New Iraq = Old Ireland?

Interesting snippet from the Asian Times discussing the political powerplay in Iraq. In outlining the vision of the influencial Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Sisstani, history professor and blogger Juan Cole resorts to an example much closer to home:

“What he wants for Iraq is something they can live with; he wants a parliamentary government, which would be Shi’ite-dominated, in which the Shi’ite clergy could intervene to shape legislation by their fatwas, by appealing to the consciousness of the Shi’ite legislators. I’d compare this vision of Sistani’s for Iraq with 1950s Ireland and the position of the Catholic Church there. There was a secular, elected parliament. If the parliament took up any issue like divorce, the bishops would state their position and put enormous pressure on the representatives to vote their way”.

Thanks to Tom Griffith for the heads up!

Mick Fealty

Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty