ABSTRACT
Broadly defined, constitutionalism, a modern and Western-originated phenomenon, aims at legitimizing a limited government based on separation of powers and protection of certain civil liberties, usually with a written constitution as its symbol. Among its most conspicuous features are the twin pillars of popular sovereignty and separation of the state from religion. This is essential because popular sovereignty implies that people, as masters of their destiny, enjoy unconditional discretion to promulgate laws that may contradict religious edicts.3
