Constitution vs. Sharia Law

The Constitution vs. Sharia Law: "Two Fundamentally Different Visions for America"

America's Constitution and a government based on strict, traditional Sharia are not simply two different collections of laws. They begin with fundamentally different ideas about where law comes from, who has authority, what rights individuals possess, and how government should treat religion. The important question for this discussion is much narrower: What would happen if traditional interpretations of Sharia were given the authority of civil law in America? That is where the differences become unmistakable. The Constitution protects the right of Muslims to practice Islam. But the same Constitution prevents Islam or Christianity, Judaism, or any other religion from becoming the controlling religious law of the United States.

Here are Ten Fundamental Differences.

1. The Constitution Says Government Answers to the People:

The Constitution begins: "We the People." That is not accidental. American government derives its civil authority from the governed. Citizens elect lawmakers. Citizens replace presidents. Citizens amend constitutions. Laws can be challenged in court. Under traditional Islamic jurisprudence, the ultimate authority behind Sharia is understood to come from divine revelation the Quran and the traditions and teachings associated with Muhammad interpreted through Islamic jurisprudence. That is an enormous difference. The Constitution says: The people establish their civil government and place limits upon it. Sharia says: Religious law ultimately derives authority from divine revelation rather than popular sovereignty.

Imagine Congress passes a law tomorrow restricting what Americans may say about religion. Under our system, citizens can challenge the law as unconstitutional. Courts can strike it down because the Constitution stands above Congress. But in a Sharia legal system, if a particular prohibition is considered a requirement of divine law, the argument becomes much different. A legislature cannot simply say, "The voters don't like this anymore, so we'll repeal God's command." That is why America must have one supreme civil authority: The Constitution.

2. The Constitution Protects Your Right to Change Religions:

In America, the government cannot punish you simply because you changed your religion. A Christian can become Muslim. A Muslim can become Christian. A Jew can become atheist. An atheist can become Baptist. Government does not get to decide what you must believe. The First Amendment protects religious belief and free exercise. Islamic jurisprudence traditionally treated apostasy leaving Islam as a serious religious offense, and some modern governments have maintained laws against apostasy or conversion. USCIRF has documented national laws around the world that restrict changing or leaving one's religion.

The Constitution says: Your conscience belongs to you.

Sharia law says: Leaving the accepted religion can become a legal matter.

Suppose an American Muslim reads the New Testament and announces that he has converted to Christianity. Under the Constitution, the government has no authority to arrest him for that decision. His family may disagree. His religious community may disagree. But the police cannot show up because he changed religions. If America ever accepted a religious legal system capable of punishing conversion, the First Amendment would have been fundamentally abandoned.

3. The Constitution Protects Criticism of Religion:

America's First Amendment provides extraordinarily broad protection for speech. You can criticize Christianity. You can criticize Islam. You can criticize the Bible. You can criticize the Quran. You can criticize a pastor, rabbi, imam, pope, politician, or president. That speech may be offensive. It may even be hateful or foolish. But criticism of religion by itself is not a crime. Some countries, including several whose legal systems are influenced by Islamic law, criminalize blasphemy or insults to religion. USCIRF has documented extensive enforcement of blasphemy laws and concluded that such laws undermine freedom of religion and expression.

The Constitution says: Government generally cannot punish you merely for criticizing a religion.

Sharia law says: Certain religious criticism may become criminal.

Imagine a college student posts: "I believe Muhammad was wrong." Under American constitutional principles, expressing that religious opinion is protected. Now reverse it. Another student posts: "I believe Christianity is false and the resurrection never happened." That speech is protected too. That is real religious liberty. You don't protect free speech only when somebody agrees with you. America should never have Sharia law.

4. The Constitution Guarantees Equal Citizenship:

The Fourteenth Amendment says government may not deny a person equal protection of the laws. American civil law cannot divide citizens into religious classes. There is no constitutional category of: Christian citizen. Muslim citizen. Jewish citizen. Unbelieving citizen. They are simply citizens. Classical religious legal systems historically sometimes assigned different legal statuses, rights, obligations, or rules according to religion or sex. Modern Muslim-majority countries vary dramatically, so no single rule can be attributed to all of them. But the constitutional principle is much simpler:

Government should not determine your civil rights based on your theology.

Imagine two neighbors are involved in the same property dispute. One is Baptist. The other is Muslim. An American judge cannot say, "Because you belong to Religion A, one set of rules applies to you, and because you belong to Religion B, another applies to you." They stand before the same court under the same civil law. That is what equal citizenship means.

5. The Constitution Does Not Permit an Official Religious Legal System:

The First Amendment prevents government from establishing religion while protecting its free exercise. Those two principles work together. Government cannot tell the Muslim: "You cannot worship." But government also cannot tell everyone else: "You must live under Islamic religious law." The same applies to Christianity. A Baptist church can preach biblical morality. But Congress cannot simply declare that Baptist church discipline is now America's criminal code.

