Most Americans worried about growing influence of Islamic law

Washington, Mar.30 (ANI): Many in the United States have started expressing concern over the growth of the Muslim population in the country, and the simultaneous influential outreach of Islamic law in the daily lives of Americans.

Many see Islamic law's growing influence as a threat and critics of the Shariah point to cases such as the airport in Minneapolis, where some Shariah-adherent taxi drivers made headlines in 2006 for refusing to pick up passengers they suspected of carrying liquor.

Last year, a Tyson Foods plant in Shelbyville, Tenn. replaced its traditional Labor Day holiday with paid time off on Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival - marking the end of fasting during Ramadan. A labor union had requested the change on behalf of hundreds of Muslim employees- many of them were immigrants from Somalia.

But public outcry over the decision to dismiss Labor Day quickly prompted the company and union to negotiate a new contract that makes accommodations for both holidays.

In 2007, the University of Michigan installed ritual foot baths to accommodate Islamic tradition.

"These things are beginning to percolate up as Shariah-adherent Muslims insist that their preferences and practices be accommodated by the rest of the population," said Frank Gaffney, founder and president of the Center for Security Policy - a Washington think tank.

Gaffney predicted the U.S. could soon face problems similar to some Western European countries, where the religious values of Muslim immigrants sometimes clash with their highly secular host cultures. (ANI)