Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Join thousands of readers who support our workBECOME A MEMBER
Fast Forward

Court Strikes Down Oklahoma Sharia Ban

A federal appeals court has ruled as unconstitutional the state of Oklahoma’s ban on judges considering Islamic law in deciding cases.

The law to prevent Sharia law from being used in the state was struck down Tuesday by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Oklahoma voters had approved the ban in 2010, but a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against the law last year before it could take effect.

The appeals court judges said in their opinion that the ban violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

No Oklahoma court has ever applied Sharia law to an opinion, according to reports.

Jewish groups opposing the law include the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, Agudath Israel of America and the Orthodox Union.

Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief

You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.

And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:

  • Credit the Forward
  • Retain our pixel
  • Preserve our canonical link in Google search
  • Add a noindex tag in Google search

See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.