American Muslims Must Acknowledge the Supremacy of the Constitution Over Sharia Law

Florida Congressman Randy Fine got into a fight with New York Palestinian activist and Mamdami advisor Nerdeen Kiswani over dog poop in the NYC snow emergency. This culminated in Fine saying words to the effect that, given the choice between Muslims and dogs, he’d choose dogs, igniting a political firestorm that has some in Congress calling for Fine’s resignation or expulsion. This is one of those seemingly frivolous things that seem to break out in the slow news days of August and February, when weather extremes make tempers short. However, it brings to the surface once again the clash of cultures between the Muslim world and the West, and raises the specific question of how much loyalty devout Muslims can give to the U.S. Constitution when they are seeking citizenship. (RELATED: Randy Is Just Fine, Say Dogs and Most Americans)

Before getting into that, let’s address the dog issue because it is the spark that ignited the whole controversy about assimilating immigrants from Muslim-dominated countries. The supposed Muslim restriction against dogs has nothing to do with the Koran (Quran). I’ve spent more than a fair share of time in places such as Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, where Islam is the majority faith. My Arabic is not good enough to read the Koran in that language, but I have read the English translation, and there is nothing in it that declares dogs to be forbidden. Like the abhorrent treatment of women in most Muslim societies, this prejudice stems more from ancient tribal practices that were integrated into day-to-day life as those societies adopted or were conquered by Islam. Muhammed’s wife apparently often castigated him regarding insufficient attention to women in his writings

In Afghanistan, for instance, dogs are generally treated better than women; at least they are allowed outside without being chaperoned by an adult male. Many of the unassimilated immigrants from Muslim culture have never actually read the Koran. For example, 83 percent of native Afghans are illiterate, as are 59 percent of Somalis still living there. The literacy rate among immigrants from Muslim-dominant countries is probably higher, but I’d bet that the vast majority of rape gang membership in places like London, Paris, and Stockholm have never actually opened a copy of the Koran, much less read it.

Most readers know this, but not all Arabs are Muslim. There are vibrant Christian communities among the West Bank Palestinians and in Lebanon. Egypt and other North African countries have a strong Coptic tradition, and Iraq has a small but substantial Catholic minority. Many Somali-Americans have converted to Christianity, particularly in the evangelical movement. The real clash of cultures between devout Muslims and the West — and particularly with the U.S. Constitution — comes from what is or is not in the Koran regarding the separation of church and state and the predominance of Sharia Law.

Although Muhammad considered Jesus to be a prophet, he did not accept the concept of “rendering unto Caesar,” and his writings in the Koran are not clear on the subject of church-state relations. The point is that many Muslims think it is. This disagreement about the relationship of religion and state within Islam has been the crux of much violent disagreement among Muslims. It is the heart of the failure of the Arab Spring in places like Egypt, Libya, and Algeria. It is also critical to the violence between unassimilated Muslim enclaves and secular authorities in many Europeans nations. Unfortunately, it may be the case here as well among some unassimilated Muslim immigrants.

Unlike Muhammad’s writings on the subject, the U.S. Constitution is unambiguous. It is the Supreme law of the land… period. What it and the U.S. Code do not explicitly cover is left to the states and local governments. Presumably, Sharia law falls somewhere in there. But the implications are clear. You can’t cut your son’s hand off because you found it in the cookie jar, and you can’t legally stone your wife for fooling around with your best friend, except maybe in Alabama.

Lest anyone think I’m Islamophobic, although I am a strong believer in Israel’s right to exist, I object strongly to allowing Americans to serve in the Israeli Army while retaining their U.S. citizenship. You are, or you aren’t. However, current U.S. law allows it. I do believe that it is entirely appropriate to ask Muslims who are applying for U.S. citizenship if they recognize the supremacy of the Constitution over Sharia law in civil matters. If the answer is no, the application should be denied.

Anyway, I will not take a stand on the dogs versus Muslims issue. I do, however, take dog treats in my pocket on my morning run. I have not yet started carrying falafels, but I’ll consider it if I start running into Muslims.

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Gary Anderson was a U.N. observer in the Middle East and an advisor in Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.