As far as I know any American has the right to voluntarily sign up to have his disputes arbitrated by whomever he chooses, using whatever standard is agreed upon.
I’m no fan of sharia, but this is mediation or arbitration, it’s voluntary, it has no force of law whatsoever.
Judaism has rabbinic courts. The Catholic Church has canon law courts that handle tens of thousands of cases a year. Many Protestant groups also have church courts. Just as in the case of sharia, their rulings have no legal standing outside their organization, except possibly in cases where the parties have signed a binding arbitration agreement.
Sharia is not exactly the same as other religious courts, because of the special characteristics of Islam, but it’s close enough.
Canon law has nothing to do with civil law.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3270662/posts#comment
In light of the above article, what does sharia say about rape?
Need 4 witnesses & the victim (the girl )can be charged with a crime.
Not my kind of “voluntary tribunal”.
Not what we want in operation here.
A fallacy within a system that has existed for at least 800 years, based on principles older by millennia, known as common law to this day.
One of the principles of common law is that no agreement (contract) is valid if entered into by means of direct or indirect threat or coercion.
So whatever the illiterate sandmaggot caravan robber came up with doesn't mean squat in any American court.
There is no greater form of coercion than "convert or die!"
I strongly suggest that in the future, any muslim sheiks who tend to get hysterical in an American court be passed through a metal and explosives detector before all future public meetings.
“Sharia is not exactly the same as other religious courts, because of the special characteristics of Islam, but it’s close enough.”
No, it isn’t “close enough”. Sharia allows honor killing and the killing of so-called apostates, who are people who’ve changed their faith from Islam to something else. These involve only Muslims but are unacceptable.
My problem with your take/explanation is in the words ‘it has no force of law’. Such standings as ‘home owners associations’ do/can limit ownership of property. I do not want to live in any societal context where such influence on valid Constitutional rights is superseded by some self designated body of persons, especially such as with Sharia Law.
Unlike the other extra-legal courts you mention, Sharia is the heart of Islam and once admitted will leave no stone unturned to become the law of the land - a first step in changing any country into another Islamic hell hole.
Watch it expand into the general community and watch it enforced by liberal judges. Sharia is an insidious, creeping evil that has overtaken millions, destroyed whole countries.
What will happen when the stoning, the beheading, the honor killing begin? It is all within the muslim community. How many will stand by? How many will equivocate?