WASHINGTON, May 24: A US judge ruled on Thursday that any religious text, not just a Bible, may be used to swear in witnesses or jurors in courtrooms.
The ruling by Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway in Wake County, North Carolina, resulted from a lawsuit challenging a state law that could be interpreted as requiring courts to use the Bible alone.
The plaintiff, Syedah Mateen, wanted to swear on the Holy Quran because, saying that she should be allowed to swear on a book she believed in.
The state has 30 days to appeal the ruling, which may open the door for Muslims across the US to take oath on the Holy Quran.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, North America’s largest Muslim advocacy group, welcomed the ruling.
“We welcome this ruling as an expression of our nation's constitutional commitment to religious diversity and tolerance," said CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar.
In the lawsuit, the American Civil Liberties Union argued a law that some judges said required the state's courts to use the Bible alone is unconstitutional because it favours Christianity over other religions.
The ACLU sought a court order clarifying that the law is broad enough to allow the use of multiple religious texts, or else declare the statute unconstitutional.
North Carolina State law allows witnesses preparing to testify in court to take their oath in three ways: by laying a hand over “the Holy Scriptures,” by saying “so help me God” without the use of a religious book, or by an affirmation using no religious symbols.
A trial court judge initially dismissed the ACLU's lawsuit in December 2005, ruling it was not because there was no actual controversy at that time warranting litigation.
In January, the ruling was reversed by a unanimous three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals, after the ACLU had added Ms Mateen as a plaintiff. In its decision, the appeals court cited Ms Mateen's claim that her request to place her hand on the Holy Quran as a witness in a domestic violence case in Guilford County was denied in 2003.
Before the ACLU filed its lawsuit, the group and the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations had asked the state's court system to allow use of the Holy Quran and other religious texts in courtrooms. The director of the state court system refused, saying the General Assembly or the courts needed to settle the issue.
