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The First Amendment and Shari’a Law

The First Amendment and Shari’a Law

Last updated on: January 5, 2020 at 11:30 am by Bethany Blankley

The First Amendment and Shari’a Law 2020-01-05T11:30:15-05:00 Bethany Blankley

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Under the guise of “religious freedom,” Islamic organizations reportedly linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, like the Islamic Circle of North America, the Association of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA), and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), have devoted millions of dollars and resources to a well-coordinated campaign to ensure American laws, including judicial proceedings and state constitutions, be Shar’ia compliant. Shari’a (“legislation”) is rooted in the Qur’an, the foundation of Islamic law, and non-compliance is punishable by death (3:85; 4:65). Some groups also identify this movement as “Lawfare.”

Such efforts are curious however, in light of Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) assertions. Islamic scholars, who draft opinions on issues concerning American Muslims, advocate no conflict exists “between Islamic teachings and the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.”

FCNA asserts:

“it is false and misleading to suggest that there is a contradiction between being faithful Muslims committed to God (Allah) and being loyal American citizens. Islamic teachings require respect of the laws of the land where Muslims live as minorities, including the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, so long as there is no conflict with Muslims’ obligation for obedience to God. The primacy of obedience to God is a commonly held position of many practicing Jews and Christians as well.”

But, if Shari’a doesn’t contradict American law, why vigilantly advertise, lobby, award “educational grants,” and fund political campaigns, to implement Shari’a-compliant laws?

The European Court on Human Rights has ruled more than once that Shari’a is “incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy.”

Compared to the U.S. Constitution, Shari’a law appears to be diametrically opposed to it.

Under Shari’a, no free exercise of religion exists, especially for Muslims who choose to leave Islam. Muhammad ordered, “Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him” (Hadith Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 9, Book 84, No. 57). Likewise, Muslims are instructed to murder, crucify, and dismember those who reject Islam, “wage war against Allah and his apostle and strive to make mischief in the land” (Surah 2:191, 5:32,33; 9:5, 123, 29).

According to a 2012 Pew Research Report, 60 percent of Middle Eastern and North African countries criminalize apostasy, the act of abandoning one’s faith. Apostasy laws also exist in Asian-Pacific and sub-Saharan African countries. Examples abound in America, however, just consider Ground Zero’s Imam Abdallah Adhami’s assertion that Muslims who leave Islam should be imprisoned. (He also stated on his organization’s website that “being gay is a ‘painful trial’ caused by past trauma.”)

Likewise, blasphemy laws exist worldwide to criminalize offensive speech or actions related to the Qur’an, Allah, and Muhammad. Seventy percent of Middle Eastern and North African countries, 31 percent of countries in the Americas, and 16 percent of European countries criminalize blasphemy, according to the Pew study.

Those who correctly claim the word “blasphemy” cannot be found in the Qur’an exclude the fact that blasphemous acts are easily identifiable. Any “offensive” speech is illegal, which is why Dutch filmmaker van Gogh was brutally stabbed to death and French Charlie Hedbo satirists were gunned down; all victims were unarmed. These violent acts were not random, extreme, or isolated, but examples of following the Qur’an’s instructions.

Discrimination against all non-Muslims exists under Shari’a—because the underlying concept of equality does not. In fact, inequality, slavery, and murder are enforced through the Islamic construct of dhimmitude.

Under dhimmitude, non-Muslims are divided into two groups. The polytheists, “pagans, idolaters and heathens” are given a choice to convert to Islam or die. Jews and Christians, known as “people of the book,” dhimmi, and/or kuffar, are legally classified as third-class citizens. They first must be humiliated and subjugated to pay a tax (Jizyah) in increasing amounts to Muslim-majority rulers. Next, they are given time to convert or leave their town, region, and eventually, country. If the Kuffar can’t or don’t pay the Jizyah, convert to Islam, or move, Muhammad states that peace is impossible and the kuffar must be caught and beheaded. (Surah 9:29; 22:19; 47:4)

Under dhimmitude no non-Muslim can freely practice his/her religious beliefs publicly. Shari’a forbids all public displays of crosses, mangers, Christmas trees, stars of David, Menorahs, ringing of church bells, singing of Christmas carols, or any other act considered “offensive” to Muslims. Shari’a also prohibits peaceful assembly. Non-Muslims cannot repair, rebuild, or build new places to worship, nor can they bury their dead near Muslim graves.

Shari’a law first imposes unequal legal status for non-Muslims; then eliminates them. The near extinction of non-Muslims in Muslim-majority countries evidences the stark reality that no First Amendment rights exist under Shari’a.

Instead, Muslims are instructed to “terrorize and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Qur’an” and punish non-Muslims with “garments of fire, hooked iron rods, boiling water; melt their skin and bellies.” (Surah 8:12; 22:19) The Qur’an incontrovertibly clarifies that conflict not only exists “between Islamic teachings and the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights,” but also exists infinitivally.

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