A temporary restraining order halting Oklahoma's anti-Sharia constitutional amendment will remain in effect through the month, after an order today from federal district Judge Vicki Miles-LeGrange, who said she needs time to consider the arguments.

Miles-LaGrange, who issued the restraining order on Nov. 8, said she needed time to work through the legal issues surrounding [plaintiff Muneer] Awad's request for an injunction. She said those issues include the will of voters who passed the measure and Awad's allegation that it restricts his First Amendment right to practice his religion as he chooses.

"It's certainly not a matter to be taken lightly with what is at stake here," the judge said.

Meanwhile, church-state expert Charles Haynes argues in his new column that the fear-mongering about Sharia and Islam is what most threatens religious freedom.

First Amendment separation of church and state (including mosque and state) makes the Oklahoma amendment unnecessary. There is no danger that sharia — or any religious law — will “take over” or shape final judicial decisions in America. The campaign to outlaw sharia in Oklahoma and elsewhere is fear-mongering at its worst.