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| Tuesday, 8 February 2005 |
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Shiite clerics demand Islamic stamp on constitution BAGHDAD, Monday (AFP) The spiritual leader of Iraqi Shiites, who are set to dominate the new government, has demanded a major say for Islam in lawmaking as the abduction of four Egyptians heightened fears for foreigners. Amidst new insurgent violence that left at least 13 dead, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and another top Shiite cleric staked out a radical demand that the constitution must refer to Islam as the sole source of legislation. Sistani is also the guiding light of the United Iraqi Alliance, the coalition of Shiite parties that leads in the vote count after Iraq's historic January 30 election. The new national assembly is to oversee the writing of a new constitution and the role of Islam has been at the heart of months of debate between rival parties and factions as well as by US officials. A surprise statement released Sunday by Sheikh Ibrahim Ibrahimi, a representative of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Ishaq al-Fayad, one of the five key marja, or Shiite religious leaders, set out the demand. "All of the ulema (clergy) and marja, and the majority of the Iraqi people, want the national assembly to make Islam the source of legislation in the permanent constitution and to reject any law that is contrary to Islam," said the statement. A source close to Sistani announced soon after that the spiritual leader backed the demand. "The marja has priorities concerning the formation of the government and the constitution. It wants the source of legislation to be Islam," said the source. The US administration reacted cautiously to the ayatollahs' demand. In Washington, US Vice President Dick Cheney said Iraqis would decide their future. "They will do it in accordance with their culture and their history and their beliefs and whatever role they decide they want to have for religion in their society. And that's as it should be," he told Fox News television. Meanwhile foreigners in Iraq were again put on their guard by the kidnapping of four Egyptian telecoms engineers in front of their Baghdad house. It came only two days after an Italian reporter was abducted in the centre of the capital. Cheney told Fox that the United States would not stay in Iraq "a day longer than necessary" but would not pull its troops out until the mission had been completed. |
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