Okla. anti-Shariah amendment heads to appeals court

(RNS) An amendment to Oklahoma's constitution that bans state judges
from considering Islamic law will face its next legal hurdle on Monday
(Sept. 12) when a federal appeals court considers its constitutionality.

Just weeks after it was approved by 70 percent of Oklahoma voters
last November, U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange ruled it
unconstitutional, saying "the will of the `majority' has on occasion
conflicted with the constitutional rights of individuals."

The case now heads to the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals, and the outcome could affect efforts to pursue similar
legislation in more than 20 other states.

Muneer Awad, the director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council of
American-Islamic Relations who filed the original suit to block the
amendment, said a second legal victory would put pressure on
conservative lawmakers who are pushing bills to block Shariah, or
Islamic law.

"Despite knowing that these arguments are flawed, they're pursuing
them for their own political reasons," Awad said.

While judges routinely consider religious law when deciding family
or contract disputes that could not be settled by religious authorities,
constitutional law supersedes religious law if they are found to be in
conflict.

Opponents say the Oklahoma measure would invalidate civil documents
like marital contracts and wills, which some people draft according to
religious guidelines.

And by singling out Shariah among other religious laws, lawyers
argued the Oklahoma amendment violates the First Amendment's prohibition
on government preference for one religion over another.

Calls to the Oklahoma Attorney General's office were not returned.
Supporters of the anti-Shariah measure say the amendment would not
affect religiously guided civil documents as long as they don't run
afoul of the Constitution.

"Just as Mr. Awad's First Amendment rights are fundamental, so too
are the voting rights of the 695,000 Oklahomans who voted in favor of
State Question 755," lawyers defending the referendum wrote in a March
28 brief that will be the basis of their arguments Monday.

"The results of their `fundamental political right' to vote has been
enjoined by this district court."

While many Muslims viewed the Oklahoma referendum as discriminatory
and fueled by Islamophobia, they say it has also given them a chance to
educate non-Muslims about Shariah and Islam.

"We've stepped up our outreach efforts, and I think we've been able
to change a lot of minds," said Saad Mohammed, a spokesman for the
Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City. "If the referendum were held
again tomorrow, I think a lot fewer people would support it."