KS gvnr signs 'Shariah bill' to ban Islamic law

[IIOY]

Thank goodness we're focused on the important things!

[Deleted]

think of all the unemployed shariah lawyers now .....

[UMaineTeach]

pretty dumb to bother outlawing something that wasn't the law to begin with...

[StrawberryBlondie]

May 26, 2012 11:46:29 GMT -5 @crackhabit said:

Sherriene Jones-Sontag, a spokeswoman for the governor, said in an e-mail that the bill "makes it clear that Kansas courts will rely exclusively on the laws of our state and our nation when deciding cases and will not consider the laws of foreign jurisdictions."

I'm really curious how this bill is actually worded and how this will play out if the Kansas courts are dealing with a dispute where there's a choice-of-law issue or a forum selection clause designating that the governing law is the law of a foreign country.

Will it be like "well, the parties contractually agreed that British law would govern any dispute, but since our law says we can't use that law, we're going to apply Kansas law"?

ETA: Or, is the fact that I'm concerned about that a sign that I need to get away from my office and home for the long weekend?

[bootsie]

I loathe the name of this bill. It's not just ensuring that a foreign or religious based law doesn't influence court decisions, it's singling out a particular belief system.

The article states that there have been cases where Shariah law has influenced US court decisions and that does concern me, especially where women and children are concerned. I'd like to know more about such cases.

I listened to a report not too long ago on BBC that discussed the increase use of Shariah law in Britain and how the House was seeking to further regulate the Shariah councils because the rulings were unjust to women.

[ringstrue]

You know what they should outlaw in Kansas? Crepes with only whip cream in them and no ricotta cheese. Movie theaters without ATMs. Building new houses in the part of town that *always* gets tornadoes. Lighting 100+ft of firecrackers IN THE STREET at 11pm at night on the 4th of July. Pig roasts at wedding receptions. Mini planes (aka Vomit Comets) being the only type of plane you can take from Kansas City to the Manhattan, KS airport. And all talk of Salina unless you are actually IN Salina! All I hear about is Salina, Salina, Salina!

[doctorwho]

May 26, 2012 12:39:53 GMT -5 StrawberryBlondie said:

I'm really curious how this bill is actually worded and how this will play out if the Kansas courts are dealing with a dispute where there's a choice-of-law issue or a forum selection clause designating that the governing law is the law of a foreign country.

Will it be like "well, the parties contractually agreed that British law would govern any dispute, but since our law says we can't use that law, we're going to apply Kansas law"?

ETA: Or, is the fact that I'm concerned about that a sign that I need to get away from my office and home for the long weekend?

No, that was the first thing I thought of too. I'm not sure how often it happens that you contractually agree to foreign jurisdiction though. Cruises come to mind. I don't have another example off the top of my head.

[Seesaw]

I don't see that this bill disallows muslims to practice whatever they want within the law of this land. I do see it necessary to keep courts from ruling according the precepts of any religion rather than the actual law of the land.

[ttt]

May 27, 2012 10:59:07 GMT -5 @Seesaw said:

I don't see that this bill disallows muslims to practice whatever they want within the law of this land. I do see it necessary to keep courts from ruling according the precepts of any religion rather than the actual law of the land.

Except that there's no evidence that courts are actually doing this, so what is the point of passing a law about it?

I don't see the governor worrying about Christian judges ruling according to Christian principles rather than US law.

[charminglife]

I hope this law prevents courts from using the ten commandments when making decisions, too!

[StrawberryBlondie]

May 27, 2012 0:56:36 GMT -5 doctorwho said:

May 26, 2012 12:39:53 GMT -5 StrawberryBlondie said:

I'm really curious how this bill is actually worded and how this will play out if the Kansas courts are dealing with a dispute where there's a choice-of-law issue or a forum selection clause designating that the governing law is the law of a foreign country.

Will it be like "well, the parties contractually agreed that British law would govern any dispute, but since our law says we can't use that law, we're going to apply Kansas law"?

ETA: Or, is the fact that I'm concerned about that a sign that I need to get away from my office and home for the long weekend?

No, that was the first thing I thought of too. I'm not sure how often it happens that you contractually agree to foreign jurisdiction though. Cruises come to mind. I don't have another example off the top of my head.

Cruises and flights came to my mind immediately, too - but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's it's probably pretty common in a lot of situations. Probably any time you enter into a contract involving a foreign company. I'd have to re-look at the paperwork, but I'm pretty sure when we booked our last hotel, we agreed that the laws of Quintana Roo, Mexico, would govern any legal dispute.

Also - would this prohibit a Kansas court from applying another state's law?

[cjeanette]

I just want to know the backstory. Why did this become an issue?

[iammalcolmx]

May 29, 2012 9:51:10 GMT -5 cjeanette said:

I just want to know the backstory. Why did this become an issue?

Islamaphobia coupled with people who don't have the first clue about Sharia Law.

[pixy0stix]

May 27, 2012 10:59:07 GMT -5 @Seesaw said:

I don't see that this bill disallows muslims to practice whatever they want within the law of this land. I do see it necessary to keep courts from ruling according the precepts of any religion rather than the actual law of the land.

Sweet. I hope to see the repeal of the KS law prohibiting teaching evolution in science classes.

[ttt]

May 26, 2012 14:01:11 GMT -5 bootsie said:

The article states that there have been cases where Shariah law has influenced US court decisions and that does concern me, especially where women and children are concerned. I'd like to know more about such cases.

Here's some more information about the supposed Shariah law cases. Long story short, the claim is bogus. The courts have actually rejected applying Islamic law.
freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2011/10/28/wnd-pimps-old-fraudulent-sharia-law-study

The website for the report includes a state-by-state database of all the rulings they allege show that American courts are enforcing Sharia law. The very first one I looked at, naturally, was from Michigan. It was a divorce and property division case involving two Muslim citizens of India living in Michigan.

In April 2008, the husband went to India and performed what is known as the “triple talaq” in Islamic law, which allows a man (but not the woman, of course) to divorce his wife merely by declaring that he wants to divorce her three times. The wife then filed for divorce in Michigan and the husband filed a motion to dismiss the case because, he claimed, they were already divorced under Indian law (and they were; talaq divorces are recognized as legal in India).

And here’s the important part: The ruling that they cite agreed with the wife. They refused to recognize the Indian talaq divorce specifically on the grounds that said divorce proceeding provided no due process for the wife: