Debating Sharia on Capitol Hill

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MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It:

Islamic law and the Constitution.

Since the 9/11 terror attacks, Americans have debated the boundaries between Constitutional protections for religious freedom and identifying radical ideology before terrorists can act.

Now some lawmakers say the U.S. should ban Sharia…Islamic religious and political law.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Supporters say the U.S. needs to raise its guard against Islamic influence growing in Western Europe and in states like Texas. But critics say the Constitution is sufficient, and warn that banning Sharia could violate the First Amendment.

ROY: The subcommittee will come to order.

REICHARD: On Tuesday, Texas Congressman Chip Roy gavelled in the House Judiciary subcommittee for the Constitution and Limited Government.

ROY: The principles of Sharia are at odds with the Constitution and the laws of the United States. Sharia fails to include due process, treats non-Muslims as second class citizens, and prescribes barbaric punishments.

BROWN: The subcommittee heard testimony about issues ranging from the unauthorized distribution of Islamic materials in a public high school last week, to reports of honor killings and the subjugation of women.

Krista Schild with the activist nonprofit group Rise, Align, Ignite, Reclaim said that in Texas:

SCHILD: We now have over 330 mosques. At least 650 Islamic nonprofits channeling influence, dozens of Islamic scholars and banks promoting Sharia compliance finance, more than 4 billion in taxpayer funds routed to Islamic entities since 2017.

REICHARD: Numbers aside, Democrats on the committee were skeptical about how Muslim communities affect other Americans. Ranking member Mary Scanlon of Pennsylvania addressed concerns about a Muslim enclave under investigation in Texas:

SCANLON: It seems the pretext for all this bluster is a proposed real estate development in the Dallas suburbs, led by the area's growing Muslim population. But there's no evidence it has anything to do with imposing Sharia law on non-believers of Islam.

BROWN: So what is Sharia, exactly? Lawmakers and witnesses offered a variety of definitions.

SCANLON: Sharia is concerned with guiding individual, personal religious observance, not shaping national laws.

GELÉ: Numerous tenets of Sharia show bias against women, the LGBTQ community, non-Muslims, former Muslims and people designated as blasphemers.

SOMIN: Almost all Muslims, to some degree or another, are Sharia law adherents, because Sharia law is simply the religious precepts of Islam.

SCHILDS: Sharia doctrine demands subjugation of non-Muslims.

BROWN: One reason definitions vary is because there is no single source document called Sharia.

IBRAHIM: Linguistically, the word Sharia refers to a straight path.

REICHARD: A.S. Ibrahim is professor of Islamic Studies at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a contributor to WORLD Opinions. He says the “straight path” for Muslims comes from the whole of Islamic teaching in the Qur'an and the stories about the Prophet Muhammad. But it is not limited to moral guidelines for fasting and prayer.

IBRAHIM: It is a political legal order designed to regulate society, governance and law and power, based on the model established by Muhammad… not only as a religious figure, but as a law giver, judge, ruler.

BROWN: Ibrahim says if Sharia is applied directly, it makes legal and political claims that appear to contradict Constitutional principles like due process and freedom of speech.

KEITH SELF: Good afternoon and thank you for being here.

REICHARD: Last week, Texas Congressman Keith Self joined Chip Roy and other House Republicans to introduce the newly formed Sharia-Free America Caucus.

ROY: We've put forward legislation to pause immigration until we've had, have an immigration system that vets people for adherence to Sharia law.

REICHARD: That bill would also allow the government to deport adherents of Sharia law and it came under scrutiny during Tuesday’s hearing. Here’s Congresswoman Scanlon.

SCANLON: This kind of government discrimination based purely on a person's religious beliefs, not actions, is a blatant violation of the First Amendment's free exercise and free speech guarantees.

BROWN: But others say it’s possible to screen immigrants for specific concerns and not Islam in general. Here’s Ilya Shapiro, director of Constitutional Studies at the Manhattan Institute.

SHAPIRO: The devil is in the details about what exactly is being targeted through immigration law, but it's, it is legitimate through immigration law to say we don't want to admit people who disagree with these basic American precepts.

BROWN: That said, Shapiro is skeptical about the need to pass laws banning Sharia in the courts.

SHAPIRO: So already under existing law, the Constitution, federal statutes, treaties are the supreme law of the land. No religious legal system, be it Islamic, Jewish, Catholic canon law or anything else, can override that.

REICHARD: For now, direct legal challenges to the Constitution are not on the table. Here’s Congressman Tom McClintock II…a Republican from California.

MCCLINTOCK: Are you aware of any proposals to enact laws that would assist in imposing Sharia law on others, or are giving it precedence over our own civil law? Anyone? Okay. Well, good.

REICHARD: So far, 14 states have passed laws banning the use of foreign law that violates due process. Lawmakers in Congress have introduced similar legislation, though for now, it would take much more support to get it through both chambers and to the President’s desk.

BROWN: For Professor Ibrahim at Southern Seminary, legislation is only part of the equation, while debating worldview in the public square is more foundational.

IBRAHIM: Christians should clearly and confidently expose and oppose Islam's theological claims, teachings and legal system where they contradict biblical truth and the moral foundations of Western civilization.

ROY: Without objection, this hearing is adjourned.

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