No Foreign Codes’ Bill Passed by Kansas Govt

A bill designed to prevent Kansas courts or government agencies from making decisions based on Islamic or other foreign legal codes has cleared the state Legislature after a contentious debate about whether the measure upholds  American values or appeals to prejudice against Muslims. The Senate approved the bill on May 11 on a 33-3 vote. The House had approved it, 120-0, earlier in the week. The measure goes next to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who has not said whether he will sign or veto the measure. The measure doesn’t specifically mention Shariah law, which broadly refers to codes within the Islamic legal system. Instead, it says that courts, administrative agencies or state tribunals cannot base rulings on any foreign law or legal system that would not grant the parties the same rights guaranteed by state and U.S. constitutions. But several supporters specifically cited the potential use of Shariah law in Kansas as their concern. Though there are no known cases in which a Kansas judge has based a ruling on Islamic law, supporters of the bill cited a pending case in Sedgwick County in which a man seeking to divorce his wife has asked for property to be divided under a marriage  contract in line with Shariah law.