South Carolina Becomes Latest State To Tackle Sharia Law Ban

A group of South Carolina legislators recently proposed a bill to counteract the perceived risk of Islamic-based Sharia law, as well as other foreign law, from being used by the state's legal system.

S.C. State Sen. Mike Fair (R), who introduced the bill in the Senate, recently portrayed the bill as a necessary guard against constitutionally-prohibited considerations of foreign law that were being pushed by immigrants with different religious beliefs.

"S.C., like other states, recognizes the need to assert the fact that our state and U.S. constitutions are the basis for civil law in our country," Fair told Human Events in a recent interview. "Some locales have been threatened by the encroachment of foreign law into local, state and or federal law despite obvious violations of our constitutions. A growing concern is the immigration of people who are accustomed to their religion and their civil laws being inextricably connected. For those newcomers to our state, this bill will be helpful to them as they are assimilated into our culture maintaining complete freedom to worship as they please."

In a later interview with Talking Points Memo, Fair stood by his contention, and went as far as to claim that Sharia had been implemented in some parts of the United States.

"This bill has been called anti-Sharia law, and I suppose it does deal with that," Fair told TPM. "There are some localities around the country that have imposed Sharia law in lieu of local laws."

Fair later told TPM that his state was "big on religious freedom," and that he didn't want his proposal to be interpreted "as anti-sharia law and statute."

Loud fears and claims of the supposed threat of Islam and application of Sharia law in the United States have been found to be largely overstated and often unsubstantiated, though that hasn't slowed a steady stream of legislation meant to address the issue.

Other states such as Texas, Wyoming and Oklahoma have considered similar pre-emptive measures. While legislation is still under consideration in Texas and Wyoming, a November ballot initiative passed in Oklahoma banning Sharia was later struck down by a federal court.

Comments

[Stephen Gele]

04:12 PM on 02/06/2011

The threat of sharia infiltrating American law through various means is real. See my testimony before the Louisiana Legislature at http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Video/WM/2010/April_2010/0426_10_CLP.asx , and my summary of just some relevant jurisprudence at http://www.actforamerica.org/index.php/learn/email-archives/2146-lawyers-against-sharia .

[Doug Sandlin]

06:06 PM on 02/01/2011

I just saw this article, and can summarize my feelings in two words:

"Oh, Please ...."

People don't even understand what Sharia *is*, especially to Muslims.

It's a very general term, for God's law, to Muslims.

Legislating aggressively against "God's law" because some people think that the perversions called Sharia in a few countries and/or by a few extremist groups (hand-chopping, head-chopping, stoning, etc.) might somehow be implemented here, in a Muslim-minority nation with roughly 1% of the population being Muslim, makes it look, to Muslims, as though Americans:

A. Hate goodness.

B. Hate Muslims.

And/Or

C. Are a bunch of under-informed, over-reactive rubes.

[rextrek]

09:33 AM on 02/02/2011

yea but they have NO problem TRYING to Impliment thier "Christian" version of sharia law...on everyone else / especially towards LGBT Americans .......I HATE Republicans Soooo much!

[spindok]

12:58 PM on 02/01/2011

Oh I dont know. I'm going there for a few weeks this summer. Things can get a little dull at Hilton Head and a weekly beheading or public lashing might spark things up. On the other hand I would really miss the alcohol and scantily clad females. Also folks down there wouldnt know what to eat if there was no pork on the menu.

[TeeSC]

05:55 PM on 02/01/2011

ah, HHI... what I wouldn't give for a cold beer at Jump 'n Phils right about now.  :-)

[Planet Caravan]

11:56 AM on 02/01/2011

The vast majority of Muslim immigrants come from nations that are governed under some form of sharia. Islam itself is unique as a religion because it teaches that Islam and government is inseperable. I think it important that states reinforce the fact that muslim law must be seperate from government because for many muslims the idea of seperation of mosque and state is strange and alien.

[Atomizer]

12:15 PM on 02/01/2011

When reading this posters comments others might want to be made aware that so far today he has already castigated all Palestinians as being "savages" and needing to be caged. One of his recent comments is reproduced in full below:
Planet Caravan 35 minutes ago (10:58 AM)
234 Fans
Become a fan
Have you ever met a Palestinia­n? They are savages. Lucky if you don't get stabbed. They don't need a state. They need to be caged.

[Atomizer]

12:23 PM on 02/01/2011

Your comment is richly ironic given the fact that you are a supporter Israel - the only nation in the world which was explicitly created to favor one race and religion of people - Jews and which treats all others as second class citizens. Jews born and raised in Brooklyn can emigrate to Israel any time they want and move for free onto a religious settlement in the West Bank stolen from Palestinians.

