Carol Platt Liebau: Why Oaths and the Texts Behind Them Matter

When Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City, he took his oath on the Koran, rather than a Bible.

In America, free exercise of religion is a constitutional right. Mamdani was absolutely entitled to swear his oath on his faith’s sacred text.

But texts matter, and so do the principles they enshrine.

In the Bible, political authority is limited and not divine. Church and state distinct, and individual conscience is separate from government power.

Under the Quran, religious and political authority are one and the same, and the state is understood to be an instrument for enforcing divine law.

Judeo-Christian thought made limited government possible by insisting that the state isn’t sacred. Under Islam, conscience is subordinate to religious authority.

That distinction matters.

Americans should be paying attention.

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