If You Missed Church On Sunday

If you weren't in church this Sunday, especially in Kansas, you should know that the legislature in Kansas just passed a ban on Sharia law. Kansas, at this writing, is still part of America, despite America's separation of Church and State. Kansas also, while often unwillingly, is still obliged, as part of America, to recognize the Constitution and the First Amendment rights of everyone. Even the Supreme Court case in 1963, won by Madeline Murry O'Hair, guarentees all American children in public schools the right to a religion-free learning environment. So..........why the need to re-outlaw an introduction of religion in government process? And especially, why the need to single out Islam?

One very obvious possible theory has to do with bigotry. Most Muslims do not share the same cultural background as the average Kansan. Kansas has elected a Republican Speaker of the House, Mike O'Neal, who has made it abundantly clear that he does not like Obama because of his father's race. While Mike O'Neal is just one person, one must remember that he was elected by an entire state filled with people who, apparently, agree with him, and have not demanded his resignation. Another theory about why Islam needs to be singled out in Kansas for discrimination and unfair biases is, of course, the promiscuity and lack of honor favored by the Christian population of Kansas...see the above reference to Mike O'Neal's comments about our President. Muslim women dress modestly, and say "no" to Christian men. Also, Muslim communities have a much higher regard for their national laws and their families than many of the Kansans who scream about Sharia law, yet have never met a Muslim or uttered a word in another language. It's amazing, the number of people who can be tricked into thinking that the mainstream of a culture is a mirror image of one lunatic fringe or another. It's also disappointing.

Something that will be very interesting will be the application of this law in unexpected ways. Suppose the Supreme Court gets involved to apply the same legal vehicle to Christianity in Kansas as Kansas wants to apply to Islam? Keep in mind that all this crying about a possible application of Sharia law is an imaginary problem, because of the First Amendment. So.....what if the American Civil Liberties Union finds itself hip deep fighting the resulting discrimination here in Kansas? It's quite clear that all Kansas is actually trying to do with this ban is legitimatize discrimination and make Christian Kansans feel good about being bigots. If Kansas would simply abide by the laws already enacted by this country, there would be no need to create new laws, especially new laws that are worded awkwardly enough to create litigation that can last for generations.