Tennessee bill would make following Shariah a felony

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The bill, drawn up by conservatives with ties to opponents of a planned Islamic center two blocks from New York City's ground zero and efforts to expand a mosque 30 miles southeast of Nashville — would face steep constitutional hurdles if enacted.

Nevertheless, it represents the boldest legislative attempt yet to limit how Muslims worship.

Muslim groups fear the measure would outlaw central tenets of Islam, such as praying five times a day toward Mecca, abstaining from alcohol or fasting for Ramadan.

"This is an anti-Muslim bill that makes it illegal to be a Muslim in the state of Tennessee," said Remziya Suleyman, policy coordinator for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

Supporters of the measure are working to bolster it against any constitutional challenges, which may be an impossible task, said First Amendment Center scholar Charles Haynes, who called it a "really distorted understanding of Shariah law."

"It's unconstitutional to even suggest that such legislation should be passed," he said. "Trying to separate out different parts of Islamic law for condemnation is nonsensical."

Sarah Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Islamic Society of North America said,"The way that it's worded makes the assumption that any practice of Islam is a practice of terrorism... And that's a dangerous line to walk. It excludes the millions of Muslims that are practicing peaceably from the ability to do so."

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