Okla. Attempt to Outlaw Shariah Ruled Unconstitutional

Would have forbid court form using international or Shariah law when deciding cases

Oklahoma's attempt to "specifically target and outlaw Shariah," or Islamic law, is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange in Oklahoma City permanently blocked state officials from certifying the 2010 election results for the so-called "Save Our State Amendment," which "forbids courts from considering or using international law [and] Sharia Law" when deciding cases.

Seventy percent of voters approved the constitutional amendment on Nov. 2, 2010. It had been placed on the ballot after state lawmakers passed a similar measure, House Joint Resolution 1056, about six months earlier.

Two days after the election, Muneer Awad, the former head of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK), challenged the amendment's constitutionality in federal court.