Equal Justice For Some

Our oh-so-civilized British friends are allowing sharia law to creep into their daily jurisprudence. Recent United States Supreme Court decisions have cited foreign law, and several states have already taken action to prevent foreign law, including sharia law, from being cited in the state courts. The State of Michigan is now considering such legislation, following in the footsteps in twenty other states.

This action should turn out to be the most interesting so far, since Michigan has the largest Muslim community of any state. The movement has loosely been called "American Laws for American Courts," and the legislation in each state follows that concept, though there are minor differences in the wording of the statutes from state to state. The Michigan bill, so far stuck in committee, was proposed by state Representative Dave Agema (R-Grandville). The cries of racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia began even before the bill was introduced.

Agema insists that the proposed law is designed to fend off local imposition of foreign law in general, and is not specifically designed to prevent the imposition of sharia law. I will take him at his word, but I also have to think that he is not seriously worried about the imposition of French food purity laws or German highway standards on the citizens of Michigan. Regardless of his motives, he is clearly taking the stand that Michigan law must be equally enforced upon all citizens of Michigan, and that any other law is in conflict with the fundamental rights and obligations of the sovereign State of Michigan. That concept of uniform and equal treatment under the law is as old as the Republic itself.

But don't count on Michigan Republicans to rally behind Agema. Republican Victor Begg, who is coincidentally a senior adviser to the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan, says the proposed legislation is hogwash and that its sole agenda is to thwart sharia law. He calls it a witch hunt with Muslim-Americans as the real target. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but there are no witches, and the targets are those who would harm the fundamental American concept of equal justice under law.

Joining Begg in his hysterical attempt to prevent "victimization" of minorities who wish to live under law different from that of their fellow citizens are the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR, unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorist funding), the NAACP and the ACLU. As Claude Rains would say, "all the usual suspects." Supporters of the bill have listed court decisions in several other states which applied international, foreign or sharia law in cases which should have been decided solely on state, federal and constitutional law.

The Center for Security Policy, a Washington DC think tank, has looked at fifty appellate cases from twenty-three states and determined that sharia law had been applied or recognized as precedent in each of the cases. The legal arena called "conflict of laws" has until very recently been concerned solely with reconciling conflicting state statutes and law, or state law which conflicts with federal law. Only in the last few years has any consideration whatsoever been given to reconciling foreign or sharia law, other than those laws implementing treaty obligations.

Proponents of the legislation argue rightfully that the statute is designed to protect constitutional liberties, not designed to go after anyone's religious practices. That doesn't mean that occasionally religious practices may not violate state or federal law directly. So long as there is no "impermissible meddling in the practice of religion," the Supreme Court has consistently held that even direct prohibition of certain religious practices which are impermissible for those not of that faith are valid. Mormons gave up polygamy in order to have Utah become a member of the community of States. Muslims apparently expect different treatment.

Saced Khan, a university lecturer on Islamic history, has pulled out all the traditional "victim" tropes. "While Hispanics, blacks and gays have gained a certain amount of political and social capital over the years, the relatively small Muslim community is an easy target." This from a man who has on other occasions pointed out how a "substantial Muslim minority" has been ignored by Michigan society in a nation which has a President who has declared America to be one of the largest Muslim nations on earth. The Muslims are either a small oppressed minority, or a large important minority, depending on the day of the week and the audience being addressed.

In addition, Khan says: "The [Muslim] community has thought that because of its longevity in Michigan, the fact that it has been such a productive and integrated part of the greater society, that for this attack to occur, for it to be targeted in such a particularly (sic) way, it's a false issue in that none of the community members have ever tried to assert the codification of sharia within the legal system. The community recognizes that many of the principles of sharia are already addressed or accommodated in state and federal law (emphasis added)."

Aside from being a tad incoherent, that statement needs to be vetted for its inconsistencies. First, "longevity" implies "legitimacy" only in the minds of sharia proponents and illegal immigrant amnesty boosters. Then contrast "none have ever tried to assert sharia" with "already addressed in state and federal law." You can't have it both ways. And of course this is all a smokescreen to cover up the fact that the legislation is designed to address precisely the early stage imposition of sharia law in the courts.

I can envision cases in which Muslim beliefs would be the final determining factor in a legal matter without violating the proposed statute. For instance, take a child custody dispute between two Muslims. After the state law has been satisfied in all its particulars determining custody, including the overriding rule of the "best interests of the child," the next stage could be determined entirely using Muslim principles without offending state or federal law. Suppose that all things being equal, a Muslim religious organization to which both parties had submitted determined that sharia law requires that the father get the child.

The state law already having determined that either parent would be acceptable, and that there is no danger to the child based on which parent is granted custody. then the agreement of the parties to accept the decision of the religious body becomes the determining factor. In other words, the custody is granted based on state law, the agreement of the parties, and only incidentally on Muslim belief and sharia. Had the Muslim belief violated state law, or sharia law been cited as the sole reason for the custody decision, then the proposed law would indeed have been violated.

The same logic could be applied to a Catholic divorce. All things being equal, and the parties having agreed in advance to have custody be determined by an ecclesiastical court after compliance with all state statutes and rules, the Church body would be the final determiner of custody. But if you want to talk about state interference in religion, don't the Catholics actually have a better argument than the Muslims? Catholic doctrine forbids divorce in the first place, yet Catholics recognize that despite their religious beliefs, divorce is a matter for state legislation, and they know they must accept it.

And finally to counter Khan's false "victim" comparisons, there is no black law, there is no gay law, and there is no Hispanic law which can ever be cited to alter or contradict the rules of state law. Once a state has taken valid and constitutional authority over a given area of law, it applies to every citizen of that state, regardless of religious belief. That is the legal/constitutional balancing act which must be done when religious belief becomes religious excess. The government may not excessively interfere with religious practice, but that door swings both ways.