PHOENIX — State lawmakers are moving to make recognition of Sharia law by any court in Arizona illegal, but could not agree on exactly what it is — and whether any such law can be used here.
Arizona law already makes unenforceable any "foreign law'' here. That is defined as any law, rule or legal code or system other than the federal or state constitutions and any ratified treaties of the United States.
Senate Bill 1018 would specifically add Sharia law to what cannot be recognized.
But the measure also lists a variety of things that could be considered acceptable within certain elements of Islam, ranging from forced marriage and female genital mutilation to "domestic violence or spousal abuse that is justified by cultural, religious or family authority.''
Those practices already are illegal under Arizona law, said bill opponent Priya Sundareshan, the Senate minority leader.
"So really, what this bill does is it singles out a group of people, and it singles out a religion for harassment and discrimination merely by the fact that we are talking about this,'' the Tucson Democrat said.
"It is targeted discrimination,'' Sundareshan said. "It is asking for more harassment and discrimination.''
She said all this is occurring against a backdrop of discrimination against religious minorities, including not just Muslims but also Jews and others.
Consider, Sundareshan said, her own experience in being targeted on social media, "not just as a woman of color but as someone who is a Hindu, someone who is of Indian descent.''
"Bills like this and discussions like this are increasing the hatred that people find acceptable to put forward against people who are different from them,'' she said.
Sen. Hildy Angius conceded that the practices listed in the legislation are, in fact, already illegal.
"But that's not the point,'' said the Bullhead City Republican. She said the bill is designed to address what happens after someone already breaks the law.
Sen. Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, wrote the bill to outlaw Sharia law in Arizona, which passed the Republican-controlled Senate on a 17-12 party-line vote.
"This amendment addresses whether any external legal system may ever be invoked to justify, excuse, or pressure conduct that violates Arizona law,'' she said. "Clarifying legal supremacy is not redundant. It is preventative.''
Angius also said the list of conduct the legislation would preclude has nothing to do with targeting the Muslim religion.
"Sharia is a legal system,'' she said. "This amendment does not judge faith. It clarifies authority.''
Critics' concerns are overblown, she said.
"If no one tries to invoke Sharia law as enforceable law in Arizona, this amendment has zero effect,'' Angius said. But she said if someone tries, the people who would be protected by the measure are the ones with the least power to resist.
"That's how coercion works,'' Angius said.
Sen. Janae Shamp said she, too, believes the measure, which she wrote, is not discriminatory.
"Sharia law is legal framework,'' said the Surprise Republican. "This is not religious.''
She said her bill would simply recognize that "in no way shape or form is it (Sharia law) compatible with the U.S. Constitution, which is the laws that govern the land of this country.''
Shamp swiped at Sundrareshan for suggesting that pushing the measure is divisive.
"This isn't about not talking about something that is going to create less hate,'' she said. "This is about making sure that people are educated about what is happening.''
There was no evidence presented during a legislative hearing that any such laws are being applied in Arizona. About the closest was a claim that a developer was promoting something called "Qatar City" in north Phoenix, though nothing in the documents said anything about religion or if the community, if it ever were developed, would be governed by Sharia law.
In Texas, however, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation last year he said would ban residential property developments from creating Sharia compounds. That was specifically aimed at something called EPIC City, for East Plano Islamic Center, a master-planned community near Dallas with a mosque and religious schools.
Foes have said the law would discriminate against non-Muslims in violation of Texas fair housing laws. But organizers of EPIC City, have said anyone would be free to live there.
Arizona Sen. Mitzi Epstein said she has no problem with the activities that would be prohibited under SB 1018, the list that also includes a ban on polygamy and physical punishment of a minor that constitutes child abuse under state law.
The disagreement the Tempe Democrat said she has is the claim by supporters that Sharia is a legal system — and one competitive with and incompatible with laws made by federal and state lawmakers. Epstein said that's no more true of Sharia than Canon Law, which governs church doctrine, and Karma, which is considered part of Buddhism and Hinduism.
"They are a moral and spiritual framework,'' she said. "They are not competing legal systems.''
Yet Epstein said state lawmakers are trying to make references to Sharia in state law. "So to point them out is, in fact, to single out one religion, the Muslim religion,'' she said.
"And that violates the First Amendment,'' Epstein said. "By falsely portraying certain religious practices as a foreign or a political threat, these bills advance a baseless narrative that non-Anglo-American religious traditions are incompatible with American law. And it turns religious freedom into a target rather than a right.''
The measure cleared the Republican-controlled Senate on a 17-12 party-line vote. It now goes to the Republican-led House.
