By: Kamal H Artin

 Oct. 8, 2005

California

Surprisingly current American administration had the courage to take a risk and “terminate” one of the Middle Eastern dictators, without worries about potential complications of an invasion. It is more surprising that the same administration has lost its courage to say no to a flawed draft constitution. The Iraqi constitution seems to be drafted under the supervision of some clerics who have much more in common with Khomeini, Talibans, and Bin Laden than with Bush, IV league students, and Chomsky. These clerics and their agents have become more sophisticated than western missionaries or KGB agents in leading the world toward an outdated and homogenous unification. They deserve recognition for charlatanry, for taking advantage of poverty, simplicity, and superstition of the masses, and for their attempt to legitimize religious discrimination. Although Americans are no saints, they could be called contemporary promoters and guardians of liberty; as such, I hope they declare that nothing short of a modern democracy is acceptable any where in the world!

The preamble of the Iraqi constitution starts with “we the sons of Mesopotamia”, as if the daughters of Mesopotamia are hiding under the veil in the kitchen and have nothing to say about their future. I hope the daughters of Mesopotamia stand up and say no to their brother’s patriarchal ideology! I am afraid they might argue that the American constitution was also written by a few men known as “the founding fathers”. However, imagine that American constitution would have stated: Christianity is the official religion of the state, no law can be passed that contradicts undisputed rules of Christianity, the constitution guarantees the Christian identity of the majority of American, America is a part of Christian world, and as an active member of league of Anglo-Saxon nations she is committed to the charter of the league. I am not sure if the free and brave Americans would have been willing to defend such a constitution. Now in order to detect the flaws in the Iraqi constitution in the above statement, substitute Islam for Christianity, Iraq for America, and Arab for Angle-Saxon.

It is understandable that Arab-Muslim nationalists would support this constitution. What surprises me though, is that Americans are going along with such a flawed document. It seems almost as if the American administration is acting scientifically to test a hypothesis that helpless and needy people will accept any ideas or laws without questing. Maybe they believe that if the theory can be tested in Islamic Iraq with a reassuring outcome, its Christian form could be legalized and practiced in America without any major concern. I am also quiet surprised that the mainstream Kurdish parties plan to vote yes on this constitution. However, maybe they are taking one step backward toward selling themselves or performing “Jashayati” in order to get two steps closer to their ultimate goal of Kurdayati, the independence! I hope they stop their submissive behavior, declare independence now, and begin building a free Kurdistan, which could become a refuge for all free people of the Middle East, while their own home is under the siege of sheikhs, ayatollahs, kings, and permanent presidents.

Dr. Artin is a member of Kurdish American Education Society; however, his views are not necessarily reflective of all of the members of KAES (www.kaes.us).