LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Legislation that would restrict state courts from enforcing foreign laws has been introduced in Michigan.
The bill proposed Thursday doesn’t mention Sharia law that’s used in some parts of the Islamic world, but says judges can’t apply foreign laws if doing so would violate state or federal constitutional rights.
The sponsor, Republican Rep. Michele Hoitenga of Manton, said in an email to House members this week that a Detroit-area doctor recently charged with performing genital mutilation on two girls was “essentially practicing a fundamentalist version of Sharia law,” according to MLive.com.
Dawud Walid with the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Michigan chapter says the bill is unconstitutional and “contrary to our nation’s values of not elevating or marginalizing one faith or community over another.”
