ABSTRACT
Since the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, the considerable scrutiny of the new Iraqi constitution has focused on the issues of sectarianism and political centralization. However, other areas of tension are also evident. In particular, the issues of gender equality and religious freedom are crucial areas for discussion, particularly in the context of the broader discourse of Islam and human rights. Gender equality and religious freedom are the two most contested areas of debate between advocates of the universal human rights regime and those seeking to develop and infuse an Islamic perspective on human rights. The debates concerning these issues in the formation of the new Iraqi constitution provide an illustrative example of possible compromise between perspectives that are often posited as mutually exclusive.
