Religious Sanctification of Labor Law : Islamic Labor Principles and Model Provisions

This article examines how the politics of occupation in Iraq increased the likelihood of religious values shaping the future of the Iraqi state more than secular ideologies. The debate that surrounded drafting of the new Iraqi constitution demonstrated the prominent role religion will play in constructing a new vision for Iraq. This article argues that it is imperative for legal reformers to seek justification from Islamic law and juristic discourses to support any reformulation of the Iraqi labor code. As other reform projects have proven, Muslim nations, eager to assert their Islamic identity in a post-colonial world, seek to pursue reforms that synthesize principles of their faith and the requirements of modernity. Fortunately, Islamic law contains significant principles that can provide the philosophical premise for creating provisions in a new Iraqi labor code. Ideas of profit sharing, collective bargaining and even trade unions can be justified using Islamic law and have been instituted into the codes of many other Muslim countries. In addition, any Islamic theory of labor presents a philosophical source from which guidance for future developments in the code can spring forth. Most importantly, by containing an Islamic framework, the code will increase its chances of success since it will certainly be considered more legitimate by the Iraqi people