CAIR-IA: Anti-Sharia Amendment Dies in Iowa Legislature

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Iowa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-IA) said today that a proposal to include anti-Islam language in that state's constitution has died in the legislature.

CAIR-IA said Iowa's legislature ended its 2012 session last night, forcing the death of HJR14 -- a proposed amendment to Iowa's constitution that would have banned courts from considering "Sharia," or Islamic principles.

SEE: House Joint Resolution 14
http://tinyurl.com/7mjeyy6

The proposed amendment was drafted by Rep. Kim Pearson (R-House Dist. 42), a Tea Party member who targeted Islam and its practice in Iowa. Pearson has been quoted as saying Islam treats women "like they are pigs and dogs."

Basu: Hear Muslim Concerns, Rather Than Act Blindly (Des Moines Register)
http://tinyurl.com/77r7sag

"Iowa's Muslims and all other Iowans who value religious freedom thank the legislators who worked so tirelessly defeating this bigoted legislation," said CAIR-IA Executive Director Miriam Amer. "Our challenge to intolerance is just beginning, as we've been promised an 'improved' version of this extremist proposal next session."

Amer said a constitutional amendment such as HJR14 would seriously impact the state's estimated 80,000 Muslims and their constitutionally-protected freedom of religion.

HJR14 was just one of dozens of similar anti-Islam measures introduced in state legislatures nationwide.

CAIR's national office recently released a community toolkit designed to assist those seeking to preserve America's ideal of religious pluralism in the face of the unconstitutional anti-Sharia campaign.

SEE: CAIR Releases Community Toolkit to Challenge 'Anti-Sharia' Bills 
http://tinyurl.com/7ud39hj
CAIR Community Toolkit: Securing Religious Liberty
http://tinyurl.com/6thfmre
BACKGROUNDER: 33 Anti-Sharia Bills in 20 States
http://tinyurl.com/7j7xgkn  

CAIR's toolkit includes background on David Yerushalmi, the anti-Islam extremist who authored the template for the anti-Sharia bills.

Yerushalmi is head of the anti-Islam hate group Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE), which once offered a policy proposal that would make "adherence to Islam" punishable by 20 years in prison, called for the immediate deportation of all non-citizen Muslims and urged Congress to declare war on the "Muslim Nation," which SANE defined as "all Muslims." The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) named Yerushalmi a member of the "anti-Muslim inner circle."

SEE: A SANE Act to Deal with the Islamic Threat to America's National Existence (SADITANE)
http://tinyurl.com/4b54c88
SPLC: The Anti-Muslim Inner Circle
http://tinyurl.com/6xl4d4h  

Links to Background Information on David Yerushalmi:

David Yerushalmi: A Driving Force Behind Anti-Sharia Efforts in the U.S.
http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/david_yerushalmi.htm  

Meet the White Supremacist Leading the GOP's Anti-Sharia Crusade
http://tinyurl.com/4amcmex  

The Man Behind the Anti-Shariah Movement (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/us/31shariah.html  

Anti-Islam Activist Yerushalmi Measures Imams' Beards
http://www.forward.com/articles/139688/

Profile of Anti-Sharia Extremist David Yerushalmi
http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/yerushalmi_david  

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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CONTACT: CAIR-IA Executive Director Miriam Amer, 319-573-6617, E-Mail: [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: [email protected]; CAIR Communications Manager Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations