The Week in Sharia: Elvis Retreats, Texas Reloads

The new face of terror? (Photo: Governor’s Office/Tim Larsen)Let’s get right to it:

• New Jersey‘s sterling reputation is under attack! Republican Gov. Chris Christie, floated by some conservatives as a possible 2012 candidate, has become the unlikely target of the anti-Sharia fringe after appointing Sohail Mohammed, a known Muslim, to the state superior court. Right-wing blogger Pamela Geller summed things up nicely: “Governor Christie looked and sounded like he could be presidential. He’s not. He’s in bed with the enemy. All the other stuff doesn’t matter if you don’t have your freedom.”
• Also in bed with the enemy, apparently, is Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), whose upcoming hearings on the “radicalization” of the American Muslim community came under fire this week—from the right. Steve Emerson, of the totally legit-sounding Investigative Project on Terrorism, alleged that King had “caved in to the demands of radical Islamists” by neglecting to invite him to testify. I detailed King’s own history of radicalism here.
• Remember that whole to-do about the proposed Islamic community center in Manhattan? It turns out the entire anti-mosque advertising campaign was paid for by one (1) New York hedge-fund manager, Robert Mercer, possibly under the pretense of demonstrating to political power brokers that he was willing spend tons money if necessary, on the totally unrelated issue of high-frequency trading.
• Texas is facing a $27 billion budget deficit, so naturally the state legislature is hard at working on the political equivalent of hitting “refresh” on your Facebook feed all day: State Rep. Leo Berman (author of his state’s birther bill) has introduced legislation to ban Sharia law from being used in Texas courts. Far-right activists believe Sharia could subject citizens to extremely harsh punishments for dubious infractions—and isn’t that what the state’s criminal justice system is for?
• Meanwhile, in Indiana, a similar proposal has been shelved—for the time being. State Rep. (and Elvis impersonator) Bruce Borders, who had previously floated the ban to send the message “that Indiana does not recognize Sharia law, or Muslim law,” told the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, that he has not actually introduced any such legislation yet.
• And finally, the Village Voice reports that the NYPD has been requiring its officers to watch a film called The Third Jihad as part of their counter-terrorism training. Per the Voice: “The favorite image in The Third Jihad—shown over and over—is an enormous black-and-white Islamic flag flying over the White House.” At one point the narrator warns that “One of their primary tactics is deception.” I mean, just look at Chris Christie.