INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC NEWS AGENCY (IINA): WASHINGTON – The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) announced a national Sharia education campaign to promote “religious freedom and combat Islamophobia.” This campaign will include an education tour to introduce Islamic faith to the American public, as well as billboards, college campus seminars, radio ads, and a national hotline to address questions about Sharia.
Sharia education and interfaith events and town hall forums are scheduled for 25 cities. According to Dr. Zahid H. Bukhari, president of the ICNA, “The First Amendment guarantees religious freedom for every citizen. Muslim Americans are asking for the same fundamental rights to observe Sharia, a component of the Islamic faith, in our personal, familial and religious affairs within the boundaries of the United States Constitution and all local, state and federal laws.”
Presumably these town hall forums are designed “to clarify misconceptions about American Muslims.” But suppose Sharia is incompatible with Constitutional guarantees? Suppose as well that Sharia, if widely instituted, would shatter provisions for free speech, individual rights and equal protection of the law?
It is certainly appropriate to educate the public about Sharia. Is it, however, appropriate to propagandize on behalf of religious attitudes that encourage hostility to women, that argue Jews are the progeny of apes and pigs and that can only accept categorical rights as opposed to individual rights? » | AH/IINA | Tuesday, March 27, 2012 (5 Jumada Al-Awwal)
