Kurdistan Parties Field Preachers in Polls to Gain Votes
Posted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 12:32 amSULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – Political parties have long known that in Iraqi Kurdistan’s conservative Muslim society a large number of people like to vote for Islamic preachers, who are known as mullahs in Kurdish society.
Therefore, it is no surprise that, ahead of elections for the autonomous Kurdistan Region’s parliament on September 21, the 31 political parties in the race are running a total of 18 mullahs as candidates. They are in a tight race with about 100 university professors and technocrats from different political groups.
Mullahs also feature among the candidates of secular parties such as the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which are ruling partners in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Election posters of the bearded preachers are everywhere in the three-province self-rule Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq, which has its own legislature, government and a booming economy fuelled by growing oil wealth.
In all previous elections in Kurdistan mullahs have run and succeeded in reaching parliament. Most notable was Bashir Hadad, a KDP candidate who won enough votes in the 2009 elections to become an MP.
In the current campaign the KDP and Kurdistan Islamic Union lead the way with five mullahs each in their list of candidates.
Some of the mullahs in the race have little experience of politics or public speaking, beyond leading Friday prayers or holding seminars in different parts of the region.
Dana Tayib, a candidate for the Reform and Development list, says that his group nominated two mullahs in order to give every section of Kurdish society a voice.
Salam Abdolkarim, a university professor in Sulaimani, believes that mullahs should occupy themselves with religion, not politics. “Mullahs must remember that the parliament is not a place for them. They can play their role in the mosques instead,” he says.
Dilshad Garmiyani, a senior leader of the Islamic League (Komal), disagrees. “A mullah who wants to become an MP must be very knowledgeable and prevent the passage of laws that contradict Islamic Sharia,” he says. “He should also be brave.”
Comments
2 2 KurdPerwer | 11 hours ago
Thanks heaven our parliament is not a place for these animals.
Report
0 0 critic | 10 hours ago
Kurds always have been crazy about their religions but their religions don't give a shit about kurdish people interests which is,to my mind,a lesson needs to be learned from the history.
Report
0 0 Mamo Atrushi | 7 hours ago
Fear does not come from an individual mulla in a political party, but the biggest fear comes from the political Islamic parties which see (Ayraqied)our national anthem as hypocrisy, and sending our young people to fight for Al Nasra and the Jiyhadi groups in Syria against the Kurdish people.
Therefore, it is no surprise that, ahead of elections for the autonomous Kurdistan Region’s parliament on September 21, the 31 political parties in the race are running a total of 18 mullahs as candidates. They are in a tight race with about 100 university professors and technocrats from different political groups.
Mullahs also feature among the candidates of secular parties such as the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which are ruling partners in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Election posters of the bearded preachers are everywhere in the three-province self-rule Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq, which has its own legislature, government and a booming economy fuelled by growing oil wealth.
In all previous elections in Kurdistan mullahs have run and succeeded in reaching parliament. Most notable was Bashir Hadad, a KDP candidate who won enough votes in the 2009 elections to become an MP.
In the current campaign the KDP and Kurdistan Islamic Union lead the way with five mullahs each in their list of candidates.
Some of the mullahs in the race have little experience of politics or public speaking, beyond leading Friday prayers or holding seminars in different parts of the region.
Dana Tayib, a candidate for the Reform and Development list, says that his group nominated two mullahs in order to give every section of Kurdish society a voice.
Salam Abdolkarim, a university professor in Sulaimani, believes that mullahs should occupy themselves with religion, not politics. “Mullahs must remember that the parliament is not a place for them. They can play their role in the mosques instead,” he says.
Dilshad Garmiyani, a senior leader of the Islamic League (Komal), disagrees. “A mullah who wants to become an MP must be very knowledgeable and prevent the passage of laws that contradict Islamic Sharia,” he says. “He should also be brave.”
Comments
2 2 KurdPerwer | 11 hours ago
Thanks heaven our parliament is not a place for these animals.
Report
0 0 critic | 10 hours ago
Kurds always have been crazy about their religions but their religions don't give a shit about kurdish people interests which is,to my mind,a lesson needs to be learned from the history.
Report
0 0 Mamo Atrushi | 7 hours ago
Fear does not come from an individual mulla in a political party, but the biggest fear comes from the political Islamic parties which see (Ayraqied)our national anthem as hypocrisy, and sending our young people to fight for Al Nasra and the Jiyhadi groups in Syria against the Kurdish people.