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Sharia Scare
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The threat of Sharia law being instituted in the United States is a political red herring (WP) which misdirects, knowingly or unknowingly, debate from substantial issues. US states have passed specific legislation regarding Sharia.
Csmonitor.com explains that Anti-sharia sentiment is fuelled by those who "seem to allege that the 1 percent of the American population that is Muslim is on the verge of a total takeover of the United States, and if Americans are not vigilant, soon [they'll] all be stoning adulterers and chopping off the hands of thieves."[1]
In a speech to the American Enterprise Institute in Washington in July 2010 devoted to the hidden dangers of Islamic radicalism, politician Newt Gingrich said "I believe Shariah is a mortal threat to the survival of freedom in the United States and in the world as we know it...I think it’s that straightforward and that real."[2]
On May 21, 2012, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed legislation which prohibited judges from considering foreign law in their rulings. The law explains that any court decision will be considered void if it relies "in whole or in part on any foreign law, legal code or system that would not grant the parties affected by the…decision the same fundamental liberties, rights and privileges granted under the United States and Kansas constitutions." Republican State Senator Chris Steineger said in a speech that condemned the legislation for discriminating against Muslims that although "this [bill] doesn’t explicitly say ‘Sharia law,’", "that’s how it was marketed back in January and all session long—and I have all the e-mails to prove it". These anti-Sharia bills can fuel Islamophobia, and also have a "negative effect on the legal system in states that embrace them, altering the routine decisions made in US courts every day".[3]
An insidious effect of political red herrings is revealed by the response from part of the Muslim community to these threats. Because the scaremongering is so far off topic, it is difficult to respond to.
Muslim organizations such as CAIR and MPAC have described Sharia bans as anti-religious freedom. Dr. Tariq Ramadan, a professor of contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University, explains in a lecture that "everything which is good in this country is our Shariah...it's an integrative system. It's not a closed system coming to colonize others." To the over 400 community member, Ramadan said that "you'll find many things in the [U.S.] Constitution that are similar to Shariah." The justification behind this statement is that Sharia is "a set of laws for Muslims related to family, marriage, creed, burial practices, ethics, morality, and punishments", and that while "anti-Sharia proponents mainly criticize the rulings on punishment [that are] unjustly implemented in places like Saudi Arabia", Dr. Ramadan and other Muslim scholars agree is in dire need of reform.[4]
References
- ↑ Those defending US Constitution from sharia must have failed high school civics. URL accessed on June 28, 2012.
- ↑ In Islamic Law, Gingrich Sees a Mortal Threat to U.S.. URL accessed on June 28, 2012.
- ↑ The True Story of Sharia in American Courts. URL accessed on June 28, 2012.
- ↑ Tariq Ramadan: Shariah Law and U.S. Constitution Go Hand-In-Hand. URL accessed on June 28, 2012.
