Thursday, May 29, 2003
SHARIA SETTING IN?
Islamic Courts in Iraq
The Washington Post has a piece this morning about the growth of Islamic religious courts in Iraq.
Partly in response to the disorder in Baghdad since Saddam Hussein's government collapsed April 9, partly in response to a vision of a more religious Muslim society, the Shiite clergy -- perhaps the best-organized force in the unsettled capital besides the U.S. occupation -- have moved deftly to create de facto institutions of justice, ruling on cases from divorce to property disputes. At the same time, they have begun enforcing their version of Islamic law, warning shops not to sell alcoholic beverages and theaters not to show risque movies.
Whether private or public, law is a "good," and those exercising U.S. power in Iraq need to act swiftly to provide a secular alternative to the Sharia courts, or the vaccum will be filled completely, with no room for an alternative. Unfortunately, there is zero precedent for secular civil society, and so there is no indigenous foundation upon which to build that alternative. As I've said from the beginning, I am not at all hopeful about this development, and I expect the Islamofascists to ultimately win out in the short term, at least. I wish I could be more optimistic.
GB, THHotA
posted by Greg 6:33 AM
