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CNN Live Saturday
Analysis With Samer Shehata
Aired February 07, 2004 - 12:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: United Nations experts are now on the ground in Baghdad. The team hopes to resolve a dispute between the U.S. and a Muslim cleric over how elections will be conducted. The Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani and his followers are demanding direct elections. The U.S. is pushing for a caucus-style election. The U.N. team hopes to help a transitional government assume power by June 30.
For insights, we turn to Samer Shehata. And he's on the faculty at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University.
Good to see you, professor.
SAMER SHEHATA, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well, the U.N. team is there. Knowing the kind of instability that exists, what are your expectations of what they will be able to assess?
SHEHATA: Well, it's really quite unknown whether they're going to be able to determine that elections can take place, direct elections can take place by June 30 or not or sometime around there, because that's what Ali Sistani and many others are asking for, thinking -- fearing that the caucus-style system will allow the United States and Iraqis who are very pro-U.S. and don't have a great deal of constituency to dominate the interim government. They're afraid of that.
They're afraid that the Shia will not be represented fairly in the interim government and in future governments, and they're worried about the constitution and to what extent the constitution is secular, for example, and does not reflect, say, the Islamic nature of Iraq.
WHITFIELD: Well, how should that be done so that religion in some way is injected into a new government?
SHEHATA: Well, I think the answer is very delicately. It would be a terrible mistake if the United States -- and several high-ranking officials have voiced this concern -- if the United States was adamantly anti-Islam, having any role whatsoever in the constitution. Fearing, for example, that it could be something like a theocratic state like Iran with direct clerical -- with a direct clerical role in politics.
That's not really what Ali Sistani and many of his followers want. They do not subscribe to that form of politics. Nevertheless, Islam is very important. The majority overwhelmingly of Iraqis are Muslim. The overwhelming majority are Shia and they want a fair shake as it were, which they haven't had before in Iraqi politics. And they want to make sure that the political system reflects their culture, traditions and religion, and they're worried that the United States will intervene directly or indirectly to forego that possibility.
WHITFIELD: Professor Samer Shehata of Georgetown University, thanks very much for joining us.
SHEHATA: You're welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 7, 2004 - 12:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: United Nations experts are now on the ground in Baghdad. The team hopes to resolve a dispute between the U.S. and a Muslim cleric over how elections will be conducted. The Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani and his followers are demanding direct elections. The U.S. is pushing for a caucus-style election. The U.N. team hopes to help a transitional government assume power by June 30.
For insights, we turn to Samer Shehata. And he's on the faculty at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University.
Good to see you, professor.
SAMER SHEHATA, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well, the U.N. team is there. Knowing the kind of instability that exists, what are your expectations of what they will be able to assess?
SHEHATA: Well, it's really quite unknown whether they're going to be able to determine that elections can take place, direct elections can take place by June 30 or not or sometime around there, because that's what Ali Sistani and many others are asking for, thinking -- fearing that the caucus-style system will allow the United States and Iraqis who are very pro-U.S. and don't have a great deal of constituency to dominate the interim government. They're afraid of that.
They're afraid that the Shia will not be represented fairly in the interim government and in future governments, and they're worried about the constitution and to what extent the constitution is secular, for example, and does not reflect, say, the Islamic nature of Iraq.
WHITFIELD: Well, how should that be done so that religion in some way is injected into a new government?
SHEHATA: Well, I think the answer is very delicately. It would be a terrible mistake if the United States -- and several high-ranking officials have voiced this concern -- if the United States was adamantly anti-Islam, having any role whatsoever in the constitution. Fearing, for example, that it could be something like a theocratic state like Iran with direct clerical -- with a direct clerical role in politics.
That's not really what Ali Sistani and many of his followers want. They do not subscribe to that form of politics. Nevertheless, Islam is very important. The majority overwhelmingly of Iraqis are Muslim. The overwhelming majority are Shia and they want a fair shake as it were, which they haven't had before in Iraqi politics. And they want to make sure that the political system reflects their culture, traditions and religion, and they're worried that the United States will intervene directly or indirectly to forego that possibility.
WHITFIELD: Professor Samer Shehata of Georgetown University, thanks very much for joining us.
SHEHATA: You're welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
