"So Help Me Allah" ACLU Sues to Have Quran Approved for Use in Court Oaths

When witnesses are sworn in, the religious texts of non-Christian faiths should be allowed in North Carolina courts along with the Bible, the ACLU argued in lawsuit filed against the state Tuesday. Denying the use of other religious texts would violate the Constitution by favoring Christianity over religions, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina said in its lawsuit.

State law allows witnesses preparing to testify in court to take their oath either by laying a hand over a "Holy Scripture," by saying "so help me God" without the use of a religious book, or by using no religious symbols.

Muslims from the Al-Ummil Ummat Islamic Center in Greensboro had tried to donate copies of the Quran to Guilford County's two courthouses last month. The two top judges in the county decided that Muslims could not legally take an oath on the Quran.

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