South Dakota's legislators don't pay much attention to history... not even recent history. Our legislators---who still haven't written a budget---are considering three measures that would fight the scourge of Islam that has driven South Dakota into its structural deficit, deprived South Dakota children of adequate education, and oppressed South Dakota women... oh! wait! Sorry, Muslim friends: it was Republicans who did all that.
But those Republicans want to distract us from their men behind the curtain by pointing fingers at men with women behind the veil. They bring us House Joint Resolution 1004, a ballot measure that would have us vote to keep Muslim Sharia law (and, by the resolution text, the Torah and the Bible) out of our courts. They bring us Senate Bill 201, which would skip our vote and enact similar restrictions directly. They bring us SB 170, which declares potentially fraudulent any Sharia-compliant investments or other financial deals that acknowledge religious principles.
As our fearful legislators fall into the Weimarian trap of xenophobia as a response to economic anxiety (and how, of all people, can Dan Lederman fall for this?), they neglect to read the history of similar legislation in Oklahoma passed just last November. More than 70% of Oklahoma voters approved the "Save Our State!" amendment to keep Muslim Sharia law out of their courts. It took Judge Vicki Miles-Lagrange less than a month to rule that amendment a violation of the Establishment Clause.
Now our anti-Islamic legislators have oh-so-cleverly avoided mentioning Sharia specifically in their bill texts. But start asking them questions, and out they pour their anti-Islamic rhetoric. Read the propaganda being mailed around to gin up support for SB 201, and you see clearly that these bills are all about violating the Establishment Clause and marginalizing Muslims.
Instead of sending your legislators paranoid letters about Islam taking over America, send them Judge Miles-Lagrange's ruling as a refresher course on the First Amendment. Reading that document, our legislators will also learn that meathead rules like HJR 1004 would prevent courts from enforcing Muslim wills that follow their religious edict to give some of their estate to charity. Instead of freaking out over Sharia-compliant financial arrangements, remind your legislators that Muslims are just trying to do God's will on usury (of course, that reminder might be rather embarrassing for some of our legislators).
p.s.: Dueling Facebook groups:
- Stop Sharia Law
- South Dakotans Against SB 170 and SB 201---started by South Dakota Muslim feminist (yes, really!) Anisah David.