State Question 755

oklahoma anti-sharia law initiative

Some good reads as State Question 755 winds its way through court

Photo by Il Primo Uomo/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A temporary restraining order will continue in effect until the end of this month blocking a controversial new Oklahoma law that, if implemented, would amend the state’s constitution to ban the use of Islamic Sharia law in the state’s courts. United Press International reported that in a hearing today, a federal judge in Oklahoma City extended an order blocking implementation of what was known on the ballot as State Question 755, approved by voters in the Nov. 2 election.

The ballot initiative was approved by an overwhelming majority – 70 percent – even though there is no known instance of Islamic law ever being cited in Oklahoma courts.

Two days after the ballot measure was approved, the director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed suit to stop its implementation on constitutional grounds. Today the restraining order was extended until Nov. 29, when a ruling is expected on whether the law violates the U.S. constitution.

So what to make of this complicated case unfolding halfway across the country, and what broader implications does it have beyond the Sooner State, for Muslims and non-Muslims? There have been some interesting reads lately regarding State Question 755, the questions it raises, the conversations surrounding it, and the political implications it carries.

Here are a few:

The New York Times had a great piece last weekend examining the role that Islam (and anti-Islamic fear-mongering) played in the election, to the extent that one state lawmaker who didn’t support the measure because he thought it unnecessary was ridiculed in mailers sent out by his opponent’s campaign that showed him next to “a shadowy figure in an Arab headdress.”
Slate recently published a good explainer on what constitutes an Islamic will. The lawsuit filed by CAIR Oklahoma’s director Muneer Awad alleges that the anti-Sharia law initiative would essentially invalidate Islamic wills, which are quite specific.
Time published a piece the other day that pointed out what for some is already obvious: Muslims have now joined Latinos and others before them as an election-year cultural wedge minority. “The strategy of designating an alien ‘other’ for political ends is hardly new in human history, and over the centuries it has been employed with equal expediency by the left and the right,” the piece reads. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Politics/Justice, Election 2010, Islam, Oklahoma, Sharia law, State Question 755

November 3, 2010 | 1:01 PM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

Reaction to Oklahoma’s controversial, precedent-setting anti-Sharia law

Photo by Il Primo Uomo/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A closely watched and potentially influential state initiative banning the use of Islamic Sharia law (also spelled Shariah and Shari’ah) in Oklahoma passed by an overwhelming margin yesterday.

In The Washington Post’s On Faith column today, political science professor Muqtedar Khan wrote:

Critics of Shariah in Oklahoma argue that they also oppose the Shariah law because it is against freedom of religion. In this age, when ignorance and bigotry are being celebrated in America, I am sure that most people in Oklahoma must have missed the irony in the situation.

The key sentence in the State question 755 is: It forbids courts from considering or using international law. It forbids courts from considering or using Shariah Law. The proposition also bans international law. To consider how ignorant both the authors and the voters of the proposition are, please take a look at Article Six, Section I, Clause II of the US constitution. It is called the supremacy clause.

According to this clause, international treaties to which the U.S. government is a signatory become “the supreme law of the land”. Treaties, along with custom and UN declarations are the main sources of international law (the proposition 755 actually mentions it). Thus by rejecting international law the proposition designed to institutionalize Islamophobia in Oklahoma, has effectually said “thanks, but no thanks” to the U.S. Constitution.

The initiative, approved by more than 70 percent of Oklahoma voters, is relevant beyond that state. It has been seen as a potential precursor to similar anti-Sharia “pre-emptive strike” initiatives in other states, and to Muslims taking on the role of cultural wedge minority in state political campaigns, a role now predominantly occupied by Latinos.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Politics/Justice, Election 2010, Islam, Sharia law, State Question 755

October 29, 2010 | 1:07 PM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

What is State Question 755? Here’s more

Photo by Il Primo Uomo/Flickr (Creative Commons)

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:

Source: Ballotpedia.org

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Politics/Justice, Election 2010, Islam, SB 1070, Sharia law, State Question 755

October 26, 2010 | 10:40 AM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

Haven’t heard of State Question 755? Here’s why you should

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.