Iraqi council fights the clock - and itself

Iraq's interim Governing Council missed a deadline for drawing up a temporary constitution, with deep divisions emerging over the political status of Islam, Kurdish autonomy, and women's rights. All are key topics that will define the future Iraq.

Some argue that the heated debate, taking place under intense pressure from US administrator Paul Bremer, is nothing more than the birth pains of a fledgling democracy. Others suggest that it is emblematic of the council's sectarian composition and represents an ominous portent of the future clash between religion and secularism in Iraq.

The 25-member council had until Feb. 28 to pass an interim constitution, known here as the Fundamental Law, which would provide the basic legal framework for a permanent constitution after full elections are held.

Council members insist that agreement will be reached soon. Nonetheless, the delay in finalizing the Fundamental Law is a another setback to US efforts for a smooth transition of sovereignty to an Iraqi assembly at the end of June. It also threatens to delay national elections which the United Nations said last week could be held by the end of the year if planning begins now.

"Failure is not an option. We have to get this document signed, dusted, and finished," said Muwaffak al-Rubaie, a Shiite member of the council, during a late-night press conference Saturday. "There's no other option, there's no other alternative. This is a must and all Iraqi people are waiting for us to get this document finished."

The most divisive issue is the role of Islam in the constitution, pitting Shiite Islamists on the council against their secular counterparts.

On Friday, several Shiite members stormed out of the building after the council voted to annul a decree that placed civil issues in the hands of religious courts. The decree, which was narrowly approved by the council in December, sparked wide condemnation, particularly from women's groups. Two women council members who missed the original vote, demanded and got a second poll, which they won, 15 to 9. (One council member was away.)

For secularists, such as Samir Adil, a senior official with the Workers' Communist Party, the annulment of the personal status decree is a victory against religious interference.

"The Islamists are trying to impose religion on society. But Iraqi society is secular," he says. "We are calling for the separation of the law and education from religion. We are taking a strong stand against the sectarian disputes that threaten to tear our society in two."

As evidence of what he says is Iraq's inherently secular nature, Mr. Adil cites a poll conducted last August by Zogby International in which 60 percent of Iraqis said they preferred a government that lets everyone practice their own religion over an Islamic government.

Yet many Iraqis want to include some tenets of Islamic law in a future constitution, albeit not on the comprehensive scale of neighboring Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Mr. Bremer, the head of the CPA, has threatened to veto any constitution based on Islamic law, sparking angry charges of interference from Islamists.

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