Oklahoma Needs a Civics Lesson: Sharia Law Ban Exposes Constitutional Ignorance

On Monday a federal judge blocked the Oklahoma "Save our State" constitutional amendment because it singled out Sharia law for special mention. The Court ruled that by banning Sharia law from Oklahoma courts but not mentioning other religions, the amendment was effectively endorsing Judeo-Christian laws. That is plainly illegal under the First Amendment (as extended to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment), and the judge ruled correctly.

But to hear the conservatives' howls, you'd think the judge had allowed Sharia law into the Oklahoma law books! Here's what one conservative news site had to say:

"... allowing for Sharia law must certainly be the most egregious violation of the [First] amendment on record! Are the sectarian religious laws of other faiths so recognized? Can an Orthodox Jew be taken to court for failing to keep kosher? Can a Catholic be sued in court for failing to fast during Lent? Can an evangelical Protestant be fined for failing to spend sufficient time reading the Bible each day?"

Got that? Treating all religions equally is the most egregious violation on record! This is such utter baloney. Orthodox Jewish law is not allowed in the Courts. Protestants and Catholics can't be sued in court for not following their religion's teachings. And Muslims can't be sued either.

Oklahoma Christians have every right to expect that Sharia law be excluded from their courts. It's every American's right. But that means that Oklahoma Muslims also have every right to have Christian law excluded from the courts too ... along with Jewish law, Rastafarian law, and every other religious law.

Religion has no place in government, and government has no place in religion. If Oklahomans truly want to ensure their rights to worship freely, they should pass a state constitutional amendment clarifying that the Great State of Oklahoma abides by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.