Federal court blocks Oklahoma ban on Sharia
By Bill Mears, CNN Supreme Court Producer
updated 4:55 PM EST, Tue January 10, 2012
(CNN) -- A federal appeals court has
blocked an Oklahoma voter-approved measure barring state judges from
considering Islamic and international law in their decisions.
The three-judge panel at the 10th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals upheld an earlier injunction preventing State Question 755
from being certified until the free speech questions are resolved. The decision
Tuesday allows a lawsuit brought by Islamic-American groups to move ahead to a
bench trial.
"The proposed amendment discriminates among
religions," said the judges. "The Oklahoma amendment specifically
names the target of its discrimination. The only religious law mentioned in the
amendment is Sharia law."
A federal judge last summer had issued a temporary
restraining order in favor of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR),
which had sued to nullify the law completely.
The amendment would require Oklahoma courts to
"rely on federal and state law when deciding cases" and "forbids
courts from considering or using" either international law or Islamic
religious law, known as Sharia, which the amendment defined as being based on
the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed.
In bringing suit, CAIR argued that the amendment
violates the establishment and free-exercise clauses of the First Amendment's
guarantee of religious freedom. The group's local leader, Muneer Awad, has said
the amendment passed in November 2010 under a campaign of fear and misinformation
about Islam.
"This is an important reminder that the
Constitution is the last line of defense against a rising tide of anti-Muslim
bigotry in our society, and we are pleased that the appeals court recognized
that fact," Awad told CNN after Tuesday's announcement.
The appeals court said voter initiatives normally
should be given great deference by the courts but concluded the Oklahoma
measure would be applied selectively.
Ballot supporters "do not identify any actual
problem the challenged amendment seeks to solve," said the 37-page ruling.
"Indeed, they admitted at the preliminary injunction hearing that they did
not know of even a single instance where an Oklahoma court had applied Sharia
law or used the legal precepts of other nations or cultures, let alone that
such applications or uses had resulted in concrete problems in Oklahoma."
State Question 755, also known as the "Save
Our State" measure, was approved by a 7-3 ratio. It was sponsored by
Oklahoma State Reps. Rex Duncan and Anthony Sykes, both Republicans.
"The fact that Sharia law was even considered
anywhere in the United States is enough for me" to sign on, Sykes told CNN
last year. "It should scare anyone that any judge in America would
consider using that as precedent."
Sykes said his concern was compounded by U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan's comments during her confirmation hearings
in June 2010 that she would be willing to consider international law when
hearing cases before the court.
As written on the ballot, the measure states it
would amend a state constitution section dealing with the state courts, making
them "rely on federal and state law" when deciding cases, forbidding
them "from considering or using international law" and "from
considering or using Sharia Law."
The ballot then briefly described international
law, which "deals with the conduct of international organizations and
independent nations, such as countries, states and tribes," and Sharia,
which is "based on two principal sources, the Koran and the teaching of
Mohammed."
"Shall the proposal be approved?" the
ballot read, instructing voters to respond "yes" if they're for the
proposal and "no" if they're against it.
Saleem Quraishi, president of the American Muslim
Association of Oklahoma City, runs the Islamic Center at the Grand Mosque of
Oklahoma City. He said there are more than 5,000 Muslims in the city. While
there are no exact numbers for the Muslim population in the state, it is not
among the larger communities, said Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR.
"It's just fear-mongering; it's nothing,"
Quraishi told CNN. "What's Sharia law have to do with Oklahoma?"
The Oklahoma controversy stems from a New Jersey
legal case in which a Muslim woman went to a family court asking for a
restraining order against her spouse, claiming he had raped her repeatedly. The
judge ruled against her, saying that her husband was abiding by his Muslim
beliefs regarding spousal duties. The decision was later overruled by an
appellate court, but the case sparked a nationwide firestorm. The issue spread
to Oklahoma, prompting the ballot initiative.
Tuesday's ruling deals only with the injunction
stopping certification and enforcement of 755. There was no indication when the
federal district judge would hear the larger merits of the Oklahoma case and
issue a ruling, but that could be some months away. The losing side could then
try again at the federal appeals court, then possibly to the U.S. Supreme
Court.
CNN National Security Producer Laurie Ure contributed to
this report.
As viewed at: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/10/justice/oklahoma-sharia/index.html?eref=igoogledmn_topstories
