Florida State Lawmakers Push Bill That Would Ban Sharia Law

Republican lawmakers in Florida are taking after a number of states and trying their hands at a piece of legislation that would prohibit Sharia law from being considered in court.

As the Miami Herald reports, the bill's two sponsors are pushing the measure despite their inability to come up with a precedent that would presumably warrant their concern.

Neither Sen. Alan Hays nor Rep. Larry Metz, though, could name a Florida case where international law or Islamic law has caused a problem in a state court. They said they weren't targeting Sharia, a body of law primarily based on the Koran and the Hadith, the sayings of Islam's founder, Mohammed.

"I filed a bill that says in the courts of Florida the laws of no other country can be used to influence the decisions of Florida," Sen. Hays told the Herald. "If it's Sharia law or any other law -- I don't care what law it is -- if it's not a Florida law and if it's some foreign law, it doesn't belong in our courts."

Muslim leaders in Florida have been quick to state their opposition to the effort, due to worries that it is a thinly veiled display of Islamophobia, despite the fact that there is no specific mention of "Islam" or "Sharia."

In November, Oklahoma voters passed a referendum that explicitly banned Islamic law. The measure was later stricken down by a federal judge who found that it infringed upon the constitutional rights of some practicing Muslims.

A number of states introduced legislation similar to the Florida version shortly after the November elections. Others have since drafted bills with the same purpose.

Comments

[doodie pants]

03:46 AM on 04/26/2011

Well, let us take a look at what Shariah law actually entails. Please check out http://islam-qa.com. Make your decisions from that.

[CR90]

02:25 AM on 04/15/2011

This comment section is filled with the typical "defend islam, attack christianity and judaism" thought process of the left.

[European1919]

06:56 AM on 03/25/2011

Better sfae than sorry.

[spacekadet1]

06:54 AM on 03/25/2011

As if we don't have enough problems in Florida that we must waste time and money on such nonsense.

[SoapboxKing]

01:27 PM on 03/24/2011

Because we are a constitutional democracy that that forbids discrimination based on religion, I guess we need to add biblical law to that list. Then Buda, then Hindu, and ....
This law that they are trying to push through is stupid from any angle.

[SoapboxKing]

01:43 PM on 03/24/2011

By the way, within this country, christian based extremist hate group by far out number the muslim based hate groups and pose a much bigger threat to our safety and freedoms that this sill proposal.

[perplexed and annoyed]

11:09 AM on 03/26/2011

What?? Oh yeah, you mean those radical hatemongering Methodists. And lets not forget those murderous Lutherans. I see in the news daily how they have bombed a mall or a bus full of orphans on the way to the zoo. If we could get rid of all these Christian extremist the world would be a better place. I long for the days when my children can live under the just, peaceful, freedom loving Sharia law. Safety and freedom will flourish.

[jokamachi]

01:47 AM on 03/22/2011

Just in the nick of time.... not.

[truthupontruth]

09:34 AM on 03/19/2011

With this post, I am going to start spelling Muslim with 2 s's because it is not supposed to rhyme with muslin. The word "Muzlim" in Arabic means "one who oppresses", and oppression is anathema to Isslam.
If only there were some evidence of widespread revolt of Musslims acting in defiance of Florida law or American law because of their blind adherence to Sharia ( a man-made interpretation of Islamic principle codified into law, and subject to change depending on the numerous influences - culture, local history, political opportunity, human failings like greed, prejudice, etc.) but there ain't.
Americans who adopt Islam have no problem living their lives within the laws they have grown up with, and Musslim immigrants have no problem living their lives within the bounds of the law. So why the attention from lawmakers around the states? Ignorance and fear breeds strong reactions, and strong reactions can be turned into votes, so anyone who wants to get elected is all over that. American citizens are more likely to suffer under a government based on rap music than one based on one set of specific Sharia practices. (Yes, I enjoyed "Idiocracy". Terry Crews as POTUS in star'n'stripes spandex? Too funny!)
People who are not ignorant or fearful, like, say, university religious scholars, are able to discover that the threat of Sharia spreading around the world and taking over non-Musslims is non-existent.

[Cindy Tregan]

10:12 AM on 03/22/2011

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20029428-504083.html

You might could want to check that link before you make some generalization that " Musslim immigrants have no problem living their lives within the bounds of the law".

Last I saw, killing your daughter by running her over with your Jeep because you think she became too "westernized" was quite certainly OUTSIDE the bounds of the law in Arizona.

