Marc Stern, a religion law expert at the American Jewish Committee, says that's no different from how religious laws and customs are already applied.
"And just as the Catholic Church didn't take over law when large numbers of Catholics [came] to the U.S., and Jewish law doesn't govern Jewish citizens, Shariah law is not going to govern, except voluntarily, the rights and responsibilities of Muslim citizens of the United States," Stern says. He says when there's a conflict, U.S. law always wins. For example, when Orthodox Jews have asked judges to enforce their laws on divorce, the courts have refused to do it; they won't be involved in interpreting religion. In the same way, the government won't enforce Kosher food standards because it would violate the separation of church and state. Related NPR Stories [image: Sharif el-Gamal is the developer of the proposed Islamic center in lower Manhattan.] <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129723624> U.S. <http://www.npr.org/sections/us/>Practicality May Outlast Debate On Islamic Center <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129723624> In Tenn., Mosque Location Isn't The Issue: Religion Is <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129302961> Religious Courts and Civil Law <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19147891> Stern says courts will honor agreements made under religious law, but not if they're grossly unfair. In Maryland, for example, a Muslim husband tried to give his wife almost nothing when they divorced, citing Islamic law <http://mdcourts.gov/opinions/coa/2008/108a07.pdf>. "And in very sharp terms, the Maryland court said, 'This violates our fundamental sense of fairness and our fundamental commitment to equality of women, and we're not going to let you void that by reference to Islamic law,'" Stern says. This is particularly true with criminal acts. Stern notes that in the marital rape case in New Jersey, the appeals court called the lower court's decision deeply flawed, proving the point that courts won't allow Shariah law to trump state law. "This is an opinion that said, 'What was this judge thinking? This is absolutely and fundamentally wrong. Go back and get it right; this woman is entitled to the full protection of American law, no matter what Islamic law is,'" Stern says. *Islamic Influence* But Ali Khan, a law professor at Washburn University, sees a scenario where non-Muslims could be governed by Islamic law. "Right now Islam is expanding in the United States," he says. "Now suppose that Muslims become a majority in a particular state; I think then the state laws would reflect Islamic law." Khan notes that the heavily Muslim city of Dearborn, Mich., passed an ordinance that allows the call to prayer to be broadcast over loudspeakers. Khan believes that the rapid growth of American Islam means that more towns will enact laws friendly to the religion — such as banning alcohol or gambling. Of course, Christians have already done that in some cases by creating dry counties or passing blue laws that prohibit shopping on Sunday. But religious accommodation can go only so far, says Clark Lombardi, a Shariah law expert at the University of Washington. Even if an entire state converted to a "Taliban-esque version of Islam," he says, the courts would not allow it to force women to wear veils, for example — that would violate their First Amendment rights. "So we're not going to see hand chopping off, we're not going to see retaliatory violence, we're not going to see underage marriages, we're not going to see polygamous marriage," Lombardi says. "The U.S. court wouldn't do it. It's contrary to public policy, and they would refuse to apply that particular foreign law." On Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at 3:07:33 PM UTC-5, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > http://www.rightsidenews.com/2015032335618/us/islam-in-america/shariah-in-american-courts-the-expanding-incursion-of-islamic-law-in-the-u-s-legal-system.html > > > Shariah in American Courts: The Expanding Incursion of Islamic Law in the > U.S. Legal System > <http://www.rightsidenews.com/2015032335618/us/islam-in-america/shariah-in-american-courts-the-expanding-incursion-of-islamic-law-in-the-u-s-legal-system.html> > > > 24 March 2015 07:13 > > Written by Center for Security Policy > > > > *Shariah Threats to American Law* > > *SHARIAH IN AMERICA COURTS** 2.0: CENTER’S NEW CIVILIZATION JIHAD READER > SERIES STARTS WITH THE PENETRATION OF OUR LEGAL SYSTEM* > > (Washington, D.C.): Center for Security Policy Press launched a collection > of monographs called the *Civilization Jihad Reader* Series with the > publication of an update to an earlier and highly influential study > concerning the insinuation of Islam’s supremacist shariah legal code into > the U.S. judiciary. Entitled *Shariah in American Courts: The Expanding* > *Incursion > of Islamic Law in the U.S. Legal System, *this inaugural booklet > documents 146 cases in 32 states in which a party to litigation attempted > to have the matter resolved by applying shariah, rather than the statutes > of the state in question. > > The Center first raised an alarm about the penetration of American > jurisprudence by one of the most anti-constitutional of such foreign