Muslims Push for Using Qur’an in Court Oaths

July 1, 2005

Source: News & Record

http://www.news-record.com/news/local/gso/quranfolo_070105.htm

On July 1, 2005 News & Record reported, "North Carolina judges should broaden their interpretation of state law to allow widespread use of the Qur'an for courtroom oaths, a group of Muslim leaders said Thursday. Muslims in other parts of the state have been allowed this right, members of the N.C. Consultative Body of Imams said. They gathered at the Al-Ummil Ummat Islamic Center in Greensboro to give a joint statement after a local decision to deny the use of the Qur'an for oaths. Guilford County's top judges have said they won't allow the practice because it violates state law. The Muslim group, which included imams from Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem, said the law refers to laying one's hand on the 'Holy Scriptures.' They say that should include the Qur'an, not just the Bible. 'We'd like (the judges) to broadly interpret it rather than narrowly interpret it,' said Adam Beyah, a Fayetteville Muslim and the group's treasurer. 'This has been interpreted broadly in other areas of North Carolina.'"