Iraqi Shiites between secularism, sectarianism
At a crucial time ahead of elections, Iraq’s Shiites find themselves at a crossroads, choosing between a more secular society or a religiously based path.
The proposals of Shiite political Islam groups are likely to face rejection from the Shiite public itself, not to mention the expected negative responses from other ethnic groups and sects in Iraq.
Indifference has marked the most recent stance of Shiite political Islam groups — such as the Sadrist movement, the Islamic Dawa Party and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) — regarding the draft laws on Shiite personal status and Jaafari jurisprudence. This is not to mention the scathing criticism by Shiite religious authorities of these two draft laws.
The truth of the matter is that Shiites have always swung between two main approaches: The first calls for the formation of an independent Shiite political identity, while the second calls for the establishment of some sort of a secular state and the participation of all parties in building it.
Many historical and contemporary examples can be presented to illustrate the first ideological tendency, starting from the complete withdrawal of Shiites from political participation during the 1920s. This is not to mention Ahmed Chalabi's call to establish the Shiite House group before the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein. The ISCI has also called for the establishment of a Shiite province in central and southern Iraq.