"Honor" killings, wife-beating and other atrocities that are allowable under "Sharia" (i.e. Islam) law are reprehensible and disgusting to those of us who were brought up under American law.

[truthupontruth]

12:20 AM on 03/24/2011

If it were still legal, I would be glad to be the one that flips the switch on that guy's electric chair. If you scratch the surface, you will find, behind every so-called "honor killing" is a man who lives in fear of the women in his life getting the upper hand. Daughters who grow up watching their mothers being constantly subjugated are bound to rebel and to look for a kind of life where there's an alternative to their mother's type of existence. Those men might call themselves Musslims, they might pretend to be Musslims, they might even go through the motions, but they stopped believing a long time ago.
The Isslam that I believe in constantly preaches mercy, respect, perseverance, hope, and an understanding of the bounties that God bestows (like children) and the evils He wants us to avoid: oppression, corruption, the decline of strong family bonds, and arrogance, among many others. So I am every bit as disgusted as you are.

[studioux3]

05:28 PM on 03/18/2011

I wish Europe took notice....

[AmericanMark]

01:40 AM on 03/18/2011

It will start small: foot sinks in airports and public places; women-only hours at the neighborhood public pool; forcing business and local government to accommodate the daily prayer five times a day; allowing public calls to prayer to blast from the local mosque; forcing public schools to close on Islamic holidays. Sharia must be stopped now, not later.

[SoapboxKing]

01:29 PM on 03/24/2011

Please dont fall into the fear mongering trap. Certainly you are not that stupid....
Well, maybe you are to put up a post like that.

[Hellvis]

10:45 AM on 03/28/2011

What fear mongering trap? Look, imagine that there's some kind of new fundamentalist christian movement consisting of severe oppression of women that is sweeping over Europe and attempting - and at times succeeding - in superseding courts. That movement is gaining traction in the US and such groups are beginning to lobby federally mandated ritual accommodation. Would you not want to create a law that would prevent such a movement from affecting the secularism of our court system? This isn't wild fear mongering, it's just logic. Prevent oppression, in all forms. Secularism is GOOD. We NEED separation of church and state.

[AmericanMark]

01:29 AM on 03/18/2011

There is nothing "veiled" about our disdain for Sharia, the foreign and harmful Islamic legal codes. We don't want it here. Sorry, Muslims, but if you want to import this to our country, well, why are you here?

[studioux3]

05:28 PM on 03/18/2011

Finally! Somebody has some sense on this site! Thank you!

[SoapboxKing]

01:32 PM on 03/24/2011

I am sorry, but last I heard, no religious law, be that of the bible or the Qur'an is above the law that is applied by the US courts. You are nothing but a hateful bigot.

[Hellvis]

11:00 AM on 03/28/2011

That's how it was in the UK, too. Now look at what's happening:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1197478/Sharia-law-UK--How-Islam-dispensing-justice-side-British-courts.html

Why don't you do some damned research before calling people hateful bigots? It just might be that there's a legitimate reason for people to believe that making secularism laws in the US is a wise move.

[mickydean]

09:07 PM on 03/15/2011

We already have a set of laws in our country, we don't need what would be a government within our government.If a person wants to be under Sharia law go to a country that already allows it.

[Jan Allen McDaniel]

11:20 AM on 03/13/2011

The latest Rasmussen poll is on American Muslims speaking out against Muslim terrorists. American Muslims do that all the time and it is well documented. So why do non-Muslims continue to say they are unsatisfied with the result?


"But only 10% of all voters think American Muslims are speaking out enough against potential terrorist attacks in the United States. Fifty-seven percent (57%) disagree and say they are not speaking out enough. One-in-three voters (34%) are not sure."

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/march_2011/just_17_believe_american_muslims_are_treated_unfairly


My guess is that non-Muslims want American Muslims to say something they are not saying when they speak out against Muslim terrorism--something about the parts of Sharia law that encourage jihad to advance Islamic supremacism.

Hence, all the efforts focused on stopping Sharia law.

Is it possible that reform of Sharia law to American standards of law and human rights is the real goal of these efforts against Sharia law in general? I think so--I am not satisfied with easy denunciations of terrorism and violence--we have had more than nine years of that, with little effect.

It is way past time for American Muslims to create an American Islam that repudiates old Islamic doctrines of domination through the lesser jihad. We don't need to ban Sharia, we need a version of Sharia that can be comfortable in America--there are no painless alternatives.

