One Iman, One Vote What do Islamists mean when they talk about democracy? By Lee Smith Iraq's interim constitution, signed just this Monday, begins with the words "The people of Iraq." If it's not as immediately bracing as "We the people," it's still a good start for a country whose citizens, over the last several decades, have been the collective victim of terror and violence. Moreover, according to a number of observers, it's a very good constitution, guaranteeing freedom of speech and religion; equal rights for all citizens, including women; and outlawing torture. Indeed, it's a model constitution for the Arab world, much like the one that Iraq's constituent assembly drafted, under British supervision, back in 1924.
Of course that constitution, while never on very firm ground, was officially laid to rest with the 1958 coup that brought Brig. Gen. Abdel-Karim Qasim to power.
It is a sad, unfortunate fact that liberal constitutionalism has a bad track record in the Arab world.
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