A municipal judge’s appointment in a small Mississippi Delta town has drawn social media backlash, from internet trolls and a few Mississippi politicians, because she is Muslim.
In recent days, people including some Mississippi politicians attacked Ali online for what they claimed are radical beliefs – without any substantiation. They accused her of fabricating the judicial appointment and speculated she would institute Islamic law. Social media posts falsely claimed she was appointed as a judge in Ridgeland or in Lumberton.
Sahar Aziz, a professor of law and Middle East Legal Studies Scholar at Rutgers University Law School, said there is no one Sharia law and called it “a very complicated and multi-jurisprudential legal system” subject to a multiplicity of interpretations across time, countries and cultures. She compared it to the differences of opinions and interpretations in the Catholic church.
“The accusation they’re making is a very serious one. They’re saying that simply because you are a Muslim we just presume that you are going to violate the separation between church and state. And you are going to impose whatever your interpretation is of Islam upon everyone that goes before you as a judge,” Aziz said, adding that similar accusations have been leveled against other public officials across the U.S.
“It’s not relevant at all to the United States,” Aziz said. “No more relevant than the question: Will an Orthodox Jew impose Jewish law in the U.S. if he or she is a judge? Will an orthodox, practicing Catholic impose canon law on the parties which they’re adjudicating?”
In 2015, the Mississippi Legislature passed a law banning any foreign law from being enforced in Mississippi, which at the time was billed as being an anti-Sharia law measure. There had been several previous unsuccessful attempts to pass similar measures, with opponents pointing out it seemed to be a “solution in search of a problem.”
To read the full news article published by the Associated Press, click here.
