Tehran Times Opinion Column, Aug. 29, By Hassan Hanizadeh
 The new Iraqi constitution continues to be the main issue discussed by various Iraqi groups, with each calling for some changes in the articles of the document that will become the supreme law of the land. For nearly a week, the draft constitution has been ready for the Iraqi National Assembly to begin the process of preliminary approval before the people make the final decision on it in a referendum. However, certain elements, both inside and outside of Iraq, are trying to make amendments to the draft constitution.
| That's been the holdup all along, at least since the wahhabis gave up trying to smother it in its crib... |
The changes sought are mainly based on the Wahhabi and Salafi schools of thought, which are influenced by the customs of the Arabs of jahiliya (the time of ignorance before the advent of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula), which recognized no rights for other people.
| That'd be the Shiite description of the state of things religious. I'd tend to agree with them, with the proviso that there's a somewhat diluted version of that outlook throughout all Islam. |
This way of thinking, which has become even more conspicuous since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, is totally opposed to every aspect of Western civilization. Such a dangerous attitude is based on the Wahhabi and Salafi interpretation of Islam, whose followers used to behead people before the eyes of others. The Salafi way of thought, which originated in its main center, the Arabian Peninsula, is in fact against all new religious ideas and modern technology and is also opposed to any kind of harmony with followers of other religions and dialogue among civilizations. Such a misconception about religious beliefs has presented an inappropriate image of the noble Islam of Prophet Mohammad (S) to the world and is one of the main reasons for the current confrontation between the East and the West.
| You got it, bub. If jihad's your primary religious duty, the rest of the world becomes your target. |
This way of thought, which was limited to the Arabian Peninsula and Afghanistan until very recently, has now emerged in Iraq. All the suicide-bombing missions in that country are ordered by the circle of leaders of this misguided sect. The thinking of most of the Arab Salafis is similar to the philosophy of the Iraqi Baath Party, according to which the Arabs are the world’s master race.
| I believe we've commented on that a time or two here. I can also see why the Medes and the Persians would get huffy at the idea. |
Although the Iraqi Baath Party is basically a secular party opposed to every kind of religious thought, especially in relation to politics, the ousted Iraqi dictator began using Salafi and Wahhabi agents to strengthen the pillars of his government after his political isolation intensified in 1992. Saddam Hussein used these agents to organize suicide attack against the interests of the West and also against Iraqi Shia leaders and gave them some bases in Iraq from which to carry out their missions.
| That'd be Ansar al-Islam. In pursuing its own short-sighted ends, the Iranian regime joined right in, allowing them safe havens on their side of the border. |
After Saddam’s downfall, the Wahhabis and Salafis devised a common strategy to realize their ominous objectives. Their first objective is to confront the foreign forces in Iraq with violence and terror and to try to tarnish the image of Islam by carrying out suicide attacks. Their second objective is to prevent the Iraqi Shias from attaining their rights through the plan to draft a new constitution meant to create a parliamentary system and a civil society.
| The latter is regarded as the more grievous sin in Teheran, of course... |
Toward this end, the Iraqi Salafist criminals recently made an unholy alliance with the remnants of the Iraqi Baath Party and are taking advantage of the current democratic atmosphere in Iraq to fight against the efforts to establish a religious democracy.
| That's because like clings to like. A little adjustment of the terminology here and there and the various flavors of brownshirts get along fine, at least until their immediate objectives have been met. |
This struggle is manifested in the opposition to the referendum on the constitution and free elections. For example, the Salafists and Baathists and their sympathizers have held several rallies in Iraq to express their opposition to the constitution over the past few days. Unfortunately, these groups are supported by some neighboring Arab countries which do not want the Iraqi nation to attain their legal rights through democracy and the new constitution.
| That'd be Syria, Iran's lapdog, for one reason, and Soddy Arabia for the other... |
If the Iraqi government and National Assembly do not take serious measures to control the Salafist and Baathist agents, they will try to trigger a civil war by raising the already high level of violence, with the support of certain Arab countries.
| I notice we're naming no names here... |
Although the majority of Iraqis are determined to create a civil society and have sacrificed the lives of a great number of their loved ones to realize this ideal, the continuation of the current process and allowing the Salafist and Baathist agents unlimited freedom will lead to an impasse in Iraq. Now is the correct time for the Iraqi government to announce a temporary state of emergency and to establish a rapid reaction force made up of pious young Iraqis to detain and punish the leaders of these agents. Otherwise, these power-thirsty groups will not allow democracy to take root in Iraq.
I think that's the objective they'd like in Iran, where such an approach would work, or has worked to date. Probably what it would end up doing as official policy in Iraq — as opposed to unofficial policy, which is what the current state of affairs reflects — would be to ignite a full-scale civil war.
My personal opinion on Iraq has swung around to a two (or possibly three) country approach, with a Kurdish state in the north and a Shiite state in the south. The Sunni middle could be absorbed into Syria, Jordan, and the two new states, where they would present a small enough chunk for each that they couldn't make too much trouble. The new states could simply shoot anybody with a beard and the wahhabi problem would go away, to the wailing and gnashing of teeth of Amnesia International. |
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