Iraq's Islamists dump religion for upcoming elections
Islamist parties in Iraq are shedding their religious platforms to focus on reform in the campaign for upcoming elections and are also allying with secular parties.
With elections scheduled for May, political parties in Iraq are busy forming alliances and gearing up for the campaign. Of note, slogans promoting political Islam are remarkably scarce. For this election cycle, all the political parties, including Islamists parties, have chosen to focus on civic life in their effort to get voters' attention and gain their confidence.
Out of more than 200 Islamist parties registered with the Independent Electoral Commission, only some 10 have names explicitly invoking Islam, such as the Islamic Dawa Party, the Islamic Virtue Party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, the Iraqi Islamic Party, the Iraqi Organization of Islamic Action and the Kurdistan Islamic Group.
