Reviews mixed on Iraq constitution

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration offered continued praise for Iraq's proposed constitution yesterday, despite academic and political criticism that the document partially brokered by the United States does not adequately protect religious freedom and women's rights.

The constitution's language is often vague, sometimes deliberately so, and protections granted in one section of the document seem undermined elsewhere, several scholars and political analysts said.

Many tough questions about individual liberties, including the ultimate role of Islamic law in society and women's legal protections, are open to interpretation or left for future legislatures or courts to decide.

"We're very concerned about the provisions related to religious freedom, and specifically the provision that would make Islam the main source or a basic source of law," said David Christensen, director of congressional affairs for the conservative Family Research Council.

President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice congratulated Iraqis when the referendum was presented to Iraq's parliament Sunday after repeated delays. Yesterday, Bush said the constitution is a brave and democratic answer to terrorism and violence in Iraq.

"Instead of using guns to decide the fate of the future, Iraqis from all aspects of their society came together and wrote a constitution," Bush told an audience in Arizona. "This constitution is one that honors women's rights and freedom of religion."

He also acknowledged opposition to the document and said its fate is ultimately up to the Iraqis.

Although the final constitution guarantees women's right to vote and mandates that women make up 25 percent of the elected Council of Representatives, it does not definitely resolve whether women will have full property rights in every area of the country or ensure they can do such things as file for divorce on their own, scholars said.

The same section of the charter that guarantees "full religious rights for all individuals and the freedom of creed and religious practices" decrees that "Islam is the official religion of the state and is a basic source of legislation."

"No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules of Islam," the charter states, followed by a guarantee that "no law can be passed that contradicts the principles of democracy."

"The whole document is a mix of contradictions" that are unworkable in practice, said David Phillips, a senior fellow at the private Council on Foreign Relations who has worked with Iraqi opposition political groups and Iraqi Kurds.

He said Iraqi drafters were under immense pressure from their own increasingly fractured constituencies and from the Bush administration. The charter sets up divisions among men and women and among the country's religious and ethnic groups, and without Sunni Arab support it won't reduce the rising insurgent violence against U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces and civilians, Phillips said.

"It's hard to spin this as a success," he said.

The administration has marked the constitution as a critical milestone on Iraq's path toward political and military independence from the United States.

If it fails, the process of setting up a permanent government could be set back a year, or the country could slide closer to civil war.