Earlier this week, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed into law a measure that prevents Kansas courts from applying foreign laws, like sharia, when deciding cases. The measure is based upon American Laws for American Courts (ALAC), the model legislation drafted by American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) Co-Founder and Senior Counsel David Yerushalmi. ALAC is designed to prohibit the application of foreign law, including, but not limited to sharia, when it would violate fundamental constitutional rights such as due process and equal protection. Legislation similar to ALAC has already been passed in Arizona, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
As we have noted before, the Kansas law, which will go into effect July 1, has faced fierce opposition from sharia-adherent groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which claim that passing ALAC legislation is racist and discriminates against Muslims. Not surprisingly, CAIR has already suggested that legal action against the new law is in the works.
If that is the case, the American Freedom Law Center, which is closely monitoring the situation in Kansas, is prepared to lend its legal resources to defend the Kansas law should the need arise. Moreover, AFLC would defend not only the Kansas law pro bono, but also the Tennessee, Louisiana, and Arizona laws. Indeed, there is a reason these earlier enactments have not been challenged even though they’ve now been on the books for several years — to do so would be akin to asserting that the Constitution is unconstitutional. All ALAC does is protect our constitutional liberties from constitutionally offensive foreign laws. If Muslim Brotherhood front groups (like CAIR) wish to join with blame-America leftists to challenge these laws, then so be it. By ALAC winning such a challenge, we will have proven our case.