Free Muslims Call for New Elections in Iraq over Failed Constitution

Washington, DC - The Free Muslims Coalition, a National Muslim organization
with 18 chapters, calls for new elections in Iraq and the rejection of the draft
constitution.

On August 22, 2005, negotiators from the ruling Shiite Islamist groups in Iraq's
parliament told reporters that they had agreed on a draft of a constitution to propose
to the National Assembly. A Sunni representative from the committee, however, told
reporters that his party had not agreed to the draft and the Sunnis will likely vote
against the proposed draft.

The Constitution Committee has been divided over the role of Islam in government,
women's rights and federalism. News reports indicate that the Shiite majority on the
committee are insisting that all laws passed in Iraq must be consistent with their
interpretation Islam which may not be consistent with Sunni interpretation of Islam and
certainly not consistent with Iraqi Christians’ interpretation of religion. This is a
total disaster.

This draft constitution must be rejected and new parliamentary elections held. If the
existing Shiite proposal becomes law then Iraq would resemble more of an Iran type
theocracy rather than a democracy that respects individual liberty and freedom. The
U.S. must do all it can to prevent this from happening.

Approximately 2000 Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqi have died since the invasion
of Iraq. To allow the proposed draft constitution to become law would mean that those
courageous people have died in vein.

The Free Muslims have supported the U.S. effort in Iraq based on the vision that Iraq
would become an example of freedom, tolerance, democracy, prosperity and individual
liberty for the entire Middle East. The Free Muslims believe that a prosperous,
secular, democratic Iraq would influence the entire region into reform. However, this
will not happen if the draft constitution becomes law. To the contrary, if the draft
constitution becomes law then Iraq will likely be an example of a failed, intolerant
state like Iran.

Under existing Iraqi law, if the constitution committee is unable to agree on a
constitution then the parliament would have to be dissolved and new elections held. The
Free Muslims believe this is the best course to follow. In the previous elections, the
Sunni minority boycotted the elections and thus extreme elements of the Shitt population
won the majority seats in parliament. Consequently, the new parliament elected an
extreme Prime Minster to head the government.

Before his election, the Prime Minister of Iraq promised that he would not try to turn
Iraq into an Iran type theocracy. It now appears that he merely made those promises to
get elected and is now going back on his word.

News reports over the last few months have indicated that if new elections were to be
held in Iraq that Iraqis will most likely elect a more tolerant and farsighted
government. Moreover, Sunni Muslims, who boycotted the previous elections, are much
more likely to participate in repeat elections. Having a new Iraqi government that
represents all the people of Iraq will be much more legitimate than the existing
government and will likely decrease the violence in Iraq. On the other hand, if the new
draft constitution becomes law, violence will likely increase and the likelihood of a
civil war will increase substantially. For these reasons, the Free Muslims Coalition
calls on the United States to persuade the existing Iraqi government to dissolve and new
elections held.

For more information, visit our website at www.freemuslims.org