US judge bars Oklahoma measure that targets Sharia law
Tue Nov 9, 9:06 am ET


WASHINGTON (AFP) – A federal judge has granted a temporary block to a new law approved last week in Oklahoma that bars state courts from considering international or Islamic law, after opponents challenged it on constitutional grounds.

The amendment to the state's constitution, approved by over 70 percent of voters in mid-term elections, was to be temporarily stayed after the judge ruled Monday in favor of challenger Muneer Awad, a Muslim resident of the state and local chapter head for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

"The amendment it will make once certified is a gross transgression of the establishment clause," Awad said in his lawsuit, asserting the measure violates the US Constitution's First Amendment's clause that bars the government from making laws "respecting the establishment of religion."

His lawsuit stated the measure is aimed at ensuring "Oklahoma?s courts are not used to 'undermine those founding (Judeo-Christian) principles,'" and goes even further to denigrate Awad's standing in the community by transforming the state constitution "into an enduring condemnation of plaintiff?s faith."

The amendment, the lawsuit added, "singles out plaintiff's faith, but no other faith, for special restrictions."

CAIR, which is gearing up for a full hearing into the law on November 22, said Oklahoma's move would prevent courts in the state from "from implementing international agreements, honoring international arbitrations, honoring major international human rights treaties."

The measure was one of hundreds of referendums held across the country in the November 2 including votes on cannabis legalization and puppy farms. It was specifically intended to harm "an unpopular minority," Awad said in his lawsuit.

"The goal was to stigmatize Islam by establishing in the public?s mind that Islam is something foreign and to be feared," he said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/usvotejusticereligionislam