The Federal Court bill enshrines the governance of the religious majority, MP says

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Parliament Speaker’s advisor for components' affairs refused to pass the Federal Court’s law in its current form, warning that this formula would establish a religious state governed by the “religious majority”.

Counselor Imad Youkhana said, in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, that the civilian political blocs and MPs who believe in the civil state should not allow passing the Federal Court law that is submitted for voting in the Council of Representatives. 

 He added that this law "establishes a religious state and imposes the religion of the majority on all Iraqis by giving the right of veto to Islamic law jurists to impose everything that contradicts Islamic law."

 "This contravenes the second paragraph of the same article of the constitution and strikes the principles of human rights and democracy very broadly, while the supreme religious authority in Najaf has repeatedly called for a civil state with respect for religions," he warned.

 The counselor affirmed his rejection of this "unfortunate principle, which came in conjunction with the end of the Pope's visit, but was still in the Iraqi airspace," deeming the law as a "very negative, frustrating and disappointing message for millions of Iraqis, not only Christians but also Yazidis and Sabian Mandaeans."

 He called on the United Nations and all human rights and humanitarian organizations to intervene to stop "these attempts that will destroy the Iraqi societal fabric under the pretext of applying Islamic law through dangerous legal legislation."

 "There are intentions to exclude the representation of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian component and the Turkmen from the formation of the Federal Court by political consensus between the sinister trio (Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds), which reflects the lack of intention of these blocs to correct the path and reform as they claim, and they still think with the same mentality, methodology, quotas, exclusion, and marginalization of others."

 Youkhana urged all civil forces and civil society organizations to act urgently to stop this legislation by all available constitutionally and legally means.