Paranoia Strikes Deep
I saw this story on
Ravings of a Semi-Sane Madwoman.
Tennessee bill would jail Shariah followers
A proposed Tennessee law would make following the Islamic code known as Shariah law a felony, punishable by 15 years in jail.
That's taking it to a new level! The law is not against forcing Sharia Law on someone. The law would forbid anyone from following Sharia Law themselves. Besides the fact that this is the most blatantly un-constitutional law since the Defense of Marriage Act, how exactly would you hope to enforce this?
Hey, you! I saw you not committing adultery! You have the right to remain silent!
Say, I noticed you didn't steal anything from that store. You're not adhering to Sharia Law, are you? Oh, the 10 commandments? I guess that's okay, then. But I'm watching you!
State Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, and state Rep. Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma, introduced the same bill in the Senate and House last week. It calls Shariah law a danger to homeland security and gives the attorney general authority to investigate complaints and decide who's practicing it.
Yes, the threat to Homeland Security is not people who want to blow things up and kill people, it's folks following their religious beliefs. And what sort of crazy beliefs are included in Sharia? Well, there's this:
Haraam behavior is explicitly forbidden. It is both sinful and criminal. It includes all actions expressly forbidden in both the Old Testament and the Qur'an. Violating any of the Ten Commandments is considered haraam. Certain Muslim dietary and clothing restrictions also fall into this category.
So not killing would be a felony. Not stealing, a felony. Honoring your parents? you're looking at hard time!
[The proposed law] exempts peaceful practice of Islam but labels any adherence to Shariah law — which includes religious practices such as feet washing and prayers — as treasonous. It claims Shariah adherents want to replace the Constitution with their religious law.
So you're free to practice your religion peacefully, so long as I don't catch you washing your feet! That's just straight-up treason!
I'm not sure where these idiots got the idea that you can pass a law forbidding the practice of one's religion. Maybe they don't teach the Bill of Rights in Tennessee. (Except the second Ammendment, of course)
The funny thing is that a lot of this anxiety is because the Religious Right has lied about the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Under separation of church and state, imposition of Shariah law is just as unconstitutional as this legislation.
ReplyDeleteIf the Christian Right accepted the facts about the First Amendment, they would never have to worry about imposition of Islamic law on them.