MESOP COMMENTARY : UNDER TEHRAN’S UMBRELLA – NOW SHARIA LAW IN IRAQ

“Ammar Toma, a minister in Baghdad who voted in support of the ban, argued that the constitution already makes it illegal to sell, produce or import alcoholic drinks in Iraq: “The constitution says you cannot approve a law that goes against Islam,” he told AFP, referring to an article stating that “no law that contradicts the established provisions of Islam may be established.” There was no law I am aware of that promoted alcohol in Iraq, however. Rather, there simply existed an absence of any prohibition against alcohol. Article 2 of the Iraqi Constitution also guarantees “…the full religious rights of all individuals to freedom of religious belief and practice,” which one would assume includes secular individuals and Christians (for whom wine plays a part in religious rituals). The Quran itself also says that “There is no compulsion in religion.”

If we were to accept Toma’s reasoning, however, the Iraqi government has an obligation to enforce his party’s notions of Islamic law – including prohibitions on any number of things including alcohol, pork, uncovered women, pre-marital contact between the sexes, opposition to infallible government edicts (as in Iran), and so forth”  www.mesop.de