Center for American Progress

ADVISORY: Sharia and Foreign Law Bans in a State Near You?
Press Advisory

ADVISORY: Sharia and Foreign Law Bans in a State Near You?

May 16, 2013, 12:00 p.m. ET – 1:30 p.m. ET

Washington, D.C. — As six states have passed foreign law bans with five more poised to pass similar measures this and next year, the Brennan Center for Justice and the Center for American Progress will host a panel discussion examining the roots of this movement and the unintended consequences of foreign law bans. On Election Day 2010, Oklahoma voters approved an amendment to the state’s constitution that banned the recognition of Islamic religious law and customs, known as Sharia, by state courts. After the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the amendment on the grounds that it was discriminatory, proponents pushing the proposal in other states removed references to Islam and refocused the legislation to ban foreign law. Over the last two years, lawmakers in 32 states have introduced and debated bills outlawing religious, foreign, or international law.

The Brennan Center for Justice and the Center for American Progress invite you to join this discussion of how the current wave of foreign law bans upends the carefully calibrated methods that American courts use to decide whether to apply foreign law, as well as the legal uncertainties these bans could create for families, businesses, and people of all faiths.

WHO:

Featured panelists:
Daniel Mach, Director, Freedom of Religion and Belief Program, American Civil Liberties Union
Faiza Patel, Co-Director, Liberty & National Security Program, Brennan Center for Justice
Matthew Schmitz, Deputy Editor, First Things Magazine

Moderator:
Matthew Duss, Policy Analyst, Center for American Progress

WHEN:

Thursday, May 16, 2013
12:00 p.m. ET – 1:30 p.m. ET
A light lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m.

WHERE:
Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005

RSVP to attend this event

For more information, contact Anne Shoup at [email protected] or 202.481.7146.

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