A leading American civil rights group has criticized an anti-Islamic Sharia bill that is coming into force in the state of Virginia. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) considers the bill is a new step towards efforts to stigmatize Muslims and weaken their religious traditions.
"Bigotry must be rejected, not legitimized through a bill that is hateful (against Islam) and does not reflect American zeal," said Gadier Abbas, CAIR Washington's staff attorney in a press release.
The bill that would prohibit the application of Islamic law was introduced by Virginia General Assembly Delegate Rick L. Morris on January 11. The proposed new anti-sharia law would prohibit courts from considering Islamic law when handling cases among Muslims.
So far, in American courts, judges have been able to refer to Islamic Sharia in legal cases involving cases of divorce and custody among Muslims.
Morris argued that his aim was to enforce American law. "This is definitely not an anti-Muslim bill," said Morris. However, CAIR emphasized that the bill was drafted by anti-Islam activist, David Yerushalmi.
In early January, a US federal court overturned anti-sharia Islam rules in the state of Oklahoma. The prohibition of Islamic law is considered unconstitutional and discriminates against religion. (Mel / Onislam.net / ddhongkong.org). *
