From a legal standpoint, this trial is important far beyond justice for Amina & Sarah. While we have the constitutional right to religious freedom & equal rights for women, Islamic extremists are pushing to allow Sharia Law as part of their right to religious freedom. Before you roll your eyes & think America will never stand for that (as I naively did), there are already Sharia sections set aside in ally nations- like Canada, England & France, where crimes against women, in the name of religion, are allowed to exist. A New Jersey judge refused to grant a restraining order against a divorced Muslim woman, whose husband continued to rape her, because of the man’s religious beliefs.
Advocates of Anti-Shariah Measures Alarmed by Judge's Ruling
Muslim woman reportedly raped by husband after seeking divorce through Sharia court
Muslim Divorces Without Shariah Can Get Tricky | HuffPost
American Laws for American Courts (ALAC) legislation was written to balance religious freedom yet protect individual, fundamental constitutional rights such as: freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, due process and equal protection under the law. Unfortunately only 12 states have passed this protection for women: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.
Although TX has this protection, you can bet the farm that “right to religious freedom” and sharia will come into play by defense.
“One of the primary opponents of ALAC legislation is the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which seeks to supplant US constitutional rights and norms by accommodating foreign laws and foreign legal doctrines, such as Shariah.”
CAIR Targets Constitutional Rights in North Carolina - Center for Security Policy
