More on anti-Sharia flim flam

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Part 1 of my discussing the anti-Sharia bill on Charlie Langton Show yesterday.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120515/OPINION01/205150313/1008/Commentary-Anti-Shariah-law-push-could-hurt-Michigan-s-tolerant-image

May 15, 2012 at 1:00 am

Commentary: Anti-Shariah law push could hurt Michigan’s tolerant image
• By Dawud Walid

The renewed push in Michigan to pass an anti-Shariah law under the guise of restricting foreign laws is not only unnecessary but would have negative consequences for our state if passed.

Given that the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution clearly states that no laws, be they local, state or foreign, can trump the Constitution, it is clear that no jurisprudence contrary to federal law can supplant our supreme law. Thus, the championing of the Restriction of Application of Foreign Laws Act in Michigan is simply political theater.

Muslims of all stripes, from military veterans like myself to new immigrants, respect and obey the laws of our country just like other Americans. Moreover, we believe in civic engagement within the democratic process with hopes that our country will become a “more perfect union.”

Our concern regarding this bill mirrors similar concerns of fellow Michiganians, who also believe this legislation could hamper the free exercise of religion.

Michigan Catholic Conference President and CEO Paul Long recently stated, “Any measure that could have the impact of interfering with the internal life of the Catholic Church shall be viewed as an attack on religious liberty itself and must be opposed.”

Our courts routinely consider and order reasonable accommodation for the observance of religious laws. Moreover, arbitrators consider religious laws on matters ranging from mediating conflicts within congregations to marital breakdowns. Any bill which treats Judaic Law, Catholic Canon Law under the direction of the Pope and Islamic jurisprudence as foreign laws is, in effect, an attempt to undo a long-held American tradition as well as legal precedent.

You would think that with Gov. Rick Snyder seeking to rebrand Michigan as an inclusive state — he sees immigrants being a vital tool in rejuvenating our economy — that the sponsor of the bill to restrict foreign laws, State Rep. Dave Agema, R-Grandville, would follow suit.

Sadly, instead of Agema championing real issues such as fixing our economy and correcting our population atrophy, he has taken up the mantle of the nonexistent Shariah threat.

During this election year, politicians on both sides of the aisle are engaging in wedge issue politics, instead of working to bring our nation together for shared prosperity. It is my hope that our elected officials privately and publicly rein in their colleagues. It seems clear that in Michigan, they should start with Agema.

Dawud Walid is executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) — Michigan. Email comments to letters@detnews.com.

DawudWalid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee. Walid has been interviewed and quoted in approximately 150 media outlets ranging from the New York Times, Wall St Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, FOX News and Al-Jazeera. Furthermore, Walid was a political blogger for the Detroit News from January 2014 to January 2016, has had essays published in the 2012 book All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim, the 2014 book Qur'an in Conversation and was quoted as an expert in 13 additional books and academic dissertations. He was also a featured character in the 2013 HBO documentary "The Education of Mohammad Hussein." Walid has lectured at over 50 institutions of higher learning about Islam, interfaith dialogue and social justice including at Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses as well as spoken at the 2008 and 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Conventions alongside prominent speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Keith Ellison. In 2008, Walid delivered the closing benediction at the historic 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers and gave the Baccalaureate speech for graduates of the prestigious Cranbrook-Kingswood Academy located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Walid was also a featured speaker at the 2009 and 2010 Malian Peace and Tolerance Conferences at the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa. He has also given testimony at hearings and briefings in front of Michigan state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, including speaking before members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada. Walid was a 2011 - 2012 fellow of the University of Southern California (USC) American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute (AMCLI) and a 2014 - 2015 fellow of the Wayne State Law School Detroit Action Equity Lab (DEAL). Walid served in the United States Navy under honorable conditions earning two United States Navy & Marine Corp Achievement medals while deployed abroad. He has also received awards of recognition from the city councils of Detroit and Hamtramck and from the Mayor of Lansing as well as a number of other religious and community organizations.

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