In Iraq -- Key issues still under dispute as deadline for new Iraqi constitution nears - SignOnSanDiego.com >

SignOnSanDiego.com > In Iraq -- Key issues still under dispute as deadline for new Iraqi constitution nears:

"'There is a group that wants Iraq to be called 'The Iraqi Islamic Federal Republic,' while the other wants it called the 'Iraqi Federal Republic' and another group rejects both names,' Taha said.

Another problem is whether the official language of Iraq should be Arabic alone or Arabic and Kurdish, he added.

There are even differences over whether Iraq should be formally declared part of the Arab and Islamic nation, or whether the document should state that the Iraqi people are parts of those nations, he said.

A serious point of disagreement appears to be the role of Islam in the state. Shiites, who make up about 60 percent of Iraq's estimated 27 million people, want Islam to be the main source of legislation, while the Kurds want it to be one of the sources – as it is in the interim constitution approved before the Americans restored Iraqi sovereignty in June 2004."