Arizona’s state legislature voted Friday, June 13, 2026, to prohibit the application of Sharia law within the state, the Arizona Daily Star reported. The measure caps years of intermittent debate among state Republicans over whether foreign or religious legal codes should carry any weight in Arizona courts.
Background
Arizona isn’t the first state to take up such legislation. Similar measures have moved through legislatures in Oklahoma, Kansas, and elsewhere over the past decade — though several ran into legal challenges on First Amendment grounds. Critics of those laws argued they singled out one religion while advocates said the bills were aimed at keeping any foreign legal system out of domestic courts, not at targeting Muslims specifically.
Those same arguments have resurfaced in Arizona. Opponents of the legislation warned it could face an immediate constitutional challenge, given federal court precedent questioning whether such blanket bans on religious law cross the line into government discrimination against a particular faith.
No details were immediately available on the vote tally, the bill’s sponsor, or the specific language of the measure. The Arizona Daily Star didn’t name the lawmakers who carried the bill or identify which chamber voted Friday — whether the House, Senate, or both.
It’s also unclear whether Gov. Katie Hobbs intends to sign or veto the measure. Her office hadn’t issued a statement as of Friday afternoon, and the bill’s path to her desk wasn’t confirmed in the initial report.
Arizona Daily Star Read the original report.
