Being from Lake County, I was extremely disappointed, but sadly unsurprised, that a couple representatives for the area are the designated hate-mongers pushing a bill through the Legislature which would ban the use of Shariah Law by the courts. This bill is insane, first and foremost because no court in the U.S. has ever tried to do such a thing. But is also striking the only political movement which has come close to trying to enforce Shariah Law in Florida has actually been from conservatives.
Obviously, no one wants Islamic fundamentalism beliefs imposed on America. Why, that would be pro-terrorist or something.The irony, though, is that the backwoods, 19th Century approach to justice espoused by the far right, and too often specifically by lawmakers from my home county, lines up with Shariah Law more often than the liberal approach to enforcement of the law.
First, let's consider state Sen. Alan Hays comments directly to the issue via the Miami Herald:
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"American Laws for American Courts was crafted to protect American citizens’ constitutional rights against the infiltration and incursion of foreign laws and foreign legal doctrines, especially Islamic Sharia Law."
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Of course, right. Shariah law, according to the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, calls for severe capital punishments for such "crimes" as sex before marriage, sex after divorce and the drinking of alcohol. The classic stories of Middle Eastern governments cutting off the hands of thieves is based in this centuries-old doctrine. The most liberal of Muslim countries, notably Turkey, moved away from Shariah Law years ago. One hopes as the revolutions in North Africa spread that this dusty, barbaric approach to government will continue a deserved decline.
But this a huge concern of Hays, and of state Rep. Larry Metz. It is a shame the whole Republican party hasn't taken such a firm stance against disproportionate punishments being applied to such moral sins. That is, of course, assuming that is their problem with Sharia Law.
Then again, it is worth seeing what other legislation Hays has promoted through his years in the Legislature. This session, Hays is also sponsoring a bill which would allow the courts to take away driver's licenses of teenagers who flee from the police for any reason. He also is pushing a bill which would punish employers who hire illegals. Another bill would give sovereign powers to the sheriff and other constitutional offices in every county so they could end impasses with their respective employee unions. Yet another makes it more difficult for minors to have an abortion without consent of a parent.
But while many of these measures are, in my view, rather Draconian, it may seem an exaggeration to call them Shariah Law. Past holders of Hays' seat have suggested worse.
State Sen. Carey Baker got a bill through which made it illegal to display "Truck Nutz" on your car. I assume he did this for the children.
Former state Sen. Anna Cowin successfully passed a law in the late '90s which would allow the chemical castration of convicted rapists. Far from upholding Shariah Law, our courts dealt it a blow and overturned that one.
I actually know all of the politicians involved with these bills, and respect them on a personal level, but believe either the politics of the time or a whirl of personal zealotry got the best of them when they attached their names to these pieces of legislation. I know they sometimes felt very strongly about the legislation. But that just shows the great need for checks and balances in our government system.
The point, though, is that these bits of legislation that impose moral standards through criminalization are a far greater threat to our liberties than the existence of a centuries-old doctrine employed by nations on the other side of the world.These are laws which have passed or could pass the muster of our Republican-dominated Legislature.
Florida in the past criminalized interracial marriage, and it took the courts to end that law. We still have sodomy laws on the books today just waiting for a court challenge.
The legal system isn't imposing Shariah Law on Florida. It is protecting us from it. And the Legislature, quite sadly, has a deep and not-so-distant history of doing the opposite.
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Jake, I think the end of your post makes a far better argument. Sharia law (as I understand it) is basically the rules set forth in the Koran. Drivers' licenses, illegal immigration, and unions aren't religious issues. Abortion is, at least in part, but I don't know that the specific topic you brought up has much of a religious context to it. Truck Nutz maybe, to the extent that our perception of obscenity is tied to religion.
ReplyDeleteBut interracial marriage, and sodomy laws! THAT'S the influence of the Christian church. Not being able to buy beer on Sundays before noon. That's the parallel to Sharia. I'm sure there's more.
Hopefully, Hays's constituents realize that he's solving a problem that doesn't exist. But legislatures have a habit of passing meaningless resolutions for political purposes. This is little different.
Certainly, what happened before Hays' assent to the Senate is more backward than what he is proposing. But what Shariah law does, besides scare people about those wacky Muslim terrorists, is legislate morality. Only one side is trying to do that right now, and strangely, its the same side obsessed with banning Shariah law.
ReplyDeleteTo a certain extent, all we can do is legislate morality. You can't take things from other people - that's a moral stance. Sure, it's good for society not to have rampant theft, but even "good for society" is a moral/value thing. Who says we should do what's good for society?
ReplyDeleteDeeper points of philosophy aside, fleeing from police and not hiring illegal immigrants are not really morality issues. Chemical castration is, but in the opposite way - it's a question of whether it's moral to chemically castrate someone, not whether it's moral to rape people. I'll give you Truck Nutz. Although I'm surprised, I'd guess that a large majority of Truck Nutz are attached to trucks belonging to Republicans.
I 100% agree with you that Republicans are at the forefront, or at least on the wrong side, of "morality legislation", mostly focusing on gays. Abortion, too, but I'm not sure I'd say they're wholly on the wrong side of that (although most of their arguments are wrong). But at least those issues exist.
Hypothetically, how would you respond to Hays introducing a resolution condemning the use of Sharia (and other non-secular legal codes) in general, anywhere in the world? Waste of time? Noble gesture? Both?
To me, chemical castration is the clearest example. Obviously, rape is heinous, and rapists should be penalized. Chemical castration, though, is cruel and unusual, and reminds me of stoning people in the public square. That is Shariah Law if I ever saw it in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteWell, now we're not talking about legislating morality, we're talking about the nature of the punishment.
ReplyDeleteStoning isn't used in the US because it's a slow and painful way to die, and it's public humiliation, not because an imam in the Middle East says to do it to a woman for cheating on her husband.
Chemical castration doesn't kill you, first of all, and it's not publicly humiliating in the sense that you don't get paraded around with your tiny genitalia on display. Not to say that I'm in favor of it, or that I've seen any studies that indicate it's an effective solution or deterrent, but hypothetically, if you were given the option of 20 years in jail and keep your junk intact, or 10 years and be castrated, which do you pick? How much prison time is your testosterone production worth?
Just Food for Thought:
ReplyDeleteSharia in the Blogosphere - http://libraryofrhetoric.org/lor/?p=1263