As the Legislature winds through its fourth week of the regular session, they are to be greeted on Tuesday by several hundred members of the Muslim community. It's the third annual Florida Muslim Capitol Day, being organized by the group United Voices of America in Tallahassee.
Ahmed Bedier is with United Voices. He says that the day is designed to "normalize the political process for the Muslim community," many of whom he says are immigrants still learning about how the political process works. He said the intention is also to "normalize" relations with some state lawmakers, who Bedier says might think Muslims aren't fully American.
In terms of legislation, one issue of concern for the group is a bill being sponsored by two Republicans (Senator Alan Hays and Representative Larry Metz) that would ensure that Florida courts aren't affected by Muslim sharia law. Similar bills have been proposed throughout the country in state Legislatures. In fact, the Miami Herald reported that the bill was copied almost word-for-word from the "model legislation" posted on the website of a group called the American Public Policy Alliance.
This article appears in Mar 24-30, 2011.