I haven’t said much of anything about the Iraqi elections here. That is because, as far as I am concerned, the fact that they are voting doesn’t establish anything. The Soviet Union had elections. Communist China had elections. I am not saying that the new Iraq is like either one, but with the Sharia provisions in the Constitution, it remains to be seen how much freedom for non-Muslims and women the democratic state will really provide. Also, for years I have been pointing out that any democratic state established in an Islamic context will, like Turkey, subsist under constant pressure from those who believe that no state has any legitimacy unless it implements Sharia in its fullness.
Here is some more evidence of that pressure. From AFP, with thanks to Sr. Soph:
PARIS “” The Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda on Saturday urged the country”s Sunni Arabs not to be fooled by the apparent success of this week’s landmark elections.
“We say to our (Sunni) brothers: do not be fooled by what you have heard of the propaganda from the crusaders and their footmen.
“The coming days will show you the fate of this “democratic marriage” and the marriage of prostitution that it celebrated,” the group said in a statement on a frequently used Islamist website.
“Their armed forces (of the Iraqi government) will be useless. Know that the decision of the crusaders to pull out of Iraq has already been taken,” reads the statement, whose authenticity could not be verified.