Washington, D.C. - In a letter to President George W. Bush, a number of influential groups and individuals have asked that religious freedom not be lost in the new Iraq. "The establishment of a secular system with respect for and equal treatment of all religious faiths under the law is a fundamental imperative of any democracy… The time has come that Iraqi people enjoy the same benefits and vitality that freedom of religious pluralism and practice promote and ensure. On the contrary, the creation of an Islamic system in Iraq will inevitably lead to conflict over authority to interpret Islam and oversight of its enforcement by the state," stated the letter, drafted by the Institute on Religion and Public Policy. "The United States Government must not sell out fundamental rights and freedoms for the sake of political convenience," commented Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski. "Coalition forces and Coalition Provisional Authority personnel entered Iraq with promises of a new reality in Iraq based on liberty, freedom, and democracy. If religious freedom is guaranteed, then no liberties will ever be possible."