More nutty Republicans doing nutty Repub stuff

In order to protect the religious freedom of people in their state, Republicans in Tennessee have introduced a bill that would make following the Islamic code know as Shariah law a felony, punishable by 15 years in jail. I guess in Tennessee, the only approved religion is evangelical christian and then only some of those. Next I imagine they will want to establish one state religion to protect us all.  See: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/tennessee_state_sen_joins_effort_to_criminalize_sh.php

Not to be out done, Georgia State Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Atlanta), who is vice chairman of the Georgia House Judiciary Committee, has introduced a bill that would make it illegal for any court, arbitrator, administrative agency, or other tribunal to apply Sharia Islamic law. Jacobs admits he does not know of any court, etc. that has ever applied Islamic law but I guess he is concerned that it might happen and thinks we should just nip this thing in the bud right now.  See: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/anti-sharia_law_bill_pops_up_in_georgia.php

If you are not familiar with sharia, this about sharia from the Council on Foreign Relations

In sharia, there are categories of offenses: those that are prescribed a specific punishment in the Quran, known as hadd punishments, those that fall under a judge's discretion, and those resolved through a tit-for-tat measure (ie., blood money paid to the family of a murder victim). There are five hadd crimes: unlawful sexual intercourse (sex outside of marriage and adultery), false accusation of unlawful sexual intercourse, wine drinking (sometimes extended to include all alcohol drinking), theft, and highway robbery. Punishments for hadd offenses--flogging, stoning, amputation, exile, or execution--get a significant amount of media attention when they occur. These sentences are not often prescribed, however. "In reality, most Muslim countries do not use traditional classical Islamic punishments," says Ali Mazrui of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies in a Voice of America interview. These punishments remain on the books in some countries but lesser penalties are often considered sufficient.  See: http://www.cfr.org/religion/islam-governing-under-sharia/p8034

I am continually amazed at just how totally stupid, hateful, and prejudiced Republicans can be. 

By the way, Muslims make up just 0.6% of the U.S. population according to the Pew Research Center.  Evangelical Protestants make up more than 26%.  I’m a lot more worried about Evangelical Protestants taking over he country than I am Muslims.

http://religions.pewforum.org/reports?section=a4#