Thursday, November 11, 2010

Should SHARIA LAW Be Used In Judges' Rulings?

Oklahomans voted to ban the use of Sharia Law by state judges, but there's now a lawsuit by an Islamic group to overturn it, according to the following article. The group succeeded Monday in getting a temporary order to block the Oklahoma State Election Board from certifying the results of the vote. A hearing  is set for Nov. 22
   . . . June

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Judge halts Sharia law ban’s effect
Tulsa Beacon: posted on Thursday, November 11th, 2010

An Islamic group wants to overturn a vote by Oklahomans to ban the use of Sharia law by state judges.

Muneer Awad, executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), filed a lawsuit last Thursday to overturn the measure and allow the Islamic law to influence judicial cases in Oklahoma. About 70 percent of the voters in Oklahoma on Nov. 2 approved an amendment to the state constitution that would ban the use of international law, and Sharia law.

Awad succeeded Monday in getting a temporary order to block the Oklahoma State Election Board from certifying the results of the vote. A hearing for a permanent injunction is set for Nov. 22. According to the lawsuit, Awad said the vote has taken away “much of the bounty of religious liberty” he enjoys under the U.S. Constitution. And Awad claims it will lead to religious prejudice.


“Surely, people will whisper, there must be something deeply threatening about Muneer’s faith. For why else would the great state of Oklahoma allocate space in the state’s most cherished document to burden Muneer’s faith and no other. There must be something hidden away commensurate to condemnation on such a grand scale,” according to the introduction of the filing.

Awad is a practicing Muslim who relies on two core sources for his faith: the Quran and recorded teachings of “Islam’s prophet.”

State Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs, and Sen. Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, authored the amendment because of the growing use of international law in judicial consideration - even the U.S. Supreme Court. Duncan has said that cases should be decided on principles found in the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions and American law - not on international precepts.

Duncan has said that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and that he wanted to ensure that the courts could not undermine those founding principles.

The lawsuit claims, “The initiative’s architects have variously referred to State Question 755 as a preemptive strike, a response to a looming threat, and as a much needed legal reinforcement to the Oklahoma’s Judeo-Christian values.

Read entire article

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There are always two sides to a story. Do you think that religious freedom in the US should protect Sharia Law? Please leave your comments.

June

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