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BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 20 - Iraqi leaders trying to
complete a new constitution moved Saturday toward
deals on such contentious issues as Shiite autonomy,
sharing oil revenues and Kurdish self-rule. But as
they progressed on those fronts, a tentative
agreement that would have given Islam an expanded
role in the state and in family disputes appeared to
unravel.
"Islam is back on the table," said a person close to
the negotiations, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the talks.
Under a deal brokered Friday by the American
ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, Islam was to be named
"a primary source of legislation" in the new Iraqi
constitution, with the proviso that no legislation
be permitted that conflicted with the "universal
principles" of the religion. The latter phrase
raised concerns that Iraqi judges would have wide
latitude to strike down laws now on the books, as
well as future legislation.
At the same time, according to a Kurdish leader
involved in the talks, Mr. Khalilzad had backed
language that would have given clerics sole
authority in settling marriage and family disputes.
That gave rise to concerns that women's rights, as
they are enunciated in Iraq's existing laws, could
be curtailed.
Finally, according to the person close to the
negotiations, Mr. Khalilzad had been backing an
arrangement that could have allowed clerics to have
a hand in interpreting the constitution.
That arrangement, coupled with the expansive
language for Islam, prompted accusations from the
Kurd that the Americans were helping in the
formation of an Islamic state.
The American Embassy has declined to comment on the
negotiations.
Much of the Shiite leadership favors the
establishment of an Islamic state, but several Iraqi
leaders, including most of the Kurds and many
Shiites, oppose it.
Mr. Khalilzad has taken an active role in trying to
secure a constitution that could be agreed to by
Iraq's three main groups, the Shiites, the Sunnis
and the Kurds.
In Washington, a senior State Department official
acknowledged that Iraqi leaders were considering a
concession to Shiite leaders on religious authority
over personal law, but he cautioned that "nothing is
done until everything is done," and that the final
charter needed to be judged by all its pieces, not
just one.
"This piece might be there," the official said,
referring to language that would give authority over
family and other matters to religious leaders.
Iraqi leaders spent much of Saturday discussing a
formula for sharing Iraq's vast oil wealth. As on
Friday, Mr. Khalilzad was the primary catalyst in
the negotiations, shuttling between the Shiite and
Kurdish camps. The discussions over oil stretched
past midnight.
Though no deal on oil was struck, the bargain under
consideration would involve some mix of federal and
local control over oil, said the person close to the
negotiations.
Iraqi leaders said they had reached a tentative deal
on the contentious issue of a Shiite autonomous
region in southern Iraq. Under the arrangement, the
voters of each province would be allowed to decide
by referendum whether they want to have more
autonomy or to join with other provinces to form an
autonomous region.
Such a deal would appear to clear the way for the
establishment of the federal region envisioned by
Abdul Aziz Hakim, the powerful Shiite leader, who
publicly endorsed the formation of a nine-province
Shiite autonomous area.
"It's done," said Bahaa Al Araji , a Shiite member
of the constitutional committee. "Iraq will be a
federal state."
A federal Iraq would sharply conflict with the
desires of the country's Sunni leaders, who oppose
allowing the Shiites to form their own autonomous
area.
The Sunni leaders argue that Shiite autonomy,
coupled with that already enjoyed by the Kurds,
could lead to the dissolution of Iraq.
Sunni leaders complained Saturday that they were
being left out of the negotiations. Indeed, it
appeared that an American-Iraqi strategy was to
strike a deal between the Shiites and the Kurds
first, and then present it to the Sunnis as a
take-it-or-leave-it proposition.
The Sunnis have few members in the national
assembly, which is supposed to approve the
constitution, because of a widespread Sunni boycott
of the January elections.
It has been a principle of American policy to make
sure the Sunnis are included in any deal on the
constitution, since Sunnis form the backbone of the
insurgency. "We were waiting, but there was no
meeting," said Saleh Mutlak, one of the Sunni
leaders. "No one invited us."
Several Shiite leaders said they understood that the
Kurds had dropped their insistence on language that
would allow them to secede from Iraq under certain
circumstances. But there was no official
confirmation from the Kurdish camp.
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