Religious FREAKS all around
Draft Iraqi constitution elevates role of Islam
Updated: 7:18 p.m. ET July 26, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A part of Iraq’s draft constitution obtained by The Associated Press
gives Islam a major role in Iraqi civil law, raising concerns
that women could lose rights in marriage, divorce and inheritance.
Proposal may erode women's rights in marriage, divorce, inheritance
Iraq Constitution Framers Seek Extension
July 31, 2005, 5:23 AM EDT
BAGHDAD, Iraq --
The committee writing the new Iraqi constitution decided Sunday
to ask parliament for a 30-day extension to finish the draft, members said.
The decision marks a setback to U.S. efforts to maintain political momentum to
combat the insurgency.
The formal request will be submitted to parliament Monday, committee members said.
The decision was taken in a meeting ahead of the Aug. 15 deadline for parliament to approve
the draft and submit it to a national referendum in mid-October.
Before the meeting, the committee chairman, Humam Hammoudi, said he would recommend a 30-day extension. After the meeting, one of the framers, Baha al-Araji, said the recommendation had been accepted.
Al-Araji said Kurdish delegates wanted a six-month delay but the Shiites and Sunni Arabs decided to ask for 30 more days.
The United States had mounted considerable pressure on the Iraqis to meet the Aug.15 deadline.
Ten Commandments get an Indiana niche
Some lament monument being on private land
By Robert Preer, Globe Correspondent | July 31, 2005
BEDFORD, Ind. -- Janie Blake and Mary Brewer sat at a table one recent morning outside a Subway restaurant in downtown Bedford, across from the Lawrence County Courthouse, enjoying cold drinks and cookies.
Facing them was a limestone monument with the Ten Commandments inscribed on one side. The two women said they liked the display under the restaurant's portico, but wished it could be where it had been intended: on the State House lawn in Indianapolis.
''It's stuck here in a cubbyhole," said Blake, who lives in nearby Mitchell. ''It's time America took a stand for what it was founded on."
With a religious state in mind
Christian Exodus asks conservatives to relocate to S.C.
By Paul Nussbaum, Knight Ridder | July 31, 2005
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Frank and Tammy Janoski, the Pennsylvania pilgrims, have landed.
With their four children, they have settled into a little subdivision in the country, the first transplants of a movement that wants to bring legions of conservative Christians here to turn South Carolina's government into a biblically inspired oasis.
In the South Carolina of their dreams, abortion would be illegal, the Ten Commandments would be proudly displayed, public schools would be a thing of the past, taxes would be severely limited, and property rights would be paramount.
And if the federal government tried to interfere, well, they'd secede.