A federal judge has struck down Oklahoma’s constitutional amendment that would have prohibited judges in the state from considering Shariah law.

The amendment was approved by about 70 percent of Oklahoma voters on November 2, 2010, but the American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations sued to block the amendment, arguing it violated separation of church and state and discriminated against Muslims.

A U.S. District Court judge agreed and issued a temporary injunction against the amendment. That decision was upheld in 2011 by a federal appeals court that returned the case to the judge, who made the final ruling Thursday (Aug. 15).

“It is our hope that, in finding this anti-Islam law unconstitutional, lawmakers in other states will think twice before proposing anti-Muslim laws of their own,” said Gadeir Abbas, a CAIR staff attorney and counsel for the plaintiffs.

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A small group of Mulberry residents are organizing protests against a planned burning of nearly 3,000 Qurans at a home near Mulberry planned for Sept. 11.

Terry Jones, a Florida pastor known for sparking protests in Afghanistan after previously burning one Muslim holy book, said he plans to burn a book for every person killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The group, whose name says it all, has one message for the world: Not in Mulberry. “The bottom line is we don’t want people to think of ­Mulberry as a racist, hateful town,” said the group’s organizer, Suzanne Carter-Moore. “We are peace-loving and accepting and love each other.”

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A controversial University of Central Florida professor spoke before a full audience Tuesday night and warned that there is a “civilization jihad” being waged by Islamic fundamentalists on local, academic and political fronts.

“They’ll try to whitewash the crimes that Muslims have done,” said associate professor Jonathan Matusitz, speaking before an Act! Space Coast meeting of nearly 200 people in the Brevard County Commissioner’s meeting room in Viera.

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The First Amendment is one of the most cherished hallmarks of America. There is no other nation on earth that has such a robust right for citizens to articulate their thoughts – including scientific discourse, the ability to challenge the government, and even expressions of hatred and bigotry.

Eastern Michigan University recently hosted a debate on Islam in which an anti-Muslim critic named Robert Spencer was the key participant. People ranging from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to prominent rabbis have criticized anti-Muslim intolerance spewed by Spencer and his affiliate organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative.

I believe that Spencer has the fundamental right to speak hatefully about fellow Americans. I also know that people of goodwill have the right not to engage him in his rhetoric. Moreover, we have the right to challenge his bigotry by not granting him dignified platforms.

Passivity in the face of hate speech has cumulative consequences. Words matter, and discrimination is inspired by those who have loud voices that repeat sweeping false generalizations and stereotypes.

Dawud Walid of CAIR writes at the Detroit News blog, 13 August 2013

See also “Debaters at EMU spar over whether Islam promotes violence”, Detroit News, 10 August 2013

And “Islam debate held on EMU campus”, Eastern Echo, 13 August 2013