britain’s colonial yoke in 1776, yet
women did not have the right to vote
for the first 132 years of our history
(though they were allowed to run for
office in 1788, only twelve years off
of Iraq’s current pace). Is it possible
that Iraq needs to develop its own
resolution to the conflict between tra
dition and progress without our influ
ence? Is it worth sacrificing their po
litical autonomy (and perhaps
legitimacy) at the expense of
women’s rights?
Other opponents of sharia include
secular political parties such as the
Iraqi Communist Party. For non-reli
gious Iraqis it may be disheartening
to see their long-secular republic
“liberated” from Saddam Hussein
only to be replaced with a different
abrasive legal system impacting
their day-to-day lives. For these
Iraqis, the invasion would be re
membered as a failure, bringing op
pression rather than democracy.
The majority of Americans favor
the separation of church and state.
Yet our current administration has
brought religion back into the politi
cal landscape in a forceful manner.
Bush’s policies, from the “sanctity of
marriage” bill to foreign policy in the
Middle East, have roots in the “good
book. ” Bush is our most publicly reli
gious president to date. His speeches
are scattered with biblical references
and privately he has stated to his
friends he believes God has chosen
him to lead our country. Would it be
hypocritical of the Bush Administra
tion to increasingly use Christianity
as a cornerstone of its policies while
stating that Islam can’t be used for
the basis of Iraqi government?
Other people argue that America
should not talk of spreading democ
racy to Iraq because America is not a
democracy itself, but a constitutional
republic. Therefore, we have certain
rights laid out in our constitution that
cannot be altered to fit the majority
preference of the time. For propo
nents of this theory, civil rights take
precedence over the democratic
process (in the purest sense of the
term). The majority cannot literally
do whatever they want in American
society, so why should they be able
to do so in “liberated” Iraq?
I have no answers to any of these
questions. In reality, I don’t think
there are any good, consistent an
swers. As an American, I’m used to
democracy and civil rights running
hand-in-hand. When one is separat
ed from the other the choice becomes
very difficult to make. For the sake of a
the Iraqis I hope that whatever issues
they encounter can be solved in a co
herent and non-violent manner,
though this has not been the pattern
of events thus far.
Jeremy Herrington is a freelance
columnist
IN BRIEF
Public buys into
ignorant Sunriver spin
Recently, I read the new spin ASUO
is taking to protect the senators who
paid for their good times with our stu
dent account. What’s most surprising
is the public’s willingness to swallow
such ignorance without any hint of of
fense to their intellect.
The ASUO claims the original in
tent of the retreat was accomplished;
therefore, there is no reason to make
the senators “do the right thing.”
While it’s reassuring that our sena
tors can get the job done through a
haze of marijuana fog and in a
drunken stupor, I just don’t think this
is the kind of “retreat” students
should have to support. Last I
checked, marijuana was an illegal
substance. Not only did they break
student conduct guidelines, they
broke state and federal law.
What is most devastating is the
knowledge that one day these sena
tors will grow up and perhaps take
positions of leadership in our com
munities and governments. Will they
maintain this cocky, brazen attitude?
I suppose it has less to do with the
abuse of power and more to do with
the power to abuse. Hey, maybe they
are fit to govern after all.
Opey Freedle
Undergraduate
Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005 ❖ 7 p.m.
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