The state of Alabama has passed a new law which specifically prohibits the use of Sharia Law within its courtrooms.
Sharia Law is a law code that has been derived from the holy book of Islam, the Qur’an, although there are many Muslim people that interpret the exact practical use of these laws in different ways. In some Muslim countries, the law of the land and Sharia Law are the exact same thing. However, it is totally unprecedented for a Christianised country such as the United States of America to make such a bold statement on the use of Sharia Law.
There are some people that are slightly shocked by the new law that the lawmakers of Alabama have brought in. They believe that by singling out Sharia Law as a method of practice that is to be forbidden, it is discriminatory against Muslim people and their beliefs. They argue that it targets Islam, and those that follow its teachings, making them feel separate from the rest of the Alabama population. Moreover, they argue that Sharia Law has never been brought forward to Alabama courts in the first place! Therefore banning it by name is a direct attack on those that are associated with Islam.
On the other hand, there are others that do not believe that this new law is discriminatory at all. Quite to the contrary: they see this law as merely a clarification of the laws that already existed within the state of Alabama, and the rest of the United States of America. Sharia Law was not the only foreign lawcode that was banned in this bill – they all were. They also argue that as Sharia Law is not considered to be a legal basis in the United States of America anyway, technically nothing has changed.