NASHVILLE - Despite objections from critics, including Tennessee Muslims, the House Judiciary Committee today approved a bill letting the governor and state attorney general designate certain entities as a terrorist organization.
The bill passed on a 12-4 vote and advances to the Finance Committee. The bill is scheduled to be heard later today in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
At least 200 Muslims packed the hearing room and spilled into two other hearing rooms, which were made available for the overflow crowd.
The measure originally would have outlawed some aspects of Sharia law - the religious law of Islam - but an amendment strips out any mention of specific religions and says the would-be law neither targets "nor incidentally prohibits or inhibits the peaceful practice of religion."
For complete details, see tomorrow's Times Free Press