Appeals court upholds stay of Oklahoma ban on Islamic law

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January 10, 2012

Anonymous From The Associated Press The Enid News and Eagle Tue Jan 10, 2012, 11:57 AM CST

OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal appeals court has upheld a judge’s order blocking an amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution that would ban state courts from considering international or Islamic law when deciding cases.

Muneer Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Oklahoma, sued to block the law from taking effect after it was approved by 70 percent of Oklahoma voters in November 2010. Awad argued that the Save Our State Amendment violated his First Amendment rights.

In a 37-page opinion issued Tuesday, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Awad made “a strong showing” that he would prevail at trial.

Backers of the amendment argued that because the measure hasn’t taken effect, Awad was only speculating that he’d be injured by it.

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