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The Daily News Opinion - July 14,2005
NC: Judges decide that Muslims
could not take oath on Quran
What many might view as a tempest in a teapot is the latest flap over taking oaths in court.
In Greensboro (North Carolina), two judges decided that Muslims could not legally take an oath in court on the Quran.
The American Civil Liberties Union then pressed the Administrative Office of the Courts to adopt a policy allowing not only the Quran, but other religious texts for oath-taking. A Washington-based Islamic civil rights organization and Greensboro-area religious leaders have also called on the courts office to act.
Formal letters were sent over two weeks ago, and no one has received any response on the matter. Allegations of foot-dragging have been leveled.
America is steeped in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Our country is composed of Christians, Jews, Mormons, Muslims, and all manner of religious groups.
We have Bibles and Qurans and Torahs and the Book of Mormon, just to name a few.
One of the issues is interpretations. If the law says an oath must be taken on the "Holy Scriptures," then that means, we believe, any text of a religious body….
Surely there are arguments for any and all texts. But let's be realistic.
Right now, a person being sworn in during a court proceeding can elect to be affirmed. There are plenty of religious people in our county, in fact, who prefer to be affirmed, eschewing swearing by doctrine. It's done every day. They merely hold their hand aloft and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
There are atheists who testify in court. There are also people who will lay their hands on the Bible and purposely tell a lie. There are liars who would swear on the lives of their grandchildren.
An honest person, whether he or she is religious or not, will tell the truth no matter where in what deity, if any, they declare their purpose. For that matter, they could be sworn on a dictionary with the argument it includes all the words in their religious text.
It boils down to individual belief. A believer adheres to the teachings of the text with which he or she is comfortable and familiar.
It's a matter of conscience and tolerance for the rest of us, traits we claim to defend and uphold.
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