POLITICS | NOVEMBER 9, 2010
Oklahoma Shariah Ban Is Blocked
By JESS BRAVIN
A federal judge blocked Oklahoma officials Monday from implementing a voter-approved referendum that singles out Islamic religious law, or Shariah, as a threat to the state.
Chief Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange, of U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City, set a Nov. 22 hearing to consider whether the Save Our State Amendment violates the U.S. Constitution. Until then, she issued a temporary restraining order preventing the state Election Board from certifying State Question 755, which passed by 70% on Nov. 2.
The measure directs state courts to ignore "legal precepts of other nations or cultures" and specifically forbids consideration of "international law or Sharia Law."
A Muslim activist in Oklahoma City, Muneer Awad, filed suit last week, alleging the measure violated the First Amendment, which forbids government from promoting an "establishment of religion" or interfering with "free exercise" of religion.
The measure "would enshrine disapproval of Islam in the state constitution," said Mr. Awad, 27 years old, in an interview. He is executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. In addition, he said, the provision could invalidate his will, which refers to Islamic teachings on the distribution of property.
At Monday's hearing, Judge Miles-LaGrange rejected state arguments that the suit should be dismissed on procedural grounds. A spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office declined to comment.
Although no Oklahoma court is known to have cited Islamic law, the measure's backers say they fear that state judges might someday turn to it.
"The future of our children and grandchildren is at stake," a co-sponsor, Republican state Sen. Anthony Sykes, said in an interview last week.
Mr. Awad, who said he was born in Michigan and attended the University of Georgia's law school, called that "ridiculous."
Under the Constitution, "any time a religion prescribes something that conflicts with public policy, our [U.S.] laws prevail," he said. "This applies to Christian and Jewish law as well."
It's unclear how the Save Our State Amendment would alter Oklahoma court proceedings.
Neither the laws of foreign countries nor international law, which concerns dealings among nations, ever have been binding on state or federal courts. The Constitution authorizes the federal government to make treaties, which, like acts of Congress, are the "supreme law of the land," binding state judges and superseding state constitutions.
State and federal judges occasionally cite in their opinions nonbinding materials for context or to illustrate points. References to Shakespeare and Bob Dylan, as well as to the courts of other nations and international courts, have been used in this way.
In a 2005 Supreme Court opinion that concluded it was unconstitutional to execute juvenile offenders, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that "the opinion of the world community, while not controlling our outcome, does provide respected and significant confirmation for our own conclusions."
Write to Jess Bravin at
jess.bravin@wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...807855194.html
Oklahoma Shariah Ban Is Blocked
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Originally Posted by LittleFuzzy
The whole notion of ballot initiatives never made much sense to me. I suppose it was "activist judges" that caved to party powers in the first place, by allowing that type of voting? Votes to amend a state constitution makes me wonder what the hell state legislators are for? 