Of course - since you are blinded by your tribal loyalty and naked hatred of Palestinians (who you recently branded "savages" on these boards) you will see no irony in this whatsoever.

[Alan Estrada]

11:49 AM on 02/01/2011

The "Anti-Sharia Law" doesn't sound right, for it sounds anti-Muslim.
How about renaming the ban the "Separation of State and Church Law"?

Come to think of it, while they're at it, how about getting the Supreme Court to ban Mormonism in Utah? That state is—please excuse the overgeneralization, but it can be—offensive, by flock. Conform or be cast out. Separation of Church & State (religion and politics)—NOT.

Will the 9 Supreme Court justices like to take the stand?

[CanUFeel2012]

11:27 AM on 02/01/2011

Ban both Christian and Muslims laws...

[Lightfromheat]

11:03 AM on 02/01/2011

I think people need to start drawing a distinction between the tenets of a religion and the people who practice said religion. Just because a religion and it's set of laws are incompatible with America's separation of church and state, does not mean that it's people aren't. Had this law been inclusive of all religions it may have been more appropriate. In fact I'd like to see someone take it further to address all religions, not just Islam, but we're still a long way from that.

But to those commentators who imply that a criticism of an ideology is in any way a criticism of a person's ethnicity... that is a vile and filthy thing to say. It's divisive and meant to deflect the kind of discussion that many Americans completely take for granted, the ability to discuss, and criticize all things including religion.

[Mississippi Red]

11:01 AM on 02/01/2011

Talk about disfunctional- but I guess if the state govt needs to appear as if it is doing something other than propping up the existing old-boy network, a farce like this will keep the people distracted.

[ceefee]

10:59 AM on 02/01/2011

Let me see...in parts of South Carolina, you can't drink a margarita at a sidewalk cafe on a Sunday, but you can if you go inside. But you can have a glass of wine at same said cafe, outdoors, on a Sunday. In some places, you can't buy alcohol at all on Sunday, and in other places you can buy it, but no one can serve it. A mile away, they can serve it to you, but you can't buy it and bring it home on Sunday.

Also, gambling in South Carolina illegal--no church bingo! But they have a state lottery, and of you're a Republican running for office, you can raffle off an AK-47.

And let's not forget that according to some folks in South Carolia, if a dog eats your Bible, the penalty is lynching and death by fire. South Carolinians are worried about Sharia law?

[Thomas Boettner]

11:22 AM on 02/01/2011

don't forget, four out of every five voters also decided to "defend" marriage!

"people who are accustomed to their religion and their civil laws being inextricably connected."
i guess by people they mean "Muslims."

[GrooveGrl4]

12:28 PM on 02/01/2011

And then in some places where you can by alcohol on Sunday, stores/restaurants aren't allowed to sell it until noon.

[Rosy]

02:41 PM on 02/01/2011

Heh. this is true.
I don't live in SC, but in my state, no alcohol can be sold on Sundays, though it can be served in restaurants. And weirdly, no cars can be sold on Sundays either.
And yet, people who are terrified of sharia probably have no issue with these laws.

[Barry S G]

10:57 AM on 02/01/2011

Since the Bible was not written in the USA it must be considered foreign law just like the Koran and therefore have no standing in courts of law. I would welcome that because it would undermine the arguements of the right in so many issues, like marriage equality.

[jose54]

10:54 AM on 02/01/2011

"We don't make a distinction between civilians and non-civilians…Only between Muslims and unbelievers. And the life of an unbeliever has no value."
- Sheikh Omar Bakri

"We must not forget that Allah's rules have to be established in all lands..."
- Imam Muzammil H. Siddiqi

"Ultimately, we (Muslims) can never be full citizens of this country...because there is no way we can be fully committed to the institutions and ideologies of this country"
- Ihsan Bagby, CAIR

"The 9/11 hijackers should be honored as martyrs."
- Warith Deen Umar

"Now, all our imams, our public speakers, should be concentrating on militarizing the Muslim public...Only carrying arms will do this task."
- Muhammad Al-Asi,

"Americans in general might be more supportive of targeted attacks on civilians, as part of the war on terror, than U.S. Muslims."
- Ahmad Al-Akhras, CAIR

"In time, this so-called democracy will crumble, and there will be nothing. And the only thing left will be Islam."
- Siraj Wahhaj

“Muslims cannot accept the legitimacy of the secular system in the United States, for it "is against the orders and ordainments of Allah ... the orientation of the Qur'an pushes us in the exact opposite direction as the forces that are at work in the American political spectrum."
- Imam Zaid Shakir

[Kaila]

10:54 AM on 02/01/2011

I never thought I'd see the day when conservatives were taking a stand against bigoted religious laws and liberals were chastising them for it.

