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CIAO DATE: 08/07
Volume 19, Number 1, February 2007
Contributors
Civilization and Savagery in the Crucible of War by Brett Bowden
The casting of the war on terrorism as a war fought on behalf of or for Civilization against some less-than-civilized Other - terrorists and their cohorts - is a significant point. The image being generated and marketed is one of a war between the civilized defenders of everything that Civilization represents and the savage terrorists who oppose it and want to tear it down. Right or wrong, this image is not exactly new, and thus the 'war on terror' is not exactly a 'war like no other' as is often claimed by its prosecutors. Rather, history and precedents, particularly in regard to confrontations between so-called 'civilized' and 'savage' peoples, have a lot to tell us about the present and the conducting of the war on terror.
Islam in the Iraqi and Afghan Constitutions: A Comparative Perspective by Matthew Gray
Much of the controversy that surrounded the development of a constitution in Afghanistan in 2004, and in Iraq in 2005, was over the place and prominence that Islam should assume in the documents and, by extension, the role of religion in the new politics of the two states. This paper begins by providing a short background on the Islamic perspective on constitutional politics, and then moves on to consider the case studies of Afghanistan and Iraq through a detailed, comparative approach. It provides a historical context on previous constitutional experiments in the two states and the place of Islam in earlier constitutions, and then discusses the specific issues raised by the relationship between Islam and constitutionalism in contemporary Afghanistan and Iraq. In particular, the position and weight given to Islam and Islamic law in the two constitutions are considered, along with some of the strengths, weaknesses and controversies that accompanied the constitution drafting and ratification processes. The paper ends with a discussion of some of the challenges facing Iraq and Afghanistan and their new constitutions, given the dynamics and controversies outlined.
Female Subjects of International Human Rights Law: The Hijab 1 Debate and the Exotic Other Female by Sevda Clark
In this paper, the presupposed ideas upon which the hijab is probibited in both France and Turkey - concerning the nature and purpose of veiling (these notions informed and influenced by a long history of Orientalism) - are examined and shown to provide an insufficient justification for the prohibition. Such notions serve to marginalize Muslim Women in the broader women's rights movement in international human rights law, thereby engendering and maintaining the 'otherness' of the Muslim woman as the 'Exotic Female Other'. Having considered how the rhetoric surrounding Muslim women, the veil and the prohibition are easily challenged and therefore significantly undermine the ban's validity, the international law implications of the hijab ban are addressed - namely, the particular human rights that are violated are outlined in addition to a survey of the current effectiveness of international human rights discourse and institutions. Recommendations as to what should be done are also offered.
Reviews