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Muslims protest Tennessee anti-terror legislation

Apr 20, 2011 9:02 am By Robert Spencer

The bill doesn’t even mention Sharia, but Muslims are still enraged. “Muslims rally at Tennessee Capitol to protest legislation,” by Chas Sisk for The Tennessean via WBIR.com, April 20 (thanks to CJN):

Several hundred Muslims thronged the state Capitol on Tuesday in protest of legislation that they say takes aim at their religious beliefs, calling on the bill to be defeated.

Muslims from across the state – many wearing traditional skullcaps and headscarves – packed a committee room and corridors to hear testimony on a bill that supporters say would help Tennessee stop terrorist plots but opponents believe singles out Muslims who adhere to Islamic law.

They urged lawmakers to withdraw the bill, or at least to delay it until it can be rewritten so that groups labeled as terrorist organizations can protest the designation before they are forced to shut down.

“These are issues for any group,” said Nadeem Siddiqi, a native Knoxville resident who traveled to Nashville to speak against the bill. “The United States of America is known for its freedoms, known for due process, known for a fair system, and to be able to have a few individuals in a state of panic create this kind of risk to civil society is just inappropriate.”

The gathering, which was put together by mosques and Muslim civic groups around the state, comes in response to legislation that originally criticized Shariah, the basic set of Muslim religious laws governing everything from warfare and criminal punishments to prayer preparations and family matters.

The first version of the bill, which was written by an Arizona organization critical of Islam, labeled Shariah “a legal-political-military doctrine and system” that requires its followers to support the overthrow of the United States government. Several Muslims who turned out Tuesday said that is a distortion.

Then they should point to any place on earth where Sharia has ever been implemented where it wasn’t “a legal-political-military doctrine and system.” But they don’t do this, because they can’t.

“People have this idea that Shariah is just chopping people’s hands, but Shariah is a way of life for us,” said Arshia Shah, a lawyer originally from Britain who now lives in Sparta and came to the Capitol with her husband and two daughters. “It’s prayer. It’s how we deal with our spouses. And to tell people that they can’t practice this – that they’re doing something wrong – is a great concern.”

Notice that she didn’t say that Sharia didn’t involve chopping people’s hands. How could she, when the Qur’an says, “As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands. It is the reward of their own deeds, an exemplary punishment from Allah. Allah is Mighty, Wise.” (5:38)

And what exactly does Sharia say about “how we deal with our spouses”?

“Good women are obedient….As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them.” — Qur’an 4:34

“Circumcision is obligatory (O: for both men and women. For men it consists of removing the prepuce from the penis, and for women, removing the prepuce (Ar. bazr) of the clitoris (n: not the clitoris itself, as some mistakenly assert). (A: Hanbalis hold that circumcision of women is not obligatory but sunna, while Hanafis consider it a mere courtesy to the husband.)” — ‘Umdat al-Salik e4.3

“If a husband calls his wife to his bed [i.e. to have sexual relation] and she refuses and causes him to sleep in anger, the angels will curse her till morning.” — Sahih Bukhari 4.54.460

“By him in Whose Hand lies my life, a woman can not carry out the right of her Lord, till she carries out the right of her husband. And if he asks her to surrender herself [to him for sexual intercourse] she should not refuse him even if she is on a camel’s saddle.” — Ibn Majah 1854

The bill has since been amended to remove all references to Shariah and Islam.

What is left is legislation, known formally as the Material Support to Designated Entities Act, that would let the governor and the state attorney general label groups as terrorist organizations.

Once designated, a group’s financial assets could be frozen and its contributors could face criminal penalties.

The bill’s sponsors, House Speaker Pro Tempore Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma, and state Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, say the bill gives Tennessee law enforcement agencies the ability to disrupt terrorist plots. They also say it could be used to disrupt street gangs and neo-Nazi groups, as well as terrorist organizations….

“We’re proud of being in Tennessee,” said Rashed Fakhouddin, an outreach volunteer with the Islamic Center. “We want Tennessee to be a shining image all across the country. Bills like this just make us look like we’re witch-hunting Muslims.”…

And why is it “witch-hunting Muslims” to disrupt terrorist organizations?

Opponents also derided the legislation’s origins. The original bill was drafted by the Society of Americans for National Existence, an organization that they characterized as a hate group.

“If a bill was written by the KKK, would you consider it even if it was amended?” Sabina Mohyuddin, a youth coordinator at the Islamic Center of Nashville, asked the committee….

This is just a smear without any substance — but it shows the usefulness of these “hate group” designations.

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