Legislating Islamophobia: The factors for the existence of anti-sharia laws in the United States

Abstract

In 2010 a number of states began introducing a law that prohibited the application of sharia in U.S. courtrooms. Sharia, translated as the ‘clear path’, is essentially the law of Islam. These laws are an outgrowth of the angst and prejudice toward Muslim Americans known as Islamophobia. This study attempts to understand these laws, their origin and the population, legislative and political/cultural factors most closely related to their introduction and existence. This is a very salient topic given the targeting of Islam by some politicians most prominently in the 2016 presidential election. Their introduction and passage in some states have alienated the small, but growing population of Muslims. It was found in this study that religious salience, traditionalism and the size of the presence of anti-Muslim groups predicted the existence of an anti-sharia law, while Democratic dominance predicted no law. These results indicate that Islam is part of the ‘culture war’ in the United States.

Islamophobia in higher education environments

“…1). These bills undermine Muslims and Islam as part of the American landscape (Hummel, 2020) and demonstrate how anti-Muslim prejudice is present, endemic, and dangerous. Such legal actions use the hegemonic social and political systems primed to exclude Muslims to their advantage.…”

“…Since then, laws and policies have carried on the Islamophobic agenda. Several state legislatures have introduced bills often called anti‐Sharia laws (Hummel, 2020). The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has tracked 201 anti‐Sharia law bills introduced in 43 states since 2010.…”