Oklahoma wants Sharia banned but federal courts disagree

An amendment that would ban Oklahoma courts from considering international or Islamic law has been blocked by a federal court of appeals, even though most Oklahomans want it onboard.

The federal appeals court in Denver backed U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange’s rule to block the legislation, stating that the amendment would violate First Amendment rights and discriminates against religion.

The entire case is a head-scratcher. For starters, it is difficult to determine what inspired the Oklahoma legislature to put together this proposed law, since even the backers of the amendment admitted they did not know of any instance when an Oklahoma court applied Sharia law or used the legal precepts of other countries in its rulings.

The amendment reads in part that "The courts shall not look to the legal precepts of other nations or cultures. Specifically, the courts shall not consider international law or Sharia law."

Perhaps the matter might not have come to contention had the wording omitted specific religious references, but it seems to be targeting Islam in particular, that got the Muslim community’s attention fast. Muneer Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Oklahoma, then sued to block the law from taking effect. Among other objections, he cited the oddly-named Save Our State Amendment as being discriminatory.

Backers of the amendment vehemently deny that they targeted Islam in particular, saying they wanted to ban all religious laws, which flies in the face of the mention of Sharia law twice while omitting the specifics of any other religiously-based laws.

On the other hand, the Save Our State Amendment reeks of silliness. When would we expect Sharia or international law to take precedence over U.S. or state laws in a U.S. court? What are afraid of? Is the Oklahoma constitution in danger of being eroded and taken over by religious extremists? If so, who are they?

Last time we checked, the separation of church and state in government affairs was still in place in this country – although there are plenty of religious extremists who would like to do away with that. They are not Muslim, however. They are the Christian fundamentalist zealots who want to erect the Ten Commandments on the front of every courthouse.

There are countries around the world which give Sharia law priority, but they are overseas and their political reach in this country is nil. Libya, for example, has recently declared that it will be instituting Sharia law after overthrowing Muammar Kaddafi this past fall.

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