Anti-Defamation League Calls Anti-Sharia Bill Pointless and an Infringement on Religious Freedom

There’s a bill in the Florida legislature to outlaw “foreign laws” — by which they mean Sharia. The Anti-Defamation League has come out strongly against it:

“This legislation addresses a non-existent threat, but what many don’t realize is that it would be harmful to the religious freedom of all Floridians, including observant Jews.

“In fact, it could pose significant obstacles for divorce and remarriage by observant Jews. SB 1360 could serve as a roadblock to observant Jewish couples seeking a legal divorce through a Jewish tribunal called a Bet Din. Furthermore, it could prohibit Florida courts from recognizing an out of state divorce granted by a court based on a Bet Din arbitration, which regularly occurs.

“This means that a divorced person moving from New York to Florida, for instance, may have to return to court and obtain a divorce from solely civil authorities in order to remarry.

“Through much of the debate on this bill, sponsors and supporters have represented that it has no relation to Islam. Therefore, we were troubled by yesterday’s news reports that the Senate Sponsor’s office was distributing materials about the purported threat of Sharia law (Islamic law) to America’s judicial system.

“And as to the argument that the U.S. Constitution needs to be the supreme law of the land, we fully agree. It is, and the constitution already prohibits the unconstitutional application of religious or foreign law. The bill sponsors simply cannot point to any cases reflecting a need for this imprudent legislation.”

via ADL: ADL Calls Anti-Sharia Bill Pointless and an Infringement on Religious Freedom.

Text of the bill is here.

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