As Iraq’s first democratically elected government was sworn on Tuesday, the new Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari said he would unite a nation divided along religious and ethnic lines. The new appointments come as insurgents have claimed over 170 lives in the last 6 days.

The new government’s cabinet currently has 15 Shiite Muslims, seven Kurds, four Sunni Muslims and one Christian with several positions still to be filled. There is still division in the country, evidenced by the absence of the Vice President, Ghazi al-Yawer, who is a minority Sunni Muslim.

It is widely believed that the insurgency consists of mostly Sunnis, according to the Associated Press. Many Sunni Muslims who belonged to the Saddam Hussein’s Baath party, were part of the ruling minority during the former regime. Many did not participate in the January 30 elections.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Christians will also have a part in the drafting of the new constitution, scheduled to be finalised in August, according to Georges Sada, a Christian who was an adviser to the outgoing Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

"Some of the Christians will be members of the committee which is going to be nominated after forming the new government of Iraq," Sada said in an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network a few days before yesterday's swearing in.

He was confident that Christians and other minorities would be protected under the new constitution.

"These are going to participate, to write, and insure that our rights are there in the constitution," he said.

Christians in Iraq make up about three percent of the entire population. Most are Assyrian Christians, with much smaller concentrations of Protestant, Evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians.






Francis Helguero
Christian Today Correspondent