In the rest of Iraq, there is a claim that people are free in regard to religion, but this is not the reality. But in Kurdistan, there is much interest in guaranteeing religious freedom. He focused on particular legislation in Kurdistan about “minorities rights,” referring specifically to Kurdistan Law no. 5 (2015). This deals with religious and ethnic minorities from other parts of Iraq that have come to Kurdistan.

Jeremy Barker, Associate Vice President for International Strategy at the Religious Freedom Institute moderated a panel concerning religious freedom in Iraq at the International Religious Freedom Summit on February 4. He said that legislation to protect religious freedom in Iraq is being formulated to be presented in the Iraqi Council of Representatives. It aims to protect all religious, and especially minority communities for “long-term survival” in Iraq. Given the greatly reduced numbers of religious minority adherents due to the chaos following the fall of Saddam Hussein’s government in 2003, long term survival of these communities is in question. Some seek laws aimed at protecting particular communities, as was done with the Yazidi Survivors Law. But the overall religious freedom situation in Iraq remains precarious, and Barker said that “religious freedom for one community [in Iraq] is best protected by a law that protects religious freedom for every community.”  

Religious Freedom at the National Level

Youhanna Towaya, Director of the Humanitarian at Ninevah Relief Organization, and a member of the Steering Committee for the Iraq Religious Freedom and Antidiscrimination Roundtable spoke first. He said that for several years, his organization has been working on draft legislation protecting freedom of religion in Iraq, since the Iraqi constitution does not adequately do this. The constitution does state that Islam is the “official religion” of Iraq. Islam is held to provide whatever religious freedom people should have. He said that writing a religious freedom law has not been an easy process, because parliamentary leaders were unwilling to consider it, and many laws in Iraq inhibit religious freedom.

One law, the National Cult Law, says that children must be Muslim if at least one parent is Muslim. “We still have cases of people who were forced to embrace Islam who find it very difficult to go back to their original religions.” They encounter many difficulties and legal issues regarding their personal life, particularly regarding marriage and inheritance. Iraq’s current Personal Status Law is held by many to impede the rights of women and children generally. It has been subsequently sustained by Iraq’s highest court. Christians are not allowed to inherit from their parents if their parents were Muslims. All religious groups must (to some degree) use Islamic law governing domestic relations, most notably in law pertaining to marriages and inheritance.

Yazidis in Iraq

Ghanm Saleem, another member of the Iraqi Religious Freedom Roundtable spoke next concerning the Yazidis in Iraq. He recalled his parents saying that “we can’t live, but under the flag of the government.” It is thought by some that religious freedom is “not possible in Iraq.” But advocates for the proposed religious freedom legislation had support from the Legal Committee in Parliament. Legislators on the committee understood the proposed religious freedom law will not only protect minorities, but protect everyone’s religious freedom, thus making it more acceptable. Yazidis are particularly interested in passing the law, after the persecution of the Yazidis during the ISIS war of the 2010s. They are a small minority, with only the law to protect them. “After the displaced Yazidis went back to their cities, there were many questions, like to choose between displacement or going back, and if going back is the answer, then what to do when we are back.”

Saleem said that the proposed religious freedom law is needed “not only for the Christians and Yazidis, but also other religious minorities that are not mentioned in the Iraqi constitution. We always say that the Yazidis as [a] weak community need this legislation to give them trust to go back to their cities and areas and live there.” Especially, with much hostile rhetoric against non-Muslims in the area that encourages “killing and displacement” of Yazidis, a religious freedom law is needed. According to Saleem, the legislation would penalize not only acts of violence, but also speech against religious minorities, putting it at odds with classic religious freedom and speech. He also saw a need to change school curricula, which also contains hostile statements about minorities.

Religious Freedom in Kurdistan

Another member of the Iraqi Religious Freedom Roundtable, Amir Mawloud, from Kurdistan, spoke next. The Kurds are a large minority in Iraq, with their own regional government, and he pointed out that Arabic and Kurdish are the formally recognized languages in the country.

He said that there is a “red line” that there must be laws that guarantee religious freedom and prohibit discrimination against “all communities and components of Kurdistan.” There is a marked difference, he said, between the situation in Kurdistan and that in the rest of Iraq.

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