Kareem Calls Indiana RFRA America’s ‘Sharia Law’

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar calls Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) America’s “Sharia law” in a piece at Time magazine.

“At its core,” the former Lakers and Bucks center writes, “rather than being a monument to justice, RFRA is a step toward establishing an American version of Sharia law.”

The six-time NBA champion defends his charge of tyranny against the law intended to protect religious freedom as “not so crazy.”

“Sharia law, when imposed on a population by force, makes a single religion’s teachings (often a single sect of that religion’s teachings) the law of the land,” he maintains. “The mission is to force everyone to follow the teachings lest they be punished. Although RFRA supporters aren’t physically assaulting people, they certainly are attempting to punish those who don’t follow their own very specific interpretation of God’s teachings.”

Most Americans live in states with RFRA-like laws adopted either via the legislatures or through court decisions. President Bill Clinton signed a federal RFRA, introduced by Ted Kennedy in the Senate and Charles Schumer in the House, into law in 1993 with unanimous support in the lower chamber and just three dissenting votes in the upper body.

The three-time victor of the NCAA basketball tournament seconds Charles Barkley’s call to move the Final Four from Lucas Oil Stadium to a venue in another state. Duke, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Michigan State compete this weekend in Indianapolis to play for the national championship next week in Indianapolis.