Iraq: the new Iran?

Iranian-style "democracy" may be coming to Iraq:

A silent and largely undocumented social revolution has transformed the Shia-dominated south of Iraq into a virtual Islamic state in the two years since the US army invaded.

In Basra's courthouses, Sharia law is now routinely used in place of civil codes. Politicians work with the tacit approval of the Shia clergy and refer many important decisions to religious leaders.

Control of security forces – as demonstrated by the meeting between the deputy governor and the head of the Thar-allah religious party – is often shared between local police and party militia.

Residents of Basra, where secular traditions are stronger than other Shia cities, describe the changes as an Iranian-style revolution, hesitant at first but rapidly building momentum.

While debate begins in Baghdad over whether Islamic law should be the basis of the new constitution, in the South residents say that religion has already become inexorably intertwined with politics.

"My bosses belong to a religious party or take orders from them," said Lt Asaas al-Saidi, who heads a tactical support unit. "It's the best way of getting promoted."

The driving force behind the changes has been the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees from across the border in Iran in the months after the US-led invasion.

Many of the returnees, victims of Saddam Hussein's persecution, spent their exile in camps or with family in the south of Iran.

Others were taken in hand by the Iranian government, who saw in the refugees ready manpower to use against Saddam's regime.

Thar-allah – meaning God's revenge – is just one of several Iranian-financed religious parties that set up offices across the south of Iraq after the invasion.

Its leader, Sayed Youssif Al-Mussawi, unabashedly called for an Iranian-style state to be created in Iraq.

"Of course we want Iraq to be recognised as an Islamic state, with Sharia law as the basis of the constitution," Mr Mussawi said.

Far from being an extreme and isolated voice, Mr Mussawi's views have been welcomed by many in the South, where the idea of an Islamic state is seen as a refuge from the country's chronic instability.

I wonder what Bush and the neocons are going to do once the Iraqi Shia start stoning women for adultery?