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Former Iraqi MP Ayad Jamal Al-Din expressed his disillusionment with democracy, saying: "You can either have a dictatorship with security or a democracy with disintegration" and adding: "I wish we would get a dictator like Saddam. At least he would protect people's lives… Now we have 10,000 Saddams doing the killing." Speaking on the Iraqi Dijlah TV channel on November 4, Jamal Al-Din, who is a Shi'ite cleric, called to reduce the role of the state to that of a provider of security and services and said: "The state has no business dealing with people's moral values." He further said that while ISIS is the "clearest manifestation" of "unsweetened, unvarnished" Islamic demagogic rhetoric, all Islamic rhetoric – whether Sunni, Shi'ite, Muslim Brotherhood, or the Dawa Party - is the same. "Someone who tells you that there is an Islamic party that believes in human rights is either a liar or an ignoramus," he said.
Interviewer: What worries you about post-ISIS Iraq?
Ayad Jamal Al-Din: The parliamentarian ISIS. The political ISIS. ISIS is an armed movement that adheres to an ideology - a monolithic ideology that wishes to paint all people in a single hue, and make them think alike: one leader, one nation, one policy, and no opinion louder than that of the state or government. Obviously, ISIS has had many manifestations in our long history.
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In true democracies, liberties are not limited to followers of the monotheistic religions. Even atheists, polytheists, and non-religious people enjoy them. The government is not God's representative upon Earth. It is not in charge with educating people. People are educated at home, by their families, society, and culture. They have their individual notions. If a person claims to be a prophet - how is that our business or the government's?
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We must "dwarf" the state and turn it into a provider of security and services. It should provide domestic and external security for all and services for all: health, education, sewage, and so on. The state has no business dealing with people's moral values.
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The Islamic parties lead the political scene. They will win the next elections, and the ones after that. But this does not indicate that they are right. Absolutely not. It is an indication of their demagogic rhetoric. There is a single Islamic rhetoric. Sunni, Shii'te, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Dawa Party - all the Islamic rhetoric is the same. Its clearest manifestation is that of ISIS. With ISIS, it is unsweetened, unvarnished. The leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Dawa Party appear with red silk neckties, talk their way around it, fabricate a little... But in essence, they are the same. They are against democracy and against human rights. Someone who tells you that there is an Islamic party that believes in human rights is either a liar or an ignoramus. No Islamic party believes in human rights. Human rights mean that an atheist and a polytheist are equal to sayyid Al-Sistani and the Sunni source of authority, and they have the same rights and the same duties.
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This is not just our problem. It is the problem of the entire region and of the Islamic world: You can either have a dictatorship with security or democracy with disintegration. Saddam was a dictator, and the country had all the security of a grave. The minute Saddam was gone, the all wanted to take his place. We now have 20 Shi'ite Saddams, 30 Sunni Saddams, and 40 Kurdish ones. The country has disintegrated. It's gone. We want democracy with security, freedom with security, not with anarchy, militias, slaughter, killing, corruption, and the plundering of the budget. The Arab countries that have security and stability are all ruled by a dictator. Let me tell you, I used to preach for democracy, but after witnessing all the catastrophes I have witnessed, I wish we would get a dictator like Saddam. At least he would protect people's lives. Saddam was a killer, but it was just him. Now we have 10,000 Saddams doing the killing.
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