Anti-Shari‘a amendment struck down by court

A federal judge has struck down Oklahoma’s constitutional amendment that would have prohibited judges in the state from considering Shari‘a law.

The amendment was approved by about 70 percent of Oklahoma voters on November 2, 2010, but the American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations sued to block the amendment, arguing it violated separation of church and state and discriminated against Muslims.

A U.S. District Court judge agreed and issued a temporary injunction against the amendment. That decision was upheld in 2011 by a federal appeals court that returned the case to the judge, who made the final ruling on August 15.