Freedom of religion guaranteed

By a Special Correspondent
HE Iraqi government has proclaimed a new provisional constitution which, while declaring Islam to be the religion of the State, guarantees freedom of religion. Freedom of religion has also been emphasised in a
constitutional amendment for Norway.
The constitution for Iraq—where Moslems constitute about 95 per cent. Catholics totalling fewer than 210,000—states that "all Iraqis are equal before the law", and that "the State shall protect the freedom of performinug the rites of religions and creeds provided this does not violate public order or morals".
EDUCATION The constitution also upholds the family as "the basis of society". and declares that education is to be guaranteed for all "by the State through the establishment of all kinds of schools".
Norway's constitutional amendment is a pro forma one. The constitution adopted in 1814 banned "the Jesuit and other monkish orders" and also prohibited Jews. But in 1851 the ban on Jews V, as lifted, and in 1897 the clause bearing "other monkish orders" was removed.
Although the ban on Jesuits remained until 1956 it had, in fact, long been a dead letter. Freedom of religion had been upheld by Norway for over a century.