Is Florida Judge Wrong in Sharia Law Case?

COMMENTARY | Several states, including Florida, have legislation in the works to prevent Sharia law from taking precedence over U.S. law.

But the legislative bill writers stand accused of being conservative alarmists -- that Sharia law will never override the U.S. Constitution. For example, Florida's Sen. Alan Hays and Rep. Larry Metz proposed a bill, "Application of Foreign Law," against allowing foreign law in U.S. courts. The Florida Independent calls this a right-wing campaign.

In Oklahoma, a federal judge has already blocked Reps. Rex Duncan and Anthony Sykes' attempt to ban Sharia law (SQ 755), even after it was approved by the majority of voters.

Are these Congress members and citizens worried about nothing?

We now have a test case in Florida, Mansour, et al v. Islamic Education Center of Tampa. Earlier in March, Circuit Court Judge Richard Nielsen ruled that a group of Muslims should use the Koran's ecclesiastic law instead of an American courtroom to arbitrate among themselves.

Some trustees at the Islamic Education Center of Tampa felt they were removed from their positions improperly. Following Islamic law, they already justified their claim through an arbitrator within the Islamic faith. But mosque representatives appealed to Florida's courts to prevent the ex-trustees from obtaining a monetary settlement.

Nielsen is widely perceived as having imposed Sharia law on Florida with his decision that's been debated all month in political, judicial and media circles. The 2nd District Court of Appeals stayed his ruling, and said that Florida law should decide the issue.

This past Wednesday, Nielsen defended his decision by reiterating the cause for his verdict. According to Tampa Bay's St. Petersburg Times, Nielson concluded that further arbitration should proceed under Islam's own laws, but he would be willing to hear additional testimony to be sure all those faith-based procedures were exhausted.

Is this "imposing" Sharia law on Florida?

Jewish synagogues and Christian churches also have ways to arbitrate disputes within their congregations.

Attorneys with the Christian Law Association (CLA) offer samples of arbitration guidelines for church constitutions, including this basic rule (paraphrased):

The book of First Corinthians 6:1-8 in the Bible's New Testament states that personal disagreements should not be brought before non-believers. So Christians should limit the resolution of disputes to arbitration within the congregation and restrict litigation in civil courts.

(From "The Importance of A Good Constitution and Bylaws," Attorney David C. Gibbs, Jr., written for the Hill Consulting Group, p. 2. A sample church constitution can be ordered from CLA's website.)

But faith-based guidelines don't include criminal charges or supersede secular law -- and that's the fear:

In some foreign countries, Islamic law is the law of the land and the only law used in court, whereas in the U.S., criminal charges are brought before American courts that claim "separation of church and state." The fear is growing that civil Sharia cases will lead to extremists using them as precedent for wanting to self-judge criminal cases.

At least two nationally publicized cases stoke this fear:

1. An American Muslim man was recently convicted in a New York court of beheading his wife.

2. Rifqa Bary, the Muslim girl who converted to Christianity and fled from her family, claimed that her Muslim father would kill her for converting.

In Great Britain, Sharia courts have been established and are unaccountable to Britain's government. Hays, Metz, Duncan and Sykes contend that acts considered criminal in U.S. courts may not be against Sharia law among extremists, and the sovereignty of the U.S. court system will be left unprotected.

Sheryl Young has been freelance writing for newspapers, magazines, organizations and websites since 1997. Her specialty is American politics, education and society as they intersect with religion. Credits include Community Columnist for the Tampa Tribune Newspaper, Interview Columnist with Light & Life Magazine, and a National First Place "Roaring Lambs" Writing Award from the Amy Foundation.