By Jeff King for THE WASHINGTON TIMES’ HIGHER GROUND
In the heart of the Middle East, a legal debacle is unfolding that strikes at religious freedom and the core principles of democracy.
I don’t expect that opening sentence to raise many eyebrows since democracy, religious freedom, and the Middle East are strange bedfellows. But what makes this case warrant our attention is that it’s unfolding in Iraq!
That’s the country we attacked and conquered twice to introduce democracy (the stated reason). Across the two wars, we spent close to $800 billion and spilled the blood of 4,500 US servicemen and women.
After that monumental expense in treasure and blood, the Iraqi court is now demanding that Elvin Joseph, a Christian woman, and her daughters (also Christian), convert to Islam despite their Christian faith and upbringing.
The case is a jarring reminder of the backwardness of the Middle East and the incompatibility of fundamentalist Islam with democracy and freedom.