[Hellvis]

11:16 AM on 03/28/2011

While I don't entirely agree, this is certainly the first thoughtful post I've seen here. Everything else has been, "we don't need your Sharia here," or, "OMG, you're all a bunch of Islamophobes."

I think there are a few factors here. For one, the denunciations of terrorist acts are not being done by significantly strong Muslim groups, like CAIR. CAIRs denunciations tend to circuitous and tricky in word choice. Recently the Pope came out and equated violent acts in the name of God to the anti-Christ. The world could use some talk like that from the most influential world Muslim leaders, but there is a severe lack.

Another issue is that there doesn't seem to be much media coverage of such denunciations - I think the reason is this: there has been an active effort to distance Islam entirely from any acts of violence, instead characterizing any acts of violence incurred through jihad as simply some violence by someone who happened to be Muslim. In many eyes, denouncing it almost seems like acquiescing to the charge that, denounced or not, Islam is behind it.

Islamic reform, not just Sharia, is something I would LOVE to see. There are severe hurdles to this, however, and it would require some editing of the Koran... which is explicitly forbidden.

[Jan Allen McDaniel]

12:34 PM on 03/28/2011

Islamic reform, not just Sharia, is something I would LOVE to see. There are severe hurdles to this, however, and it would require some editing of the Koran... which is explicitly forbidden.
=============

There is an interesting parallel in our experience with slavery.

The Old Testament clearly included slavery in its acceptable world view, as everyone did then. Some Christians believed that the New Testament made slavery unacceptable, some didn't. There were Christians on both sides of the war, saying that God is on our side.

I'm sure Martin Luther would agree about the severe hurdles, but I'm not so sure about needing to change the Koran. Slavery was edited out of Islam too, without editing the Koran. The Koran can be interpreted in such a way as to produce an Islam that would be comfortable in the West.

The present interpretation found in classic Sharia law is not.

[alkh3myst]

07:48 AM on 03/13/2011

Contrary to what Sen. Hays says, Islam is not a "foreign religion". There have been Arab, Turkish and Asian Muslims in the Americas, and the US, since colonial times. Also let us not forget that the overwhelming majority of African slaves brought to this country were from Muslim regions. Did he sleep through history class?

[Jan Allen McDaniel]

11:40 AM on 03/13/2011

if it's not a Florida law and if it's some foreign law, it doesn't belong in our courts."
==========

Is this what you are referring to?

Sharia is as foreign to American law as any law can be. It conflicts with American law on:

Freedom of speech

Freedom of conscience

Separation of religion and state

Gender equity

Freedom to choose a sexual identity

among others. Moreover, it disagrees with American law on the definitions of even more basic concepts: freedom, justice and fairness.

Sharia law does not belong in our courts--not because it is from a foreign source--but because it describes the antithesis of our concept of the just and humane society.

This is not rocket science. All one has to do is to compare Sharia-based societies to societies based on Western law and human rights regimes.

[Doug Sandlin]

10:28 PM on 03/12/2011

Can our lawmakers really be this stupid?

[The Knocker]

11:05 PM on 03/12/2011

Not only the lawmakers, but 51% us are. Look who we elected to be governor. Someone who has defrauded senior citizen by manipulated the medicare system. One would think this should be more of a concern for us Floridians.

[AmericanMark]

01:31 AM on 03/18/2011

Hey, Doug, if you think Sharia is so hot, impose it on the women in your life. Yeah, that's what I thought.

[TruthinSF]

08:30 PM on 03/12/2011

I do not support singling out any one religion, nor should anyone ever engage in Islamaphobia. However, there is, and should only be, one law of the land. The law should not carve out special rules for anyone. Justice is to be blind, and applied equally to us all. That means, a law against vigilante acts of violence, even if they prohibit the Sharia practice of stoning of women, are to be followed by us all. And no one should hide behind any religion to get a special exception to practice such heinous acts. Nothing should be more simply understood in the law then the principle that we are all to be treated equally, and must all obey the same law, without exception. This universal application of the law is the very opposite of discrimination, and doesn't infringe on anyone's rights.

[Shannon Sipes Cook]

01:23 AM on 04/11/2011

sadly, shouldn't but does... the ultra-Christians hold our freedoms hostage in the name of God, all the time. how many bills surrounding "choice" are on the floor right now? 18 as of last week. were we all to practice what we preach, there could be real equality regardless of personal religion.