A bill proposed in the South Carolina Legislature would ban all foreign laws from Palmetto State courts, and although it doesn’t specifically mention Sharia law, some critics say the measure is anti-Islam.
The bill, which goes before a House subcommittee later this month, would prohibit any South Carolina court or “other enforcement authority” from enforcing any foreign law,
The State newspaper said Tuesday. Twenty other states are considering similar measures.
The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Wendy Nanney, said she introduced the measure after speaking with family court judges around the state about problems with child custody cases.
“I asked them if they had issues with custody cases decided outside of the country. They all said ‘Yes,’ ” Nanney, a Republican from Greenville, told The State.
“It would simplify things to say, ‘We’re in a South Carolina court, and let’s use South Carolina law.’ It’s meant to help our judges not to be pushed and pressured and prodded to enforce other countries’ laws,” Nanney said
Some critics say the bill is unnecessary and merely wastes the Legislature’s time. Others say it and similar proposals in other states smack of anti-Islamic bias because they are targeting Sharia, a Muslim code of behavior.
“There’s no mistaking the intent of these bills. It’s to provide a mechanism for channeling and cultivating anti-Muslim sentiment,” said Gadier Abbas, attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
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