Following the poor performance of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) in recent parliamentary elections Niqash sat down with Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Vice-President of Iraq and a leading SIIC member, to discuss the election and the SIIC response.

Niqash: As a member of an Islamic Party do you believe that the state is a man-made construction or a religious doctrine?

Abdul-Mahdi: The state is a man-made doctrine. It is by necessity an instrument, thus it is a man-made doctrine. But, what is important is the people administrating the state, the backgrounds and doctrines that govern them: a tribal philosophy; a philosophy with a religious dimension; a man-made philosophy based on class struggle or national affiliation. The state, by necessity, is a man-made doctrine and cannot be otherwise. However, there is confusion regarding what is religious and what is not. Religion can move in all spaces and there is no space where it cannot reach… The same is true for the state establishing an Islamic culture. In the end, Islam is a set of principles and values rather than acts of worship.

Niqash: To what extent do these ideas affect SIIC policies?

Abdul-Mahdi: They have a positive impact. The SIIC has liberated itself from old and current religious models. We deal with the state, the Iraqi state for example, by considering its current conditions, the same way a doctor treats his patient. For example, if the state is flabby, we try to get it into shape. If it is weak, we try to find means to strengthen it by improving services and infrastructure. We think with an open mind and we do not limit ourselves to rituals and ready-made solutions. This is why we have contributed to the drafting of a constitution acceptable to those who believe in man-made doctrines. Under this constitution, everybody is treated as a citizen – no person and no group finds itself excluded.

Niqash: How do you assess your relationship with the religious authorities [the high Shia religious authority based in Najaf]?

Abdul-Mahdi: During the election, no relationship was established. The authority said it would maintain an equal distant from all political entities. The issue to consider is not entities supported by this authority, but rather, entities that do support it, and here is the root of this issue. We support the religious authority and we took its side before and will continue to do so because it has status, especially in Iraq. It is one of the foundations upon which the state is built. If you look at the British occupation in 1917, the 1920 Revolution, the royal and national rule from 1921 to 1958 and the era of Abdul-Karim Qasim, you will see that the authority’s opinion was always sought. Its opinions are respected by the people and this is why we think that we should defend the religious authority, while others do not believe that they should do so and it’s their right to believe in whatever they want. When the authority said it would keep the same distance from all parties, it took the right decision. We want this authority to be the umbrella for all parties, Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Christians, partisan and non-partisan forces. It should maintain its pastoral and patriarchal role, being an institution above such affiliations.

Niqash: Why didn’t the Shaheed al-Mihrab coalition do better in the recent elections?

Abdul-Mahdi: You are right. The SIIC should have achieved a more advanced position and we are studying the causes of the results. We ranked second and this is not a bad result. In central and southern areas, we competed with other lists and there are factors related to electoral regulations, as well as others related to voters. Voters chose their representatives and SIIC did its part, but did it perform its obligations in the right way? If not, voters can vote for others. And this is what they did and we should learn the lessons. State facilities were used during elections. Was this factor the reason why other entities were able to obtain more votes? All these factors should be examined and we will well study them. On the other hand, we are very happy with the elections; with the success made, we have moved one further step forward.
But there are gaps in the work of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) and in the state apparatus and the way the state dealt with elections. It would have been much better if the state, like the religious authority, had kept a distance from all parties, but unfortunately it did not. We were also able to identify some gaps related to the IHEC’s work. There is the question of the IHEC’s independence. If the IHEC is not fully independent, elections will not be effective in the future. If those who reach power gain votes in a similar fashion to what is happening now, the struggle for power through other means will become the rule and this will not serve the country’ democratic development. We in the SIIC accept and acknowledge the election results and we will learn the lessons and reform technical and political related issues, taking into consideration that the SIIC was attacked by internal and external forces.

Niqash: What are these attacks and who is behind them?

Abdul-Mahdi: There were many attacks by satellite stations and the media. I do not want to name them. I want to give an objective answer and not to engage in useless discussions. I am not in a position which allows me to do so. The SIIC was portrayed as being behind all of the problems afflicting Iraq, while in reality we were the first to call for reform on the sectarian and national level; we have called for Iraq’s independence, reforming the constitution and for national reconciliation. We were the first to call for reform on the above issues when others were against them.

Niqash: How will the election result affect your party policies and plans for the forthcoming parliamentary elections?