legal > codes with its 2011 report, *Shariah Law and American State Courts: An > Assessment of State Appellate Court Cases*. That study examined a sample > of fifty cases and found that in twenty-seven of them, in twenty-three > different states, the courts in question allowed the use of shariah, > generally to the detriment of women and/or children whose rights under our > Constitution were infringed. > > With the bedrock of the American Republic being the U.S. Constitution and > individual state constitutions derived therefrom, these analyses provide > insights into how our own legal system can be – and *is being* – used as > a mechanism to anchor and expand in this country shariah, an ideology > wholly at odds with such documents and, more generally, irreconcilable with > freedom and democracy. > > Most Americans take the rule of law and our constitutional rights for > granted. Yet, *Shariah in American Courts* is a reminder of how even > institutions like our judiciary can be influenced – and potentially > subverted – by foreign legal codes and practices, to the grave detriment of > our nation and liberties. > > This monograph also suggests that the effort to invoke shariah in U.S. > courts is expanding. Worse yet, the total number of such cases is surely > far larger in light of the fact that the proceedings of the vast majority > of them are not published. > > [image: Shariah in American Courts]As the new monograph establishes, > moreover, there is reason to believe that the surge in such cases is the > result of the activism of Muslim Brotherhood-tied groups like the > Association of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA). The Brotherhood is an > Islamic supremacist organization whose mission according to its secret plan > (*The Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal of the Group > in North America > <http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/2013/05/25/an-explanatory-memorandum-from-the-archives-of-the-muslim-brotherhood-in-america/>*), > > is to “destroy Western Civilization from within.” > > The good news is that, at least at the appellate level, judges appear > increasingly to be rejecting the use of shariah in their courtrooms. A > contributing factor to these rulings may be the rising awareness in the > judiciary of what is afoot, thanks to the adoption in numerous states of > legislation drawing upon a model statute known as “American Laws for > American Courts” (ALAC). > > While the average citizen of this country would assume it to be the case > that only laws derived from or consistent with our Constitution would be > applied in U.S. courts at both the federal and state level, the evidence > that foreign laws – including, but not limited to, shariah – are > encroaching has moved legislatures across the country to act. Tennessee, > Louisiana, Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Washington and > Alabama have adopted ALAC’s prohibitions against the use of such foreign > laws in their respective state courts if they are at odds with > constitutional rights or state public policy. (Florida also enacted in 2014 > a version of this legislation). > > In unveiling the release of the Center for Security Press’ newest > publication, the Center’s President Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., observed: > > The Center is delighted to be putting a spotlight on the Muslim > Brotherhood’s stealthy, *pre-*violent jihad in America. It behooves each > of us to become knowledgeable about the presence in our judicial system – > and, for that matter, in other civil society and governing institutions – > of forces seeking the destruction of our Republic. > > The *Civilization Jihad Reader *Series is intended not only to provide > factual evidence of the extent to which this attempt to destroy us from > within is advancing, but what patriots can do to prevent it. We recommend > as a step towards countering the subversion of our legal system the > adoption by every state in the Union of “American Laws for American > Courts.” > > Additional monographs in the *Civilization Jihad Reader *Series will be > published in coming months. For more information on the Center for Security > Policy, the offerings of its Press and the necessity of countering the > Muslim Brotherhood and its efforts to impose shariah in America, *visit > www.SecureFreedom.org <http://www.securefreedom.org/>.* > > SOURCE and EMBEDDED PDF can be found *HERE > <http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/2015/01/05/shariah-in-american-courts-the-expanding-incursion-of-islamic-law-in-the-u-s-legal-system/>* > > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: "beowulf" <[email protected] <javascript:>> > ------------------------------ > > > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmaXVqYThvBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0MjcyMTI3ODY-> > > > > [image: Yahoo! Groups] > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlcmRsMTU3BF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTQyNzIxMjc4Ng--> > > • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • > Unsubscribe <javascript:> • Terms of Use > <https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> > > __,_._,___ > > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
