Meet the White Supremacist Leading the GOP's Anti-Sharia Crusade

[Skip_In_Boulder]

States across the country are considering far-right bills to ban Islamic law. For that, we have hate-group leader David Yerushalmi to thank.

— By Tim Murphy



Last week, legislators in Tennessee introduced a radical bill that would make "material support" for Islamic law punishable by 15 years in prison. The proposal marks a dramatic new step in the conservative campaign against Muslim-Americans. If passed, critics say even seemingly benign activities like re-painting the exterior of a mosque or bringing food to a potluck could be classified as a felony.

The Tennessee bill, SB 1028, didn't come out of nowhere. Though it's the first of its kind, the bill is part of a wave of related measures that would ban state courts from enforcing Sharia law. (A court might refer to Sharia law in child custody or prisoner rights cases.) Since early 2010, such legislation has been considered in at least 15 states. And while fears of an impending caliphate are myriad on the far-right, the surge of legislation across the country is largely due to the work of one man: David Yerushalmi, an Arizona-based white supremacist who has previously called for a "war against Islam" and tried to criminalize adherence to the Muslim faith.


Yerushalmi, a lawyer, is the founder of the Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE), which has been called a "hate group" by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). His draft legislation served as the foundation for the Tennessee bill, and at least half a dozen other anti-Islam measures—including two bills that were signed into law last year in Louisiana and Tennessee.

With the exception of SB 1028, much of Yerushalmi's legislation sounds pretty innocuous: State courts are prohibited from considering any foreign law that doesn't fully honor the rights enshrined in the US and state constitutions. Because a Taliban-style interpretation of Islamic law is unheard of in the United States, the law's impact is non-existent at best. But critics of some of the proposed bills have argued they could have far-reaching and unintended consequences, like undoing anti-kidnapping statutes, and hindering the ability of local companies to enter into contracts overseas.

But Tennessee's SB 1028 goes much further, defining traditional Islamic law as counter to constitutional principles, and authorizing the state's attorney general to freeze the assets of organizations that have been determined to be promoting or supporting Sharia. On Monday, CAIR and the ACLU called for lawmakers to defeat the bill.

"Essentially the bill is trying to separate the 'good Muslims' from the 'bad Muslims,'" said CAIR staff attorney Gadeir Abbas in an interview with Mother Jones. "Out of all the bills that have been introduced, this is by far the most extreme."

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/david-yerushalmi-sharia-ban-tennessee

[Taverner]

1. Well I do agree with this sign

But like many things, I don't think it should be codified into law in the heard of Christian America

[Skip_In_Boulder]

2. Yeah, I agree with the sign as well

But this nonsense that we in America are at risk of being subjected to Sharia law is just that, nonsense. We are much more at risk of being subjected to biblical law by the theocratic element in the country.

Yet another example of the right wing fanatics to try and create a problem where none exists to divert peoples attention from the very real problems we are facing today.

[Taverner]

4. Yep yep and yes....

Agree 100%

Fuck Mosaic, Pauline, Augustinian or Islamic codified morality

[Jmaxfie1]

6. Me too, They should make a bill banning ALL faith based laws, why single out just one. n/t

[YellowRubberDuckie]

3. Oklahomans past this last year.

For no reason. That whole pesky 1st amendment takes care of all of that.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

5. Yeah that whole thing was much ado about nothing. n/t

[lunasun]

7. David Yerushalmi, an Arizona-based white supremacist

What a surprise he is based out of AZ!!!! Got bored of the Mexicans no doubt.........on to Muslims now