Welcome to the United States of America, home of the brave and land of the free.
How free, you may ask? So free that a judge elected last month to the bench in Brooklyn’s 7th Municipal District took her oath of office using the Koran as a testament to her Muslim faith instead of the Bible.
An article in New York’s Daily News notes that the swearing-in of Carolyn Walker-Diallo was met by an equal measure of swearing at. In response to a video of the ceremony posted on Facebook, one user commented, “Another piece of sh*t Muslim trying to take over this country.”
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“Sickening,” wrote a second commenter, adding, “Is this America or the Middle East” [sic].
It’s unfortunate for all that it’s come to name-calling, but Walker-Diallo’s act is understandably provocative, especially at this particular point in time. It is a thumb in the eye of Americans who are rightly concerned about the threat of radical Islamic terrorism, which the administration refuses even to name.
Not surprisingly, a spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement. Sadyia Khalique said:
It’s really horrific what’s happening. This is a proud moment for her, and to have this much criticism is just really sad. In our society, there is so much hate.
The argument might carry more weight if CAIR could cite one example in which a Jew refused to be sworn in unless the Torah were used or an Indian insisted on taking the oath of office over the Vedas. The point, in other words, is that the nation is 83% Christian, and the Bible is the de facto “national holy book.”
I don’t doubt Walker-Diallo’s religious devotion, which she spells out in a Facebook post reading:
All is praise [sic] is indeed due to the Most High! I am humbled that my community has entrusted me with the immense responsibility of ensuring that EVERYONE has notice and a FAIR opportunity to be heard in the halls of justice.
One just has to wonder whether “everyone” in her view includes Americans who don’t subscribe to Islamic law, which — moreover — has no place in her courtroom.
The Daily News, having demonstrated in recent days its extreme liberal bias, is supportive of Walker-Diallo and outraged by the backlash to her swearing-in stunt, as the video below indicates. The paper even offers by way of defense the observation that the Constitution does not mandate the use of a specific religious text or any text at all.
That’s all well in good provided Walker-Diallo appreciates that that document is the sole basis of all law in this country. All other legal codes and remedies are excluded.
