Polls show that more than one in five Americans worry that Shariah law will creep into our courts, as it has in Europe. A Tampa judge’s deferral to the Quran only compounds those fears.
Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Richard Nielsen earlier this month ordered the use of Islamic law in a Tampa lawsuit over the control of a local mosque, the Islamic Education Center of Florida. Some $2 million in state funding is at stake.
Mosque leaders tried to resolve their dispute through an Islamic scholar, but the deal broke down. And the lawsuit was refiled. Now, in a bizarre ruling, Nielsen has taken it upon himself to find out whether these Muslim parties properly followed the teachings of their holy book during arbitration.
Here is the actual, strangely deferential language from the judge’s two-page ruling:
1. This case will proceed under Ecclesiastical Islamic Law.
2. Under Ecclesiastical Islamic Law, pursuant to the Quran, Islamic brothers should try to resolve a dispute amongst themselves.
3. The remainder of the hearing will be to determine whether Islamic dispute resolution procedures have been followed in this matter.
Nielsen, an appointee of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, is treading on very slippery ground here. If he’s not careful, he’ll next be deferring to misogynistic Shariah law regarding probate and family law.
A wise judge would have dismissed the case, rather than trying to enforce the Islamic arbitrator’s award. He would have told the plaintiffs to go back and settle their dispute through their own customs — or file a new lawsuit based strictly on U.S. contract law.
Until then, he should have opined: “Don’t bring your religious baggage into my secular courtroom.”
Bottom line: A U.S. judge has no business deciding the religious legitimacy of Islamic arbitration. To do so, Nielsen will have to consult Shariah law, thereby legitimizing the very same barbaric Islamic code applied by the likes of the Taliban and the Saudi and Iranian religious police.
Such a local ruling may seem innocuous. But it’s the camel’s nose under the tent.