Oops. Obama Administration Caught Promoting Shariah Law

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and the Federal Reserve Board had another bad day last week when they went up against U.S. District Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff, a judge who actually supports the U.S. Constitution.

It seems that, when Obama et al. took over AIG in an $85 billion bailout back in September, the U.S. government also assumed responsibility for AIG's activities. One of those activities is fostering "a number of links between charities that receive funds as a result of Shariah-compliant financing and 'terrorist organizations that are hostile to the United States,'" at least according to a lawsuit brought by a federal taxpayer represented by the Thomas More Law Center.

What is Shariah-compliant financing? Financial operations especially designed to follow Islamic law, which, not surprisingly, requires charitable contributions to jihad.

The Washington Times editorialized:

Regardless of jihad, there is no dispute that, as U.S. District Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff wrote on May 26, "AIG is the market leader in Sharia-compliant financing, which features financial products that comply with the dictates of Islamic law." It's undisputed that the government, as a result of last fall's bailout, now owns 77.9 percent of the "aggregate voting power of the common stock" of AIG. Furthermore, Judge Zatkoff wrote, "after the government acquired a majority interest in AIG ... the government co-sponsored a forum entitled 'Islamic Finance 101.' "

Why is all this important? Because in the case of Kevin J. Murray v. Timothy F. Geithner and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Mr. Murray argues that if the government owns AIG and AIG extensively practices Shariah-compliant finance, then the government effectively is supporting Islam. That would be unconstitutional.

According to the lawsuit, taxpayer funds were used to "approve, promote, endorse, support, and fund. . . Shariah-based Islamic religious activities," thus violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution."

As the Law Center pointed out:

With the aid of taxpayer funds provided by Congress, AIG employs a “Shariah Supervisory Committee,” which is comprised of the following members: Sheikh Nizam Yaquby from Bahrain, Dr. Mohammed Ali Elgari from Saudi Arabia, and Dr. Muhammed Imran Ashraf Usmani from Pakistan. Dr. Usmani is the son, student, and dedicated disciple of Mufti Taqi Usmani, who is the leading Shariah authority for Shariah-compliant finance in the world and the author of a book translated into English in 1999 that includes an entire chapter dedicated to explaining why a Western Muslim must engage in violent jihad against his own country or government.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center had this to say:

It is outrageous that AIG has been using taxpayer money to promote Islam and Shariah law, which potentially provides support for terrorist activities aimed at killing Americans. Shariah law is the same law championed by Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban. It is the same law that prompted the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our soil that killed thousands of innocent Americans.

Geithner and the Fed wanted Judge Zatkoff to dismiss the case before it went to trial but, as the Thomas More Law Center reported, "Judge Zatkoff held that the lawsuit sufficiently alleged a federal constitutional challenge to the use of taxpayer money to fund AIG’s Islamic religious activities."

The Washington Times saw it this way:

In a devastating 16-page decision, Judge Zatkoff slapped down Mr. Geithner and company, allowing the case to go forward. The judge acknowledged that the government bought AIG only to stave off an apparent crisis. He then wrote: "Times of crisis, however, do not justify departure from the Constitution."

Well said.

Unfortunately, as Judge Zatkoff knows and as Richard Thompson of the Thomas More Law Center temperately observed, "We won this skirmish. But the war to stop the federal government from funding Islam and Shariah-compliant financing is far from over."

(Hat tip: Rick Moran at American Thinker)

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