[sibyl9]

03:06 PM on 02/01/2011

Awesome comment. Fanned & Fav'd.

[Doug Sandlin]

06:09 PM on 02/01/2011

Had to Fave you for this one.

Too funny.

And good point!

[jose54]

10:53 AM on 02/01/2011

"Let us continue the protests. Let us damn America. Let us damn Israel. Let us damn their allies until death. Mohammad is leader. The Qu’ran is our constitution. Jihad is our path. Victory to Islam. Death to Israel. Revolution! Revolution! Until Victory! Rolling, rolling to Jerusalem."
- Sami Al Arian

"This religion [Islam] will destroy all other religions through the Islamic Jihad fighters"
- Jordanian/Palestinian School Book 1998

"Mosques are our barracks, domes our helmets, minarets our bayonets, believers our soldiers."
- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan

"Islam not a religion of violence, but if you burn Qur'ans or draw Muhammad, we'll kill you"
- Gambian President

"No we don’t want to democratize Islam, we want to Islamize democracy" "We love you, America – and we want your children for Islam"
- Islam on Capitol Hill.com

"I am a traitor to America because my religion requires me to be. We pledge to wage jihad for the rest of our lives until either we implant Islam all over the world or meet our Lord as bearers of Islam."
- Samir Khan

Infidelophobia
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Articles/Infidelophobia.htm

The video below is precisely what's happening throughout Europe, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, as well as the Americas.

'Islamization' of Paris: a Warning to the West
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAh480e6bH8

[Mark Webber]

11:32 AM on 02/01/2011

Great post thanks.

[Rosy]

11:43 AM on 02/01/2011

Wouldn't be difficult to find similar quotes from Christian extremists. Any religion when taken to extremes is a bad thing. At the same time, I don't see how this relates to a silly redundant ban on something that is already illegal.

[jose54]

10:52 AM on 02/01/2011

I totally support a Sharia Law Ban for all the US & here's why:

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth."
- Omar M. Ahmad, founder of (CAIR)

"I am telling you that my religion doesn't tolerate other religion. It doesn't tolerate. The only one law which needs to spread, it can be here or anywhere else, has to be Islam"
- Abu Bakr, Muslim Cleric

"Oh, you Muslims everywhere, sever the ties of their nation, tear them apart, ruin their economy, instigate against their corporations, destroy their embassies, attack their interests, sink their ships, and shoot down their airplanes. Kill them in land, at sea, and in the air, kill them wherever you find them."
- Sheikh Abdel Rahman

"The real weapons of mass destruction are the desire for martyrdom. Millions of you are ready to be shaheed. Half a million martyrdom shaheed is enough for Muslims to control the whole of earth forever. In the end of the day, Islam must control earth, whether we like it or not."
- Abu Hamza al-Masri, Islamic Cleric

[belladio]

11:32 AM on 02/01/2011

I support banning Christian Law:

"If we are going to save America and evangelize the world, we cannot accommodate secular philosophies that are diametrically opposed to Christian truth." Jerry Falwell

"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war." Ann Coulter after 9-11

"So let us be blunt about it: We must use the doctrine of religious liberty to gain independence for Christian schools until we train up a generation of people who know that there is no religious neutrality, no neutral law, no neutral education, and no neutral civil government. Then they will be get busy in constructing a Bible-based social, political and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of the enemies of God." -Gary North

----

"There is far more violence in the Bible than in the Qur'an; the idea that Islam imposed itself by the sword is a Western fiction, fabricated during the time of the Crusades when, in fact, it was Western Christians who were fighting brutal holy wars against Islam." - Karen Armstrong

[Mark Webber]

11:38 AM on 02/01/2011

Islam ... eventually everyone will realize and see it's true dark colors.

[Doug Sandlin]

07:07 PM on 02/01/2011

Not possible - Islam doesn't have colors; it's a vast array of belief systems and/or spiritual practices with a single label.

Everything from fundamentalist Wahhabism to global Jihadism to peaceful Sufism to mainstream Sunni and Shiite views.

The only aspects of Islam that are dark are global Jihadism, the tiny minority of abusive violent Muslims, and the tiny minority of aggressive Islamists (out of the world population of 1.6 Billion Muslims).

Oh, and of course, the prejudiced fictions that many anti-Muslims confuse with actual Islam ... that's pretty dark, too.

[Freenation]

10:37 AM on 02/01/2011

Republicans fear mongering as usual, don't worry about employment etc just keep the people occupied with their stupid policies..,