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The AtlanticWire has a roundup of stories on Oklahoma’s State Question 755, an until-recently obscure ballot initiative in the Sooner State that, if approved by voters, would prohibit the state’s courts from using international law or Islamic Sharia law when making rulings.

I wrote about this curious bit of proposed legislation the other day. As unusual and geographically removed as it seems, State Question 755 is relevant beyond Oklahoma in the same way that Arizona’s SB 1070 – and Oklahoma’s similar HB 1804, which preceded it in 2007 – have been politically relevant beyond both states.

The inspiration for the measure, according to its backers, comes from a New Jersey case. From CNN:

The question might seem a befuddling one for a ballot in the heartland, but it stems from a New Jersey legal case in which a Muslim woman went to a family court asking for a restraining order against her spouse claiming he had raped her repeatedly. The judge ruled against her, saying that her husband was abiding by his Muslim beliefs regarding spousal duties. The decision was later overruled by an appellate court, but the case sparked a firestorm.

But there is no known instance of Sharia law cited in Oklahoma courts, leading its critics to suspect cultural-wedge political shenanigans. From the AtlanticWire post:

Oklahoma courts don’t ever cite Islamic Sharia law in their decisions, so why even propose a measure against it? Onlookers suspect state Republicans are using Islamic law as a bogeyman issue to drive voter turnout.

The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder wrote earlier this week: ”If this initiative over-performs in November, look for a potential wave of ‘preemptive strikes’ against Sharia law in the years ahead.”

If so, it also means that Muslims could join Latinos as a cultural wedge minority in state elections, with savvy campaigns exploiting the fear factor. The ballot title for State Question 755 refers to “the Koran and the teaching of Mohammed.” Here is what Oklahoma voters will see on the ballot next week, per Ballotpedia.org:

Photo by Chriszwolle/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A photo of an Oklahoma state highway map, February 2010

The Atlantic’s politics editor Marc Ambinder wrote yesterday about an as-of-yet obscure “anti-Sharia law” initiative that has made it onto the Oklahoma state ballot, and how if it performs well with voters, we might see a series of similar initiatives used as a cultural wedge issue in other states. From the post:

Will anti-Sharia law initiatives be in future election cycles what anti-gay marriage initiatives were before? That is, a cultural wedge issue the GOP uses to ensure that hard-core conservatives enthusiastically flock to the polls?

If so, then Oklahoma is the proverbial canary in the coal mine for this type of initiative. One of 11 ballot initiatives in the state this November, State Question 755, better known as the “Save Our State” constitutional amendment, would prevent courts from using international or Sharia law. The question made it to the ballot by passing the state Senate 41-2 and the House 82-10. In addition to potentially rallying the conservative base to the polls, the initiative, which bans something that is nearly impossible statutorily, is worth watching because the GOP may employ it in swing states two years down the line.

State Question 755 is of particular interest because Oklahoma was a proving ground for state anti-illegal immigration legislation that would foreshadow Arizona’s SB 1070. In 2007 the state adopted HB 1804, a measure that received scant attention at the time but that would lead the way among state laws targeting undocumented immigrants. This despite the fact that Oklahoma is landlocked and has a relatively small Latino population (and, one would assume, an even smaller Muslim population).

Critics have called State Question 755 xenophobic. The initiative’s proponents see it as a pre-emptive strike against the Islamic system of law coming to the United States, based on similar concerns that have been voiced in Europe. Ambinder goes on to write: “If this initiative over-performs in November, look for a potential wave of ‘preemptive strikes’ against Sharia law in the years ahead.”

If so, it also means that Muslims could be joining Latinos as a cultural wedge minority in state politics.

Several local news outlets have been reporting on State Question 755, including KOSU radio and the Okahoma Gazette.