Iraq's choice

Two years after the US invasion of Iraq, Mothanna Harith Al-Dhari takes stock of the Muslim Scholars Association's championing of resistance

---

Click to view caption

An Iraqi boy stands at the scene of twin blasts which targeted the convoy of two US Humvees and a fuel tanker in an eastern Baghdad neighbourhood on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualities

It is impossible to examine Iraq's future options without taking the views of the Muslim Scholars' Association (MSA) into account. The MSA opposed the occupation when few had the foresight to do so. As early as 18 July 2003, the MSA organised a gathering to voice opposition to the then Iraqi Governing Council (IGC). The gathering concluded that the IGC was dividing the nation along ethnic and sectarian lines, fuelling factional sentiments in the country and undermining national unity.

The MSA's denunciation of the IGC publicised its work. As a consequence the MSA held meetings with the Arab League and various groups in neighbouring states during which it asserted its opposition to occupation and outlined Iraq's strategic and tactical options.

Over the past two years the MSA has made it clear that the occupation must end soon, for it is the occupation that has undermined the fabric of society in Iraq and shaken the institutions of the Iraqi state. Normalcy is inconceivable until the occupation is over. Below is a brief account of what the MSA has done in the course of the past two years.

The occupation authorities wanted to hold elections in Iraq as early as 2004, then ditched the idea. During this phase the MSA issued a statement saying that it "does not hold much store by the elections or other schemes suggested for the transfer of power so long as the occupation continues and the nation is deprived from exercising its will freely". The MSA then proceeded to hold closed dialogues with like-minded groups in the country. It was the agreement among these groups that provided the backdrop for the proposed Iraqi National Constitutive Council (INCC).

The INCC, formed on 8 May 2004, provided a platform through which national groups opposed to the occupation could speak their mind, express their national preferences, refute pro-occupation arguments and denounce those working closely with the occupation authorities. The MSA was instrumental in drafting the Charter of Understanding and National Work, endorsed by the INCC. The Charter contained 14 national and pan- Arab demands, among the most relevant being: commitment to the unity of Iraq's land, people, and sovereignty, as well as the rejection of any attempt to divide the country along ethnic or confessional lines; rejection of laws issued under occupation and of any attempt to dispose of Iraq's natural, financial and human resources without the consent of an elected national authority; the rehabilitation of national armed forces and the disbanding of all existing militias and the supremacy of the law in a country committed to political, economic, and social reconstruction.

The INCC's work culminated in the forming of the Delegation of the National Forces Resisting Occupation (DNFRC). The DNFRC toured Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan to present a national agenda offering an alternative to occupation. The DNFRC met the secretary-general of the Arab League on 8 December 2004 to discuss that agenda and present an alternative path to the political process then underway in Iraq.

The delegation proposed a broad-based national front of all parties and political groups be formed to defend national principles, end the occupation, safeguard the country's unity, sovereignty and independence, uphold justice, equity, democracy, pluralism, human rights and sustainable development, guarantee the religious, cultural, civic and political rights of all Iraqis and combat all forms of ethnic, sectarian and religious discrimination.

The broad-based national front then formed an expanded committee to formulate a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq and to restore Iraq's full sovereignty and independence in a complete and decisive manner supported by international guarantees. It called for an interim government of technocrats selected on the basis of patriotism, efficiency and willingness to serve the country that would act under the supervision of the expanded committee, and suggested that a constitutional committee be chosen to prepare an interim constitution to be submitted to the broad- based national front for approval.

It recommended a timetable be set for a population census that would be followed by general elections producing an interim government and legislative council. These two bodies would then prepare the permanent constitution which would then be voted on in a referendum, with both bodies being disbanded as soon as the executive and legislative authorities are elected in accordance with the permanent constitution. All laws approved or issued by the occupation authorities or by Iraqi institutions created under occupation would, furthermore, become nil and void once the occupation ends. The national front and interim government would issue the laws and legislation needed to run the country in the interim phase and until such time that elected Iraqi institutions are formed in coordination with the expanded committee.

The above are the options the MSA presented to the nation, the focus being on ending the occupation since it is the occupation that has caused the disintegration of Iraq as a state. In other words, Iraq must assert national unity as a means of building the state and keeping it together; conduct the political process on a sound basis and away from the intervention of the occupation authorities and rehabilitate security institutions so they can keep law and order.

Security concerns have been emphasised in Iraq at the expense of all other aspects of reconstruction. And yet the security services are clearly flawed, for reasons connected with the occupation under which they were put together. This is a serious problem which impedes the process of reconstruction.

The MSA's views of Iraq's options are shared by many across the political and ideological spectrum. There is ample ground for agreement, and yet occupation remains a thorny issue. When it comes to occupation the MSA sees no room for compromise. No one is going to convince us that occupation is good for the country, not after the experience we've had with the interim government and the now-disbanded IGC. Iraq's future as a viable country is at stake. The probity of the political process has been compromised in a manner that disregards the country's future. The rehabilitation of the security services has been conducted in a questionable manner. As a result national unity is at risk. The gap is still wide between people who are active on Iraq's political scene and those, such as the MSA, who oppose the occupation.

Al-Dhari is the spokesperson of the Muslim Scholars Association. The above article is based on a lecture given by him this week at the Cairo-based International Centre for Future and Strategic Studies.