Proposed legislation clarifying that foreign laws would be barred from admission in Arkansas courts -- a case which has never happened, according to the bill's sponsor -- passed through a House committee Thursday.
Both Democrats and Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee said that if enacted, House Bill 1041 would in essence have no effect. But for nearly two hours, debate focused on a subject not mentioned once in the text of the bill: sharia, or Islamic law.
After hearing objections from a Little Rock imam -- as well as other religious, business and community leaders -- the committee voiced its favor of the bill by Rep. Brandt Smith, R-Jonesboro, moving it to consideration of the full House.
"I didn't want a hearing on sharia law," Smith told reporters after the successful vote in committee. The second-term lawmaker sponsored similar legislation in 2015, when it died in the Senate. He promised to run the bill again during his re-election campaign last fall.
Smith said his measure to "declare American laws for American courts" is necessary to give judges clarity -- most notably in divorce and child-custody cases -- when there is confusion over the application of foreign statutes or court decisions. But opponents argued that judges get clarity from their oaths to uphold the state and U.S. constitutions and that Smith's bill is not narrowly tailored to address specific examples where there is confusion.
Pointing to a 1994 case in Maryland in which a Pakistani man was awarded custody of his daughter on the basis of a previous ruling in his home country, Smith said Arkansas should take pre-emptive action to prevent a similar occurrence. No Arkansas judge has made a similar ruling, he said.
"Those days are coming because our demographics are changing, and we need to make things very clear for our judges," Smith said.
Prohibitions on the use of foreign or religious law have been enacted in nine states, including Arkansas neighbors Louisiana, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Mississippi, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Opponents have characterized those laws as veiled attempts to stoke anti-Islamic sentiment. Two representatives of the Islamic Center of Little Rock, including the Imam Mahmoud El Denawy, were the first to speak against HB1041, telling lawmakers they were already subject to the same laws as everyone in the room.
"What is it you are really after? We need to know," said Hashim Ghori of the Islamic Center.
No one signed up to speak for Smith's bill during the public comment period.
Smith said his proposal was not directed at any one religion or country, though his invited guest to pitch the law, retired Marine Corps Col. Paul Deckert, spoke on behalf of the Center for Security Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based group that lists "Shariah" among its main areas of research.
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The group has published reports titled "Shariah: The Threat to America" and equated one of the nation's largest Islamic advocacy organizations with Hamas, a terrorist group.
Deckert -- a Louisianian who said he worked to help similar legislation pass in his own state as well as North Carolina and Florida -- said his group is not narrowly focused on Islam.
Should House Bill 1041 become law, Rita Sklar of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas said, the group would look at options to challenge it.
Through a series of proposed bills, she said, the Legislature is "feeding on anti-Muslim fear, anti-immigrant fear, fear of the unknown."
Also gathered Tuesday were supporters of the Arkansas United Community Coalition, whose executive director, Mireya Reith, spoke against HB1041.
A number of those joining Reith's group held signs protesting House Bill 1042, another bill filed by Smith to prohibit state-supported colleges and universities from enacting sanctuary policies to protect illegal aliens. Smith's Jonesboro district includes Arkansas State University.
Smith thanked protesters for attending. House Bill 1042 was not scheduled for discussion Thursday. He said that bill could come up for consideration in the House Education Committee next week.
A Section on 02/03/2017