The Constitution says: Religion remains free while government does not establish religious rule.

Sharia Law: Religious authority and governmental authority become intertwined.

Your Muslim neighbor wants to avoid pork because of his religious convictions. He should be completely free to do so. Your Baptist neighbor wants to abstain from alcohol because of his convictions. He should be completely free to do so. Neither neighbor gets to call the police and force the other person's family to obey his religious dietary rules. That is the difference between religious liberty and religious government.

6. The Constitution Allows Citizens to Change Their Laws:

American civil law is deliberately changeable. Congress can repeal legislation. State legislatures can rewrite statutes. Courts can invalidate unconstitutional laws. Citizens can amend constitutions. Elected politicians can be removed. Traditional religious law has a different foundation because its authoritative sources are considered sacred. Islamic scholars may debate interpretation, sometimes intensely, but Muslims do not hold an election to rewrite the Quran.

The Constitution says: Civil laws can be changed through constitutional government.

Sharia law says: Foundational religious authority is not created or repealed by voters.

Suppose Congress passes a terrible law. People organize. They elect new legislators. The new legislature repeals it. That is representative government. Now imagine the government declares that the law is not merely legislation but an unchangeable divine command. The political debate has fundamentally changed. Once government claims divine authority for its laws, challenging politicians can begin to look like challenging God. America's Founders wisely avoided that structure.

7. The Constitution Separates Voluntary Faith From Government Force:

This may be the most important distinction. The Constitution protects voluntary religion. A Christian can tithe. A Muslim can fast during Ramadan. A Jew can observe religious dietary laws. A Catholic can attend Mass. A Baptist can attend church three times a week. Government doesn't need to force any of them. But when religious obligations become government mandates, religious practice stops being voluntary.

Constitutional liberty says: Follow your faith voluntarily.

Sharia law says: Government may enforce religious standards.

Suppose a Muslim woman voluntarily chooses to wear a hijab. The Constitution should protect her right to do that. Now suppose government orders every woman to follow a religious dress requirement whether she believes in it or not. That is completely different. Likewise, a Christian woman can voluntarily dress according to the standards taught by her church. But her church should not have police power over the entire neighborhood. The difference is one word: "Choice"

8. The Constitution Requires Equal Civil Protection for Women:

American constitutional law recognizes women as full citizens. Women vote. Women hold office. Women own businesses. Women serve as judges. Women inherit property. Women can represent themselves in court. Women possess constitutional protections independent of their husbands or fathers. Islamic jurisprudence has included sex-specific rules in areas such as inheritance, marriage, divorce, and family law. Interpretations and modern legal systems vary widely. That difference becomes important if religious rules are transformed from voluntary belief into government law.

American constitutional principle: Government may not simply make someone a lesser citizen because she is a woman.

Sharia Law: Certain rights and responsibilities may differ according to sex.

Suppose a father dies leaving a son and daughter. In America, the government does not impose an Islamic inheritance formula merely because the family has a Muslim background. The father may structure his estate lawfully according to his wishes, including religious convictions, but civil inheritance rules remain governed by American law. That distinction protects both religious liberty and equal citizenship.

9. The Constitution Divides Government Power:

The Founders did not trust concentrated authority. They separated power among: Congress. The President. The Courts. Then they divided additional authority between Washington and the states. Why? Because human beings abuse power. The Constitution assumes government needs restraints. In a theocratic structure, religious authority can become intertwined with political authority. That creates an additional danger: government officials may claim their policies possess divine legitimacy.

The Constitution says: Question authority and divide governmental power.

Sharia Law can say: Religious and political authority reinforce one another.

Imagine a president announces: "You cannot question this policy because God has commanded it." That statement should terrify constitutional conservatives regardless of whether the president claims Christianity, Islam, or any other religion. American leaders should have to defend their governmental actions under the Constitution. They should not be able to end political debate by claiming divine authority.

10. The Constitution Makes Peaceful Coexistence Possible:

Constitutional government is precisely what allows radically different religions to coexist. The Baptist believes Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. The Muslim disagrees. The atheist rejects both. The Constitution does not force them to agree. Instead, it says: Worship freely. Speak freely. Debate freely. Vote freely. Live peacefully. And obey the same civil law. That arrangement protects everyone.

The Constitution provides one civil legal system for people of many religions.

Sharia Law makes one religion part of the government's governing authority.

Imagine three houses on the same street. One family goes to church Sunday morning. One family goes to the mosque Friday. One family goes nowhere. Under constitutional government, all three families remain equal citizens. Nobody's priest, pastor, or imam controls the neighborhood through governmental authority. That is American religious liberty.

I am working on a article now that is 10 Ways Sharia as Government Civil Law Would Fundamentally Change America! I should have it done in the next day or so! 

Thank you and God Bless