![What’s Wrong With Oklahoma’s Position on Sharia Law?]()
by
The voters in the state of Oklahoma earlier this month approved a measure that prevents state courts from considering international law or Sharia (Islamic) law. The measure was mostly in reaction to the New Jersey case of a women that sought a restraining order against her abusive husband and lost (but later won on appeal) because her husband's beliefs (supported by Sharia law) gave him the right to force himself on his wife.
The Oklahoma measure (State Question 755) was put on hold yesterday by a Federal judge who thinks the ballot issue may be unconstitutional. It seems to core question to the judge is whether the specific reference to Sharia (and defining it within the question as being tied to the Quran and the Prophet Mohammed) is improperly singling out a religion.
I can't even begin to pretend that I understand why anyone would think that Sharia law should ever be a consideration in a United States court. I'm not saying that to diminish the position (although I oppose it), I'm simply saying I fail to understand it and I wish I did.
Clearly we have had a history of granting exceptions to those whose religious beliefs run counter to societal demands through law. Most notably is that those who can make a case that using restricted drugs for religious purposes (even during Prohibition, there were [...]
by Art Smith
Yes, we've been out of pocket for a few weeks now. After returning from family matters, work (yes, I have a real job) was a bit overwhelming for many reasons. At any rate, we hope that the new year will provide us both more opportutnity to share daily thoughts and to begin expanding the focus of The Conservative Reader to more principled discussions.
Tonight and tomorrow many of us will be visiting our local churches to share in celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our family will be worshiping this evening.
Three things to share today.
The First Amendment
Thank God for the freedom in our society, as declared by the wisdom of the founders of our country, to worship freely as we see fit, or not to worship at all. I'm sure that some of the motivation behind this right comes from the surprising amount of diversity and infighting among different groups (denominations) who all profess to worship the same Christ, and the history of violence of government against those who do not worship the government's official "church". And yet I'm also confident that the generation that established our Bill of Rights also perceived the need to protect any who chose to worship other than the norm, including Jewish, Islam, Native American religions, Oriental religions, or none at all.
This is a precious freedom, and one of a handful that if we ever [...]
The voters in the state of Oklahoma earlier this month approved a measure that prevents state courts from considering international law or Sharia (Islamic) law. The measure was mostly in reaction to the New Jersey case of a women that sought a restraining order against her abusive husband and lost (but later won on appeal) because her husband's beliefs (supported by Sharia law) gave him the right to force himself on his wife.
The Oklahoma measure (State Question 755) was put on hold yesterday by a Federal judge who thinks the ballot issue may be unconstitutional. It seems to core question to the judge is whether the specific reference to Sharia (and defining it within the question as being tied to the Quran and the Prophet Mohammed) is improperly singling out a religion.
I can't even begin to pretend that I understand why anyone would think that Sharia law should ever be a consideration in a United States court. I'm not saying that to diminish the position (although I oppose it), I'm simply saying I fail to understand it and I wish I did.
Clearly we have had a history of granting exceptions to those whose religious beliefs run counter to societal demands through law. Most notably is that those who can make a case that using restricted drugs for religious purposes (even during Prohibition, there were [...]
