We ran my story earlier this week on the effort to ban sharia in the United States and why it alarms Jews across the religious spectrum.
Turns out there’s an expert on exactly this topic at Pepperdine University, Michael Helfand. Not only that, he wrote a cogent op-ed on the very matter about six months ago, for the Los Angeles Times.
Legislation banning religious arbitration is deeply misguided. The decisions of religious tribunals are unenforceable unless they comply with public policy. And we need them to address cases that constitutional doctrine prohibits from being litigated in government courts. In the end, allowing state and federal courts to "consider" the findings of religious tribunals for the purposes of "confirmation" doesn’t violate cherished religious freedoms, it enhances them.
The perfect quote! Too late for the story, but not for the blog.
