Anti-sharia laws proliferating in many American states legislatures by Republicans - Polidicks

[quote]Anti-sharia legislation is spreading in state legislatures across the US, as Donald Trump’s hostile stance towards Muslims appears to be emboldening rightwing Islamaphobes. In 2017 there were [B]23 new bills introduced in 18 states attempting to prohibit the practice of Islamic religious law, or sharia, in US courts.[/B] The rash of new bills brings the total number of such legislative efforts since 2010 to 217 in 43 states, according to the Haas Institute at UC Berkeley which monitors the anti-sharia movement. Legal experts point out that[B] the bills are superfluous, as the US constitution is the supreme law of the land and any foreign laws are subservient to it.[/B] Sharia itself is less a set of laws than religious guidelines, one of which requires Muslims to be law-abiding according to the rules of whichever country they find themselves. But Elsadig Elsheikh, director of the global justice program at the Haas Institute that carried out the research, said [B]the purpose of the bills was to spread fear about Muslims living in America[/B] and to portray them as untrustworthy and out of step with American values. “Even if these bills do not become law they help to subject Muslims to surveillance and other forms of exclusion and discrimination,” he said. [B]Of the 23 bills introduced to state legislatures this year, only two became law – in Arkansas and Texas. [/B]Four new states joined the growing list of legislatures where anti-sharia legislation has been attempted: Colorado, Connecticut, North Dakota and Wisconsin. [B]All but one of the bills were introduced by Republicans. [/B]The exception was in Idaho where a committee with an unknown party affiliation was behind the move.[/quote] [url]https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/30/anti-sharia-laws-trump-muslims[/url]

So basically "waste your time" bills.

Mmmkai but how about we get some anti-Right Wing Christian Zealot legislation through I'm pretty sure we need that a bit more

Wow, next theyll make laws banning Communist activities to keep America safe. God bless.

What would the SCOTUS think of this?

[QUOTE] Of the 23 bills introduced to state legislatures this year, only two became law – in Arkansas and Texas.[/QUOTE] obviously the two places most under threat of Sharia law

I've said it before, but making laws to outlaw laws is the dumbest thing ever. It's like outlawing Hammurabi's code, nobody was even talking about doing it in the first place.

I mean... I guess if they really want to? Doesn't seem likely to really have any effect on anything but whatever floats their boat I guess.

I’m not entirely sure about this but weren’t there some courts in this country or forms of arbitration which shariah law was allowed in? I thought it usually had something to do with domestic disputes between married people.

I mean I'm not against bills that reinforce the separation of church and state. Sharia law is subservient to the law of the land in the United States.

[QUOTE=Cone;53017064]obviously the two places most under threat of Sharia law[/QUOTE] I remember reading somewhere that there were actually some smaller cities in Texas where Sharia was practiced, but it wasn't full-fledged Sharia, it basically was only Sharia where it was applicable to the point that it never super-ceded local, state, or federal law. So basically, mostly for settling basic disputes and such.

Lmao, I honestly doubt that any of those politicians even know any of the actual laws of Sharia, other than the fact that it's followed by the "scary brown people". Because most of it is pretty mundane and personal stuff, more to do with one's personal relationship with God than actual law. It would be like banning Jewish or Christian commandments. But honestly though, this fear of Sharia really is ridiculous, considering how the U.S. at an almost absolute-zero risk of somehow adopting Islamic law, in a country with a 0.9% Muslim population, and honestly? The places which are calling for it being banned? Do they even have a Muslim population?

[Quote] Of the 23 bills introduced to state legislatures this year, only two became law – in Arkansas and Texas. Four new states joined the growing list of legislatures where anti-sharia legislation has been attempted: Colorado, Connecticut, North Dakota and Wisconsin[/quote] Oh man the way one interprits the statute could lead to some lovely consiquences for many faith based assumptions that these same lawmakers are trying to codify into law.

[QUOTE=RevolverOcelot;53017801]Lmao, I honestly doubt that any of those politicians even know any of the actual laws of Sharia, other than the fact that it's followed by the "scary brown people". Because most of it is pretty mundane and personal stuff, more to do with one's personal relationship with God than actual law.[/QUOTE] Most likely they're thinking of the hysteria around UK sharia courts

[QUOTE=AlbertWesker;53017571]I’m not entirely sure about this but weren’t there some courts in this country or forms of arbitration which shariah law was allowed in? I thought it usually had something to do with domestic disputes between married people.[/QUOTE] there are Sharia courts around the US. These are private arbitration tribunals, not state run (at least I don't know of any that are). These courts typically handle relatively simple matters dealing with apportionment, like divorce, land disputes, and some limited business disputes/contract law. The idea is to give people access to dispute resolution that is in tune with their religious values. Under the FAA state/federal courts will tend to bind the parties to whatever decision is made in the absence of obscene due process/equal protection violations. There are some issues with Sharia courts, like any arbitration body that's being utilized by non-savvy individuals. Many of these courts don't have the same standards for procedure that the state/fed courts do, but that's kind of the shtick for arbitration in general, and why it's less expensive/why the government encourages it. You start to get problems when it involves an inequity in power (imo) like credit card companies forcing disputes from customers to run through private courts, or various employment contracts running through private courts. You probably won't have an attorney and you'll be facing an adversary that has run hundreds, if not thousands of cases that are nearly identical to yours, meaning they have a huge advantage.