Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
secularism means separating religion from the state and also separating politics from religion
I beg of you to explain your position to me so that I can understand how a religious cleric speaks about secularism and democracy in such a way
Exactly. I totally believe in that. Being observant and faithful, and because I love my religion
I, in calling for the establishment of secular rule in Iraq, I am advocating save religion from the state
Religion, the Quran and Islam have been kidnapped at the hands of an oppressive ruler hailing from 14 centuries ago, not from today. Saddam was not the only tyrant
Saddam had a long heritage dating back to the days of the Umayyad State, followed by the Abbasid state and then the Ottoman Empire
All is a history of tyranny and dictatorship. We never heard of any rulers having abdicated. Rulers go from the chair only to the grave
The Holy Qur'an has been kidnapped
The ruler is the one who explains the Qur'an and he is the one that cancels various interpretations
Through calling for the establishment of secular rule, we only aim to free religion from the state and not the opposite
Mr. Ayad, Saddam was secular, and he was liberal. When I stress on the point that a religious cleric speaks about secularism
it means that religious men will accept legislation and laws set by the secular state
Moreover, religious people refer to the sunna, which is of course the Holy Qur'an and holy sunna
but as for secularism, it does not abide by this sunna and this Islamic doctrine and sharia
So do you believe that one of the main reasons for development and dignity for the Iraqi people to be away from religion
and the laws put by the secular state that said afterward is too far from what religion approves of
Give me even one single witness in our long history who lasted more than 14 centuries other than the Rightly Guided Caliphs
give me any period of time in which the Holy Quran was not dominated by the rulers and the state
Governments had control of religion and they caused the dispersion of the religion to groups, parties, sectors doctrines and sects
Religion is moaning from the injustice of dictators
We want to rid the nation from the control of this state in order to let the religion be in the hands of scholars; both Sunnis and Shiites
Our demand for secularism is mainly to free the religion and thinkers and poets
We as a nation have had a long history and we have learned people, poets, historians and writers for the Sultan
and at the same time, we have opposition thinkers, writers, poets and so. The state was the core of existence
Yes. But Mr. Ayad, please allow me, we all remember the two million person march in Karbala which had banners saying the Howza leads us
Also, tens of thousands of Sunnis always leave mosques saying that Islam leads us
The public will look even through the report in which we showed that they were saying that parties
in which they said that parties did not offer anything for us and Islam is a path which will lead us to a real Iraq
that means that there is public will wanting an Islamic state, in fact things all point to that
if we see that the public will say we want Islam, ho how do you assess the Iraqi future with this public will
I do not claim that I represent the people and I do not claim that I represent anyone. I only express my own point of view
We wish to see Islam dominating all aspects of life but experiences proved that it is the state so accordingly, the state must be controlling the explanation of religion
and the state hides all other explanations. People's emotions for sure are Islamic and religious
They love their religion, their Islam and I can foresee Islam flourishing and will have agreement between Sunnis and Shiites
if the Holy Quran and Holy Sunna are placed in the hands of honest learned men without the interference
the swore, prison; without interference of the state. Let the state be one for services
opening bridges and roads and public utilities. We want the state to be a decent one
one that does not that that it is religious or fighting religion
a nonaligned state that leaves religion to its people must build institutions and utilities. We want a state of services only
and religion will be one of the duties of the civil community with institutions such as religious academies, religious scholars, marjiahs, etc.
they are the ones to protect religion and promote it within the community
Let us talk about the new birth, the birth of the new politics in Iraq with the declaration tomorrow of the Transitional Governing Council
What do you know about it and what are the limits of its power and how enforceable its degrees would be
Particularly that there are rumors that the Americans will be dominating this council's decisions
not behind the scenes only, but directly. Mr. Bremmer will have the right to veto decisions taken by the council
What is the nature of this council? Is it an executive authority?
Please summarize these issues according to your knowledge
This council includes the elite of Iraq's leadership and Iraqi commanders. This is a council with legislative powers
It will be the one to elect the government and it will appoint the ministers
The ministers will of course agree to coordinate with Mr. Bremmer, who personally chose these 25 people
The political council that will be announced tomorrow, God willing, includes the best of the Iraqi leaders
and we wish them success. They will have precise areas of authority and they will put that authority in effect starting
with the first day the council is announced. They will be the engines and the generators
Very well, on what basis were they chosen? You said that Bremmer was the one who personally chose that configuration of 25 people. What was the basis of this formation
Their choice was derived from their presence in society, because they are among the historical and veritable leaders of this people
The formation, according to my information, represents all sectors of the Iraqi people
It includes, Sunnis, Shiites, Christians, Kurds, Turkmen, arabs, Assyrians and Chaldeans
Meaning all sectors and mosaics are represented by bright political faces to whom we wish success. It will be a superb council, God willing
Then it seems that the matter is clear on the formation of the council
As if the sectarian and ethnic standard is dominating this council and not merit and nationalism
As we heard there are 13 Shiites, 5 Sunnis and 5 Kurds. So how would things turn to be
No problem in that for the political council but the fear and what is mostly feared is that these standards may be applied in the ministers' council
This ministers' council must not be divided according to sectarian quotas. It must be according to nationalism and efficiency. We do not want Iraq to be another Lebanon
We want to build a new Iraq in which the candidate for the Republic's palace
would be qualified and of Iraqi nationality without account of the religious, sectarian
or ethnic affiliations or so. This is a political council that represents Iraq and its leaders with all their sectors
The most important thing is that the ministers' council not be divided on a sectarian quota
We wish that our brothers in the political council would select their ministers on the basis of efficiency only
and not taking into consideration any sect or religion or ethnic group
Yes, but it seems that the game of counting figures between political powers has started with this new political move
Mr. Masoud Barzani said that they will not accept any secondary role but they need to maintain a stake in the state
Important ministries, key ministries. Mr. Bakir al Hakim said that Shiites may rebel against Americans if they were not justified and given their political rights
Then does this indicate that there are probably problems among these political powers with the birth of this council and maybe the project has failed?
We as a nation, we have suffered a lot. We suffered from repression and exclusion under dictatorship and tyranny and especially the Shiites