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Congress concerned over religious freedoms in Iraq
By SUMANA CHATTERJEE
Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - As Iraq writes its first constitution in the coming months, one word will be key: Allah.

Conservative Republican lawmakers in Congress worry that the Muslim-dominated country will shed its secular history and officially turn into an Islamic state, complete with a constitution that says Islam is its national religion.

To try to steer Baghdad's constitutional process away from establishing an official Islamic state, two lawmakers, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., tucked freedom-of-religion provisions into the Senate and House and versions of legislation that would send almost $87 billion to Iraq.

The provisions would instruct the Coalition Provisional Authority to work with Iraq to make sure the new constitution contains specific language to protect religious freedom. While each chamber's version differs slightly, the compromise language is expected to pass Congress next week along with the overall $87 billion spending bill....

...Brownback's provision would go further than Wolf's by insisting on explicit protections for the Christian minority in Iraq and evangelicals who proselytize. He wants to make sure that no laws can be used against people who speak against Islam or who decide to convert to another religion....