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By Chuck Ring (GadaboutBlogalot ©2009 -2011

Quote Freely From The Article – Leave The Pseudonym Alone

You may ask, “Since when did you (me) become knowledgeable on the subject?”  I would have to say, it started when I participated in my very first court observation and it has continued through the years.  I’m not saying all judges are ignorant or childish as they provide remedy through their decisions, but there is enough silly stuff going on to convince me that sense has left the senses of many judges.  We thought to have a well-developed  system of laws which will serve us fairly well in almost all adjudicatory process.  Unfortunately, that was before judges and some litigants started advocating   Sharia law to settle cases involving Muslim plaintiffs and defendants.  It looks like we are no longer a nation of laws , we are instead a nation of flaws.  Flawed judges, flawed thinking and flawed governments that by their silence or their acquiescence allow laws that are not our own to be used in the settlement of cases.  For example, in the St. Petersburg Times reporter William R. Levesque tells us what a concept stretching  judge might say.  In this case we learn that  Florida Circuit Judge Richard Nielsen has written:

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“This case,” the judge wrote, “will proceed under Ecclesiastical Islamic Law.”

Nielsen said he will decide in a lawsuit against a local mosque, the Islamic Education Center of Tampa, whether the parties in the litigation properly followed the teachings of the Koran in obtaining an arbitration decision from an Islamic scholar.

The last time we looked, Florida was still a state of these United States and as such, its litigants were subject to our very own laws and not some rabbit of a law pulled out of the white turban of Islam.  But let us look further into the dark recesses of Neilsen’s mind (assuming there is one) to see what clue is given as to his thought processes.  The suit was filed by some ousted trustees of a mosque several years ago.  The  judgment in the case could decide who might control a significant amount of money paid to the mosque after part of their land  was condemned for a road by the  State of Florida.  The opposing side through their lawyer has appealed the judge’s decision, saying that religion has no place in a secular judicial setting.

But attorney Paul Thanasides last week appealed Nielson’s decision with the 2nd District Court of Appeal, saying religion has no place in a secular court.

His client: the mosque.

“The mosque believes wholeheartedly in the Koran and its teachings,” Thanasides said Monday. “They certainly follow Islamic law in connection with their spiritual endeavors. But with respect to secular endeavors, they believe Florida law should apply in Florida courts.”

Additional arguments from many sources appear in the article and there seems to be no accepted course with at least one professor of law, agreeing with Nielsen as to whether a judge can utilize foreign law to settle a domestic case.  reason would seem to dictate the United States has well-reasoned and well-seasoned laws and no litigant is well-served when foreign laws are applied to our country when purely domestic issues are involved.

If you wish to read of Nielsen’s grand experiment with Sharia law you can click here to read more.  Also, you may find additional information in related links posted below.

Related Articles

• Judge orders use of Islamic law in Tampa lawsuit over mosque leadership (tancredoradio.wordpress.com)
• Florida Judge Will Consult Islamic Law in Suit (newser.com)
• Florida judge orders Muslims to follow sharia law, against their will (creepingsharia.wordpress.com)
• Florida – Judge orders Sharia Law instead of Constitutional Law (txlady706.wordpress.com)
• SHARI’A (Islamic) LAW now being practiced in Florida. Yes, FLORIDA! (barenakedislam.wordpress.com)