Abdul-Mahdi: First we should examine the results. We ranked second and this is something we should be proud of. Politics is similar to football and if one party loses a game, another game can be won. What is important is to continue the struggle, preserve our strengths and improve our performance. Politics should not be monopolized by one party and no party can monopolize power for ever. This is why we support the idea of democracy because it allows for power circulation. It allows us and others to reach power. In the future, we will reach power while others will be waiting for an opportunity. When we are not in power we will wait for the opportunity to reach power. The struggle should be to improve people’s conditions and the services provided. We should not continue fighting each other and compromise the unity of the country.

Niqash: Does the possibility exist of a SIIC alliance with the Rule of Law coalition, led by Prime Minister al-Maliki, in a framework of strategic partnership as is the case with the two Kurdish parties?

Abdul-Mahdi: This issue was previously on the agenda and it is still something we are considering. But, we do not want to create an alliance to face others. We want to create central focal points with others in the alliance circle. As politicians, we are not narrow-minded people. We sincerely want to work with others, to build democratic institutions and to strengthen the country’s political life. In the coming stage, we might urgently need a political parties' law, a law to regulate party funding and other laws. We also need a more advanced electoral system capable of reflecting peoples’ interests. We need an electoral system free of flaws.

Niqash: Do you think that the Dawa Party is adopting a more open ideology while the SIIC portrays a more conservative image?

Abdul-Mahdi: I do not agree with this view. There are big efforts being exerted by Islamic parties in Iraq, by the Dawa party and the SIIC, to adopt political realism, but regretfully debates overlook this fact. For decades the Iraqi Islamic movement has been a realistic one. It was not an ideologically oriented movement in the sense that it did not attempt to impose its ideology but rather use it to interpret realities and reach important conclusions. Just observe the alliances between Islamic and non-Islamic forces in Iraq, this is an old practice. Also examine how local and foreign interventions are being dealt with. The Iraqi Islamic forces, like the Dawa party and the SIIC, deal with issues in a practical manner but the political conditions in Iraq are still unclear. There are some parties who want others to vanish and there are tricks being played. However, the political life in the country has matured and parties are able to deal with each other on clear terms regardless of pressures exerted by people with external and internal agendas and by the media.
The political streams in Iraq have reached maturity. For instance, take the example of the Sadrist stream. We are happy because it achieved good results in the elections. This is an indication that the party will participate in the political life and stop the use of arms. There are indications that political participation will prevail because if a party achieves good election results it becomes part of the country’s political life.

Niqash: In preparation for the forthcoming elections can the SIIC become more open to other components given that its current policies exclusively target Shiites?

Abdul-Mahdi: Was the SIIC ever not open to others? There is a special respect to Husseini rituals, this is a fact and it is in harmony with the identity of the Iraqi people. There is no other party which has introduced policies with such a deep vision related to women and youth as those introduced by the SIIC. For example, during elections, the SIIC announced the day as an occasion to resist violence against women; by this then, SIIC did not only target Shiites. However, the media has only focused on religious slogans because it wanted to portray this image of the SIIC. In Iraq, we face a problem with the way satellite stations perceive Shiism, Islam, Iran and other issues. The media’s focus is not on the SIIC’s electoral program. Those who seek to focus on other issues will discover that the SIIC, similar to, or even more so, than other streams, pays strong attention to social issues, women and youth related issues, the economy, politics, national reconciliation, as well as other related issues. It is not right to judge the SIIC by what others say about us. We should be judged by what we stand for… The SIIC has its own vision and was among the first to advocate progressive and advanced stances.
We did not choose the month of Muharram for the holding of elections. If elections happen to take place during this month, this does not imply that we should not respect the month’s rituals. Millions of Iraqis observe these rituals every year and we honored these rituals. We did not change one word of our recital of al-Maqtal [the recital performed by Shiites remembering the death of Hussein]. We did not change the people who usually perform the recital. People attending houses of condolence did not mention the Shaheed al-Mihrab list during these events. Rituals were held in the same way they were held in previous years. The only difference was that elections were held during the holy Muharram month. Were we supposed to cancel our celebrations? We couldn’t do this and neither could we cancel elections.

Niqash: In the streets we saw black election posters carrying the number of your list and containing religious slogans.

Abdul-Mahdi: We hung black posters because it is the holy month of Muharram. Millions of people wear black clothes during the month. Many of those who went to vote were also going to perform the Husseini rituals. It could be that the use of these rituals was exaggerated and this is something unacceptable. But, some parties took advantage of this issue to trap the SIIC. In interpreting celebrations the battle took on a political rather than a realistic dimension.